Review: Justice League #9

Â In a world without Grant Morrison, as terrible as that would be, Scott Snyder becomes my all-time favorite comic book writer. Heavy praise? Definitely, but well-earned, if you don’t believe me you haven’t been reading the current Justice League title. The first arc of Snyder’s run has dealt with some pretty intense subject matter, most of it concerning the Multiverse and the now broken Source Wall, however even the Justice League need some down time. Well, as close to down time as a team of the world’s greatest super heroes gets. This issue may not be directly dealing with those literally Earth shattering threats, but it is dealing with some heavy interpersonal elements like rejuvenation, determination and unity. Snyder gives us a rare look at the day-to-day minutiae that comes with being on the Justice League and the friendships that bind these heroes together. The tour of the team members living quarters is perhaps one of the most intimate glimpses into the heart of these characters we have ever been afforded and it is handled with such authenticity, both in Snyder’s description and in Jiminez’s rendering.

Snyder takes the time to flesh out the details of the relationships on this team, particularly the paradigm between Batman and Superman. Although the two are not physically together in this issue, Batman is in a hospital bed and Superman is in space fighting an alien menace, their ability to communicate transcends the distance. That communication, that chemistry is what Snyder gets so right, perhaps more so than any recent Batman scribe and that is what makes this issue so great. These two heroes are like night and day, no pun intended, but the contrasting nature of their character make them transversely a perfect duo. Snyder explores that in a way that is endearing and human much like the look into the personal spaces of the Hall of Justice in this issue. This culminates in a double page spread that depicts the HoJ’s cafeteria filled with some of the League’s lesser known members rubbing elbows with the more well-known names. This could easily be one of my favorite images of the year. Jiminez does such a fantastic job of staging this entire scene, from the facial expressions to the body language he swings for the fences and crushes this one.

Although this is a kind of quiet moment there is that sense of being the calm before the storm and Snyder does a brilliant job of using that tension to underline the events of this issue. There is an understated urgency to all of the light-hearted elements at work here. There are several allusions to the imminent danger posed by an unseen evil as well as a sense that this moment is built upon a foundation of well-earned and hard-won, if temporary peace, of mind and body, but that only serves to enhance the immediacy of the moment. Snyder is so good at raising the emotional stakes while crafting an exciting and engrossing super hero story.

Jorge Jiminez is at the top of his game here. His stylized approach to anatomy is dynamic yet not so far removed from reality. There is a cinematic feel to his page designs and panel arrangement, it’s bombastic when called for and subtle when needed to be. In a day when so much praise is heaped on the use of the 9 panel grid, Jiminez shows that he can use that approach with the best of them. In fact he opens this issue with a moon shattering 9 panel grid that sets the bar for the issue extremely high, he then proceeds to raise it with each successive page.

If you haven’t been reading Scott Snyder’s run on Justice League I can only ask, what are you waiting for? this is what super hero comic books are meant to be, exciting, intelligent and fun. The dialogue is sharp, the pace is lively and the visuals are gorgeous. This is a perfect spot for new readers to jump on before Snyder and company hit the accelerator again, then who knows when the ride will slow down for noobs to get on. 5/5

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer- Scott Snyder
Artist- Jorge Jiminez
Colors- Alejandro Sanchez