Review: Justice League - No Justice #1 (of 4)

Hot on the heels of Metals, comes the next steps in the formation of a different Justice League or Leagues; ones that can handle the desperate threats that have leaked into the DC Universe thanks to the crack in the Source Wall.

Anytime Brainiac shows up, you know that the world is pretty much up for getting something of a kicking.Â This time Brainiac is on the lookout for some allies toÂ save his planet, and by the virtue of setting up the heroes, the Earth!Â Brainiac hails from smartest the planet in the universe as he looks to assuage villains into his plans, in very much the same wayÂ theÂ Legion of Doom did on the JLU cartoon, ironically against Brainiac.Â Still the guys and gals, good and bad of the DC Universe, must team-up to take on the might of the Omega Titans!

The current trend of events to be written by committee continues here with, Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Joshua WIlliamson all putting pen to paper.Â Between them, they create an issue that looks to establish some rapport amongst characters thatÂ are not normally thrown together.Â There are a couple of odd partnerships to be sure, but some of this has been alluded to thanks to might of Previews and the fact that pictures have been tweeted since the end of the last event.Â For the most part, characters pretty much sound like they should and I for one am pleased to see that for once, Batman isn’t the main man, to coin a phrase.Â Indeed Bats takes such a back seat role it seems that everyone has forgotten the warning given at the end of Metal, meaning that, story-wise, it does seem a little inconsistent, a problem that may get ironed out in time.

Francis Manapul is on art duties for the book and like the writing, it does show some inconsistencies.Â Manapul’s art works well on action scenes, though I am not sure how Wonder Woman’s left arm can be in that position, early on in proceedings.Â Where Manapul’s work can suffer it is in the quieter moments.Â Characters stand around with blank looks on their faces, seeminglyÂ totally disengaged with events.Â This is quite a shame, as the angular work, especially on the lower parts of the characters bodies, gives a sense of purpose to those in motion.Â It doesn’t spoil the read that much, but doesÂ create a level of disconnection.Â Also, with so many characters on show, things does get a little chaotic at times.Â Colors are provided by Hi-Fi and by now, everyone should now the stellar work that they produce.

As this four issue run is aimed at creating interest in the new Odyssey and Dark books respectively, you can forgive those involved for trying to push specific needs, the focus on Starfire for example.Â Where I think the book succeeds is actually more to do with perception than story or art.Â Metals promised so much, had some crazy moments, had some good moments and pretty much split fans views on the series.Â Here, with the knowledge that whatever happens in this series, there will be a continuation of events in the two new books, there is very little pomp and bluster surrounding this book, and it is definitely the better for it.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson
Art by; Francis Manapul
Colors by; Hi-Fi
Published by; DC Comics

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

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