COMICS: Review Round-Up For Justice League #1; What Did YOU Think?

The first batch of reviews for Justice League #1 have arrived, and are so far mostly positive. While there are complaints about the fact less than half the team are featured in the first issue, it seems to have been very well received so far, but be warned of possible SPOILERS AHEAD.

Justice League #1 is a great jumping on point for those of you that have stayed away because of the intimidation of years of continuity. Guess what? This is a brand new beginning, this is the DC Universe from the beginning. You can tell a lot of love and care has been put into this book, and it should! This is Justice League! It’s supposed to be the flagship book of the entire DC line and for too long has been a mediocre to awful book. Geoff Johns and Jim Lee have breathed new life into the Justice League and it’s already got me begging for more. For those of you that were on the fence I’d definitely say this is worth getting. And if the rest of the books in the "New 52" have the same energy and excitement as this, then I think DC has grand slam on their hands!

Ultimately, this is an average comic that is undone by being the first issue of "Justice League." It's hard to keep from thinking that placing the origin story first was a big mistake, that this should have been the second story. Instead, open "Justice League" #1 with the new team already in place, and introduce the characters quickly and efficiently to the reader as we see what it's like to have them all working together and fighting bad guys. In other words, give the new audience that you're so desperately trying to entice a glimpse of what this book is about. Because instead, what we're getting isn't really a story about the Justice League, it's a story about Batman and Green Lantern's first meeting, plus a non-cyborg look at Cyborg's pre-hero life. It's not a bad script, but it's not enticing, and it's probably not what "Justice League" will be like on most months. I like Lee's art (and looking at "Justice League" is a reminder that while some of Lee's redesigns don't look so good when drawn by other artists, they're strong under his pencil), and John's script is just average. As the big launch title for the new DC Comics, though? "Justice League" should have been much better than average. There's a lot of interest and potential goodwill around this title, and I fear that DC may have just given some of that away in the very first issue.

Johns’ writing, which is capable of a high degree of complexity in both comics history and emotion, is kept at an intentionally straightforward, almost hard-boiled terseness here. He’s grounding us in the new DC universe in a way that a pre-teen who’s never picked up a comic book (or viewed one on-line – every “New 52” title can also be obtained digitally on the same date-of-sale) will be able to follow. Jim Lee’s art work is characterized by his trademark brawny musculature that in his best panels also achieves a striking degree of fluidity: Few artists make muscle-bound men move so sleekly. Combine this with an overall tone that mixes sincerity with wisecracks, and this is a very inviting way to reinvest in some of the most familiar superheroes ever created.

If you're a new reader, curious whether DC is holding their promise of accessibility, worry not. Justice League #1 is entirely competent as an introduction to the DCU, albeit a very small step towards a landscape that will only continue to reveal itself as the New 52 press on. Justice League #1 is fun, no doubt about it. There is a certain sense of feeling underwhelmed after reading it, simply because it's been hammered into our brains that this book represents the ushering of the single biggest comic book industry initiative in years. It's gained a whole lot of external weight. But when you strip all that excess media hype away, you're left with a perfectly entertaining – if somewhat safe – glimpse into a universe we're only just beginning to understand.