For an issue without a big bad to battle, Justice League of America Rebirth #1 was a blast.
If I had one complaint about the book, it’s that it ended too quickly. That’s not a knock on Orlando’s pacing, it’s a comment about the quality of the book, It was a fun read, one that I wish was about 40 pages longer.
Spinning out of the pages of Justice League vs Suicide Squad, the series kicks off with Batman and Killer Frost (the true hero of the crossover event) arriving in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, the location of the original Justice League headquarters. Batman tells Frost the cave is a relic of a bygone day, but because of her, he saw its true potential: giving the cave a second chance the same way he’s giving Frost one by making her a member of his new League.
From there, the series criss-crosses America, from Seattle to New Jersey, New England to Oregon to finally Manhattan. The purpose? Recruit the other five members of the team: Black Canary, Lobo, The Atom, The Ray and Vixen.
I loved how Orlando wrote the recruiting scenes, using the previous recruit to land the next one: Frost for Canary, Canary for Lobo, etc. It felt old school and was a great touch.
Once the band was assembled,Batman delivers one of the more stirring speeches he’s delivered over the past three quarters of a century, punctuated with the line “heroism is a community.” Kudos, Steve…what a line. The final page gave us a sneak peek of things to come in the series, and from all indications, it’s going to be a great ride.
I loved this issue. It’s easily my favourite book that Orlando has written, and the art from Ivan Reis was as spectacular as always. This book is going on my pull list, and it should be on yours, too. Justice League of America Rebirth #1 is a home run.
