jla/ avengers

by Kurt Busiek & George Perez

collects JLA/ Avengers # 1-4

the premise:  Not a big surprise - the JLA meets the Avengers.  Actually, EVERY JLAer meets pretty much EVERY Avenger.

the lowdown:  I thought I'd take a look back at this one since it's being re-released in softcover.  This book is pretty much the mac daddy of intercompany crossovers, featuring a huge, sprawling story with hundreds of heroes and a number of homages to Crisis on Infinite Earths.

The result is, at first blush, kind of stupid.  The story makes only the loosest sense, and is really just an excuse for George Perez to draw enough superheroes to choke Rosie O'Donnell.  We've got the obligatory ho'od win fights - gotta get people all enraged about whether Thor could beat up Superman and whatnot.  At times during the last chapter the whole thing abandons any pretense of coherence in favor of panel after panel of random heroes doing.. something.. mostly firing beams out of their hands.

But y'know... despite that... it's not an un-enjoyable (is that a word?) book.  It's the JLA and the Avengers.  It's got George Perez art, and he delivers exactly what you'd expect.  The story doesn't have any real meaning beyond comparing and contrasting DC and Marvel superheroes, and while that's not exactly high art - isn't that what a book called JLA/ Avengers ought to do?  I dunno... you definitely need to turn off your brain to enjoy this (except for the part that stores obscure DC and Marvel continuity), but the spectacle of all of it is amusing.

the verdict:  I've seen this touted in places as a great story, and I absolutely disagree with that.  I do think it's worth checking out, though, for some good mindless fun and pretty artwork.