JLA #57

Mind Over Matter

Mark Waid – Story
Mike S. Miller – Pencils
Paul Neary – Inks
David Baron – Colors
Ken Lopez – Letters
Steve Wacker – Assistant Editor
Dan Raspler – Editor

Unlike most of the DC Universe in the summer of 2001, the JLA series did not participate in Our Worlds at War, instead focusing on an invasion of white martians. I'm not exactly sure what this cover is trying to illustrate, other than the continuing fight against these aliens. The cover seems to imply that Superman was turned into a white martian, but the white martians, like Martian Manhunter, are merely shapeshifters. So I don't really appreciate the misleading nature of this cover.

Impulse only shows up in one panel, so we're not going to get involved in this whole story. All we need to know is that the white martians have altered Earth's atmosphere to inhibit oxidation. This lack of oxygen is making it harder for people to breathe, especially Atlanteans, is causing people to go insane, and, most importantly, has removed the white martians' only weakness: fire. To demonstrate this, Mark Waid has brought in his creation, Impulse, who has wrapped up a criminal in firecrackers. Luckily for the criminal, Impulse is unable to get his lighter started.

It's a pretty funny scene, and if it feels a bit reckless by even Bart's standards, we can blame it on the lack of oxygen going to a distracted, teenage brain that needs all the help it can get. Anyway, that's all we care about in this issue. The JLA don't defeat the white martians here because this is just part three of four. I loved seeing that Waid has forgotten about Impulse, and I thought he looked pretty good here, minus the slight coloration error.

None of the letters in Justice for All mention Impulse (or Flash for that matter), so let's check out the new ads:

Get xtreme. Get Right Guard. With Dave Chappelle.

Big. Mean. Loud. JVC.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The magic begins November 16. You'd be hard pressed to find somebody my age who wasn't profoundly influenced by these books and movies.

No shirt, no shoes, no X Games.

Fortress. The twerps have landed!!! For Game Boy Advance.

Oxy Shower Gel fights acne bacteria and pimples all over.

Dark Age of Camelot. The adventure begins Fall 2001 A.D.

Next time, we return to Our Worlds at War with Young Justice #36.