A League of One

by Christopher Moeller

Book Overview

JLA: A League of One is an epic story in which the Justice League is divided against itself in a heartbreaking battle to the death. An ancient evil dragon awakens from his subterranean slumber once... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 156389923X
• ISBN13: 9781563899232
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.6" x 10.2"
• Age Range: 14 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 9 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Moeller's work is excellent

This is a GREAT story. Deep characterization of Wonder Woman, with everything flowing out of that characterization. This story could not have been told with any other superhero.Add to that the awesome artwork and you've got a high-quality tale that you'll be showing your non-comics friends to get them to consider buying comics. Yep, it's THAT good.

A worthy book for any Wonder Woman fan's library.

A quick summary of "A League of One" goes like this: Diana discovers from the Oracle of Delphi that members of the Justice League will die if they face a recently re-awakened primordial dragon. The very breath of the dragon corrupts the soul, and Wonder Woman decides to sacrifice herself for the sake of her friends by resorting to lies and trickery to get them out of harm's way. This is much more difficult than it sounds - Diana's essence is the spirit of truth - her decision to betray her friends in order to save them cuts into her very soul. Nevertheless, she goes ahead with her plans... I like this book a great deal because of the gorgeous artwork, which successfully fuses fantasy art with superhero action. Diana's character in this book remains true to both her mythological roots and to George Perez's revamp of Wonder Woman in 1986. Her pain at having to betray her friends, in particular Superman, is clearly portrayed, as is her deep friendship with Superman. Superman, the Boy Scout, and Wonder Woman, the Spirit of Truth, would have been so right for each other if it wasn't for Lois Lane. Although the theme of betrayal by a member of the Justice League is also explored in "The Tower of Babel" collection, I much prefered "A League of One". That is not to say this book is perfect - it is hard to imagine Diana not sharing her dilemma with her friends and trusting them to come up with a solution. The Justice League is family, and families take care of their own together.

Wonder Woman's League

This graphic novel may be marketed as a JLA book, but make no mistake, Wonder Woman is far and away the star. When a monstrous dragon appears in Europe, the Oracle at Delphi makes a prediction to Wonder Woman -- the Justice League will defeat the dragon, but perish in the attempt. Wonder Woman swears, then, to save her teammates from death the only way she can -- by defeating them each, one at a time, and then facing the dragon alone.Simply put, this is one of the best portrayals of Wonder Woman I've ever read. She is gentle, but decisive, a woman of peace but ready for battle in an instant when she sees no other way. She is strong (as shown in her battles with Batman and the Flash) and wise (by taking Superman out of the picture the only way she could). She's a full, rounded, honest character, and that alone makes the book worthwhile.Furthermore, this story gives us something every comic fan loves to see -- heroes in a good scrap with each other. The problem is that those stories almost always involve some stupid misunderstanding or mind control or some other contrived plot device -- but not this time. It's perfectly in character and exciting to boot.Moeller's artwork is also beautiful. Although more suited for a fantasy story than a superhero tale, that's what this grapic novel really is -- a fantasy that happens to feature the JLA. There's one portrait of Wonder Woman emerging from dragonfire, her bracelets glowing with heat, that's absolutely breathtaking. (This illustration is used on the back of the paperback edition of this book -- even if you don't get it, check out that art!)"A League of One" is well worth the purchase for any fan of fantasy comics or Wonder Woman. It's great to see DC doing some good, original graphic novels.

finally, portrayal of wonder woman done right!

with beautiful artistry and characterization,i feel that this is one of the best JLA books around. although not much modern action, it is best looked at on moral terms. an ancient dragon awaits. she has her own minions doing evil upon the earth. wonder woman, being foretold of this evil (and also told that she and her teammates will perish) decides to battle this one alone. one-by-one, she gets rid of her teammates. YES, even batman! in an all-out brute strength and skill fight! and so, she faces the dragon alone. she then realizes that one of the dragon's attacks would have destroyed her teammates, yet she alone can survive such an attack. in a touching ending, the JLA stand together again.