Quantcast
Channel: Weekly Comic Book Review » Dave Beaty
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7

Justice League of America #3 – Review

0
0

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #3

By: Geoff Johns (story), David Finch (art), Richard Friend (inks), Sonia Oback (colors)

The Story: Catwoman is kind of like your coworker who likes to steal supplies from the office.

The Review: If there’s one thing the JLA definitely has going for it, something that puts them a step above their iconic peers, it’s a bubbling brew of personalities.  With the Justice League proper, you can tell there are differences between them, but very narrow ones, kept very tight to their characters.  The members of the JLA, on the other hand, wear their differences quite openly, allowing them to clash with a lot more abandon.

It all makes for a livelier read, even when not very much happens.  The JLA’s encounter with the robot-Trinity is only moderately exciting, as the fakes seem to have only the most basic abilities of the real thing.  You’re not inclined to see the JLA’s takedown of three mechanical imposters as the same as facing against all ten current members of the Justice League (soon to be eleven, with Zatanna slated to join—re-join?—the team).  That doesn’t stop Steve Trevor from remarking, perhaps naively, in wonder, “The Justice League versus the Justice League.”

While the potential for conflict exists among any of the JLAers, so far all of them have kept it pretty cool except when it comes to Catwoman.  In a way, their (or, should I say, Katana’s) tension with her is a little dull for us, since we all know that the thief’s a bit unscrupulous, but you wouldn’t count her among the crazed, goofy, or sadistic villains who might become her peers as she infiltrates the Secret Society.  Anyway, she’s just fun to have around; you can definitely tell Johns really enjoys writing her breezy approach to life, even if it means a bit of stealing on the job.

The real friction comes, surprisingly enough, from Star Girl, who’s starting to chafe under Amanda Waller’s control.  The last couple issues made her seem a bit bubble-headed on top of her bubbly personality, but here she sounds a lot more like the no-nonsense Courtney Whitmore we knew and loved from Johns’ Justice Society days.  She may be the purest member of the team, but she’s also the first one who to expose Waller’s truly vicious side: “We know who your dad is.  And we know what he did.  If you don’t do what we say, I’ll have him answer for it.”

Finch’s art shows some improvement, as it’s no longer so stuck on the dark, hatched style he’s so known for.  His pencils have clearly gotten cleaner and smoother, resulting in a more open, energetic, inclusive look to the series.  It finally lets all that personality come through from the characters, with the ladies, especially Catwoman, looking more varied in their expression all the time.  Hopefully, Finch can do the same with the guys in time, as they all still tend towards jaw-clenching grimness.

I liked Matt Kindt’s approach to the Martian Manhunter last month, but the back-up here doesn’t work quite so well, as it gets into Catwoman’s head and life nearly as much as it does his, revealing only the most superficial understanding of her motivations: “A woman trying to fill in the gaps [of her life].  With empty words and witty banter.”  You’d have been happier had Kindt instead focused exclusively on J’onn and his life on Mars, as it reveals a somewhat dark, even disturbing past.  In a memory of his home planet, J’onn engages in a ritual hunt, striking down a rather formidable monster, “not just killing it.  He’s taking it in.  Literally taking its life.  Its memories…  He wants the blood on him.”  Manuel Garcia draws the feature (and Dave Beaty inks it) well, but not with as much impact or creativity as you’d hope, given the material.  Jeff Chang provides deep, rich colors that fit the somber tone of the back-up quite well.

Conclusion: Both the main and back-up features feel a little weaker this time around, but they still have some strong points going for them.

Grade: B-

- Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: - I do love that Catwoman’s not too proud to own up to her mistakes.  After boasting that she can escape anyplace in 24 hours, we cut to Arkham Asylum, 48 hours later, with her huffing out of a roof hatch, “Okay, I admit it.  That was a little harder than I anticipated.”

- Here we get introduced to the updated Signal Man and Blockbuster, two of the more minor figures of the DCU’s supervillain community.  I’d like to see Johns try to make them relevant for a new generation of readers.


Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews Tagged: Catwoman, Courtney Whitmore, Dave Beaty, David Finch, DC, DC Comics, Geoff Johns, J'onn J'onzz, Jeff Chang, JLA, Justice League of America, Justice League of America #3, Justice League of America #3 review, Katana, Manuel Garcia, Martian Manhunter, Matt Kindt, Richard Friend, Selina Kyle, Sonia Oback, Star Girl, Steve Trevor, Tatsu Toro

Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 7

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images