JLA Deluxe Edition, Vol. 6

JLA Deluxe Edition, Volume 6 covers the first half of the Joe Kelly run, the Joe Kelly years being really the last great run of JLA before the New 52 changed everything.  In fact, JLA Deluxe Edition, Volume 7 came out a year ago, and it looks like they won't be having a Volume 8, covering the much-maligned Chris Claremont years and beyond.  At first, I was disappointed that the Deluxe Edition wouldn't be covering the entire 125-issue JLA series, but from what I've read of the reviews of the "Tenth Circle" arc, I guess I'm not missing much.

So, how good are the Joe Kelly years?  Fantastic.  I initially bought the first JLA Deluxe Edition because Grant Morrison had written so much stuff I liked, but he only stayed on the title for so long.  The Mark Waid years were good, but he was just finding his own voice in the series when he was replaced by Joe Kelly.  In particular, Grant Morrison made Batman the center of the series, and Waid had to follow that idea for a little while.  In Joe Kelly's JLA, all of the characters get a chance to shine, even Aquaman, who isn't on the cover and is presumed dead.

I can't go into every story in this collection, but the highlights are the "Golden Perfect" arc and the standalone "Bouncing Baby Boy."  In "Golden Perfect," Wonder Woman's magic lasso is broken, leading to unthoughtof consequences throughout the world.  In "Bouncing Baby Boy," Plastic Man has a super-powered 10-year-old son who's running amok.  He turns to Batman for help.  I do like the interplay between Plastic Man and Batman.  If there already weren't 15 or 20 titles based on Batman, I'd suggest a regular pairing of the two.

The second half of the book features a number of minor players, which I always like.  The basic idea behind Joe Kelly's JLA is similar in one way to Grant Morrison's and Mark Waid's vision.  There are seven main characters with a number of allies.  The series focuses on the seven main characters, but in case of extreme emergency or a particular need, the other characters pop up now and again.