The plot is quite simple; the various planets freed from the clutches of Brainiac have taken residence within the Ghost Sector. Since then, the Guardians have tasked Green Lantern Jessica Cruz the job of making sure nothing goes in or out. Of course, that little obstacle is nothing for a certain Tamarrian Princess looking for her world. Along for the ride with Starfire is Cyborg (who else could pilot an alien ship, he does everything else, right?) and Azreal who has swapped out the dark skies of Gotham for the dark skies of the universe. Oh and there is a huge “no surprise” twist at the end!
Joshua Williamson, the current head honcho of the Flash universe, is on hand to scribe this new Justice team, built on some familiar names, in unfamiliar surroundings. With the “Swiss Army knife” that is Cyborg, there is a bit of a question a why he even needs the rest of the team! Starfire brings the drive of a quest, which is ironic bearing in mind also on board is the ultimate believer in quests, Azreal. From the start of Rebirth, Jessica Cruz has been one of my favourite characters. Her strength of belief to overcome her own very personal fears, shows how much she has developed. I am then at a bit of a loss as to why Williamson decides to ensconce the comfort zone loving Jess into a place where she is effectively all alone. Surely, this would just exacerbate her mental health issues? I can not stress this strongly enough, I feel that this element of disregard of the characters past and growth is a massive disservice to Jess and an insult to anyone who is suffering from a mental health issue!
Stjepan Sejic is the artist charting the course of this book with his usual style of simply put, gorgeous artwork. Whether it is the depths of Atlantis or the depths of space, Sejic is the perfect artist for the out of this world environs. Almost painted colors add to the uniqueness of the book. As much as Sejic is known for his color work, he is more than recognised for his ability to draw strong, classic looking figures; super heroes and heroines are by no mean the exception. I have been looking forward to his Jess since the announcement of this book and he doesn’t disappoint. There are also new designs for a couple of characters, with varying success although both are interesting ideas. Deron Bennett, providing the letters, has some fun with the “voices in their head” trope.
This book has a few missteps to contend with; no matter how you look at it, the book is massively late and having a villain on the team is by now, no means the newest of ideas, with Clayface previously on the Detective team, Man-Bat on Dark and of course the team-up heavy progenitor, No Justice the most obvious comparisons. With this being the first issue, and with it being so late, there is a lot more exposition than I would of expected. Also, it feels like everyone is treating Jess like a rookie; this with the well known space traveller Azreal on the team! In the final reckoning though, no matter how gorgeous this book is, it is clear that Williamson needs to work out the kinks quick, if he has any hope of overcoming the early issue jitters.
Writing – 2.5 Stars
Art & Colors – 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Joshua Williamson
Art & Colors by; Stjepan Sejic
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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