I've been out of comics for a good while now. Its been months since I picked up an issue of Sonic the Hedgehog, Tiny Titans or Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. Money is still kinda tight and gaming has always been my first hobby love and given my declining interest in 32 page tales, it wasn't too difficult to cut back. However, I do still maintain a draw to comic books and getting discounts on trade paper backs does make it a bit more enticing to buy them in one of my favorite forms.I had a craving for a Batman and Superman trade and there was so much of both too choose from. Then I spotted a few JLA books and realized that outside of the Death of Superman JLA tie-in issue, I hardly read any JLA stories. This is actually sorta surprising since Justice League/Justice League Unlimited is one of my all-time favorite cartoons. After much hesitation, I picked up JLA: The Greatest Stories Ever Told, which compiles various JLA stories from the silver age to the modern age.
Having read three of the eight stories in this book, I must say, it ain't too shabby. The first three tales shift League rotation membership and everyone gets a chance to shine, even Aquaman, who ends up being a key player in saving the heroes from Dr. Light in the third story, The Great Identity Crisis. I was surprised to see that Snapper Carr was an honorary League member much in the same way Rick Jones was for the Avengers in the earlier days. There's a story where Snapper betrays the League thanks both in part to the Joker who is in disguise and his own doubts of the League, feeling inferior to the heroes because he has no super powers. I find it of particular interest that he seemed to either forget or didn't mention that two members in the League, Batman and Green Arrow, have no super powers and that should have provided him some sort of stability but it looks like Mr. Carr chose fear over reason. Its a tale that leaves you something to think about when all is said and done and that's always a plus in my book.
JLA: Greatest Stories Ever Told may not rank among my personal favorite TPBs but it's still a fun read and I look forward to finishing it and picking up other JLA trades sometime in the future.
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