I would have to say that if you’re a big fan of Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, or Captain Marvel Shazam, then you should pick up this issue. If you’re not, then you can probably skip it because the core Justice League don’t do much at all here.
This issue is more about advertising DC’s other titles than it is about telling a good story. A good story comes from characters that desire something in life (it could be love, to save the world, to raise enough money to save the local youth center, whatever) and they have to overcome an obstacle in order to obtain it. The Justice League I’ve seen so far in this series only ever have a desire to beat up the bad guy and that is NEVER a problem. In fact, this whole issue starts with the Justice League bantering over the unconscious body of Amazo, who they vanquished before I even turned the first page. Not a single member of the Justice League is bloody, bruised, or even dirty from the battle, yet the entire city behind them has been razed to the ground! Reading about characters that never have to struggle is hardly interesting, but what would you expect from a team this over-powered? (And it’s quite the sausage-fest, too. Why not add another woman to the squad?)
The book also has a really funny mistake, at least it was funny to me. Surprisingly, this issue tied into the Court of Owls storyline and has the Justice League fighting the talons (who are trying to kill a bunch of FBI agents) aboard a plane while Batman talks to them via radio. As you can imagine, Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Cybrog VS. six or seven guys in owl costumes is a pretty one-sided fight and the battle ends rather quickly with the destruction of the entire plane. As always, Green Lantern catches everybody falling from the plane…including Batman. Wait, what? Where did Batman come from? And do you know who was NOT safely caught in a green light bubble? THE FBI AGENTS THEY CAME TO SAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Great job, Justice League. You’re not the heroes those agents needed, but you’re the heroes they deserved….or something.
Still, it’s a very pretty book. A bit too clean and the characters look like they’re posing far too often for my liking, but it’s still pretty. D’Anda, Prado, and Reis do a fine job replacing Lee on this issue and it’s a major improvement over the art in last month’s issue. Sinclair’s colors are always a treat. This shot in particular was jaw-dropping.
Overall, it’s an attractive comedic issue that hints at a lot of potential drama to come in its final pages, but doesn’t have a whole lot going on otherwise unless you’re a big fan of Ollie. If you’re not, a fan of the Green Arrow then I can see this one being pretty forgettable because it feels more like a nice issue of “Green Arrow” rather than a Justice League comic. He’s fun and fairly well portrayed except for his desire to be part of the establishment which…I honestly don’t know a lot about Green Arrow, but I always thought he was more of a rebel than this. I thought he was a “fight the power” type of guy. There are some outright hilarious moments in the issue but in the end I didn’t find it worth $3.99. The Shazam backup is beautifully drawn by Gary Frank and the story, although only 8 pages long, has more depth and is far more intriguing than anything that’s happened in the main “Justice League” series so far. I just wish that the Shazam story was longer.
SCORE: 6/10
