Old school fun with a bold, fresh feel. Fantastic!
The biggest obstacle facing Justice League #1 was the massive amount of hype surrounding it. It has been heralded as the foundation that the entire New 52 world is built upon. DC put together the super creative team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee to handle the book. It had an entire week where the spotlight was only on it (well, and Flashpoint #5). In other words, it was built up by expectations that it couldn't possibly meet. Or could it?
Let me just say it, I loved this issue and if this is any indication of what we can expect from DC's New 52, my excitement just went up x10. Flashpoint #5 led us here but this is the first issue and first story of the new DC Universe. And that's worth mentioning because this isn't an alternate reality or elseworld kind of thing. This is the DC Universe NOW so immediately we understand we're getting something totally fresh and new. The first Justice League arc takes place 5 years before the main New 52 continuity and serves as an introduction to how the Justice League met and came about. It doesn't take long for Geoff Johns to show us a fairly dramatic difference and it's something that should have a pretty strong effect on the rest of the arc. It starts off with the first meeting between Batman and Green Lantern and this issue takes it and runs with it. I found this to be so much fun. There's some funny banter between two along with a little bit of oneupsmanship. Both characters feature a lot of the same traits we know and love about them as well as the stalwart tension we expect between the two. It moves fast and feels like a classic old-school super-hero story while also feeling bold and fresh.
Let me also say, it is so good to have Jim Lee back on a title. He absolutely nails it here and crafts a visual experience that as closely resembles a cinematic, motion picture feel as anything I've seen in a while. Starting with his very first panel to his last fist pumping splash page, it's fluid, energetic, and immersive. Even more, you can tell Lee is having a lot of fun especially with some of Green Lantern's constructs. Each panel features Lee's signature attention to detail both in his characters and in the environments and that only adds to the book's ability to draw you in. I don't mean to gush, but as a huge fan of his work on "Hush", this was like turning back the clock. And again, that last page....bring on issue #2!!!
"Justice League" #1 has an old-school feel while also being new and fresh. It's just good plain fun. There's nothing in the storytelling that's unique or extraordinary. What makes it fantastic is that this is something new and it's something that really matters. This is the shape of the new DC Universe and we have no idea where things are heading. There's no direct history to look back on, only the future, and I for one can't wait to see what the future holds. What a great start to The New 52.
