Justice League #22

The Team
Writer Geoff Johns Artist Ivan Reis

With every issue of Justice League it seems more apparent, that Jim Lee leaving the book was the best that could have ever happened to the series. When he was on the title, the slow moving pace was a bit of a disappointment because the book would start and stop awkwardly. In addition the character work was also sub par which is unusual for writer Geoff Johns, as a whole the series was unsatisfying and frankly dull. This newest issue is by far the best the series has ever had to offer for fans. The scope of this crossover is so incredibly wide, that readers have no idea what they are getting into with this story. All of the best characters in the DC Universe all in this title including forgotten favorites in the New 52 like Dr. Light and The Question. Hopefully this a sign of where the titles are going in the entire line.

Explaining the things that happen in this issue would be almost impossible because most of them are vague teases of what is to come. A serious drawback to this installment so far is that newcomers to the this incarnation of comics will not get as much out of this issue. So much of what happens here is based on older characters that get little play in the New 52. Another surprising part of the comic was the level in which the crossover focuses on the other event entitled Forever Evil. This is slightly annoying because this story already spans throughout three different titles and looks like it will go through even more. Despite that minor annoyance, what really matters here is the quality of the story. This is still an exciting issue because of everything mentioned here about where this story could go. The former Justice League event known as Throne Of Atlantis proved that Johns can still effectively tell a large spanning story.

Ivan Reis has delivered the work of his career in this issue. Everything looks pretty close to perfect for the artist, as it seemed like he had plenty of time to pull out the bells and whistles for the title. The most impressive part of the pencils here seem to be the amount of detail that he delivers in the background. Every single character that he draws has distinct features from the others. There are a ton of splash pages in this issue, but they all look so incredible that readers should fall in love on first sight. A huge page in this issue is the board with the question. This is a classic scene that Johns has done many times before, but in this issue it almost serves as the  best sequence in the book. Reis draws so many silly scraps of paper here that are mostly irreverent. The fact that he takes time to draw them shows the level of craft here.

Justice League is onto something incredible in the most recent issue. Dangling plot threads are starting to be tied together in such a specific and poignant that will excite any reader. Come witness the beginning of a new era in the DCU here, and also some of the best work in the career of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis.