The Justice League is growing, uncontrollably, and as they grow, the city they’re in is in danger. Every movement, with powers or without could cost dozens of lives. Their rapid growth spurt is also impairing their judgement, as their brains are growing faster than their body can pump blood to it, or something ( thanks comic book science). The story here isn’t the Justice League versus any particular villain, but instead the Justice League saving themselves from science gone amok (less a staple of comics than it used to be). This Justice League is the early-80’s version, with the second-stringers (Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, Atom, Zatanna, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Firestorm, Red Tornado) holding center stage, rather than being outshone by the big three (although they make an appearance too, but it’s like when they show up the cavalry has arrived).
The story is written by Christopher Priest, who is always great for giving a traditional story a twist, and here it’s in the spectacularly a-linear flow, time jumping from the present to different flashbacks featuring different characters and each having a different purpose to the story (it’s presented as “Stages 1 - 5″ in the first issue and “Stages 6 - 16″ in the second) . It’s focussed on Green Arrow and former JLA mascot “Snapper” Carr for an emotional connection and the rest of the team for the superheroic drama. The fact that it weaves its way through only two issues, start to finish with a complete, thoroughly satisfying story is pretty impressive, given the complex structure (which isn’t altogether that difficult to follow).
Local boys Ken Lashley and Ron Boyd capably provide the art while Dave Johnson provides the thoroughly amusing covers. Of the issues I actually purchased, I’d to say this is the best of the LotDCU (although there’s a 2-part Darkseid story by Jamie Delano and Steve Pugh that I wouldn’t mind reading…)
X-Patrol - oh good god, my eyes bleed. Seriously, this is awful art, bad storytelling, horrendous characters (in design and in personality), it’s representative of the worst the ’90’s have to offer from both sides of the DC/Marvel divide. Princess Shatterstarfire, a combination of Starfire and Shatterstar, is absolutely the most annoying character I thing I’ve ever read, to the point where it, not the art, was enough to turn me away. Well, the Doctor Doomsday character was pretty gawdawful as well, as were Dr. Niles Cable and Beastling, Elasti-Girl and Ferro Man. Right, there’s nothing, at all, redeemable about this book. Let’s move on…
Assassins - This one was a curious story, a Die Hard/Vertical Run-esque sealed-in-a-tower plot that pits two hired killers against the Kingpin/Riddler amalgam and his hundreds of henchmen. The assassins: Catsai, a cross between Catwoman and Elektra and Dare, an even more curious cross between Daredevil and Deathstroke… but a woman (why? Why not?). This one wasn’t even very well piped into the rest of the Amalgam universe as Jimmy Olson (who appeared in Super Soldier as an old man) is here merged with reporter Ben Urich and there’s a reference to J. Jonah White, even though J. Jonah Jameson appears in Spider-Boy. This one wasn’t too bad a read, with it’s focus on crazy action, but I kept wondering why a blind woman would need just one eyepatch. Makes no sense at all. And the whole thing with the horns, it took me about 5 minutes to figure out they were attached to her head. Oh, and there was a second Cable amalgam here (with Manhunter, the first being with Niles Caulder in X-Patrol) so at this point I’m sensing Amalgamations weren’t tightly controlled in this comics line.
Magneto and the Magnetic Men - this one was another weak contender, with the biggest problem being I couldn’t figure out who the Magnetic Men were supposed to be. I eventually caught on that they were (obviously) the Metal Men merged with Magneto’s deceased Brotherhood (and I couldn’t tell if the Brotherhood were supposed to be merged characters beyond that). Anyway, the story was a typical Magneto story about saving mutants, and had some of the robo-melodrama from the Metal Men, but none of the crazy, out-there wackiness (probably because the Metal Men will never be as popular as Magneto). 
Speed Demon - an even further bizzare mixture, putting Barry Allen and Johnny Blaze together as one identity, and the triple threat of Ghost Rider, Flash and Etrigan the Demon together in another. They were then pitted against an amalgam of Nightmare and the Spectre (with their secret ID being Jay Garrick), which didn’t work very well logically as a combo, and despite being highly convoluted (as Wally West shows up in another Ghost Rider guise) and a curious Hal Jordan appearance, it’s actually fairly entertaining (more Ghost Rider/Demon influence than Flash).