JLA: Pain of the Gods

"The Pain of the Gods"
Cover of JLA: Pain of the Gods  (2004), trade paperback collected edition. Art by Ron Garney.
Publisher	DC Comics
Publication date	September – November 2004
Genre	Superhero
Title(s)	JLA #101-106
Main character(s)	Justice League
Creative team
Writer(s)	Chuck Austen
Penciller(s)	Ron Garney

JLA: Pain of the Gods is a trade paperback which compiles issues #101-106 of the American comic book JLA, published by DC Comics. These particular 6 issues were written by Chuck Austen and penciled by Ron Garney.^[1] The 144 page trade paperback was published April 1, 2005 to audiences which today rate the book 3 stars out of 5 stars when the total average of 49 ratings and 6 reviews are compiled.^[2]

Synopsis

They may be the world's greatest heroes - Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman and The Flash - but painful experience has taught them what it means to fail... When Superman's actions cause the death of a rookie superhero, his grief and anger force each member of the Justice League to examine their darkest hour: the time when their world-shattering power just wasn't enough! From Flash touched by tragedy in a burning tenement block, to Wonder Woman facing the prospect of death, JLA: Pain of the Gods exposes the human side of superheroes - as never before! ^[1]

Main Characters

• Superman: Also Called The Man of Steel he was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father Jor-El, moments before Krypton's destruction. Discovered and adopted by a Kansas farmer and his wife, the child is raised as Clark Kent and imbued with a strong moral compass. Very early he started to display superhuman abilities, which upon reaching maturity he resolved to use for the benefit of humanity.^[3]

• Batman: Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, an American millionaire (later billionaire) playboy, industrialist, and philanthropist. Having witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, he swore revenge on criminals, an oath tempered with the greater ideal of justice. Wayne trains himself both physically and intellectually and dons a bat-themed costume in order to fight crime. Batman operates in the fictional American Gotham City.^[4]

• Green Lantern: John Stewart is the third Green Lantern of Earth, formerly a sniper for the U.S Marines and an architect. His power ring grants him the ability to make energy constructs guided by thought using his willpower. Originally given Green Lantern Corps membership after his predecessor Hal Jordan left the position.^[5]

• Flash: Also called the "Fastest Man Alive" and the "Scarlet Speedster" Wally West is the third incarnation of The Flash. Wally West was also the first Kid Flash. His powers all center around his Super-Speed abilities ^[6]
• Wonder Woman:Wonder Woman is a warrior Princess of the Amazons(based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created by Marston, an American, as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men." Known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira, her powers include superhuman strength, flight (even though the original Wonder Woman did not have this ability), super-speed, super-stamina, and super-agility. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses animal-like cunning skills and a natural rapport with animals, which has been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She uses her Lasso of Truth, which forces those bound by it to tell the truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in some stories, an invisible airplane.
• Martian Manhunter: also known as J'onn J'onzz and John Jones, is a superhero from the planet Mars and the last surviving member of his race. A martian holocaust killed his wife and daughter, nearly driving him mad, until he was brought to Earth in an accident caused by scientist Saul Erdel. His natural abilities include super-strength, super-speed, invulnerability, flight, shape-shifting, intangibility and telepathy. He has been a member of almost every incarnation of the Justice League of America. Although he holds great reverence for his home world, he has come to greatly respect his adopted world as well and protects it as his home. In his secret identity, to blend into humanity, he is a gritty hard-boiled police officer.^[7]

Main Creators

• Chuck Austen(Writer)- Chuck Austen wrote comic books for several years during the early part of this new millennium. He wrote some forty issues of various X-Men titles, more than a dozen Superman stories, JLA: Pain of The Gods, Captain America, US War Machine, and many, many others, including his own creation: Boys of Summer, a manga with TokyoPop. He left the industry to write novels, and screenplays. Chuck also co-created the hit television series Tripping The Rift, which won the Playboy Animation Festival Grand Prize. Boys of Summer was named one of the top ten manga for 2006 by Publishers Weekly, and Chuck is the only comic book writer ever to win the Genesis Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. Before that, he worked for many years on the popular, animated television series King Of The Hill as well as the first two seasons of The Cleveland Show, for FOX. He currently works at Nickelodeon on a CG animated comedy series debuting Fall of 2011, Robot and Monster.He has two new novels currently in the works, one to be released before end of July 2011, 'Something Old, Something New', and a sequel to Nekkid Bottoms called 'Pride and Nakedness'. He lives in Los Angeles with his lovely wife, lovely son, two lovely daughters, lovely dog, and not-so lovely expanding waistline.^[8][9]
• Ron Garney - has been a professional comics illustrator since 1989. Over the course of his established career he has made a name for himself tackling some of the industry's greatest characters such as the Incredible Hulk and Silver Surfer, X-Men, JLA and most notably Captain America. He has been listed in Wizard Magazines 'top ten' artists, and has been nominated twice for the industry's coveted Eisner award, for best penciler and best serialized story for Captain America with Mark Waid.^[10]

Titles

• Austen, Chuck, and Ron Garney. Jla: Pain of the Gods #101 – The Man of Steel. Titan Books Limited, 2005.
• Austen, Chuck, and Ron Garney. Jla: Pain of the Gods #102- Scarlet Speedster . Titan Books Limited, 2005.
• Austen, Chuck, and Ron Garney. Jla: Pain of the Gods #103 – Emerald Warrior. Titan Books Limited, 2005.
• Austen, Chuck, and Ron Garney. Jla: Pain of the Gods #104 – Manhunter From Mars. Titan Books Limited, 2005.
• Austen, Chuck, and Ron Garney. Jla: Pain of the Gods #105 – Amazonian Warrior. Titan Books Limited, 2005.
• Austen, Chuck, and Ron Garney. Jla: Pain of the Gods. #106 – The Dark Knight. Titan Books Limited, 2005.

References

1. Austen, Chuck, and Ron Garney. JLA: Pain of the Gods. Titan Books Limited, 2005.
2. "JLA, Vol. 16", n.d. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/662624.JLA_Vol_16.
3. Greenberger, Robert, Martin Pasko, and Jerry Siegel. The Essential Superman Encyclopedia. Random House Digital, Inc., 2010.
4. Ross, Alex, and Paul Dini. JLA, Secret Origins. DC Comics, 2002.
5. Irwin, William, Jane Dryden, and Mark D. White. Green Lantern and Philosophy: No Evil Shall Escape This Book. John Wiley and Sons, 2011.
6. Schultz, Mark. The Flash: Stop Motion. Simon and Schuster, 2004.
7. Jimenez, Phil, John Wells, and William Moulton Marston. The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia. Random House Digital, Inc., 2010.
8. Giles, Keith. "Austen in the Machine: Chuck Austen Interview - Comic Book Resources", n.d. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=357.
9. "Ask Chris #89: The Rise and Fall of Chuck Austen - ComicsAlliance | Comic Book Culture, News, Humor, Commentary, and Reviews", n.d. http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/01/13/ask-chris-89-the-rise-and-fall-of-chuck-austen/.
10. "Pipeline: Modern Master Garney, ‘Screamland’ & More - Comic Book Resources", n.d. http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=36462.