Convergence: Justice League Of America #1 Review

The team known as Justice League Detroit is back, and they might have a few bones to pick about certain recurring internet jokes at their expense…  Your Major Spoilers review of Convergence: Justice League Of America #1 awaits!

CONVERGENCE: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Artist: Chriscross
Colorist: Snakebite
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Editor: Marie Javins
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Convergence: Justice League Of America: When the white Martians attacked, the core members of the JLA were nowhere to be found.  No Flash.  No Wonder Woman.  No Superman.  No Green Lantern.  As the only founder, Aquaman raised a team to defend the Earth, then used an obscure part of the League charter to disband the JLA, rebuilding it only with those heroes who could devote 100% of their time and attention to the team.  Elongated Man, Zatanna and the Martian Manhunter joined him, with new heroes Vibe, Steel, Gypsy and Vixen, and a new headquarters in Detroit for the whole new League.  It was a grand experiment, until they were stolen from the timestream by Brainiac.  This is a tale of Pre-Crisis Earth-1.

THANKS FOR NOT RETELLING THE SAME SCENE AGAIN

Week three of the Convergence event has been more consistent for me as a reader (though it must be mentioned that I began reading comics in the 1980s, when most of the heroes spotlighted this time around were in vogue), and this issue makes me very happy by NOT regurgitating the Telos announcement sequence yet again, instead beginning immediately AFTER that moment, with a jubilant Elongated Man kissing his wife Sue in celebration.  The sight of the Dibnys together is a bittersweet treat, but this issue is pretty much full of such moments, given the tragic histories of most of the characters.  Interestingly, most of this issue (like Batman And The Outsiders) is devoted to reminding us how cool these heroes are/were, with big heroic entrances for Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Zatanna, with strong character moments for Steel and Vibe, especially.  As the conflict becomes clear, the young heroes and Elongated Man are caught off-guard by a massive explosion.  Sue and ‘The Big Three’ of this league makes their way to the destroyed building, finding their powers blocked and no sign of their teammates.  Just as Mrs. Dibny begins to panic, the heroes are ambushed…

…by The Secret Six!

(NOT *THAT* SECRET SIX)

No, not Scandal, Deadshot and those guys, but the Tangent Comics heroes, alternate universe versions of The Joker, The Flash, The Atom, Plastic Man, Manhunter and The Spectre.  Battle ensues, and the heroes are outnumbered and outgunned, until the lovely cliffhanger ending in which the most maligned and mocked heroes of the modern age blast their way out of the wreckage, a defiant Vibe rocking his parachute pants and snarking that the League doesn’t go down that easy.  That last page reveal gets major points from me, but the whole issue is a strong one in terms of character, but the battle with the Six is a bit indistinct.  I’ve always enjoyed the art of Chriscross, who is trying some new and interesting things in the issue, but it leads to more than one panel that doesn’t quite follow from the previous, and a dark and effects-heavy coloring/production job doesn’t help.  As a fan of everyone in the book (except the Jurgens Atom, who is far too precious a Superman-analogue for my tastes), it’s a story that appeals to me and has a lovely ending splash page…

THE BOTTOM LINE: LIKEABLE, BUT UNEVENTFUL

All in all, it’s good to see the both of these teams again, and in the context of Convergence, this stands as a strong outing full of character, even if once again, it’s mostly prelude to a big battle next month.  Convergence: Justice League Of America #1 may not change low opinions of the DIY, street-level Detroit Justice League, but it has inventive art and some nice character moments for forgotten DCU stalwarts, earning a better-than-average 3.5 out of 5 stars overall.  At least they gave the characters their due and never devolved into smack talk or mockery of this team (which may sound silly, but has HAPPENED in previous DCU flashback outings.)