Broken Frontier

It’s low comedy and high tragedy as a handful of rookies try to rebuild the JLA, Skeets goes sociopathic, Checkmate gets checked, and Amanda Waller does what she does best.

To paraphrase Forrest Gump (I know, it’s an old gag, sue me) "52 is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get." Here the writing quad decides to take a break from the dramarama to poke a little fun at themselves, superhero and comic book clichés, and 52 itself. With a little help from Ambush Bug, the writers break a few new holes in the good old fourth wall.

First things first – I’ve seen a lot of 52 readers complaining they don’t understand why Ambush Bug says and does the things he does. Simply put, Ambush Bug, like Animal Man, is "self-aware" – meaning he knows that he is a comic book character and will often break the fourth wall because of it. Okay, that’s out of the way, on to the action...

Oliver Queen’s mayoral campaign is heating up when he gets a call on his JLA communicator. Is it Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman calling to say all is forgiven? Nope... it’s the new Firestorm calling to ask Green Arrow if he wants to join the new JLA consisting of himself, Bulleteer, Ambush Bug, Firehawk, and the new Super-Chief. Needless to say, Ollie isn’t interested. Before the fledgling group can continue their recruitment drive there is an emergency in downtown Metropolis... Pirates and cyborgs are attacking the city. The "JLA" barely enters the fray, though, when they are surrounded by the results of Luthor’s Everyman Project – a small army of untrained, goofy, would-be superheroes. You know this is not going to end well.... Meanwhile we also get a look at what Martian Manhunter has been doing these past few months, namely trying to make sure that Checkmate can never rise again. At the same time, Amanda Waller is making her own plans. Do the words Suicide Squad hold any meaning for you?

Although none of the four basic plots is advanced very far here, it does not really matter because this issue is more about a comedy break than anything else. Ambush Bug steals the show and utters a line of dialogue that shows the four writers know how to poke fun at themselves ("Hello, room service? Send up a plot and three pages of dialogue right away! The weekly grind is tearin’ me apart! Fifty-Two!!"). The shish-kabob skewer is then turned to superhero catch phrases, silly superhero names (including a little poke at some of Grant Morrison’s creations), and comic book clichés – like pirates, cyborgs, and superheroes created to be cannon fodder. To say that the 52 plots are not advanced very far, though, is not to say there is no forward momentum at all. There is another little peek at Ralph Dibny’s magical mystery tour, and Skeets proves he’s as bad as he wants to be.

The rotating round of artists introduces a new name to the line-up but an old name to DC Comics fans... Phil Jimenez. Known for his work on Wonder Woman and Infinite Crisis, Jimenez brings his detailed, dramatic style to 52. His work has a comic-realistic flair and attention to detail that has caused some to compare his work to that of George Perez. It’s a fair comparison.

52: Week 24 adds a surprising, welcome, and deft comedic touch to the series to date. A little parody, a little satire, and a touch of sarcasm will leave readers chuckling out loud at the very least. It is nice and refreshing to see that even the four well-known writers of this series can take a little moment to have some fun and share it with the readers.