Because I have friends who think DC's New 52 might be their gateway into comics, I've decided to try and review each of the #1s (in weekly batches) and see if I can't recommend something. The universe was relaunched this week with a single book, Justice League #1 and it's... underwhelming.
It could be said that at this point, NOTHING could have met expectations. But I didn't hype the event. DC did. Hype there is, and we've been sold two ideas. 1) That the DCU as it stood was unfriendly to new readers and had run its course. And 2) that the New52 initiative would attract new readers, refresh the DCU and revolutionize comics. I didn't buy the premise of (1), but if they delivered on (2), then all could be forgiven. Did Justice League achieve that goal? Not in the slightest. It's not that it's bad or good, it's that it isn't what it needed to be. It needed to be Fantastic Four #1. It needed to be The Dark Knight Returns...
It needed to say "AND COMICS WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!"
But it doesn't. It's a perfectly ordinary superhero story, with a lot of glossy art and not a lot of substance. It doesn't say anything new about the characters or the team, and is surprisingly low on substance for a Johns book. It could be any "re-origin" book of the 90s or 00s . It's NOT a revolution in the way superheroes are written or drawn, and worse, there's no sense that it tries to be. In no way does it justify the relaunch or the DC team's bold hype.
That's not to say other books in the line won't be surprising, fresh and innovative. And I have to question the decision to use Justice League as THE book to bring the new era into being. DC missed a neat trick by not relaunching with either Action Comics #1 or Detective Comics #1 (and the former MIGHT have been a better poster child for a strong new vision). Instead, it just looks like the two architects of the event gave themselves the prime spot. It smells of hubris.
If I get into the issue itself, I can't say I like the art all that much. I was never an Image fan, dropping most of the original titles I tried after a couple of issues, so I have no brand loyalty to Jim Lee. No need to talk about the costumes - there's been enough said about them - except to say how absurd it is that they all have similar designs though they've never met. That's just bad storytelling and another sign that as with the early Image, art is more important than story. Not that the art is all that good. Lee's wealth of details coupled with colorist Alex Sinclair's special effects (including Green Lantern's constructs) make the comic so busy, I don't always know what I'm looking at. Lee sometimes "crosses the line" (as in the copter sequence) or overdraws the book into confusion. For example, I can't help seeing Batman punching rocks in the splash above.
As for the story, it amounts to some fairly fun banter between testy Batman and dumb-as-rocks Green Lantern. They fight the law, and then an overdesigned Parademon that suicide bombs itself "for Darkseid!", so I'm at least glad the Fourth World will show up sooner than later in this new DCU. I've missed those characters. (I may come to regret those words, redesign pending.) Cyborg gets a few pre-Cyborged pages, with a whole page devoted to football action. Yeah, this thing is slow and decompressed. And then Superman shows up at the end to fight Bats and GL. Looks like the authorities will always be after them, and they'll fight one another, so the big DC revolution is to turn it into the Marvel Universe. There's a reason I don't read very many of THOSE. Hopefully, this won't be a trend. DC should offer an ALTERNATIVE to Marvel, not the same product dressed in different clothes.
(And Superman? He totally still has underwear over his clothes. They're just not a different color. Which is the kind of change that may turn out to be a metaphor for the entire Relaunch.)
Don't call it a reboot: It's totally a reboot.
Upgrade? I wasn't reading Robinson's Justice League of America, so I can't tell (maybe you can). I do think the title is better off using the classic line-up than an Avengers-like combination of big guns, sidekicks and obscure heroes.
Will read? I'll probably see it through to its first contemporary story, but I can't make any promises. But given the writing talent involved, it's a big disappointment (but at least, no dismemberments!).
Recommended? So decompressed, it reads like it's written for the trade. If you wait for that trade, the hype will be gone and you'll probably be able to resist the urge to do so. I'm not sure you'll be missing out on anything special.
Comments
It's, as you say, a run of the mill superhero book. But a satisfying story, a compact and dense and imaginative reading experience?
You wrote that "hubris" came to mind. I fear that you may be right ...
You know, DC. The folks who AREN'T buying your books already ...
I don't know how much research was actually conducted give that the decision to relaunch seemed to have been made at the eleventh hour and most of DC's creators not informed until the last minute. I'm sure the truth will come out later and will be very interesting indeed.
I like your comment about the costumes being too similar. I'm sorry, Not costumes, armor, according to the three pages of sketches that should have been story pages. There must be only one armor designer in the DC universe and he really likes collars.
Not at all like this one.
So far, the only book I plan to pick up is the new JLI. If Dan Jurgens can deliver as much fun as he did with Booster Gold, then I'll be a happy camper.
Secret manipulator of events? Leading to a Big Event despite DC's demurrals? Someone who remembers things the way they used to be, so a back door back to the old DCU? Let the speculation begin.
I feel like it would be a very negative review and I like this blog to act as a booster rather than a downer. And when I do down something, I want it to be in the spirit of comedy. This particular post should represent the exception rather than the rule.
Number 1 issues are supposed to be a jumping-on point for readers. They should STAND OUT from the crowd. Think Mark Waid's Daredevil. JL#1 was a perfect jumping-OFF point.
Definitely looking forward to your future reviews of the rest of the relaunch, though.
More absurd is that three of its members are introduced BEFORE their own books come out. So we don't even know who they are. A team book like this should have been published at the END.
I wanted a giant starfish at the very least.
The question with SS is whether I'll care if a villain dies, when those villains won't actually be the ones I've read about over the course of the last 25 years on account of the reboot.
http://glenngreenbergsgrumblings.blogspot.com/2011/09/breaking-points.html
Maki: I'll be curious to find out if another title captures the "non-comics-reader" imagination.