Justice League of America issue 16 is still keeping the bar high for a series that has failed to disappoint in its short run thus far. This is Dwayne McDuffie’s fourth issue since he took over the writers chair. I’ve been enjoying his work on JLA thus far but i was unsure of his past credits. After a little research I found, much to my surprise, that he wrote Dethlok, a mini-series that still stands as one of my favourites. The artwork is still being handled just as well. Joe Benitez’s artwork keeps the story alive with great action and he continues to draw some of the best facial expressions I’ve ever seen.

The newest issue of JLA kicks of the “Tangent” story line. We start with a couple of hoodlums burglarizing a storage unit for who knows what. While digging through the unsuspecting owner’s boxes (who we later find out is Guy Gardner) they stumble upon a weird looking Chinese lantern that is glowing green. It should be noted that this is after they find Guy’s box of porn mags, really I’m serious. So, back to the comic. One of the guys is hit in the chest with a green light and now standing in his place is Atom. This isn’t the Atom we know but a different one from one of the other 52 universes.

This new Atom is not a very friendly fellow. Maybe they were out of cheesy bread when he went to Red Lobster, who knows. A bit of a skirmish breaks out between him and some of the JLA and mayhem ensues. The new Atom makes a mistake when he breaks the Red Arrow’s quiver. The result is him being pummeled and the Red Arrow coming out the victor. Subsequently, Atom returns to his universe in a green flash and we are left with the thief from earlier.

The issue ends with a mysterious unseen person giving a narrative while police mop up the mess. The next page cuts to a shot of said narrator and it’s the Flash. I’m not talking about Wally West or Barry Allen, though. Its a hot chick Flash showing more flesh than most of us get to see by even the third date. Any guesses on where she is from? Thats right, kids….another universe. It seems to be a recurring theme here.

So, our story ends….or maybe not. When you flip to the next page we get a little Red Arrow holiday story. Its just a 7 page story about forgiveness. Its a nice tale but I would have rather seen these pages dedicated to the main story line.

This new JLA arc is fitting in with DC’s Countdown. While not tying in with the main story it does stay in line with the general “cluster-fuck of universes criss-crossing each other” theme. This really looks to be a great new JLA adventure and will keep the title shining like it has since issue 1. We’re now setup for the “Tangent” story line to get rolling with next issue’s “Tangent: Superman’s Reign.” I wonder who its going to be about….

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