Justice League of America #19
Writer Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis
DC Comics, $2.99, color, 28 pages
The slam against The New 52 Justice League is that it's slow-moving, and this issue will do nothing to change that impression. However, it's chock-full of character development that I find far more entertaining than super-villain fights.
The book opens with (of all people) Red Hood in a chummy conversation with Alfred in the Batcave. If there were any doubts after "Death of a Family" and the latest issue of Red Hood and the Outlaws that Jason Todd is once again on the side of the angels -- and a welcome member of the Bat-family -- this scene would dispel them.
An event occurs which suggests a return to the bad old days, when Batman maintained a means to kill any Justice Leaguer. But, no, it is Batman who is the voice of reason later in the book, when he counsels Superman and Wonder Woman -- whose relationship he has, of course, deduced -- to be aware of how their actions affect public perception of the League. Yes, Batman as the hero most worried about the Justice League! Clearly, that is one "new" aspect of The New 52.
And in that conversation, which seems brief because of revelation but isn't, we see a number of attitudes in play. I won't spoil any of it, save to note that Wonder Woman's spirited defense of Superman's well-being should remind Batman never to get on her bad side.
Up in the satellite, only Firestorm and the new Atom are present, awaiting their induction into the club. There are some good bits of dialogue here, that made me like Firestorm for perhaps the first time ever. The real star, though, is The Atom, whose introduction shows that being able to shrink to microscopic size is a real advantage in World of Warcraft-like games -- and simultaneously displaying her Uber-Nerd bona fides. All of which is interrupted by the return of an old enemy, that I suspect will please long-time JL fans.
Have I been sufficiently vague? I hope so, because these personality bits are the reason to buy the book, and I don't want to spoil them.
As to the quality of the book, I don't suppose I'm spoiling anything by saying it's top-notch. DC has its best on Justice League, and every page shows it. I don't have anything to add to what zillions of other reviewers have raved about, except to say that visually Ivan Reis makes every issue of Justice League a treat.
Finally, we have the six-page "Shazam!" back-up, which has also been moving rather slowly -- a fault this issue corrects. We very quickly learns some of the "rules" of the new Captain Marv uh, Shazam powers, the history of Black Adam, and a rush towards a climax ... which, unfortunately, will have to wait until next issue. But at least something happened.
I don't mean to disparage the "Shazam!" feature, as it is also the product of two of DC's best -- not just COO Geoff Johns but artist Gary Frank, whose work I've loved for years. In fact, I've already ordered the TPB that will collect this series, so I can savor it all at once instead of in six-page increments. But Johns has had to cover a lot of ground establishing the Shazam powers, how they play into the history of the DCU, the major characters (not just Billy, Freddy and Mary, but a clutch of other kids whose purpose is not yet evident), Billy discovering the powers, the introduction of Black Adam,plus -- well, you know, a story. Some fun. That's a lot to do in six-pagers every 30 days, so I'm prepared to forgive how long it's taken for Shazam to confront Black Adam. After all, we need to care about these characters before the throw-down.
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