Justice League, as directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, is back! The biggest and brightest of the DCnU have a new buddy trying to join their numbers, as Green Arrow thinks he has what it takes to fight alongside the greatest in DC’s pantheon of characters.
Check out my thoughts after the cut, but beware, there are mild spoilers discussed!
Written by Geoff Johns
Illustrated by Carlos D’Anda, Ivan Reis, and Gary FrankIn the five years that the Justice League has been a team, Green Arrow has never once been a member. And he intends to rectify that right here, right now! One member against his candidacy: Aquaman!
Plus, in “The Curse of Shazam” part 2, Billy arrives in his new foster home just as an ancient evil is uncovered halfway across the world.
When you think of everymen attempting to join the Justice League, is Green Arrow the first person that comes to mind? I’m asking that earnestly as it appears throughout this issue, Geoff Johns, Carlos D’Anda, and Ivan Reis portrayed the billionaire Oliver Queen. If what I’ve read is at all accurate, Ollie is more accurately described as Steve Jobs in a green turtleneck, and that’s the exact opposite of an everyman.
That’s probably the main problem with this book as a whole: the characterization. Green Arrow, who is presented as that everyman just comes off as desperate. Even the Justice League, who are supposed to be these paragons of virtue, actually seem closer to the popular girls in your average high school movie. Bruce and Hal come off very catty with each other while dismissing Oliver, and Barry plays the Karen of the group (if you pardon my Mean Girls reference). It only seems that Superman has any inkling that Green Arrow will be worthwhile as a member; as Aquaman actively hates him, and Wonder Woman and Cyborg don’t really seem to care about him one way or another. This is essentially the premise of the issue in its entirety. Arrow, a lead of his own book, and a strong character in his own right, seems to be nothing more than a tagalong for the Big Seven for no real reason. It’s a real shame. The last three pages, do little more than to set up the following arc, as the old JLA mainstay Martian Manhunter was explained as being a former recruit who didn’t go over so well, but why? We’ll see!
Perhaps Johns forgot that he already introduced the everyman of the group, being their liaison Steve Trevor. Trevor was billed as the guy who worked with the gods while being a normal man himself as recently as the previous issue, but that’s seemingly out the window as even he doesn’t really care about Green Arrow. It’s a disappointing inconsistency.
On the bright side, at least the art is pretty, at least mostly. D’Anda and Reis, who stepped in for the DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee, do a fine job of providing art in a vacuum. I love Reis’ art, but he only really provides pencils for three pages, while D’Anda provides the rest of the Justice League story. The problem is that D’Anda isn’t exactly Jim Lee in terms of quality, and Reis’ art doesn’t mesh with D’anda’s. On their own, they both look fine, it’s just they don’t work together.
Switching gears to the SHAZAM! back up; Johns has a similar problem with his characters over in Captain Marvel-Land. Our lead, Billy Batson, is a bit of a snot throughout the issue, treating others with disdain. No one, from his social worker, with whom he shares a negative relationship, to his own foster brothers and sisters, who range from the familiar (Mary and Freddy) to the new (Darla and Pedro) is spared from his piss poor attitude, and it doesn’t REALLY make sense. Billy has always been one of the more likable characters in the DC Universe, from his role as the breakout character of Young Justice all the way back to his first appearances in the 40’s at Fawcett Comics. Nathan Cosby, who sometimes posts treatments of how he would write characters, got the essence of the character we all love perfectly; so why did the CCO of DC decide to make one of the most likeable characters someone you’ll never want to root for?
Continued belowOne of the more disappointing parts of the Shazam! back up is that it doesn’t deliver on what the solicit teases. This issue is essentially “Billy meets the Captain Marvel Kids” with a huge dickish attitude. There’s no ancient evil uncovered within the pages of this book. On its own, the book doesn’t have any real problems other than what I’ve already stated, but that solicit just makes it all the more disappointing.
Thankfully, there’s Gary Frank. Frank has been one of my favorite artists for a long time, and he doesn’t disappoint here. His expressions are some of the most animated in comics, making a book starring kids that much more believable. When the kids are nervous, you can see it, when their hearts are broken (because Billy is such a brat) it’s written directly on their face. If there’s one criticism to the book as a whole, it’s that Frank is so good at action scenes; but he doesn’t get a chance to flex those muscles…yet. I can only hope this back-up ends with a smack down between Billy and Black Adam or a giant robot or something. That will be spectacular.
I really wanted to like this book. I really did. But I can’t defend this mess of a book for the most part, and that’s probably the most disappointing part of it all. I can hope it will get better, but I don’t’ think it will.
Final Verdict: 5.0 — Browse for the pretty, if incohesive, art
