When an
ancient Hindu god banishes the JLA into another dimension and then uses his
demon hordes to wipe out the combined military forces and remaining superheroes
of the world, there’s very little hope for planet earth. Thus begins a new
mini-series epic from DC Comics 1999. The twist is that what little hope for
planet earth is in the form of 6 c-listers from the old Charlton Comics super
hero line. Blue Beetle, Judo-Master, Captain Atom, the Question, Peacemaker,
and Nightshade.
Does this
list of super-heroes seem a little strangely familiar to you? Well, they should
because essentially the L.A.W. is what Alan Moore’s legendary macro-series
Watchmen could’ve become if DC allowed him to use the Charlton characters as he
originally wanted. Owlman was based on Blue Beetle. Doctor Manhattan was to
have been Captain Atom. Silk Spectre was based on Nightshade and the Question
and Peacemaker were the respective templates for Rorschach and the Comedian. (I’m
not sure who Judo-master was supposed to be as the character that inspired
Ozymandias isn’t supposed to be in this mini-series.)
I am excited
about the prospects of this series. I love the old Charlton super heroes as I
remember reading some of their exploits in my dad’s comic book collection as a
kid. I also like the fact that some of the original artists and writers from
those Charlton books, such as Dick Giordano and Bob Layton have been recruited
for this mini-series. Already, the art is great and the introductions of the
characters is very good. In fact, I am now interested in reading more about the
character Fate, who is used in a minor role to introduce Nightshade. To make a
minor character that much more interesting and they’re just there to move a
certain aspect of the plot forward speaks volumes of the talent of this book’s
writers and artists.
Worth Consuming.
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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