Source: retroist.com
9. JLA: The Nail
"¦there wasn't a Superman?"
JLA: The Nail has a very simple, and yet very great premise: One day, Jonathan and Martha Kent are driving through Smallville when they run over a nail and get a flat tire. Because of this, they never find the rocket containing the baby Kal-El, and Superman never comes into being.
The story focuses on the Justice League, who are all dealing with the massive public hate campaign targeted at them by Lex Luthor (sidenote: I love the idea that, without a Superman, Lex Luthor went on to become crazy successful). As things go very, very badly for the heroes of the DCU, the JLA begin down a dark path with dangerous outcomes.
Of course, the real reason to buy this book isn't the plot, as good as that may be, it's the art. Alan Davis is one of the best comic book artists of his day and oh, my god, is his stuff fantastic. And with a story like this that allows him to draw tons of DC characters, it really is worth the price of admission.
