Justice League #1: Underwhelming
It was inevitable that this would happen; DC makes a big fuss about their relaunch for this month and just look at what happens: it’s not all it’s cracked up to be! There is a general consensus from readers of experiencing an “underwhelmed†feeling after finishing this issue. While it has various positive points, the personalities of Batman and Green Lantern strikes a couple of seasoned and veteran DC readers as very one dimensional and flat. However, considering that perhaps a few newcomers may be familiar with only Batman or Superman’s personality, it may be the best way to introduce them to the rich personalities found in comic books. Justice League #1 was released August 31st, a whole week before Action Comics #1, Batgirl #1, Animal Man #1 or any other DC title. This perhaps was a purposeful move to make sure new comic book readers would have a chance to “get to know†some of the larger names in DC like Batman or Green Lantern.
While it may be irritating to listen to Batman grump instead of brood, it is the unfortunate reality of a reboot to have to endure some changes that will, hopefully, smooth out in future issues where introductions are no longer needed. Although, I don’t care if Batman is considered grumpy, when he tells GL to “Take your flashlight and go home†I’ll admit I giggled.
Geoff Johns’ writing seems to be just okay here, perhaps leaning toward the slow side. He knows when to stop with the introductory bantering between GL and Batman, but the overall story is predictable and not as exciting as we had hoped. We are given the start of a major threat, but after finishing this issue you feel like most of the plot was dialogue between GL and Batman. We are given peeks at other future members of the Justice League, such as the intro to Vic Stone pre-Cyborg, but it seems a little cheesy to just slap an American Flag as a back drop for Vic to represent his future career as a crime fighter. It’s cliché and over done.
No one is denying Jim Lee’s talents. The style with which he presents the characters is almost cinematic, dramatic, and sleek. Greg McElhatton from CBR (comicbookresources.com) makes a realization about the art, “‘This looks like a video game.’†It is true that the art does smack of video game design, but it is not necessarily a bad thing for artists to be gaining inspiration from other media. Perhaps it will capture more reader’s attention this way? The only downfall Lee seems to have is facial expressions. I could chalk this up to the fact that most of the time the heroes are masked (minus Superman and Wonder Woman, of course) but there are occasional moments where the characters look young and then Whamo! They’re suddenly much older.
Overall, pick this up if you must and enjoy it for what it is: an re-introduction of the Justice League. It’s an origin story so there’s bound to be some slow moments. Once you get past these small obstacles, you can really enjoy this issue if you try to tone down that summer reboot hype. Hopefully things will pick up in issue #2.
Related Posts
Man of Steel – Official Trailer #3 →
Kevin Costner is the Father of the ‘Man of Steel’ →
Diane Lane as the Man of Steel’s Mom →
