JLA-1-cover

For fans of solidly-entertaining superhero books, Justice League of America is well worth buying. As a first issue it easily trumps the debut of DC’s main Justice League title in style and substance. It’s well-written, well-drawn, and leaves the reader wanting more.

Now.

…Please.

Geoff Johns is a talented writer, but his stint on DC’s main Justice League title has been surprisingly lackluster so far. That book’s initial Darkseid arc felt cold and surprisingly flavorless; its “David Graves” arc was similarly bloodless. A brief arc featuring Wonder Woman’s arch-nemesis  the Cheetah, brought some welcome weirdness to the title briefly but for the most part Johns seemed stuck on autopilot – his flair for characterization muted. Most recently, the Throne of Atlantis storyline has injected some much-needed moxie into the book, but the fact that it’s an Aquaman-centric story underscores that Johns is at his best writing for the “underdogs” – characters that, historically, don’t have the Q-rating or the fan base of a Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman. He has a real knack for, and love of, taking underused/forgotten/unpopular characters and reintroducing them for a new audience without disrespecting them.

Which is part of why Justice League of America #1 is such a relative blast. This is an exposition-heavy issue, but its an exposition-heavy issue done RIGHT. There’s admirable craft to this book; note how much background information Johns levels at the reader here, and how well he does it. He introduces what should be far too many characters with both economy and energy, offering up interesting spins on familiar and unfamiliar faces alike. Martian Manhunter fans will be particularly pleased with this issue, as Johns continues to explore the idea of J’onn J’onzz as a frightening, ambiguous figure of great power. Fans of Catwoman may be pleasantly surprised by the approach Johns takes to get Selina Kyle into this book. Green Arrow gets an unexpected moment of heroism that’s only apparent after the fact. Less familiar faces like Katana and Vibe are introduced with enough verve to spark interest. Old fan favorites like Star Girl and Hawkman receive intriguing updates to their personas. Even former Justice League liaison Steve Trevor becomes something resembling a person, and not just a walking, soap-operatic plot device.

Some characters get shorter shrift than others, but most are set up perfectly in a page or two, giving new readers all they need to enjoy the issue while also giving loyal readers some serious, sometimes subtle, bang for their buck. For instance, the implication that DC’s Star Spangled Kid, Star Girl’s predecessor, is some kind of possibly-demonic villain now, or the suggestion that Hawkman may be out of his mind and/or a sociopath, or the image of what’s possibly the “Legion of Doom”‘s Hall of Doom stamped on a villain’s cuff.

David Finch (Moon Knight, Avengers, spiritual heir of Stephen Platt) handles penciling and inking duties here, and his work provides a strangely-appropriate similarity to Jim Lee’s art on Justice League, while offering much more to the reader in terms of drama, intrigue and sheer dynamism. The color work here by Sonia Oback with Jeremy Cox gives Finch’s art welcome solidity and dimensionality.

And that ending! Hey, it’s comics. We all know that [REDACTED] isn’t going to die – but that’s not the point. The point is, what’s next?

Recommended.

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And now, a brief word on…

CHANNEL 52

This is as good a place as any to commend DC’s clever “Channel 52” feature – a two-page infomercial in the back of all their monthly books. Designed as a cheeky “news report” featuring offbeat characters like Calendar Man and Ambush Bug, Channel 52 is a remarkably simple and relatively creative way to keep readers appraised of the “Big Events” and interesting stories happening in DC’s books. If this were the 80’s, and DC still had any interest at all in publishing “fun” books, I’d be more than happy to pick up a Channel 52 monthly book that was basically Network with superheroes and supervillians. As it is I’ll acknowledge that impossibility (DC doesn’t do “fun” much these days), and tip my cap to the folks who originated this concept, as well as the team creating it each month.