The origin of this newest incarnation of the Justice League is grand storytelling of immense scope. Told with the greatest respect and appropriate homage to the League's long and rich history, the tales collected in this latest graphic novel move and touch the emotions while spiced with lots of action and fanboy-pleasing characterization.

The psychological, relational interplay between the Big Three (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) and between the now-human Red Tornado John Smith, his wife Kathy Sutton and their daughter, Traya, are fascinating and just plain lovely to behold. The maturing, long-lived relationship between Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Black Canary, and the former Speedy/Arsenal, now Red Arrow, is also shown moving toward a newer, greater complexity and understanding.

There's little doubt that writer Brad Meltzer is well on his way to joining the pantheon of stellar JLA chroniclers that includes Grant Morrison, Kurt Busiek, George Perez, Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. The art here by Ed Benes is spectacularly beautiful and the overall design of the work is extraordinary.

The Tornado's Path is a very promising new chapter for the world's greatest super-heroes, and it's essential for fans and a great jumping-on spot for new readers.