Last night/this morning I was at Bedrock City Comics in Houston for the midnight release of Justice League #1 which officially launches the new era of DC Comics. Comic shops around the country opened their doors at midnight to usher in what many people hope is a successful era for comics in general. The store I was at had around 60+ people there browsing the racks and chatting about all things nerdy. After a few raffles for variant copies, action figures and posters the time was near for everyone to check out and officially purchase the flagship book for DC's new era.
Photo courtesy of iFanboy
I tried to resist reading any reviews before going to the shop but I caved and read a review from Conor over at iFanboy. This time I am glad I read an early review because Conor helped keep my expectations in check for this relaunch. Which brings us to my thoughts on Justice League #1.
I enjoyed this initial issue for what it is, the beginning to the introduction into how and why the JL was created. That may have confused a few of you but what I mean is this is just issue #1 in a story arc that I'm sure cover 5-6 issues. It would be near impossible for the creative team to introduce every member of the JL in a meaningful way within a 40 pg. book. I heard a few people complain at the shop that the story felt as if it were just a Green Lantern and Batman book. Yes those guys were the readers first look into the future JL but I like the approach taken by Geoff Johns.
Also, mentioning the future "big boss enemy" without spending too much time on it was great. It's the perfect tease for two reasons, 1) it gets regular comic readers excited for the showdown and 2) the casual reader may have missed the mention and as the showdown draws closer they may pick up on these clues and be like, "Oh man that's awesome, didn't they mention him in issue 1? Let me go back and check." It keeps the reader engaged for the longhaul.
I enjoyed the art as this was my introduction to Jim Lee's style. At times there was a bit too much action in the panels but overall the art was terrific. I look forward to how the art will look throughout the rest of the arc/series with Lee at the helm.
Rating: 4/5
Overall I'm excited for not only this series but for many other series in the new DC Universe. Am I a bit sad to see some of my old regular comics reboot? Of course, I'll miss Zatanna having her own series but I'm also excited to see her in Justice League Dark which comes out in late September. September is going to be an awesome month for DC titles and I have faith it will be a strong start for what looks to be a great future. Next week I plan to review/discuss my pick ups from the first major week of the new DC.