WARNING! SPOILERS AHOY! SHIVER ME TIMBERS, ME HEARTIES!
Title: Extinction, Part II: The Lesson
Release Date: March 2004
Writer: Dennis O'NeilPenciller: Tan Eng HuatInker: Tan Eng HuatJLA Members: Superman,
Green Lantern (
John Stewart),
Wonder Woman,
the Flash,
the Atom,
Plastic Man, and
Batman.
Bad Guys: "
Peppy."
So what happens?Well, at the end of last issue, Peppy, the talking shapeshifting
space monkey, had turned into a
giant talking space monkey! But he calms down pretty quickly, shifts back to his semi-humanoid form, and explains that -- exact quote here -- "I lost control of my
sneedleyfab."
Sneedleyfab?!
SNEEDLEYFAB?!? Dammit, where's my
stick!
To make a long story short, Peppy's people have a holy book called the
Book of Lol, or the Book of
Truth, which said that the now-
extinct Silver-Masked Monkey should have evolved to become the
dominant life form on Earth. Disturbed that this has not come to pass, Peppy requests that the JLA give him a tour of the planet, so he can try to figure out why the Book of Lol was incorrect and what else it may have gotten wrong. After some nervous discussion, they agree to do so.
Travelling in
civilian garb with Flash, GL, and Wonder Woman, Peppy gets the grand
tour of everything, including the worst
slums,
hellholes, and
troublespots on the planet. After about two weeks, Peppy is preferring to neglect Earth's treasures, glories, and beautiful scenic wonders to focus on the
ghettos,
pollution,
civil wars, and
atrocities. He reveals his conclusions -- that Earth's horrors never would have come to pass if the Silver-Masked Monkeys had become the dominant species. He also thinks that the human race is driving itself into
extinction. He also says, "It is my duty to assist you," though he doesn't specify whether he wants to help the JLA keep the peace or help make humans extinct. After the Justice League is distracted by a
riot in the Middle East, they discover that Peppy's room has been ransacked and the
alien has disappeared.
Uncool Moments!Again, the writing is
awful -- Denny O'Neil got mad props years ago for writing great, socially-relevant comics, but this story is just absolute
garbage. The
art is even worse. Mr. Huat must have some seriously
incriminating photos of some bigwigs at DC to get an art gig this high-profile, 'cause his art just isn't up to snuff. And good god --
sneedleyfab? The Book of Lol? Did O'Neil channel his inner four-year-old to write that?
Cool Moments!Ya know what's cool? Think this to yourself: "If DC will publish
crap like this, maybe there's hope yet for my own
homemade comic book..."
Final Grade: D
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