Justice League #18
Maybe one of the best things about comics is the consistent opportunity for a writer to right their wrongs. I’m not referring to retconning important plot points, because if anything bothers me about comic books, it’s that, but instead the frequency with which a writer or a book has the ability to start over again. After a bad issue, or, arguably in the case of Justice League, a bad arc, bouncing back is something that, in theory, is pretty easy to do. Of course it doesn’t always work like that (looking at you, Scott Lobdell), but with a writer as talented as Geoff Johns, it’s usually a pretty safe bet.
And #18 is definitely a bounce back. After a lackluster finale to Throne of Atlantis, Johns dives headfirst into the next arc, one that seems to have the potential to redefine where the Justice League stands, all while buying himself some time to, presumably, do a similar bit of setup work in Justice League of America.
This issue is comprised of heroes being called up to the Justice League’s Headquarters to interview for a spot on the team. Everyone from Nightwing to Blue Devil is there, and if nothing else, it’s entertaining to see all of them together, even if only for a short while. My personal favorite part of the book is the double truck in the middle that simply shows bits and pieces of JL member’s conversations with the candidates.
The first spot in here where I have a bit of an issue is the way that many of the heroes decline to join. Blue Devil and Black Lightning, for example, have some pretty flimsy reasoning for wanting to bail. It’s worth noting, though, that not all of their exits were bad: the way Johns let Nightwing decline was wonderful and true to the character, simply telling Batman, “no.”
Of course, it’s not all of fun and games, and when an AI that Cyborg brought in starts to go haywire, the recruits to a nice job of taking it down. As far as an action sequence goes, it’s bland and doesn’t have much life to it at all, but as a piece of the narrative, it was both necessary and effective. It was a useful device to show unfamiliar readers what some of the new heroes could do, and in the end, that’s okay. And to beef up the stakes even more, Cyborg retrieves an important piece from the AI that drives us to the Trinity War.
There are some weird bits of dialogue in throughout, like a page where Cyborg explicitly makes it known that he’s speaking to The Flash on multiple occasions, despite the fact that it doesn’t matter who he’s talking to because it’s information all of them need. There’s also a weird piece of art on the double truck pages, where Nightwing is clearly talking, but has no dialogue bubble and doesn’t appear to be directing himself towards any particular person. He’s talking in the next panel, but it’s a very odd piece of work.
I haven’t been talking about it much, but the Shazam! back-up is actually becoming something really worth reading, now. I’m not exactly sure how it’ll connect back, but Johns is doing good work with it, and honestly, Shazam! should get his own damn book. (Why in the world do we need a Katana and a Vibe book? If they wanted JLA characters, Martian Manhunter should have gotten one. damn y’all. This is beside the point, but still).
This book was a much needed bounce back from last month, and while it is really only the inklings of something fantastic, I believe that the next arc will really be something great. Here’s to hoping.
And #18 is definitely a bounce back. After a lackluster finale to Throne of Atlantis, Johns dives headfirst into the next arc, one that seems to have the potential to redefine where the Justice League stands, all while buying himself some time to, presumably, do a similar bit of setup work in Justice League of America.
This issue is comprised of heroes being called up to the Justice League’s Headquarters to interview for a spot on the team. Everyone from Nightwing to Blue Devil is there, and if nothing else, it’s entertaining to see all of them together, even if only for a short while. My personal favorite part of the book is the double truck in the middle that simply shows bits and pieces of JL member’s conversations with the candidates.
The first spot in here where I have a bit of an issue is the way that many of the heroes decline to join. Blue Devil and Black Lightning, for example, have some pretty flimsy reasoning for wanting to bail. It’s worth noting, though, that not all of their exits were bad: the way Johns let Nightwing decline was wonderful and true to the character, simply telling Batman, “no.”
Of course, it’s not all of fun and games, and when an AI that Cyborg brought in starts to go haywire, the recruits to a nice job of taking it down. As far as an action sequence goes, it’s bland and doesn’t have much life to it at all, but as a piece of the narrative, it was both necessary and effective. It was a useful device to show unfamiliar readers what some of the new heroes could do, and in the end, that’s okay. And to beef up the stakes even more, Cyborg retrieves an important piece from the AI that drives us to the Trinity War.
There are some weird bits of dialogue in throughout, like a page where Cyborg explicitly makes it known that he’s speaking to The Flash on multiple occasions, despite the fact that it doesn’t matter who he’s talking to because it’s information all of them need. There’s also a weird piece of art on the double truck pages, where Nightwing is clearly talking, but has no dialogue bubble and doesn’t appear to be directing himself towards any particular person. He’s talking in the next panel, but it’s a very odd piece of work.
I haven’t been talking about it much, but the Shazam! back-up is actually becoming something really worth reading, now. I’m not exactly sure how it’ll connect back, but Johns is doing good work with it, and honestly, Shazam! should get his own damn book. (Why in the world do we need a Katana and a Vibe book? If they wanted JLA characters, Martian Manhunter should have gotten one. damn y’all. This is beside the point, but still).
This book was a much needed bounce back from last month, and while it is really only the inklings of something fantastic, I believe that the next arc will really be something great. Here’s to hoping.
A Look Inside
