I’ve been a comic book fan so great a time that I know no one stays dead in comics for very long. Another truth that I’m facing is that comics will reset themselves ‘for the sake of the new generation’s readers’ every now and then. I’m getting old and curmudgeonly when I read so many books now that are rebooting. Justice League #4 opens with Cyborg becoming Cyborg. Green Lantern argues with everyone because he doesn’t want to be ordered around. Aquaman proves that he’s a badass by controlling fish and using his trident. The heroes fight the cybernetic gorilla henchmen of Darkseid. And the big, nasty villain shows up at the end.

Geoff Johns, I feel your pain. You have been given the keys to a Ferrari and told to drive it under thirty-five miles an hour. Geoff, you make the book as best as it can be under its reboot circumstances. For that, I salute you.

Jim Lee’s artwork is, well, the equivalent of looking at Mila Kunis naked. After viewing his work in JL, your eyes will want a sandwich and a nap. I will say it, “Jim Lee has to be ONE of the greatest comic book artists of all time. Not the greatest, but one of them.” Some artists seem to be panel hit-or-miss, meaning that part of the art will be detailed while the background might be plain. Lee gives 100% to every aspect of every panel. Go back and check. I will wait here.

Darkseid, courtesy of Lee, gets a grand entrance.

Score: 4/5

Writer: Geoff Johns Penciller: Jim Lee Publisher: DC Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 12/21/11