Weekend Warrior: New Super-man and the Justice League of China #20 Review

Welcome to our Weekend Warriors, where we do reviews in a similar way to how we do our Collective Consensus reviews. The staff do a review of one book, that we didn't get the chance to cover during the week. The book would be a one-shot, start of a new series or the start of a new arc, just so that anyone can jump into the book. The multiple reviews allows readers to get a wide range of opinions and the sense of how the book is.

DC Solicitations: “SEAS OF CHANGE” part one! It’s the dawn of a new era for the Justice League of China! The New Super-Man of China and his teammates have struck out on their own, and even the Ministry’s newly formed Lantern Corps is no match for this renegade force to be reckoned with! But as China’s superhero community reorganizes itself, trouble is brewing in North Korea…and from the depths emerges a new metahuman that will change everything.

Writer: Gene Luen Yang
Artist: Brent Peeples
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Publisher: DC Comics

Charles
Super-Man and his League face challenges internal and external. That applies to the team, their geography, and in Kenan's case, his inner psychology. There's some nice parallelism at work here, and I appreciate the effort Gene Luen Yang invested in the script to make it both accessible to newcomers and rewarding for faithful fans who have invested themselves in Kenan's story so far.

There are still a few trappings that force the reader to confront the fact that we're deep into "reimagining/AU/whatever" territory. The primary antagonist for this issue, Sleez, is exactly the sort of pointless villain you throw against junior varsity-level heroes. As an added bonus, his desire-sucking powers are used to make cheap "here's how our heroes feel" points that come close to violating the great commandment of "show don't tell." Brent Peeples' art also has hints of not-quite-ready-for-the-big-leagues roughness about it. The finish of the linework is actually pretty polished, but there's a stiffness to the layouts and poses that makes the visuals less memorable than they could be.

With solid character relationships, a fascinating new player from North Korea, and even a healthy dose of humour, this issue is a treat for folks who have been following New Super-Man faithfully. It didn't quite deliver enough quality to sink a hook in me and make me a regular follower, but I can respect the effort and affection that clearly went into the book.

Stephen
That was an exciting issue! I haven’t read Super-Man since the second arc or so but had no trouble jumping back in. Between the narrative and dialogue the writer gets you caught up organically. I never once thought I was a reading a recap page. It was very well done. The action kept on coming in this issue. It was loaded with entertainment value. I also enjoyed the dialogue and banter between characters. There really never was a dull moment throughout. The art was top notch with great backgrounds and sequencing.  My one gripe was the facial work could use some improvement. I noticed the expressions were pretty much the same throughout the issue. The colors were definite highlight. They were nice and bright giving the whole read an energetic feel to it. I’m back on board this title. I have to see where I left off to fill in those blanks and I’ll be continuing on a monthly basis.

Batmanaruto
As the only one of our writers who is regularly reading this series, I continue to enjoy this book. The book has now been updated to include the rest of the Justice League of China in the title and you can feel how Yang does seem to include the team more. This takes a new direction with the character of Kenan as he is trying to take a more zen approach, which is hilarious to see. The main team are attacking Sleaze who is a New God that is popular for forcing Superman and Big Barda to almost shoot a porno. This was entertaining to see, however the more interesting aspect of the issue is the new Aquaman that is introduced. This Aquaman hails from North Korea and Yang doesn't shy away from how oppressive it is. He is taken in for questioning since he has messed with his television so that he can watch cartoons, which is really funny. He seems to be sweating a lot and by the end of the issue it is revealed what his powers are, which seems to be that he can create water portals that allow aquatic life to come through them. The art is great overall but there does need to be a bit more detail in the faces. I'm really looking forward to see how this book progresses since i was really enjoying it.

Summary
Those are all our reviews of New Super-man and the Justice League of China #20! The reactions are really positive towards the writing but feel that the art does need a bit of work. However overall we enjoyed it. What do you think? Tell us below, on Facebook, or on Twitter!!!