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A review by rhganci
Justice League, Volume 2: The Villain's Journey by Geoff Johns
5.0
JUSTICE LEAGUE should be the best book in the New 52--heck, it should be the best book all the time, because it's the heartbeat narrative of the DCU, the story from which all stories emerge and into which all stories flow, and in v2 of the rebooted Justice League, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee (as well as a few other terrific artists who lend their talents to some panels) seem to understand that thoroughly. With a great combination of plot extensions, high action, deep villainy, squad infighting, and a superb cliffhanger, JUSTICE LEAGUE V2: THE VILLAIN'S JOURNEY meets the challenge of improving on an almost-perfect first arc of the series by upping the stakes and creating a character-centered arc in which all seven of the members of the Justice League have a moment or two in which to shine.
The premise of this volume is simple: a new grudge-bearing villain seems to carry out a revenge plan that redirects his own pain onto the members of the JL. As the ties that bind and tenuous at best for the seven heroes on the roster, Johns does a great job of exploiting those loose connections into some great story moments in some really stunning locations that really contrasted with one another. From the Watchtower, to a residence in DC, to a writing cabin in Maine, to a mystical far-East cavern and from there to the roof of the Lincoln Memorial(!), the interactions between the members of the JL reach the same degree of range and contrast that the plot's locations do. What really struck me about all of this diversity in a four-book arc was the seamlessness of the transitions between story elements. Going big like this--something that many writers attempt to do in comic storytelling--comes with some organizational difficulties, but Johns navigates his story's diversity with control and purpose, inserting brief clarifications while keeping the focus on the structure of the story, organized in an homage to the late-great Joseph Campbell, even nodding to THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES outright in the titling of the four main chapters. Other excellent elements: Colonel Steve Trevor presented as a jilted Jack Bauer (the artwork in the first two issues really makes him look like Kiefer Sutherland); Batman's irritation at the impetuousness of Green Lantern and Flash's response to crisis; the brief flashback sequences that develop the characters from the time before the story started; Batman in all things.
Lee, Williams, and Sinclair knock the cover off the ball, validating Lee's legacy of being the coolest comic artist in the world. Batman's face gets covered in shadow in such a way that it doesn't matter that it's sunny outside. Everything the Green Lantern creates with his ring is tangible and intangible at the same time. Green Arrow looks so awesome that all of the ills of his own book are immediately forgiven in his brief appearance in the prologue chapters to the launch of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. Wonder Woman is beautiful and fierce at the same time, especially in the stunning final three pages of the book. There's not much to say beyond that--Jim Lee makes the DCU come alive with a mastery of detail and expressiveness that few other artists working in comics possess; this is probably a five-star book even without the superb plotting and script that Geoff Johns has written, and the same is true for Johns, had Lee not done the pencils.
But fortunately, we readers are treated to the expert work of these two storytellers together, and this more than meets the burden of the JUSTICE LEAGUE's chief task: to run a conduit of character and universe continuity through the center of the DCU and provide a launching point from which a reader can access all of the other titles that DC offers. With JUSTICE LEAGUE leading the way with such terrific stories, the New 52 continues to be a successful means to approach heroic themes and human concerns in the 21st century. Onward into the Volumes 2!
The premise of this volume is simple: a new grudge-bearing villain seems to carry out a revenge plan that redirects his own pain onto the members of the JL. As the ties that bind and tenuous at best for the seven heroes on the roster, Johns does a great job of exploiting those loose connections into some great story moments in some really stunning locations that really contrasted with one another. From the Watchtower, to a residence in DC, to a writing cabin in Maine, to a mystical far-East cavern and from there to the roof of the Lincoln Memorial(!), the interactions between the members of the JL reach the same degree of range and contrast that the plot's locations do. What really struck me about all of this diversity in a four-book arc was the seamlessness of the transitions between story elements. Going big like this--something that many writers attempt to do in comic storytelling--comes with some organizational difficulties, but Johns navigates his story's diversity with control and purpose, inserting brief clarifications while keeping the focus on the structure of the story, organized in an homage to the late-great Joseph Campbell, even nodding to THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES outright in the titling of the four main chapters. Other excellent elements: Colonel Steve Trevor presented as a jilted Jack Bauer (the artwork in the first two issues really makes him look like Kiefer Sutherland); Batman's irritation at the impetuousness of Green Lantern and Flash's response to crisis; the brief flashback sequences that develop the characters from the time before the story started; Batman in all things.
Lee, Williams, and Sinclair knock the cover off the ball, validating Lee's legacy of being the coolest comic artist in the world. Batman's face gets covered in shadow in such a way that it doesn't matter that it's sunny outside. Everything the Green Lantern creates with his ring is tangible and intangible at the same time. Green Arrow looks so awesome that all of the ills of his own book are immediately forgiven in his brief appearance in the prologue chapters to the launch of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. Wonder Woman is beautiful and fierce at the same time, especially in the stunning final three pages of the book. There's not much to say beyond that--Jim Lee makes the DCU come alive with a mastery of detail and expressiveness that few other artists working in comics possess; this is probably a five-star book even without the superb plotting and script that Geoff Johns has written, and the same is true for Johns, had Lee not done the pencils.
But fortunately, we readers are treated to the expert work of these two storytellers together, and this more than meets the burden of the JUSTICE LEAGUE's chief task: to run a conduit of character and universe continuity through the center of the DCU and provide a launching point from which a reader can access all of the other titles that DC offers. With JUSTICE LEAGUE leading the way with such terrific stories, the New 52 continues to be a successful means to approach heroic themes and human concerns in the 21st century. Onward into the Volumes 2!