On an Elseworlds world where a nail prevents the Kents from discovering baby Kal-El's space capsule, the history of the DC Universe unfolds without the presence of Superman.  Lex Luthor becomes mayor of Metropolis and enacts strict anti-metahuman policies, prompting the rest of the world to do the same, believing that the metahumans are members of an alien conspiracy to overthrow the Earth.  Meanwhile, an unlikely and mysterious manipulator is behind everything, including a battle between New Genesis and Apokolips . . .  

So ... is THE NAIL "all that," to use a word from modern vernacular ?  Well, in some ways, yes, it is.  It IS the best interpretation of the characters of the DC Universe since, well, KINGDOM COME.  But whereas KC was the future, THE NAIL is a possible present for the DCU, a present which I would definitely rather see than the current one.  

Every character in Davis's mini-series is superior to his "real" DCU counterpart.  Green Lantern ?  This version of Hal Jordan is actually very interesting, far moreso than Kyle or *any* GL written by Marz.  Barry Allen is very intriguing, too, and I liked him much more than Wally West.  For one thing, there was no mention of the damn Speed Force in this mini.  That's a big plus.  Wonder Woman is lightyears ahead of the terrible mess of a character she was under Byrne; even Aquaman seems better than the melancholy, grim and perpetually-sad Arthur of the PAD issues.  Batman is, amazingly, at times both even grimmer than the current DCU version, but also even more stable than in the current DCU.  It's a testament to Davis's writing that both of these elements of Batman shine through.  And it's a real treat to see Hawkwoman and the Atom on the Justice League again.  

Aritistically, Davis also captures nearly the entire DCU wonderfully.  Besides the wonderful renditions of the Justice League (which I like much better than Kitson's bland approach in JLA Year One), the other highlight of his art was the Green Lanter Corps.  I've stared at page six of issue #2 over and over ... 
 

From a plot standpoint, Davis also succeeded brilliantly.  I was kept guessing at nearly every turn.  Who is the evil mastermind behind everything ?  Lex Luthor ?  Brainiac ?  Starro ?  Superman ?!  No, nah, uh-uh, and no way.  It's ...  

Jimmy freakin' Olson ?!  

Yeesh.  I did NOT see that twist coming.  And, even more suprisingly, Davis actually pulled it off !  He made me believe that Jimmy Olson could be a credible threat, with fairly good motivation, to boot.  Amazing.  

Unfortunately, THE NAIL isn't "all that" in every way.  The ending of #3, with Superman appearing on an Amish farm and fighting Jimmy is forced, and tiresome.  Not to mention the bit with the Kents adapting Kal-El and him joining the Justice League.  Up until that point, this had been a perfectly lovely Elseworlds story.  Why was it necessary-at all- to do either of those things ?  For one, him joining the Justice League and becoming a super-hero seem like such a radical change from his Amish upgrowing that I had trouble reconciling the two concepts.  And, frankly, the bit with the Kents smacked me of being too "cute."  It wasn't necessary-at all- to make DCU in the NAIL look so much like the current one.  In fact, it hurt it, IMO.  

The other complaint I have is that I've been seeing a number of people calling JLA-THE NAIL a "Modern Classic," a la MARVELS, KINGDOM COME, WATCHMEN or DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.  My take ?  No way.  It's very pretty to look at, it does have a very nice story (much better than one would find in about any other DCU book today), and it will undoubtedly appeal to Silver Age fans.  

But, in my view, a "Modern Classic" ought to change the way that a person looks or thinks about comics.  And I don't think THE NAIL does.  It's a straight super-hero story with no pretensions about being anything BUT a super-hero story.  It does seem to embrace *everything* about the super-hero genre, but that does not necessarily make a classic.  It's not even the best at doing that, in my opinion.  

On a monthly basis, THE SAVAGE DRAGON does the same thing ... better.  SD embraces everything about the super-hero genre (from the wonderful to the utterly silly) and does it with greater love, greater style, greater reverence, and greater ability than THE NAIL.  For a more in-depth look at this topic, read Jorge Rapalo's essay in the letters page of SAVAGE SHE-DRAGON #51.  

