Dear Justice League #6,
It’s been quite the trip, huh?
When I found you, it was my first week writing at Comic Bastards. I was at a pretty bad place in my life then. I wasn’t happy or secure in my day job, I was feeling creatively exhausted and drained. I’d been living in Philadelphia for a year and felt as if I hadn’t moved a step from when I came.
Read MoreWhen I was in college, there was this one professor with a nightmare of a reputation when it came to grading. If you were lucky you might get a C. If you were blessed by God, you’d get a B. The people who got A’s though? They didn’t exist. It didn’t happen. The justification for this whole process was that he wasn’t grading you based on a rubric, no; he was grading you against yourself. In theory, this was to punish you for your bad habits in your essay writing, to put a stop at the points where you get lazy. In reality, however, it was putting a lot of undue stress on students that are only here because the philosophy class fits in their schedule.
If I was scoring Justice League #4 based on how it’s improved against itself, I’d be giving this issue a 5/5. That’s right, ladies, gentlemen and other, the Justice League is finally finding its footing.
When the run began with all its explosions and crumbling cities, the biggest question I wanted to know was: where’s the emotional context. Why does any of this global destruction actually matter to these characters?
Here we get it. Superman’s at the earth’s core trying to destroy these vague devices that’ll crack the planet in half. The heat’s too intense, he’s not strong enough to survive but he knows that if he fails, his wife and child die. These are people that mean the world to him and who he willingly abandoned his universe with in order to protect. He can't fail. He won't let himself.
At the same time, his wife Lois chews out Batman as she watches him heartlessly assume her husband’s death and move on. She brings to question an emotional theme I wanted to see addressed since issue #2—just how far are the Justice League willing to trust this new Superman?
So we have an emotional core established and then the artistic team behind this book then finally starts answering the vague questions about the villains and their disjointed nature. From the start, there seemed to be two distinct threats. The red-dialog hivemind of humans and these strange space bugs crashing onto earth. Their presences were at the epicenter of the devastation yet their visual appearances were alien to each other. Well, that's because they're not the same threat. They're two independent forces at war with each other.
This was one of two plot turns in the issue that made sit up and say, “Wait what?” This story’s been so vague and loose with any plot context gives substance. A definition to the conflict gives story's their dramatic theme and maybe after all this time the Justice League can finally start becoming a genuine story.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a course correction in a comic before. This was almost like the writer took-in the feedback and reception and started addressing those complaints. As unlikely as it is, I’m seeing all these elements I wanted finally falling in place and it's making the book better.
That’s not to say all this I’ve written above isn’t delivered as clunky as possible. The Justice League are barely even side characters in a book titled Justice League as they pop in and out of the story at random points to see the things happen, drop a line of exposition and then bounce.
As much as I’ve praised the element of Superman and his family, it’s a snapshot of a few pages in the entirety of the issue and not even one that wholly makes sense. When Lois is rightfully yelling at Batman, he’s stone-faced and aloof—we don’t know his answer when we should. If this was Superman solo book, this would be fine—narratively even make sense. Only this is the Justice League. Batman should be a main character in the Justice League and together they should be actually exploring their current perceptions and tensions instead sending the concerns out and into the void.
The Justice League members still work like ciphers. They’re here to receive and output the information that the rest of the comic throws at them. They don't really matter as characters to the story. Any hero could be here and as long as they had the right super power, it'd go the same.
With Justice League #4 we’re finally getting emotional grounding, we’re getting information that gives us something as readers to hold on to but the biggest damnation I could give the issue is that it’s providing these things four issues into the current arc. Things that should have always been here are only showing up now and what they're providing feels almost wasted on the story being told as collected whole.
The villains and details are still vague and the stakes still cartoonishly high with a team that are each separated and so far flung that the fact they’re even in a team together barely matters. But the comic is getting better. Not great, maybe even barely good but it’s brought me back to where I was saying in the review for issue #1: that the next issue could build on these elements and make a good story.
Only this time it might actually happen.
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Justice League #4 Writer: Bryan Hitch Artist: Tony S. Daniel Colorist: Tomey Morey Publisher: DC Comics Price: $2.99 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital
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Welcome to our group review for Justice League: Rebirth #1. This is that one-shot setting the stage for the new series that will continue apparently where Bryan Hitch left off. [su_quote]Sysnopsis: Get ready for talking and Starro! But like the Ultimate version of Starro because Bryan Hitch. Also will old Superman join new JL? You won't get that question answered, but it'll get asked a lot.[/su_quote]
Remember when Bryan Hitch's art was something special? When it defined an entire line of books? What happened? This book mostly looks good. Hitch's citys and civilians are par for the course and his Starro redesign is actually pretty cool and modern. Though I prefer the goofy ass one, this one matches his style. The Justice League all look like asshats. Flash stretches his legs impossibly far, to the point that he's not really running or looking like he's running, but instead lunging strangely. Aquaman's head changes proportions a lot and only once did they fit his body... the one time Hitch forgot to illustrate facial hair. Batman's face is a trace of Christian Bale's Batman which is the worst possible movie Batman to trace. Don't get me started on Lois, not only did she fail to look the same way twice, but she never looked like any version of Lois Lane ever. Basically while the backgrounds, cities and villain of the book looked really good, the Justice League looked like a deformed versions of the Ultimates.
