Justice League #7 brings us ahead five years into the present day after finally ending the Darkseid situation. I felt as if some parts dragged on previously in this series but was a great read overall. Not to mention I was really getting tired of the red hues and shading. Now that our foundation is built, where will the Justice League take us now? Find out more after the jump!
JUSTICE LEAGUE #7
Writer: Geoff Johns
Guest Colorist: Art Lyon
Guest Artist: Gene Ha
Letterer: Patrick Brosseau
Editor: Brian Cunningham
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover: $3.99
Previously, in Justice League: The Justice League successfully deterred the Darkseid attack on earth and were declared a team and friends of the nation. This marked the beginning of The Super Seven Justice League.
RAIN RAIN DON’T GO AWAY
Rain pours down in Baltimore as Colonel Trevor, the League’s liaison, eagerly awaits the arrival of the team. Vicious spores are rapidly spawning as the Colonel attempts to evacuate the citizens, but they now view the Justice League as Gods and have no fear as they patiently await their arrival as well, meanwhile grilling the soldiers asking why they even exist as a bridge to the league when the League can “do it all.” I really liked the art for the rainy city. You know what? I think the art actually deserves a new paragraph.
It is obvious that a guest artist appeared in issue #7 and it’s not that I think the art alone stands out above other art, but that it successfully integrates into the series while still having its own personality. The style stays true to the series but seems to be more subtle. Abs aren’t popping out at every angle which seems to be common among popular art in comics today. (I have no room to talk because that style tops my charts as well.) The lighting of the art plays an intricate part as well in this rainy Baltimore, and the artists do this masterfully. From the Green Lantern’s constructs to Cyborg’s muzzle flash to the holograms to the Flash’s lightning to the flashes of lightning… Okay, well, it really was done beautifully. I promise I’m almost done, but I don’t think I’ve ever covered art this much before. This issue is composed of three scenes and they each transition well and stand on their own. My only complaint is when Batman exposes his teeth he looks like a rabid chipmunk who just had botox.
THE TRIFECTA
Action. We don’t really learn more about our team during the action, but I’m not complaining, because the sequence is quite an enjoyable read and we get to see that not much has changed in their personalities in the past five years. Batman is still Batman, Aquaman doesn’t need an umbrella, and Hal and Barry still have that Vinny/PaulyD relationship. Yep, I just made a Jersey Shore reference. Blame the wife.
Drama & Love. We follow Colonel Trevor through the end of the comic and discover he can be very angry and learn that he has expressed his unrequited love for Wonder Woman. I also pictured The Watchtower to be more serious, but it appears to be a college dorm with Batman the RA.
BOTTOM LINE: ALMOST ONLY COUNTS IN…
Justice League #7 had a lot of good with a bit of great and Batman’s rodent face. This issue needed the action sequence to keep it exciting, because there’s not much excitement at press conferences or in video chatting (No comment). While the spore situation was an enjoyable read there wasn’t enough significance of the civilian’s attitudes towards A.R.G.U.S. (Colonel Trevor’s department) to justify filling that many pages. The second half also only reveals that Trevor is angry and in love. Which leaves all the filler space poking us and saying, “Hey! The Justice League is still the same!” I can say that I do plan on picking this series up for a very long time, but Justice League #7 just wasn’t quite epic but still earns 4 out of 5 stars.
11 Comments
Is anyone going to review Shazam?
Like the preview at the end of this, or when it releases?
That “preview” is the new on-going title. It’s going to be the back-up story to the JLA story for . . . however many issues.
Ah, that makes me sad. After watching the Superman & Shazam on Netflix I really wanted to see a full series. I’m not really sure how I would review the short at the end. There just didn’t seem to be enough for a full review, although, I’m not sure what to think of Billy Batson’s personality in the issue. I liked the idea of him being a kid with a pure heart, and even if it is an act, I don’t think the Billy I know would talk to any adults like that. Then again I only know of him from that movie and nothing else. (Well, I talk to Captain Marvel in DCUO, lol, but he seemed pretty cool as well.)
That’s not a preview, it’s the first chapter in a backup story that’s going to run for several issues (though I forget exactly how many).
I was under the impression that Shazam in Justice league isn’t a preview. It’s the actual product for the time being. Perhaps after a few issues they’ll make it its own book depending on how well it does.
Maybe it’s because I got used to the Morrison JLA from the 90-2000s but this new incarnation on the League feels like all Style and No Substance. The action is great and you have a little interaction between the characters, but it feels…hollow, as if something is missing. The Darkseid arc felt resolved a little too neatly and quickly. Maybe I am just getting old.
No, I have pretty much the exact same complaints, and I’m not THAT old… Yet…
Honestly, this was the issue that made me drop the book. After seven issues, Johns has given me little reason to continue shelling out three to four bucks a month. This book is playing like a greatest hits album. Sure, all your favorite stuff’s here, but it’s the B tracks and the calm ballads between the mega hits that makes the “greatest hits” the greatest hits. The problem with that is, we’re only seven issues into a new universe, so we don’t actually know these songs. They look and sound like songs we grew up with, but . . . they’re . . . not . . . quite . . . them.
And to make matters worse, the JLA seems to creating its own continuity and is doing its own world-building as it shows us a world that is not the same as the world these characters inhabit in their own books. No-one is treating Flash, Superman, Batman or Green Lantern like gods in their books — why’s everyone so amazed by them here? I gave them seven issues, but I give up.
I’m on the verge of dropping this book. The Darkseid arc was exactly as ExMalakite describes: All stlyle and substance. I liked the small character moments but I have no idea what went down storywise and am a bit gutted they’ve now moved forward a few years.
I’m going to follow this for a few more issues then vote with my wallet (“drawing the line at $3.99”)
Being newer I haven’t read any of the past events for JL and it also took me a few months before I picked this one up. For a while it was one of my favorites, but progression seemed, well awkward to say the least, but I’m kind of excited to see how it will now act with the rest of the universe. I’d love to dynamics such as Superboy and Teen Titans, although I’ve never been a fan of having to buy more comics.