Monday Memories #37 - JLA: Scary Monsters #6

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

JLA: SCARY MONSTERS #6 - October 2003

The JLA end up at a place called Black Spirit Lake which is just rife with Native American symbols and spirits, not to mention a doorway to another dimension that's filled with monsters that want to take over the world and destroy all humanity. Just another weekend away for the JLA, then.

While Wonder Woman gets possessed by the monsters, the rest of the team realise that local resident Kishana is the natural guardian of the gateway and, if she will only accept her destiny, she can help stop the invasion of creepy crawlies that are coming through. Trouble is, it's looking like she'll have to sacrifice herself, something that the Martian Manhunter's not happy with.

Poor old J'onn's fallen in love with a woman who's likely going to die.

With Batman facing off against the possessed Wonder Woman, Plastic Man attempts to get Kishana to the lake where she can channel whatever it is she needs to but it doesn't work out as planned.

At least until the timely arrival of J'onn who uses his heat vision to ignite whatever's dormant within Kishana, literally letting her explode, radiating heat and flame all around, burning the monsters to ash, evaporating the lake but somehow healing all the people.

The JLA reconvene and Kishana shares a kiss with J'onn.

Where the hell Batman pulls all that nonsense out of I've no idea - he suddenly proclaims she's "channeling the molten heart of not only the Earth, but our sun as well" which puts a downer on any sort of relationship Kishana and J'onn might have been hoping to have.

Despite that, Kishana tells J'onn that she believes "in true love. Against all the odds, it will triumph."

Unfortunately for the pair of them, she's never seen or heard of again after this miniseries.

The art's quite nice but the writing throughout the series by Chris Claremont was rushed to say the least. The wrap-up takes just a couple of pages; we see Green Lantern Kyle being infected and start to change at one point, but he doesn't then appear until the end by which time Kishana's crazy ass explosion power has cured everyone.

It's not the best miniseries, to be honest, though it was nice to see Plastic Man back in action.