The description for this issue is short and simple: “Justice League Canada’s first adventure comes to an explosive end!”
Team books sell! And anything with the name “Justice League” on it is likely to do well – at least, when it starts.
The former Justice League of America is now being reformed, and some significant developments in the group’s establishment takes place this month!
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #4
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Mike McKone
Covers: Mike McKone, Jeff Lemire
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED: “So many questions hang over this nascent team. Will Hawkman sacrifice himself to save Rann, one of Thanagar’s enemies? Will Alanna and Adam ever be reunited? Can Miiyahbin face her fears and become the hero she’s meant to be? And the answer to all of this spells death for one of them.”
JEFF LEMIRE CONTINUES TO SPARKLE, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO CHARACTER
Mr. Lemire continues to be one of my favorite comics writers. He did a superb job on Animal Man, then did extremely well on Justice League Dark and Green Arrow.
Not only that, his Sweet Tooth was a drama that was not to be missed. That ending still tears me up to this day!
I’m not saying that he doesn’t handle action well – he does! There’s action aplenty to keep me turning the pages as Hawkman’s fate is up in the air while Adam and Alanna are being kept apart by the Zeta Beams instead of being reunited by them, as was the norm previously.
But the parts of Mr. Lemire’s writing that I enjoy most is that he can make the interaction between characters vibrant. For instance, in this issue, we see that Oliver Queen and Buddy Baker are fast becoming the New 52 version of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. They’re friends, something that is fast becoming a lost art, seems to me.
Not only that, but Supergirl isn’t all that thrilled with Stargirl and her past, so they have some growing together to do. On the other hand, Martian Manhunter is still the same leader and hero I’m glad to read in Lemire’s hands.
I also like the new Canadian hero, so I’m anxious to learn more about her.
By the end of this month’s book, much of the JLU’s set up is complete, and I’m looking forward to how the team will handle adventure in the coming months.
MCKONE’S ART IS CLEAR AND DYNAMIC
Mike McKone’s art has long been a pleasure to read, with his clear action sequences and understandable facial expressions.
Maybe I’m just a J’Onn J’Onzz fan, but I particularly like the way McKone draws him. He’s alien, but still a strong character. Then too, Supergirl gets portrayed very well, with Animal Man and Green Arrow not far behind.
I’m happy to see that Mr. McKone will be on this title for some time to come, so that’ll keep me, as a regular reader, very happy!
BOTTOM LINE: THE NEW JLU IS HEROIC AND STRONG
As I mentioned earlier in this review, you could do worse than to buy a DC comic with “Justice League” in the title. When competing with the “regular” Justice League title and Justice League Dark, I find this book to be a nice change of pace from the others.
Of course, since Hawkman is one of my very favorite heroes (something about winged characters just draws me to them), I’m going to want to find out just what his true fate is in the coming months.
I’m also going to watching the team as they get to know each other better. Part of the reason Mr. Lemire stopped Animal Man was so Buddy Baker could interact with other heroes in this book, so I’m going to pay close attention to them all.
If you haven’t read Justice League United so far, I would recommend that you catch up so you can read this newest issue and moving forward!
