DC Comics reviews 12/28/21 – Justice League #70, The Human Target #3

The Human Target #3

It really does feel like writer Tom King has some affinity for the Justice League International. King isn’t as harsh with these characters as he typically is with his superhero deconstruction mini-series.

That’s the blessing and curse with Human Target 3 as King tries to protect the innocence of the Bwhaha hah era while taking them through his real life meat grinder.

Guy Gardner and Booster Gold are spotlighted this issue. Booster is an easy mark for writers to make look foolish. It’s been an unfortunate crutch relied on too often.

Likewise modern writers can quickly slap the toxic masculinity tag on Gardner. King both captures Guy’s tough guy persona and making him come off like a creepy domestic abuser Ice needs to get a restraining order on.

In both instances, King gets aspects of the characters right. It’s what makes his take frustrating in how he ignores the massive character growth both saw under Geoff Johns.

Johns buffed out some of Gardner’s rough edges while retaining his disregard for authority and fierce loyalty to his friends. Along with Jeff Katz, Johns took Booster from superhero idiot to compellingly tragic.

King prefers to keep them in the traditional roles, which fits his story better. All while continuing to not to subtlety paint Ice as a cunning Femme Fatale.

Greg Smallwood’s art is amazing. He’s doing fantastic work on seemingly every panel and his sense of character expression would make Kevin Maguire proud.

Just once it’d be fun to see King write a revered property in the original fun-loving manner without gradually tearing the characters down. JLI would be an obvious choice.

With Human Target, King teases the possibilities while frustrating the likely main target audience yearning for more JLI content with each issue.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Image Credit: DC Comics