DC Comics reviews for 2/8/17 – Justice League of America, Detective Comics

Justice League of America Rebirth #1

Given the various one-shots and extended set-up in Justice League vs. Suicide Squad, Justice League of America Rebirth was a disappointment.

Steve Orlando’s script largely just consisted of a prolonged Batman recruitment drive. Orlando failed to adequately explain why Batman feels the need to be on yet another team. Clearly for DC Editorial, Batman equals sales, but this is Batman’s third team not including his unofficial team with Superman and Wonder Woman in Trinity. At some point, it becomes overkill, especially with Batman acting out of character recruiting strangers.

On paper this team is an interesting mix. Atom, Black Canary, Lobo, Vixen, Killer Frost and The Ray don’t have a lot in common, which should make for some fun team interaction. Like Batman’s involvement, the team members seem randomly chosen with inconsistent rationale for their inclusion.

One page, Batman is hesitant to allow the inexperienced Ryan Choi Atom to join, but extends the invitation to the newbie Ray. Batman’s pitch to Black Canary is he wants a team of humans, not gods, only to have Lobo sign up. Sure, the team looks cool together, but there’s no sense for why they’re together.

While the narrative is shaky, the book looks great thanks to Ivan Reis’ art. Reis is the kind of elite talent that makes a title worth picking up for his work alone. There’s a certain vitality to the characters whether Lobo’s pushing the limits sneering or Canary’s icy glares that make them look alive. Reis is a master at expressive characters and his posing and layouts make this dialogue heavy issue look dynamic.  Marcelo Maiolo’s colors are warm and inviting, truly help take Reis’ art to another level.

The team building was shaky and the motives are questionable, but there’s a lot of potential here. And with Reis’ art, Justice League of America will be one of DC’s best looking titles. Not the worst foundation.

Rating: 8 out of 10