This series is one of three books that have been retooled following the No Justice mini event. At its core, the book is trying to emulate the feeling of the classic League, very much like a new house with your old stuff in it. The team consists of many people’s “All-Star” team, although some would argue that Cyborg could go back to the Titans; DC have worked hard to make him a viable option to Batman’s tech skills. As such, we get Hawkgirl back and of course the Manhunter from Mars, J’onn J’onzz. Whilst fans may focus on the “All-Star” League, the issue also serves to give the DCU back the Legion of Doom! Issue one is pretty much a follow-up of sorts; a streaking star from the future is shooting its way to the present, under the watchful eyes of a few guest stars, before things get a little talky and the creation of the good and the bad occurs.
Scott Snyder is the writer of choice, moving away from Gotham and the Bat, stretching his talent to encompass team books. Now, It is no great secret that I wasn’t a huge Metals fan, for a number of reasons. So, I will admit that there was a level of trepidation when I started reading this book. For the most part, I shouldn’t have worried. Sure there are still a couple of flaws; the non-explanation of how this version of Hawkgirl is in play rather than her appearance and look carried over from Metals (For the record, this may have been covered in No Justice #4, which I haven’t read yet), and of course, dialogue wise, a new iteration of the now infamous “I’m the ………. (insert character name)”, gets another outing, just to make sure you know this is All-Star Justice League. Those aside, Snyder delivers the setup of the story, which has always been one of his greatest strengths.
The art is provided by Jim Cheung, who is an artist that has spent most of his time over at Marvel. His style is aimed, I think, towards the epic idea of art; poses are sufficiently heroic if a little wonky on perspective and faces can lack a certain level of detail. Still, you can’t argue at how he manages to convey the threat of Luthor, though I do wish it would carry over to say Vandal and the Joker. The key part of the art is the new version of the meeting table; gone is the big slab of marble, in its place is the new Martian version, complete with star scape panoramic view, although I do wonder what is happening to the heroes bodies when their minds go a-wondering. Mark Morales adds to the art with solid inks and Tomeu Morey throws in some splendid color schemes even if at times, it feels like he may be trying a tad too hard.
You have to admire a writer like Snyder. Once famous for dark stories with a horror vibe, he seemed perfectly suited for Batman and it showed with a great run on Detective and some stellar work on the New 52 Batman book. Not content with his Bat-corner of the universe, some would argue that it showed in his version of All-Star Batman, Snyder went full on heroes mode with Metal. Now, taking on the League, he may have finally found the type of book that his sprawling narrative will find to hard to overwhelm, especially if there are sweeping arcs in play.
Writing – 4.5 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 3.5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Scott Snyder
Art by; Jim Cheung & Mark Morales
Colors by; Tomeu Morey
Published by; DC Comics
Author Profile
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I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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