DC Comics reviews 7/23/25 – JLU 9, Batman 161, Superman 28

Justice League Unlimited JLU 9

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Dave Sharpe

JLU 9 The Justice League deals with the fallout from the We Are Yesterday event where several time displaced members of the team and their allies are now aboard the Watchtower. Waid saves the true heart of this issue for Mr. Terrific, who along with The Terrifics version of himself and Blue Beetle, tries to locate Air Wave before he’s lost for good. It’s remains highly impressive how Waid can juggle the largest ensemble in comics today so smoothly while giving so many characters a chance to shine in JLU 9.

Waid also recognizes that Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman headline their own books so they can be present in every issue without being the star players. This gives characters like Blue Beetle, Black Lightning, Plastic Man and Supergirl more quality moments. Here’s hoping Amazing Man gets stranded with the present-day team so modern comic fans can appreciate this awesome character.

Mora handles this ensemble with the grace of a George Perez or Phil Jimenez seemingly making it look easy to feature so many characters in every panel. With the arrival of The Time Trapper, Mora gets to flex a little with some fun action sequences. Bonvillain has a ton of energy effects and colorful costumes to keep up with, but that extra touch to detail without doing shortcuts like casting background characters in one color pays off.

JLU 9 is another reason why this title has been a must-read from the start. It’s the best of DC creatively and features the best characters in fresh, exciting scenarios. Do yourself a favor and pre-order the trade of the first volume Into the Inferno (on Amazon). If you’re not reading it, there’s no reason to miss out on it any longer.

Mister Terrific Year One 3

Writer: Al Letson
Artists: Valentine De Landro/Edwin Galmon (present day sequence)
Colorist: Marissa Louise
Letterer: Lucas Gattoni

Now that everyone has had a chance to see him on the big screen, this series is arriving at an ideal time frame. Mr. Terrific is dealing with some time discontinuity and an Apokolips war hound as they prepare to face a squadron of parademons.

That gives him enough time to reflect more on his origin and his efforts to destroy the tech Athena Prescott stole from his dead wife Paula’s designs. Athena is on the defense anyway as Lex Luthor has arrived in Gotham forcing her to be on high alert as Mercy is investigating the tech on Luthor’s behalf.

Sometimes the sudden arrival of big-name characters feels like a Hail Mary for a lame duck series, but it makes sense in this storyline that Luthor wouldn’t want someone having any kind of technical advantage over him without investigating. While corporate espionage is playing out, Mr. Terrific is probing further into Athena’s headquarters.

Letson comes up with challenging scenarios for Mr. Terrific both at home and at Athena’s HQ to showcase that Michael Holt processes problems and always has multiple solutions for an issue. De Landro’s style is well-suited for Mr. Terrific though his Lex Luthor looks a bit too much like Elmer Fudd. This series remains highly engaging and a well-timed moment to showcase its titular character.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

The New History of the DC Universe 2

Writer: Mark Waid
Artists: Michael Allred and Brad Walker
Colorists: Laura Allred and Trish Mulvihill
Letterer: Todd Klein

The latest issue of one of DC’s most ambitious projects in years arrived this week as Barry Allen chronicles the Silver Age of the DC Universe. With Crisis on Infinite Earths, Zero Hour, Flashpoint and the New 52 continuities and reboots to work into one cohesive timeline, this is not light work for Waid.

As much as this is laid out in a format to hopefully be new DC reader friendly, TNH is surprisingly an easier read for longtime DC fans since they were likely the ones most confused how certain stories and characters made sense in the current regime free-for-all continuity.

Waid explains the new age of heroes starting with the debut of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, etc. while also incorporating events like Darkseid’s early incursion as told in the New 52 Justice League. Maybe Waid’s biggest accomplishment is smoothly creating a credible way for Cyborg to be involved with the neo-Justice League and the Teen Titans.

Other impressive continuity contortion Waid makes look easy is the JSA and JLA team-ups and the updated origin of the Teen Titans based in part on his and artist Emanuela Lupacchino’s World’s Finest: Teen Titans series (available on Amazon).

This issue, Waid is joined by the unlikely pairing of Allred and Walker, whose styles are vastly different. In this case that was a masterful approach as it’s like watching a dazzling game of artist tennis. Walker crafts his usual amazing team showcase pages while Allred crafts ingenious layouts like the new additions of the Justice League surrounded by various images of The Atom, whose size keeps changing.

Sometimes art in a comic series does the heavy lifting and dynamically tells a story. Other instances, it’s serviceable while other moments it takes away the impact of a great story. Allred and Walker’s art is so layered and imaginative that it requires more attention to take in everything occurring on the page. There are so many pages here that would make for tremendous posters or prints.

Laura Allred and Mulvihill’s bright colors are key to this presentation as well as it gives readers that inherent sense of a new day dawning. Klein’s role might be easily taken for granted, but it’s key to arrange the text passages in a way to flow with the art and not work against it. He does that commendably here.

The first issue was a nice surprise, but this installment was one of my favorite comics I’ve read all year with the spotlight on one of DC’s best eras. Waid’s note perfect writing and the absolutely phenomenal art team doing some of their best work make this my easiest recommendation in months.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Superman 28

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez
Letterer: Ariana Maher

The Legion of Darkseid arc starts this issue with some shocking “moments” as Superman is confronted by the Darkseid-influenced versions of Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy. Williamson has always been a dialed-in writer with DC lore where he can be fully trusted with any character just like Mark Waid and Jeremy Adams.

This take on the Dark Legion is intense featuring a cruelty that shows how deadly Rokk, Imra and Garth could be if they weren’t inspired by Superman. Williamson also avoids the trap of too many writers in diminishing the hero in order to make the villains look stronger. Superman overcomes one attack but still needs help to avoid being badly outnumbered.

There are few regular monthly artists operating at Mora’s level. He brings such a sense of wonder and excitement to all of his pages making him an ideal artist for Superman. Mora gets plenty of fun scenes to play out and delivers on his usual massive scale. Sanchez’s rich color work is a standout and Maher’s clean dialogue, and sound effect fonts are at an elite level.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: DC Comics

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