Pick of the Week (Jul. 20th): Justice League #1

Justice League #1

Writer: Bryan Hitch

Pencils: Tony S. Daniel

Inks: Sandu Florea

Colorist: Tomeu Morey

Justice League #1 marks the beginning of the new Justice League after the events of Rebirth. This reiteration of the Justice League has many of it’s usual staples: Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern(s), Cyborg, Aquaman and The Flash. While this team may have familiar elements to previous incarnations, there are some slight differences. For example the Justice League now has two lanterns, Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, instead of just one. Another noticeable absence is the new (old) superman. The New 52 Superman died in the events leading up to Rebirth and his old pre-New 52 was found alive in the current timeline (if you think that’s confusing well…..you are right). However, Batman does not trust this new superman and has chosen to keep him at arms length distance for now. I am sure though that the events that transpired in this issue will lead to the Justice League accepting Superman back into the fold.

The issue opens up with Wonder Woman on what was supposed to be a peace keeping mission fighting rebels in Russia who ambushed her. Things quickly escalate as the ground rumbles in a massive earth quake that destroys Wonder Woman’s attackers. The Rebels blame Wonder Woman for the earthquake but it becomes clear that it did not originate with her. We then read a news report that states that the same thing has happened all across the globe. With all of Earths fault lines activating at once the Justice League is tasked with keeping civilian casualties to a minimum. The team is spread across the globe with the Lanterns in Asia, Cyborg in New York, Wonder Woman in Russia, Batman in Gotham(where else?) and The Flash on the West Coast of America. Just when it appears that the League has everything under control-ish, the civilians (and the dead? Maybe?) around them begin spouting philosophical speeches and attacking the League. They say that the heroes of this world have stolen their powers and that they are false Gods. They warn them that The Kindred are coming. While the League attempt to fight off the zombies(? maybe), Batman discovers that an alien ship has crash landed in Gotham and with it strange insect creatures that are attacking any humans within striking distance. While the league may be the most powerful beings on the planet are they a match against natural disasters and The Kindred? We will have to wait until next time to find out.

While the plot is interesting and well paced, it’s the art that really shines in this issue. The art team of Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea really bring the action in this issue. Moving from panel to panel at almost break neck speed. Keeping the reader entertained and breathless with frantic action and beautiful splash pages. The splash page featuring The Flash is a beautiful feat of art. In what is a busy two pages Daniel and Florea use panel arrangement to guide the readers eye and help the reader follow what’s happening. The color art by Tomeu Morey is spectacular. He uses a lot of earth tones to ground the scene and bright contrasting colors to make the heroes stand out above the scene. Really making the pop. The shading work he did during the subway scene with Cyborg helped add depth to what could have been a very flat scene. All in all Justice League #1 is a great soft reboot to DC’s signature team and another fantastic addition to the already stellar Rebirth initiative at DC. Below are the two covers this title shipped with.

Rating: 9/10

 

-Andrew