JUSTICE LEAGUE VOL. 4: THE GRID by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, and Joe Prado
Collects Justice League #18-20, 22-23
This book is essentially a prelude to
Trinity War, which was the prelude to
Forever Evil. In addition to those three lead-in chapters, the first and last chapters of
Trinity War are actually included. If you want every last bit of story going into
Forever Evil, I can't stop you from buying this and the
Trinity War trade. However, if budgetary reasons limit you to choosing just one, I'll let you know which one I think you should get at the end of this review. Right now I will say that this is a quality collection. If it weren't already enough that artistic duties were handled by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado- one of the best artistic duos today- they are teamed up with writer Geoff Johns to form one of the greatest creative triumverates in comics.
This volume begins with the Justice League arriving at the decision to expand their ranks. After enduring several recent calamities, they agree that it wouldn't hurt to add a few more heroes to the team. They invite a group of candidates up to the Watchtower, which results in much amusing banter among the League and others. I found these moments to be some of the most enjoyable of the entire book. Johns is smart enough to not overlook the little things and remember there are people under those tights and masks.
After some deliberation, three new recruits join the ranks of the Justice League: The Atom (who also narrates a portion of the story), Firestorm, and Element Woman. I really enjoyed the latter's quirky personality. These three also take the spotlight when they engage in a grueling battle with the cosmic despot, Despero. They hold their own fairly well before having their collective skin saved by Martian Manhunter. And why doesn't he have his own ongoing series?
There are really three important running themes in this book. The first is the Justice League being betrayed by an insider. There are so many obvious seeds planted concerning who it may be that I had to resist slapping my head because it was so obvious and I didn't catch it when originally reading this in the monthlies last year. Then again, you can't always remember every detail month to month when you read so many books. Another mystery presented is who broke into the Batcave. This thread gives some nice allusions to
Tower of Babel and, just when you thought Batman couldn't get any cooler, you find out the Batcave has a secret Batcave with countermeasures against the JL. The third theme is in regards to the dual meaning of this volume's subtitle, "The Grid". Not only does that refer to an algorithm Cyborg developed to seek out other heroes at the beginning, it's also in reference to the origin of Crime Syndicate member, The Grid.
This book ends with
Justice League #22 and 23, which are
Trinity War chapters 1 and 6, respectively. That may sound like you're missing a bit, but in all honesty, it's really all you need to get up to speed for
Forever Evil. The most important plot points (Dr. Light's murder, Superman's illness, the reveal of the traitor, and the arrival of the Crime Syndicate) are all included. I'm not going to reiterate my feelings about
Trinity War.
If you want to read my review for that story, then simply click here. If you're intending to spend your money on only one volume, I highly recommend this is the one you go with.
Score: 8.5/10