DC Comics reviews for 6/19/19 – Superman Year One #1

Justice League #26

It wasn’t hyperbole when Scott Snyder said Justice League was going to be an event book as Year of the Villain plays out. Justice League #26 felt very much like the early portion of a Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis, Zero Hour, etc.  With the fate of the universe at stake it can’t be treated like an afterthought.

James Tynion IV writes the first chapter of this arc as the League rallies its allies both on Earth and the Multiverse in preparation for the coming conflict. Tynion has a deep knowledge of the DCU and it was fun seeing cameos from the heroes of various worlds. It’s taken DC writers a while to build it up after Crisis, but the new Multiverse has so many fun and intriguing possibilities. There’s a tease of Starman reaching through time for help, which seems like the avenue in which the Justice Society will be joining the fray.

It was nice seeing Hawkgirl and Mera get more time in the spotlight. Since assuming Aquaman’s role on the team, Mera hasn’t really gotten a chance to do much so it was fun watching her with Hawkgirl checking in on the various teams at the Hall of Justice. And some of her plans for dealing with the threat of the Legion of Doom and Perpetua were pretty funny.

Martian Manhunter is busy searching for Lex Luthor, whom dozens of people have reported seeing despite his death earlier. I love the three major subplots as it really has that event feel with all of them mattered to the big picture.

Javier Fernandez’s art keeps delivering. He seemed like an unconventional choice as the main artist after Jorge Jimenez’s outstanding run, but Fernandez is proving up to the challenge. I especially liked his take on the Multiverse characters. Hi-Fi makes for a nice colorist compliment for Fernadez’s art, which can get a little too dark with the heavy shadows.

Justice League continues to be the preeminent book in DC and it’s living up to all the hype as Year of the Villain kicks off.

Rating: 10 out of 10