Justice League is a very large part of the DC franchise. So, it only makes sense that the series would have books for all ages. This one is aimed at a pretty young audience so the book is extremely short, but I flipped through it while at a store and I was able to finish it in about 2 minutes. The plot involves a Starro invasion. The Justice League must gather up all of their members if they wish to combat this threat. Superman is the first to find out about the threat and he seems to be played up as the main character of the book. The characters are all in character so the author did a good job of making sure that the characters stayed true to formula. Superman definitely looked the best, but Batman was also able to take down a group of Starros on his own. Pretty impressive for the Dark Knight! Unfortunately, the art isn’t that great. I suppose that it could be worse, but it’s just not that impressive. The writing is all right, it’s straight to the point. It was fun to read and I recommend checking it out. It’s a Justice League book that you won’t want to miss and it only takes about a minute or two to read.

Overall 7/10

Battle of the Blue Lanterns is another installment in the Green Lantern chapter book series. This time, Hal Jordan is enjoying a nice vacation when it is cut short by a new assignment. Hal must go take down the Manhunters and save the planet. Meanwhile, the Blue Lanterns want Hal to become one of them.

The plot is pretty good, but Hal Jordan looks pretty bad. It’s actually not his fault, but that of his GL Power Ring. Getting hit by one attack is enough for it to lose 20% power. That’s a pretty big decrease for just one hit and if the ring were this weak in the comics or shows…Hal would be dead by now. Every time Hal Jordan shoots a laser or makes a construct, his ring gets even close to losing all of its power. That was my main flaw with the book, since it felt like they were under powering Jordan so that the Manhunters would be a threat.

The Blue Lanterns were all right. Two of them got to appear, but only Saint Walker really got a role. His colleague had taken a vow of silence and did not get any lines for the book. Saint Walker’s BL ring is pretty good as long as a GL ring is around. Hal Jordan was still the best character in the book, but you gotta admire the spirit of the Manhunters. They rarely give up, even when they’re obviously losing. There was also a super large “Grandmaster” Manhunter who was pretty cool…he was just a bit weak.

Overall, this was one of the better DC chapter books. It’s always fun to read about the Green Lanterns since their rings can do just about anything. I think that the title is a little misleading, but the Blue Lanterns do battle a bit towards the end. I’d recommend this fun addition to the DC franchise.

Overall 7/10

Another installment in the new Superman chapter book series. This one definitely has a lot more action than the others and some old characters like Lois Lane and the General appear. Superman sticks to his character for the most part except that he maybe acts a little nervous in some scenes.

Superman is flying around when he notices that a large alien invasion army is approaching earth. He flies in to check it out, but unfortunately they won’t leave peacefully. These aliens want Earth’s water and minerals. Superman quickly tells them that they can’t have it so they send in some grunts to take him out. Superman destroys one and notices that they are all Doomsday clones. Luckily they aren’t alive so he can go all out. Can Superman defeat all of these Doomsdays!? It seems unlikely until Doomsday joins the fray.

Superman looked pretty good as always, but I didn’t like how he was captured. This is Superman we’re talking about after all. The red sun can be tricky, but Superman’s too fast for any of that to work. I’m also skeptical as to how they kidnapped Doomsday. Doomsday looked pretty good once he broke free and he took out a large number of clones. Since his regeneration is better than Superman’s, he was able to recover pretty quickly. One scene that I didn’t like was when Doomsday was afraid of Superman. Sure Superman’s powerful, but Doomsday has no reason to fear him. They’re both about equal in power and he has regeneration. Not to mention that Superman was pretty weakened. Ah well, I guess he made the right call in leaving.

On the earth side of things, the military prepares to take down the Doomsday clones. The army does all right and they look decently good, but the dialogue between Superman and Lois felt a little robotic. He felt like he was reminding the audience about who she was with his extended monologue.

Overall, this was probably the best Superman chapter book so far and it had a lot of action. Doomsday looked pretty good for the most part and Superman stayed tough through thick and thin. Saving the earth can be pretty tricky, but Superman is always up for the challenge. I’d recommend this to comic readers and good ole fashioned Superman fans.

Overall 7/10

Superman is back in his next adventure! While Superman has many comics and TV appearances, he hasn’t gotten to appear in many books. This series is quickly changing that and is helping Superman to become more of a prominent figure again. The plot makes for an interesting read.

Superman is attacked by a Lexcorp employee whose armor makes him 1000X stronger. That’s a pretty big power boost and the guy actually gives Superman a decent battle. After Superman defeats the robot, he stops a large tidal wave from hitting the area. He finds out that living machines are taking away the moon and transporting it to their planet. Superman can’t let them do such a thing and he heads off to stop them.

Well, it’s an interesting beginning to the story and Superman has an epic battle with them. The only problem is…it’s a little hard to believe. Superman should have no problem dealing with these guys, but they actually beat him up pretty badly for the most part. We are reminded of Superman’s speed twice and it’s how he wins both of his major battles. The other JLA members are mentioned, but they are too busy defending their cities from tidal waves to save the earth. It was an interesting excuse, but I think they could have come to help. Maybe they just figured that Superman wouldn’t need their help, which is a pretty valid excuse. Lex nearly gets the last laugh in this book, but we all know that Superman has to get the last word in.

Overall, it was a pretty good depiction of Superman and the DC universe. The book was pretty short, but quality always defeats quantity. It’s good to see the DCAU art back and it’s a good homage to the 90’s show. I’d recommend this fun read to Superman fans everywhere.

Overall 7/10

This ultimately short chapter book retells the story of how Hal Jordan became a Green Lantern. The origin has been adapted many times, but it’s the first time that I’ve come across it in book format. Hal Jordan uses a lot of the ring’s abilities by chance and it makes you wonder how he instinctively knew to use them all.

While the ring does seem extremely easy to use, it’s still a pretty useful tool to have in battle. Hal Jordan is a decent main character, but his personality is never fully explored. He handled the plane situation decently, but he definitely gave Abin Sur a hard time. Even if he doesn’t believe in aliens, he could still humor the old fellow.

Sinestro gets a small appearance and he looks alright. He gives Hal a decent fight and proves that the ring is more dangerous than we had thought! Hal suspects that something isn’t right, but he plays along anyway. The book takes about 10 minutes to read, which is why this review is pretty short. If you like DC comic stories or just like looking at cool art, I’d recommend this book.

Overall 6/10