COMIC BOOKS: Justice League: Prisms

Jul. 16—Brian Michael Bendis has made waves and seemingly thousands of comic books for both Marvel and DC Comics.

He's written "New Avengers," "Ultimate Spider-Man," "Daredevil," "X-Men," "Civil War II," "Secret Invasion," "Action Comics," "Superman," etc. He's won five Eisner Awards, which is similar to the comic book version of the Oscars.

He's also seemingly attracted as many griping critics as he has fans — possibly for some of the changes he makes to titles and characters. For example, during his dual "Superman"/"Action Comics" run, Superman revealed that he is Clark Kent to the public.

While he no longer writes the regular monthly exploits of the Man of Steel, Bendis is the writer for the current run of "Justice League," featuring Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash and several other regular DC characters.

Here, he introduces Naomi, a character who Bendis created for her own DC title, as a new member. And just in time for the Duane Johnson movie scheduled for a fall release, Bendis brings Black Adam into the Justice League ranks. Sort of an anti-Shazam Captain Marvel, Black Adam is the sovereign of a nation and a complex character who often sees himself as a hero while he is perceived by much of the world as a bad guy on a power level with Superman.

"Justice League: Prisms," Bendis' first Justice League story arc now offered in an edition collecting issues No. 59-63, delves into the Justice League's need to evolve to face ever-changing threats to Earth. The roster change occurs just in time to face the threat of the world-conquering Brutus.

Artist David Marquez illustrates "Justice League" on an epic level. He has a "battle" style that creates multiple double-page spreads with dynamic clashes of characters, while keeping the narrative flow through smaller, illustrated bubble panels bordering on the edges of the large-scale art.

"Justice League: Prisms" looks like another winner for Bendis, his fans and Justice League fans.