Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Gene Ha and Gary FrankNow that the team’s origin story is complete, starting with this issue we shift to the present-day Justice League! What has changed? Who has joined the team since? Featuring artwork by Gene Ha, the story also reintroduces the team’s greatest champion: Steve Trevor! Also starting in this issue: “The Curse of Shazam!” featuring a story by Geoff Johns and art by Gary Frank! Discover Billy Batson’s place in DC Comics — The New 52 as we reveal his all-new origin story!
The new volume of “Justice League” has been receiving mixed reviews all across the internet, including within the reviewers here at Multiversity. As the series jumps ahead a few years, the question on everyone’s minds is if the book’s quality will jump ahead, too.
Follow the cut and learn.
First, I would like to declare that I did not like the first arc of the relaunched “Justice League.” Hardly the most unique claim, I know, but it bears mentioning. The comparison critics and fans have been making is to Michael Bay films, and it had just as much substance. It seems with this arc, though – or, at the very least, this issue – writer Geoff Johns is trying to avoid that comparison. Last arc, the characters personalities and motivations came second to the action; yes, Hal was an arrogant jerk and Batman was brooding and irritable, but the main “point” of the story was the explosions, the punches, and the formation of the League itself.
This issue, on the other hand, is more character-driven. Batman has problems with Green Lantern, Green Lantern has problems with Batman, and Aquaman has problems with umbrellas. Rather than just throwing enemies at the League, the League has their problems occurring on the inside – notice that the battle at the beginning was not at all important to the plot beyond how it made the various characters act. This sort of tension is necessary, because it’s what actually makes the scenes when the outside problem finally appears, as teased in the last couple of page, interesting. It’s hardly unique, though. Squabbling teammates that come together at a moment of crisis are fairly commonplace, and there’s nothing unique that sets “Justice League” apart from the many instances the theme has been used before. The dialogue is dull, and the characterization is not particularly complex – Hal is still cocky and Bruce is still prickly, and that’s about all there is to them. Steve Trevor is the one character who seems to have any modicum of depth to him, with his conflicting interests, and so the hints that the rest of the arc will heavily involve him are promising. Even if it doesn’t, though, I’d rather have mediocre character-driven conflict is always preferable to mediocre mindless action – though I wouldn’t pay for either.
Gene Ha is an interesting artistic follow up to Jim Lee, because his style contrasts the current house artist’s so distinctly. Lee’s work is angular and cross-hatched, while Ha’s artwork has a smooth appearance due to his tendency to only use solid black for shadows. This issue, though, Ha’s art isn’t quite as polished as it usually is, resulting in a lot of uneven pages. It’s not even that his work is poor at any point; rather, his figures alternate between rough and smooth appearances that would look fine if they weren’t standing right next to each other. Colorist Art Lyon doesn’t help matters. Lyon has worked with Ha plenty of times, and when he’s on, he’s on. However, he often encounters the same problem, adding too many colors to a single object without enough blending. This is especially pronounced when Ha uses his thick inking, because Lyon will often not account for the other shades the black is meant to imply.
The Shazam backup is a bit difficult to judge, as it is little more than a prologue – hell, the copy at the end makes it seem more like an extended preview than anything else. Also written by Johns, the first few pages do a good job at faking out the reader – whether or not one is familiar with Captain Marvel, it’s almost impossible to mistake the beginnings of a superhero origin. Billy Batson the kid seems to be a bit of an annoying character, but there’s still a bit of charm to him that makes the reader think “Oh, you little scamp.” Gary Frank’s artwork is just about as great as you would expect it to be, and Johns seems to be writing for himself rather than for the audience like he has been lately. It’s very possible that this backup could end up being the better part of “Justice League,” but let’s wait until at least the next issue before we decide on that.
Continued belowThis is certainly shaping up to be a better read than the previous story, but that’s not saying much. Is it great? Certainly not. It’s a good enough way to kill five minutes? Sure. On the other hand, it isn’t necessarily worth $3.99, but with the backup it’s certainly worth it more than a few titles on the shelves. I would recommend many issues before this one, but if you’re already the type to buy a bunch of superhero comics, there will certainly be a lot of comics you’ll regret buying more than this one.
But if I have to read some variation on “We got this” one more f#$*ing time…
Final Verdict: 6.0 – Oh, sure.
