Whenever I review a comic I always jot down little notes as I go along. Usually it’s the things I find unappealing or confusing or maybe something more positive like the layout of a page or a character’s line that made me laugh, but I know that things actually went really well whenever I finish the comic and realize that I had forgotten to make any notes a long time ago. About midway through Justice League Dark #22 I got so involved in what was going on that I forgot to make anymore notes. That’s why I recommend it.
After the meager chapter 2 that was Justice League of America #6 I was actually starting to believe that the main Justice League title by Geoff Johns was going to be the only title in which anything of importance actually happened in Trinity War, but I’m happy to say now that that isn’t the case. This is the issue where the battle lines are drawn and we see who is on what side and what everyone’s goals are and that makes it a vital chapter in the saga.
Seeing as how I’m in short review mode due to all these Comic Con articles and various work projects that need to be caught up on, here are some straight to the point bullets for you:
- The book might be worth picking up for the artwork alone. I’ve never read much by Mikel Janin before but I walked away from this issue completely impressed. I think it’s the best-looking issue of Trinity War so far and that’s really saying something because the other artists are of the highest caliber.
- There are an awful lot of characters in this book and most of them don’t do much but just stand in the background. It would be great to actually see Flash do something. I suppose I need to finally break down and read his ongoing series because the guy has done practically nothing in the Justice League series.
- If you didn’t know Madame Xanadu was immortal (I’ll admit that I didn’t) then you do now. I was shocked when she was apparently killed at the end of chapter 1 of Trinity War, but the opening page of chapter 3 shows her alive and well. It really took away some of the punch of part 1 for me, but I guess that was just due to my own ignorance.
- There is another moment in which Superman punches another superhero who really didn’t deserve it. What’s with this punch first, ask questions later approach to Superman we’re seeing in Trinity War? I like my Superman to be more reasonable (I can’t believe I’ve finally read enough Superman stories now that I actually have an opinion on him, but here we are). He’s Superman for crying out loud. If he knows he’s in the right then he doesn’t need to lash out, especially toward friends. It’s not like anyone can really hurt him and I like to think that Superman would rather take a few hits himself than strike a friend. He turns the other cheek because it’s the right thing to do and because, well, he can take it.
- To really see how Pandora came across the box you would need to look at Pandora #1. In last week’s Trinity War chapter 2 we were told she found it in a temple and in this issue Constantine recites a legend that says Pandora was entrusted to Pandora, but in Pandora #1 we see that she just found it under a bush.
- There is a horribly placed 2-page ad for Jeff Lemire’s new series Trillium. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very, very excited for that book. I’m a huge fan of Sweet Tooth, but the previous page ends with the characters shocked at who they find when they open a door and I turn the page and see two pages with close-ups of characters I’ve never seen before. I went from confused to annoyed in about 2 seconds.
- When is the US Government finally going to fire Amanda Waller? I feel like she does nothing but come up with bad ideas and bark orders that everyone refuses to follow.
- Using the Trinity of Sin to divide the various superheroes is an interesting idea but I find that all of these heroes are willing to listen to the Trinity too easily. These characters pop up out of nowhere and all of the heroes take whatever they say as gospel .
- It’s probably just because I’ve only read a little bit of the Neal Adams stuff, but I thought that Deadman was invisible and unheard and could only be heard and interact with the physical world when he possessed another.
- Back to the Bafan perspective… it’s weird for me seeing Batman in the daylight and surrounded by so many costumed figures. Batman’s suit actually has a point. It’s supposed to scare people. Everyone else just looks ridiculous. There. I said it. I suspend my disbelief for this quite often, but there are so many colorful characters around him now that I was just like, what are these other people thinking?
- I can’t stress enough how good this book looks. I know I used a bullet for this already, but Janin did a great job in my opinion.
Overall
Jeff Lemire moves the plot forward and draws the battle lines between all of DC’s heroes while Mikel Janin draws what I think is the best looking chapter in Trinity War yet. I wish some characters in this expansive cast were better utilized, but overall I found this to be a pretty enjoyable issue. Note: you’ll want to read this one BEFORE Constantine #5. A full Trinity War reading list can be found HERE.
SCORE: 8.5/10