As for the writing... why the fuck is Bryan Hitch writing this? The story is beyond generic. The opening feels like its been lifted from a hundred other Justice League stories and not in a good way. Not in a "yeah you're capturing the magic of the series way", but in a "haven't I read this word for word somewhere else?" kind of way. The jokes are terrible and aside from the forced references to the events that have happened in the shared universe, this book feels like it's in a bubble of it's own. What's worse is that it feels terribly dated. Each character practically takes a turn telling Starro hive mind to get off Earth and don't ya come back ya hear. Then there's the most positive news reporter ever giving us a recap of what we read and praising the Justice League who happened to dump thousand of infected civilians in New Jersey... because I guess we're not in Metropolis or something.
This book doesn't resemble or feel like anything that DC has done with Rebirth. I have not liked or loved all of the Rebirth titles, but I will say that up until this point they have felt similar. They have like the same universe. This feels like they wanted a Bryan Hitch book and so they just let him shit the bed and smiled as he did it. I may not love everything that DC is doing, but I at least 
liked they effort, I liked that they seemed like they cared about what they were doing rather than just trying to keep a popular artist that's clearly lost his knack for illustrating actual heroes and as a writer has no idea how to write for his own strengths. Simply put, Bryan Hitch isn't that fucking good anymore and shouldn't be allowed to run amok. Let him go back to writing his not movie Avengers/definitely the movie Avengers story at Image that no one liked. I will turn a blind eye to this series ever having happened and hope that it will be cancelled due to poor sales when readers open their fucking eyes to the mess that is this series.
Amidst a massive insect attacking the Earth, the alternative dimension Superman debates with his wife Lois whether he should intervene. Without a Superman, the Justice League can’t seem to beat the big beetle. Even with the assistance of the Green Lantern twins, the League doesn’t seem to have the needed firepower. Here’s where the opportunity for a critical reading comes in. Empathize with this version of Superman. In a different time and place, he fell to Doomsday. Having found the simple life with his family, this Superman knows full well that the moment he commits to the Justice League, he pledges himself fully to the cause. As the old adage states, you cannot put toothpaste back into the tube. This Superman realizes that his participation means a decision that cannot be undone. Put yourself into this character’s mindset and think about the risk. That’s a great, cathartic moment.
In the end, we know what Superman would do. The nature of his character has been so forged that there would be no fear of spoiling the ending of this comic. However, I will say that Superman’s aid against the insect Reaper felt minimal and insignificant. I did find that the way he saved the day could and should have been determined by another League member. What his actions do, though, prove that the League needs a Superman. Despite that one setback I feel that this Rebirth issue gives readers one of those moments that make the medium so rewarding. Delving into a character as he debates a major decision gives one food for thought. And that’s what good comics should do.
We still have Rebirth #1's coming out, and DC is shaking things up by making Aquaman the best new thing I've read from their line and Justice League the worst. What an exciting new direction! Never read anything written by superstar artist Bryan Hitch before and now feel like that was for the better. The characters are written like cardboard cutouts of themselves, the threat is comicly cliched and uninspired (as is the limp dick hyperbole thrown behind the threat), and not one word suggests a lick of insight into these characters developed from years of illustrating them.
When I was in my early twenties I swore by Bryan Hitch's art. The scale of The Ultimates 1 and 2 is still the pinnacle of theatrical blockbuster action art for me to this day and his largely forgotten run on Fantastic Four was a lesser but memorable joy. That said, something is definitely lacking in his art in Justice League, feeling weirdly rushed and small compared to his usual dominating hand of dazzling grandeur, especially considering the stature of the team. I will say I can't tell for sure if it's entirely just Hitch's line work or if it's obscured by the awful color job. Whatever flaws the art work itself has, they are intensified tenfold by the coloring, rushed looking and lacking subtly. In one panel, a straight line defines the edge between Clark Kent's hair and forehead, while the line art shows a completely different hairline above it. Throw some vague textures over certain surfaces and some mottled undefined shadows over your flats layer and you've got some unmistakably unacceptable color work for a book of this publishing level.
It looks bad, it drags the shittiest conflicts from other books into it as its dramatic fodder, and talks big while delivering nothing. I'd rather read anything else from DC right now. Or, you know, not even that.
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