Beyond that, the only problem I have is that things moved so *fast.* Everything happened in radical changes and shifts.  I would rather have seen things at a slightly slower pace.  For instance, I had trouble with Batman's quick turnaround.  One minute, he's watching Robin and Batgirl get crushed before his eyes, then only a few pages (by this, I mean pages showing *him,* not total pages) he's back fighting evil.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more grieving or character development on his part. 
 

And, finally, my last complaint.  $15 for three comics.  Which they'll release in TPB form for, probably, $12-15, too.  Arrgh.  Prestige Format books annoy me to no end.  

Overall, a marvelous super-hero story ... but not a Modern Classic.  
  

Score:  A  
  
  

*** SECOND OPINION REVIEW ***  
By WMoss14  
  
  

This is an Elseworlds mini-series where Ma and Pa Kent never found Superman after he rocketed to earth as a baby. In fact, Superman doesn't even appear in this book until the third issue. The Nail is all about how the DCU has changed with the absence of Superman. Lex Luthor is the mayor of Metropolis, a crime free, and super-hero free, city. Green Arrow is a bitter cripple. Hawkman is dead. Shade the Changing Man is a member of the Outsiders! Some things remain the same though; the JLA consists of Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Atom, Hawkwoman, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman. Yet something sinister is going on as an evil mastermind works behind the scenes manipulating the people of earth into fearing and hating meta-humans…  

Alan Davis. Alan Davis, Alan Davis, Alan Davis! We all knew he could draw brilliantly, and those of us who read his second Excalibur run and his Clandestine series knew he could write pretty well too, but none of us knew he could tell a story as good as this!  

He and Mark Farmer are the team supreme as they draw nearly everyone in the entire DCU over the course of the series. From the Doom Patrol to Star Sapphire, to the Green Lantern Corps to Turtle Boy, they're all here. It's silly to praise the penciling talents of Davis any further, but I should mention something. In Davis' work, he occasionally has characters looking like other characters he has drawn in the past. For example, I see his Nightcrawler whenever I see Davis draw Chameleon from the Legion of Super-Heroes, or his Kitty Pryde (sue me, I'm an Excalibur nut) in almost any young woman he draws.  
 

But here, that's gone. I think he's finally reached his plateau. Each character looks just like they should. Wonder Woman looks like Wonder Woman, the Demon looks like the Demon, etc. The thought of someone looking like someone else never entered my mind. I'd love several posters out of here; particularly the Batman-Joker image on the third to last page of #1, or Hawkwoman saving the children from the fire in #3, and especially the spread of all the DC characters on the second to last page in #3 (I thought Marvel were the ones who didn't number their books!)  

This is probably a pre-Crisis fan's dream. Flash is Barry Allen, Green Lantern is Hal Jordan, Aquaman hasn't lost his hand yet, and the Atom isn't in the hands of Dan Jurgens!  

One reason I think everyone likes this series so much is because the DC Heroes look just like they did in Super Friends. ;^)  

Davis sets up the story very nicely. The pacing is done excellently; a three- issue mini-series is just the right length. Re-reading the issues, you can see the little hints Davis left for the reader about who the mastermind really is, though on first read you'll probably be thrown by all the red herrings he leaves as well. The mastermind is actually someone I never expected, and a surprise like this one is rare these days. All the characters look like they should, act like they should, and the story is told like it should be - classic characters in a intelligent, modern story.  

Some have hailed this as a modern classic already, putting it up there with The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, and Kingdom Come. It didn't change the way I thought about or viewed comics like those did, but it was a damn fine comic. To me this was just a fantastic story about the heroes I grew up with fighting for truth, justice, and the American Way.  
  

Score:  A  
    
   

Back to First Impressions Main Page 

Back to Main Page 
  
Contact Ross Binder