DCU Comic Book Reviews

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #36

Royal Pain, Chapter Two:  Shuffle Up And Die

October 2009

Written by Len Wein

Pencils by Tom Derenick

Inks by Marlo Alquiza, Dan Green, Walden Wong

Cover by Fabrizio Fiorentino

Synopsis

At the 58th Annual City Diamond Exhibition, the Justice League of America stops the Royal Flush Gang.  Afterwards, Wonder Woman uses the lasso in an attempt to learn what the Royal Gang is up to, but they get no answers.  Then the gang dies.  Watching the events are Roulette and Amos Fortune, who have placed a bet based on the outcome of the gangs actions.  On the JLA watchtower, an emergency signal blares.  The Royal Flush Gang has attacked in three different cities.  The team looks to Vixen for leadership, who doles out responsibilities to the team members before they go to answer the alarm.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

The best I can say about this issue is that it was serviceable and competently executed.  There really is not much I can complain about.  Wein has a decent grasp on the characters, with the hijinks of Plastic Man to the abrasiveness of Dr. Light to the inexperience of Firestorm.  The story is engaging, with the Royal Flush Gang becoming more powerful and the league attempting to deal with the newest older threat.  Sadly, there is nothing remarkable and the constant reminders from Vixen about keeping the team together is just a reminder that at some point the team will change, with new members and new leaders.  So, despite Weins work to make this story about Vixen’s growth into the role of leader, we know it is not going to last.  At some point, Vixen’s role will be reduced, one of the bigger names will become leader, and Vixen will eventually fall back into obscurity.  And this story will be forgotten as bigger threats surface. 

In terms of pacing, the flashback of Amos’ origin brought the flow of the issue and the story in general to a very abrupt halt.  Putting that aside, the flashback felt incomplete to me and I think a part of that is due to the lack of characterization for the henchmen that stuck around with Amos.  They were with Amos for a long time.  Beyond filling out the panels, we don’t learn anything about them.  Maybe it is just me, but I would’ve liked to have learned about these people and why they would stick with Amos through all of the various antics and bad plans.  The other part of my feeling on the flashback is that the important part, the widening of the Royal Flush Gang into something more than just five people, is a big part of the story, yet is given very little mention.  Maybe Wien hasn’t worked out the logistics, but I would’ve liked to have see more about the effects of expanding to 52 different members (and how this effected the original henchmen’s role in the gang). 

I liked the role call at the beginning, showing the various members who have left the team or are no longer around.  I wonder, however.  Will this be kept in the trade paperback?  Years from now, when a kid picks up this book to read as sees under Batman’s picture “deceased,” will that cause confusion (especially once Bruce returns)?  Will the kid understand when this story is supposed to take place?  Do people who read trade paperbacks really need to be concerned about continuity?  Oh, I got a headache now. 

Pow Rodrix, penciller who helped out last issue, has his name on the cover, but he is not listed on the credits page.  Inker Walden Wong is not on the cover, but is listed on the credit page.  One gets the impression that last minute shuffling (pardon the pun) was made in order to get this thing out on time.  The art is inconsistent, so I am willing to bet (pardon the pun) that Derenick was rushed a little bit. 

Comic Connection

The scene with Starfire also occurred in Titans, issue #16. 

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