Justice League No Justice #1 Review

Writers: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson

Artist: Francis Manapul

Colors: Hi-Fi

Letters: AndWorld Design

Published by: DC Comics

After months of waiting, and getting a small taste earlier this month in DC Nation #0, we are finally treated to the beginning of Scott Snyder’s run on Justice League with the debut of this weekly series Justice League No Justice. And what  debut this was!
 

Before I begin this review, I’d like to point out that Snyder has prepared the reader for this series as the ending of Dark Nights: Metal is a direct precursor and pretty much the rasion d’être for this new iteration of the Justice League. Also, if you want to get a sense of how this comic is, reading DC Nation #0, free on Comixology and available at your local brick and mortar store for a quarter (or maybe even free on Free Comic Book Day) is a good start. It won’t give away too much of the plot, but it gives you a good sense of the scale that Snyder, Williamson and Tynion are aiming for.

As for the comic! We start off in space with our favourite space cops the Green Lanterns all gathered around the Source Wall, admonishing Hal Jordan and his “buddies” for what they did to it (at the end of Dark Knights: Metal). Guy Gardner probably says it best: the rule book, it just went up in smoke! What this leads to, surprisingly enough, is the return of Brainiac to Earth, here to collect various heroes to try and stop a new evil that is coming.

Of the heroes collected, we’ve got some from the Justice League proper, the Suicide Squad, the Titans and finally from the Teen Titans. But, if you’ve been paying attention to previews (and really, how could you not), you’ll also know that a few “villains” are also recruited to combat this new threat.

Having said all this, you may ask yourself, how is the plot of the story? Well, it’s really good. Snyder has this knack of drawing in readers with his ideas and plot points and you always seem to want to know more. That is the case once again in No Justice.

The steps he takes to get there is pretty impressive. He quickly introduces the reader to the characters that will be used, we get an overview of why they have been collected by Brainiac, and there are still surprises to be had!

On art, Francis Manapul just does the plot wonders. Manapul for years has distinguished himself as one of the modern greats of the medium. HIs layouts are fresh and always fun to follow, he utilizes the two-page spread like no other (and makes it easy to follow), and all his characters look amazing. I mean ALL of them. He’s one of those artists that can easily sell a book just on his own, but combined with Snyder, Williamson and Tynion, well that just makes this a must read.