“Justice League of America’s Vibe” #1 did not sell well. There’s been a bunch of speculation as to why it turned out that way, but two issues in the real answer seems pretty clear: it’s a solo ongoing starring Vibe and there’s just not much you can do with that premise if you’re also busy trying to please readers that will only pick up books with “Justice League” in the title.
Written by Andrew Kreisberg
Illustrated by Pete Woods and Sean Parsons• Vibe makes a massive discovery when he learns of the secret of his power!
• Plus: Vibe’s first public outing with the Justice League of America team sends him into conflict with one of his teammates.
When the issue begins, Vibe and his brother are still getting used to the idea that he’ll be a part of the “JLA”, just like the reader is getting used to the idea that they’re reading a solo book starring “Vibe” (or not reading it, if the sales charts are any indication). Vibe tries on his suit, has a few laughs, tools around for a bit, and even saves an innocent citizen or two from getting obliterated by an alien. It’s all good fun, actually, and the dialogue keeps things nice and light. Vibe and his brother have a strong relationship that’s established through the way they stick by each other like best friends would. That relationship and the dialogue between them feels authentic and both characters are likable and earnest. Up to this point, “Vibe” is a surprisingly likable read for a street-level cape book that isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel.
But of course, when you’re a member of the “Justice League of America”, the higher ups aren’t going to approve of you going around showing people your stuff without their permission – much less revealing yourself to anyone, even if they’re family. Up until now, Vibe’s membership to the “JLA” hung in the background, the subject of welcome references. Once they get involved in the story, the plot loses much of its focus. In fact, when Vibe goes away from his local crime fighting, the tension and the conflict of the book goes away as well. These first 2 issues end up as more of a “Who’s who” on Vibe than they are an actual story.
The inclusion of the JLA even throws some inconsistencies into the book when it comes to Vibe’s character. One minute, he’s excited and wide-eyed at the prospect of being a prestigious member of a Justice League team – the next, he’s complaining about how crappy it is. If this is supposed to be a case of adolescent insecurity or self-doubt, it doesn’t come off as intended, because it is such a 180 degree turn. Moments of self-doubt are clearly attempts to fold common “young justice” themes such as “self-realization” and “coming-of-age” into the story, but because so much of the book pulls the focus on the JLA and A.R.G.U.S. and away from the central character there isn’t enough of an effort put into developing those feelings of doubt or insecurity.
There’s also the issue of re-introducing characters to the DC Universe with their first “New 52” references – something “Vibe” seems interested in doing several times over in issues #1 & #2 through scenes at Amanda Waller’s headquarters. If DC is intending this to be a fresh start, then these appearances don’t mean anything to the uninitiated. If I’m reading DC Comics for the first time with the “New 52”, then I don’t know the first thing about who these characters are that are being restrained by A.R.G.U.S. At the same time, they are presented as surprising reveals. These might aim to be winks and nods to the knowing DC faithful, but they come off more like a series of gimmicks. Like Marvel’s “Ultimate Universe”, it’s like the draw to some of these titles is supposed to be getting to see the first “New 52” appearance of so-and-so. It’s gimmickry and it’s starting to wear a little thin.
The art duties are shared by Pete Woods and Andres Guinaldo, both of whom turn in solid street-level comic booking. Woods, in particular, has always been one of the stronger artists in the business for this sort of straightforward super-heroics. It’s obvious where Guinaldo steps in for Woods, but there are no glaring inconsistencies and the styles mix together well. We’ve seen instances where art teams that share an issue in the “New 52” have come out looking scattershot (I’m looking at you, “Action Comics”), but this is not the case here. Both Woods and Guinaldo with the help of Hi-Fi (colorist Brian Miller) take the “Justice Society of America”, a book that presents itself as the more structured “Justice League” title and makes it colorful and fun to look at in a way that is different from what Finch is doing over in the team’s main title. There must be criticism leveled at the final page, however. Without the giant word-art caption at the bottom of the page, there is really no way to determine exactly who the character reveal is supposed to be. Without spoiling it, the character’s appearance is blurry and really doesn’t look like the intended character at all. It cannot even be said whether this was a problem with the pencilling, the inking, or even the coloring for this particular page – whatever it was, it surely didn’t end up the way that it was intended. It was really not a strong visual note to end an issue on.
Make no mistake, “Vibe” is a competent street-level comic book when it wants to be. In those moments, “Vibe” succeeds at filling a hole in the “Young Justice” line that has been left by cancelled books and a poor “Teen Titans” title. When focusing on Cisco’s stumbling coming-of-age superheroics, the book is breezy fun. But it strays from that focus a little too often and seems more concerned with tying into “Justice League of America”, dropping cameos, and trying too hard to prove its legitimacy rather than tell its story.
Final Verdict: 5.5 – Not a bad book, but a browse for now.
