Written by James Robinson
Art by Brett Booth; Daniel Sampere; Jesus Merino; Miguel Sepulveda; Norm Rapmund; Wayne Faucher; Jesse Delperdang; Andrew Dalhouse; Allen Passalaqua; & Rob Leigh
Cover Art by Ivan Reis; Joe Prado, & Peter Steigerwald
SUMMARY:
Released in 2012 by DC Comics, this 192-page collection reprints Justice Society of America # 43 and Justice League of America # 54-60 from 2010-11. This book concludes the last Justice League of DC’s pre-New 52 era.
With the Moon’s mystical Emerald City powered by the Starheart, Obsidian reconnects with his father, Alan Scott — DC’s Golden Age Green Lantern. On the secluded Diablo Island, Bruce Gordon is Eclipso’s host body once more. Amidst Eclipso’s bloody rampage, he corrupts the Shade, Shadow Thief, Nightshade, Acrata, Bete-Noire, and Dark Crow.
Backed by his new army, Eclipso attacks the Emerald City to forcibly recruit Jade. Falling captive to Eclipso, Jade’s sacrifice allows Jesse Quick to escort her weakened dad, Alan Scott, to safety. Viewing remnants of New Krypton, Dick Grayson’s Batman and ‘Dark Supergirl’ are attacked by Doomsday. Aided by the alien Starman and Blue Lantern Saint Walker, Batman & Supergirl get the wounded Alpha-Lantern Boodikka to the League’s satellite for medical attention. The Girl of Steel disappears off-screen battling Doomsday, who has breached the orbiting Watchtower.
At the Emerald City, Donna Troy battles a corrupted Jade, as most of her back-up team (including Cyborg, the female Dr. Light, and Red Tornado) become more enslaved troops for Eclipso. The remaining Leaguers (Batman, Donna Troy, Congorilla, Jesse Quick, and Starman) team with Alan Scott, Obsidian, and Ray Palmer’s Atom to initiate a counter-strike. Seemingly destroying the Spectre, Eclipso slices the Moon in half. A chaotic showdown pits the Leaguers vs. Eclipso. The series finale disbands the League for various personal reasons.
Note: Unlike most DC graphic novels of that time, this book was released only as a paperback.
REVIEW:
The well-written Alan Scott-Obsidian opener lays out groundwork, specifically as to why Emerald City is the League’s battlefield vs. Eclipso’s forces. Scott’s medical dilemma re: the Starheart and the Jade-Obsidian ‘can’t be in the same room together’ makes for an interesting scenario. The one bizarre ‘what-if’ notion is the risk of a combined Jade-and-Obsidian entity corrupted by the Starheart. Scott’s assessment of his son and daughter potentially merging into one being as “super-duper creepy” pretty much covers this wonky idea.
Aside from some vile imagery (Issue # 54), The Rise of Eclipso is a better-than-expected storyline. In fairness, writer James Robinson doesn’t cop out and call in Superman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern, and others for the big save. Instead, he depicts Dick Grayson’s Batman strategizing a way to neutralize Eclipso, with few heavy hitters (i.e. Donna Troy, Saint Walker, and Alan Scott) available. Seeing Batman’s ingenious counter-scheme play out offers some terrific moments, including Congorilla as an unlikely sniper. Like his previous volume (Justice League of America – Omega), Robinson relies far too much on Quentin Tarantino’s back-and-forth time-shifting gimmick. All of the jumping ahead and/or jumping back minutes or hours (i.e. Issues # 57-59) muddles what exactly is happening when and who went where. Nonetheless, Robinson does a nifty job depicting this makeshift League in various sequences.
As for the team’s finale, it’s a mixed bag. Though each Leaguer’s personal motivation is sufficient, the contrived timing insists upon all of them choosing to jump ship at once. Also, Batman & Donna Troy’s weak abandonment of the Watchtower is a disingenuous and unsatisfying finish. Leaving a glimmer of hope as to the League’s future (i.e. a quick cameo by a fan favorite Leaguer) would have sufficed. It’s just a shame that Robinson’s League goes out with a whimper.
Despite Robinson’s disjointed scripting, what really pops in The Rise of Eclipso are the top-caliber visuals. Beginning with the intriguing covers, they are stellar. The only ‘red flag’ is that some of them are deceptive re: the heroes corrupted by Eclipso. As for the interior artwork, Jade, Saint Walker, Congorilla, and Donna Troy look stunning at times, as artist Brett Booth’s team know how to vividly depict them. Scenes of Eclipso and his soldiers are well-produced, as are the extensive battle scenes on the moon. The only caveat is the excessively bloody mayhem seen in Issue # 54, which definitely merits a parental advisory. Otherwise, the art team’s consistent excellence is this book’s best creative asset.
If Robinson had just conjured up a more engaging closure, The Rise of Eclipso might have earned its place as the last Justice League adventure (before DC went amok with its New 52 reboot).
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Full-page covers are included, as is a cover gallery of full-page variants for Issues # 54-60. Specifically, the Justice Society of America # 43 cover is by Shane Davis; Sandra Hope; and Barbara Ciardo. Artists Brett Booth and Andrew Dalhouse handle Issues # 54-55. With Norm Rapmund, Booth & Dalhouse also created the covers for Issues # 56-59. Doubling as this book’s cover image, artists Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Peter Steigerwald create the finale’s cover.
David Mack is the variant cover artist for Issues, # 54, 56, and 59-60. The trio of Dan Jurgens, Rapmund, and Dalhouse are the variant artists for Issue # 55. Ed Benes and Dalhouse handle Issue # 57’s variant while Aaron Lopresti & Hi-Fi are the variant artists on Issue # 58.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 6½ Stars
