By now everyone should be used to The New 52.
Justice League has been the flagship title. I really have been enjoying the series, it's a fresh thing when you've been reading Marvel for awhile. Straight 9/10s, with the exception of the last issue. The book started to lose its 'epic' feel. Why? The minor complaints with the previous issues were becoming major. Sometimes some of the members had zero lines in an issue, and the writing was getting bad. In the beginning it was good, but then I realized something in the previous one: the writing now just wasn't good. So Issue #5 broke the role of 9's to an 8. I was now a bit worried for this series. That worry was destroyed after reading the first couple of pages of this issue, it was just fantastic.
Official description from DC:
The Justice League is united at last against Darkseid! The awesome consequences of this high-stakes battle will resonate within the series for years to come! Geoff Johns and Jim Lee end their historic first arc with a bang!
There's this really amazing splash page of Superman zooming into Darkseid. That alone makes the comic, I was wide-eyed looking at it, Jim Lee just went all-out in the art department this time. There's a great tension with the battle against Darkseid, it's all thanks to the brilliant art. The writing was actually strong in the beginning and middle, Wonder Woman actually shows some character, and even Green Lantern is decent. (For the beginning and middle, it all falls apart during the end with him, which I'll address in the next paragraph.)
The writing was actually pretty good in the beginning and middle, but not during the final part. Green Lantern just comes off as a jerk. "We're not a team." "We're not friends." "This was just a one-time thing, okay?" Yes, those are his actual lines. Superman once again barely shows a shred of character, he doesn't advance at all. Batman doesn't do much besides encourage Cyborg. It's generic stuff. Now, for Darkseid. He seemed to have an interesting motive, but his plot felt rushed and his demise too fast. His dialogue is rather shallow, he just comes across as an angry brute with no character. His demise as stated just happened too fast. Too much build up and hype, he is finished off quickly.
Those criticisms aside, the issue is fantastic. It has some of the greatest splash pages I've ever seen in a comic. The action is great, and the dialogue between the League while fighting Darkseid was very good. They actually sound like a team. The cover is another strong one, showing a very well-drawn Darkseid looking down on the League. The human reaction to the League winning felt robotic and unrealistic, the writing could have been much better there. However, the majority of the issue actually feels like a Justice League comic in that they're a team and working together. We see that for the first time here.
Overall,
Justice League #6 is one epic comic. Your jaw will drop at the amazing splash pages. It proves to be an epic finisher, albeit a bit rushed. Darkseid's role could have been swapped with another villain pretty easily with some minor changes. The writing was strong in the beginning and middle, it actually looks like they're acting like the Justice League. I am intrigued with how the next arc will go, since it takes place five years later in present day.
9/10.