Justice League of America #8

Writer - Matt Kindt

Art - Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy

Get Caught Up...

This is Forever Evil.  The Crime Syndicate has taken control, and the Justice League is dead…. OR ARE THEY?

What’s Good?

Spoiler alert, the Justice League isn’t dead.  I don’t think anyone wasn’t expecting this to come out, and I’m glad it came out early so we can get on with the story.    We’re given a glimpse here as to what is really going on with the various characters who have been so far absent from the action.  The reveal is handled well, and while not entirely captivating, is interesting enough.  Matt Kindt is stepping into some pretty big shoes here.  Sadly, Kindt doesn’t get to tell his own story yet.  He’s going to be stuck adhering to the Forever Evil guidelines for a while yet, it seems.  He’s a solid talent, so I’m sure he’s got something good coming.

What’s Not So Good?

The art suffers here.  This is a big issue with a lot of big ideas.  Mahnke seems to get caught up in the scope of things.  The backgrounds don’t seem to be well thought out and the foregrounds seem rushed.  The art isn’t bad, it’s just underwhelming.  The majority of the characters who get focused on look the same and those who appear in the background aren’t fleshed out.  While the story is solid, I have qualms with the greater Forever Evil arc.  It makes no sense to me that the Crime Syndicate left the Justice League alive.  If they’re as evil and powerful as they claim to be, the League should be a memory.  Instead, they will come back to bite the syndicate in the ass.  It’s how stories are told, I guess.  I’m just hoping for an explanation to make this issue work with the plot.

The Verdict…

It’s Forever Evil.  I”m going to continue with it.  I’m just hoping the title takes a big jump up in quality now that the plot points in this issue have been hit on.