TPB PICK OF THE MONTH: JLA/Avengers: the Collector's Edition Oversized Slipcased HC

JLA / AVENGERS: THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION HARDCOVER (Aug 2004)

DC/Marvel $75, color, 288 pages, available late August
writer Kurt Busiek; Artist George Pérez
reviewed by George Nelson **** (4 Stars)

The intercompany crossover for which fans waited more than 20 years gets the deluxe treatment with this two-volume package collecting the min-series. Collected in the first volume, which features introductions by Stan Lee and the late Julius Schwartz, Busiek and Pérez provide a tale that lives up to two decades of anticipation, with a clever plot that lets htem creatively use characters from throughout both teams' histories. (Pérez ends up drawing, not only every member of each team, but multiple incarnations of several.)

More than a series of slugfest - though there are plenty of those, including battles fans have speculated about for years - the story by Busiek delivers great character moments and plot twists galore. Perhaps no artist in comics best Pérez in handling this many characters in a single story, and this tale shows why Pérez has been the primary artist fans have associated with this concept for years.

The 64-page companion volume includes the original 21 pages of penciles fromt eh canceled 1980s crossover, Busiek proposal for the mini-series, plot synopses and other extras.