REVIEW: Justice League of America #1

WRITER: Bryan Hitch
ARTIST(s): Hitch, Daniel Henriques, Wade von Grawbadger
LETTERER: Chris Eliopoulos
COLORIST: Alex Sinclair, Jeromy Cox
COVER ARTIST(s): Hitch, Sinclair, Howard Porter, Hi-Fi
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
RELEASE DATE: 06/17/2015

What’s this? DC finally getting it? Their readers want good stories, period??

I kid, but in all seriousness what I like most about this new series, as well as some other changes in the new “DC You” movement is that, finally, continuity is not nearly as important as good storytelling. Yes, there’s a new Bat-Bunny and the Man of Jeans. Doesn’t mean that in Darkseid War we have to have these two fighting alongside the Renegade Green Lantern and the future-crossed Flash. This series is further evidence of this. You can enjoy this story starring the New 52 Justice League without really reading any of the main series, except maybe the first volume (if you like origin stories). Otherwise, it’s a great jumping-on book, and honestly, it doesn’t really matter where it falls in terms of continuity.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Bryan Hitch’s art. Admittedly, I’ve never really picked up a book of his, so I was pretty pleasantly surprised. The art is great for a big team book, as his action scenes really deliver. My only real criticism with the art is more in the slower scenes, where I find that it loses a lot of its appeal when not having its stars beat the life out of some villains. But, as a whole, Hitch’s pencils are definitely aided by his large team of inkers/colorists, and the consistency throughout the book is nicely surprising.

I didn’t love the story, but I definitely enjoyed the fight scene. I felt that the secondary storyline starring Superman and these two scientists was weirdly plotted. Superman isn’t one to threaten civilians four times in as many pages, and I found myself not really caring for the advancement of this plotline. Also, that final page did nothing for me, because it was less a cliffhanger and more a “what now?” moment in my eyes.

Overall, this book isn’t perfect but is a good first issue. It’s nice to see DC begin shifting away from “urgh heavy continuity 24/7” and more into “good stories” territory. The writing/art both seem to be best during action scenes, and suffer during the slower moments, but this book should be a definite pickup for any Hitch/JLA fans.

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Author Profile

Cedbill

Cedbill is a Las Vegas-based writer who is the founder and head editor at Coast Comics. He currently writes Phantom Squad, Mars Leighton, and Freedom Rave.

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