Justice League #1 Comic Book Review

Justice League #1
“Part One”
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams; Variant cover by David Finch
On Sale August 31, 2011
DC Universe; 40pg.; Color; $3.99

I was very hesitant upon hearing of DC Comics’ plans to re-launch their whole line of super hero comics. My first thought was, “Well, there goes 70 plus years of history right down the drain.” How can you just re-start something after all the history many of the characters had already built up? Well, you put together an elaborate plan and do what the new “Star Trek” film did to that universe. You shift timelines or something of that nature just like DC’s event comic series Flashpoint did and move on from there.

It’s an easy way to keep from messing with what happened in the past but starting fresh with everything. The idea is quite ingenious and, for the most part, working from the looks of Justice League #1. Flashpoint #5 and Justice League #1 are the big issues that are supposed to carry everyone into the new DC Universe.

Justice League #1 moves forward quickly and gets the reader intrigued from the start. The story picks up five years ago and the Justice League hasn’t even been formed yet. You have Batman and Green Lantern meeting for the first time and not getting along so well. They seek out Superman for some help and find that he’s as suspicious of their intentions as they are of his. There’s also a little side introduction to the character who becomes Cyborg which I’m sure his fans will be excited about. Overall, the story was energetic and kept my attention.

Now let’s talk about the things I didn’t like about Justice League #1. Darkseid is being used again as the main reasoning behind the villain’s actions in this book. Why is writer Geoff Johns putting one of the most overused villains in the past decade as the first one we hear about in what is supposed to be a groundbreaking re-launch of the entire DC Universe? The whole concept just struck me as being tired. My only other complaint is Superman being so filled with angst. I’m not at all in support of Superman being an angst-ridden twentysomething. I get what Johns is trying to do with the Man of Steel, but I just don’t like it.

Jim Lee’s art is superb as usual. The opening splash page of Batman is frame worthy to say the least. The whole issue is drawn in a sharp and realistic style. The coloring by Alex Sinclair is vibrant and gives it a dark flavor. Visually, I liked everything I saw.

I’m fine with all the new costumes for the super heroes in Justice League #1 except one. That one is Superman’s costume. I’m just not liking it. The lack of red underwear is distracting and a change for change’s sake. There’s no sense in it at all. We don’t get to see if he has the “S” on the back of his cape, but I’m imagining it won’t be there.

Justice League #1 is going to work for most comic book fans. I didn’t feel that writer Geoff Johns did anything too crazy that would upset anyone. So far, the only character I’m having any problems with is Superman. I’ll probably get over it in time. I’m sure most readers will be compelled to pick up the second issue based upon this one.

For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:

The Fate of ‘Wonder Woman’ Rides on ‘Logan’s Run’
‘Batman: Arkham City’ Issue #1 Comic Book Review
“Flashpoint” Issue #1 Comic Book Review

Eric Shirey is the founder and editor of Rondo Award nominated movie and comic book news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. He also served as a news reporter for the award winning movie website GordonandtheWhale.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo! Movies, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! TV, Associated Content from Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other national entertainment websites. Besides his three decades long obsession with everything sci-fi, horror, and fantasy related in TV and movies, Eric has what some would call an unhealthy love for comic books. This has led him to interviewing and covering legendary writers and artists in the medium like Scott Snyder, Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson, and Howard Chaykin. His personal website is www.ersink.com.


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