Justice

by Spyros Andrianos

“It's never the way you live that inspires people to want to be heroes..It's the way you die…” – Oliver Queen/Green Arrow

Having excelled years earlier in the classic Kingdom Come, the Alex Ross in the early 2000s, creating one of the most epic stories ever written for DC heroes. In collaboration on the script with Jim Krueger (Foot Soldier, Avengers, Star Wars) and in the plan Doug Braithwaite (2000AD, Ghost, Punisher MAX) with whom he had collaborated on the trilogy Earth X (Universe X/Paradise X) for Marvel comics, Ross presents in a maxi series of 12 issues (August 2005 – June 2007) a story/love letter to the Silver Age era of DC heroes and specifically Justice League and of her eternal battle against herself Legion of Doom, that is, of the respective villains. Even more dark than we were used to in the Silver Age.

Of course this version of Legion wasn't based on any comic version of her, but more of a version of her from the TV cartoon Super Friends, with a more complex and serious case. Anyway, the whole thing Justice it was out of DC's main continuity but of course that doesn't detract from the masterful way the comic is written and designed. Finally, let me mention that the Justice, in some ways also considered an informal sequel to Ross' previous series (in collaboration with Paul Dini) The World's Greatest Super Heroes.

In the Justice o Alex Ross reverses the balance. The villains turn into good guys, the heroes seem unable to even react and the world's trust in their faces is shaken. The villains start having dreams about an upcoming Armageddon (which the Justice League heroes are powerless to stop). Of course these dreams are sent by Brainiac, who has his own secret agenda. The villains decide to put aside their differences and unite to prevent the coming end of Earth, but also to get the Justice League heroes out of the way once and for all. The Riddler will be the one to hack into Batman's computer and steal all the information and secrets it hides. The identities of the heroes will become known to them, automatically putting their loved ones at risk.

And as if this were not enough, the villains begin to present themselves as "saviors" of humanity by giving cures to incurable diseases and physical dysfunctions, which causes the heroes to distrust. And that's where Luthor pops the question in a public announcement. "Did the heroes do anything to make people's lives better?» They may have been saving them from some threat, but did they ever change their lives for the better? Wasn't their inaction in the face of change, their audacity to change the world, just as criminal as the crimes they've accused the villains of all these years?

Luthor promises change, with cities where everyone can live free from the problems of everyday life. He invites those he healed and helped along with the rest of his companions (Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Riddler, etc.) to join him in these new cities, where they can get all the things they dreamed of and never thought they would get.

At the same time, however, the attacks on our heroes continue unabated, taking most of the Leaguers out of battle. This absence of heroes somehow helps the world to believe more of Luthor and his companions as benefactors. And when one can say that things don't get any worse, Superman discovers that both he and Batman are being controlled by nanotechnology that has seeped into their nervous systems after the attacks. And the world no longer needs the superheroes in the new cities, so it doesn't care if they exist or disappear.

If you thought the recent Year of the Villain we're reading in most DC titles right now is something new, you'd be sorely mistaken! Also the same goes for Forever Evil, the big event a few years ago, of the New 52. Ross presented for perhaps the first time with such terrifying immediacy what would happen if the DC villains finally had the upper hand. If united they could get the Leaguers out of the way but also appear as the good guys. If the heroes for the first time accepted the challenge of public opinion and were always one step behind their pursuers.

And the result is truly enchanting. Both script-wise (clever and lively dialogue/emphasis on characters and their psychology, red-hot Hitchcockian suspense, many twists and turns) and design-wise since Ross uniquely paints Braithwaite's designs in water colors and as I've written before it's the artist who makes you to believe that superheroes are real! Batman's dialogue with Superman at the beginning of the 8th issue is simply delightful and hides the whole philosophy of superhero comics that we love so much.

Impressive fight scenes, with all the heroes we love in full quorum fighting perhaps the biggest fight of their lives, in a now classic series, aimed at both veteran fans of DC heroes, but also extremely friendly to new readers who they don't need to know years of history to understand what they are reading. Ross also gives the opportunity to non-prime-class characters (such as Elongated Man) or characters without superpowers (Green Arrow) to excel and claim their place in the pantheon of the greats of the DC Universe.

The Justice it has been published in 3 hardcover editions, in an absolute edition and in a trade paperback that collects all 12 issues of the series. This edition is followed by the latest edition of the OXY editions.

So in Greek, Justice is released in a really wonderful edition (both in paper and printing quality, as well as in price) from the always quality editions of OKZY. In a very good translation by Savva Argyrou, which really renders the text in the best possible way (I also have the original series in issues and I know the original text) and at a price that is truly a gift for what the edition offers, it will be a jewel for the your library. I wish that OXY publications will continue with the same consistency and passion to offer the best to Greek readers from the wonderful worlds of both Marvel and DC superheroes.