Back in my review of Justice League: Generation Lost #10, I wrote, "...as the halfway point of the series approaches, I am going to have to decide if this book is really worth three bucks every two weeks."
With the release this past Wednesday of the thirteenth of twenty-six issues of this year long bi-weekly mini-series, we have come to that halfway marker and now seems like a good time to take stock of the series so far.
As you might expect from a series of this length, the story has been somewhat leisurely paced. It took a couple of months for the story to really kick into gear, and it continues to move forward somewhat slowly. Along the way there've been a couple of issues that have seemed little more than filler, adding little to the development of the plot. The last three issues have been little more than extended fight scenes, with only small advancement in the actual story. Meanwhile, I'm still not sure about the exact nature of Max Lord's master plan, though we are assured that he has one.
The main appeal of the series is the characters. Captain Atom has been one of my favorites since the first issue of his 80's series; Booster Gold has always been at his best when he's with the JLI, and I really like the new Blue Beetle and Rocket Red. Fire and Ice, especially Ice in light of the controversial retcons in #12, aren't quite the same characters they were in the classic JLI stories of the 80's, though they're still recognizable to long time fans. The only character whose portrayal I'm not happy with is Max Lord, but the damage to him was done long before this current story began. Overall, I've noticed that Judd Winick is stronger on character than story, and he seems to have a good handle on this group of heroes.
So, while it's been somewhat uneven in pacing and quality, for the most part, Justice League: Generation Lost has been a fairly entertaining read. It's not a classic, but it doesn't totally suck, either. If I were one to dish out letter grades in my reviews, I'd give it a "C."
As to the question of my continuing to follow the series, to be blunt, the answer is that I've come this far with it so I might as well see it through to the finish.
What remains in question is whether I'll keep reviewing the issues here as they come out. It seems that I just can't win with this book. If I don't like an issue, I get comments telling me how wrong I am and if I like an issue, I get obscenity laced comments also telling me how wrong I am. There may be no consensus on the merits of Generation Lost, but there appears to be general agreement out there in cyber-space that I am just wrong.
In the end, I suppose I'll do what I've always done. If I have something that I think is interesting to say about a particular issue, I'll say it. If you don't like it, that's why there's that white box underneath these ramblings. Whether you agree with me or think I'm an idiot, your comments are always welcomed in these quarters.
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