New 52 Year 0.5: Justice League

We've reached the halfway point of New 52: Year One, and it seems like a good time to go back and look at some of the most outstanding series in total so far. So for the next month, I am going to choose a book each week, read all six issues, and jot down some general thoughts and reactions. This week, Justice League!


  Over the last month or so, I have made a point of rereading the best of the New 52 for the purpose of looking back at the first half year of DC's big gamble.  In previous installments I focused exclusively on my favorite book from each week.  Thanks to DC schedule manipulation and a rare fifth Wednesday in February, I was left with only one realistic option for this week—Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's Justice League.
  If you've been following my reviews, you know that I am not entirely happy with the JL so far.  While it's not entirely fair to compare it to other Justice League origin stories over the years, it's also nearly impossible not to.  It lacks the pacing and character depth of Mark Waid's Justice League of America: Year One and is devoid of the storytelling and characterizations of Grant Morrisons' 1997 JLA series.  I really can't believe I am about to say this but it even fails to match the intrigue of Brad Meltzer's Justice League of America restart in 2006.  The thing is, despite failing to live up to all of those series...it's not as bad as I thought it was.
Now, that revelation comes with some pretty major caveats.  First and foremost, Batman does something in issue five that still makes no sense to me. It's a baffling move that seems totally out of character and I can't even find a twisted logic in which it makes sense.  Second and more importantly, when reading Justice League, one must remember who the target audience is.  I've made this argument before.  The book was the first of the New 52 to come out and I think there is little coincidence that it is also the last one to be published at what is ostensibly the halfway point of DCnU: Year One.  The company was betting on Justice League being the driving force behind new readership in their revamped line.  When you read the first storyarc from beginning to end with that mindset it makes a bit more sense. Third, if we are reading the series through this interpretation, then it's structure makes perfect sense.  Characters are slowly added, they are given opportunity to show what they can do and then the plot continues. Based on that composition, it makes sense that the arc would end like it did (abruptly).

  Johns, not really known as the most subtle writer, has infused his characters with exaggerated personalities.  I mentioned recently that the characters in his Aquaman series are so over-the-top that it almost feels like satire.  Well, Justice League has a bit of that going on too. The character that bears the brunt of this exaggeration is still Aquaman (He has sharks eat a bunch of bad guys...Attack of the Megalodon style!) but, somewhat strangely, the other hero that is a caricature is Green Lantern—a character that Johns has been writing for the better part of a decade now.  Here's the thing: I get it, man. The entire point is to lay out the characters and show readers their idiosyncrasies and personalities. I understand! It just seems too simple and too clear-cut. If I were being honest, I would say that it feels like a high quality promotional comic book, like something that came in a Happy Meal.  But I can't help kind of enjoying the baldfaced exclamations and straightforward character exposition.  It's certainly not what I wanted in a Justice League book and if I was in charge (which I'm not talented enough to be), it isn't the book I would have green-lit. But I can look past that and see the inner-workings that went into Justice League.
     In a book laden with superstar talent, Jim Lee's art is the real standout.  Over the years, dozens of artists have tried to capture his style but few have ever done so with complete success.  In Justice League, his art is smooth for the most part and all of heroes look suitably iconic. I'll never be the president of Lee's fan club, but I can see why people like him so much.  Fifteen years ago, Lee's art on Justice League would have just been another 90s comic but, thanks to the fact that he's barely drawn anything in the last decade, his pencils give the series a feeling of specialness.
     I can't say that Justice League has turned out like I wanted it to.  Compared to other notable team origins and relaunches, it feels pretty flat. In the end, the first arc was fun but mostly lackluster. The story took five issues to build and ended with more of a whimper than a bang. And yet, I still have high hopes for the series as Johns' continues to write it. I can't explain it.  Despite some over-the-top-even-for-superhero-comics moments and baffling choices, the Justice League is more or less a success.  It is what it was meant to be: an entrance for new readers into the most power superhero team in comic books.  Let's just hope the second arc eschews that in favor of a better story.