Rating the No. 1's 'Justice League'

Times staffers and comic-book fans George Gene Gustines and Adam W. Kepler will review all of the 52 DC Comics titles that have been rebooted as part of a company-wide effort to resuscitate the brand. In the first of five weekly installments they discuss Justice League, which came out on Wednesday. Next week they’ll look at 13 other first issues, including Action Comics.

ADAM: So it seems that we are in for a “gathering of heroes” type story. But you only get two of the heroes for almost the entire issue. Well, three if you count the final page “reveal.”

GEORGE: Besides incredibly high expectations,Doctor Who Season 1-5 Collection DVD Boxset, and anxiety, about this event from those that follow DC, that’s probably the story’s biggest problem: comic fans have seen just about every variation of “let’s get the team together.”

ADAM: With the Justice League alone, you have the Grant Morrison-written team in the 90s and the more recent Brad Meltzer run. And then there’s Marvel’s Ultimates.

GEORGE: But Marvel had a very clean approach: fans knew that Ultimates were an alternate universe version of the Avengers. DC’s message is a little more muddled, which amounts to, “Some details are different, some stories still happened, but these are the heroes you know. Kind of.” Is that too long to be a tagline?

ADAM: What bothers me is that, at this point,Peppa Pig 11 DVD Box Set, it doesn’t feel that different. Batman is still Batman. Green Lantern is still a cocky jerk.

GEORGE: True, but I’m willing to give Geoff Johns, who wrote the issue, his whole storyline. To conclude anything now would be like reviewing a feature-length film on its first 15 minutes. How was reading the issue on the iPad?

ADAM: The zoom feature is kind of insane. It doesn’t matter where on the page you are, you can focus on the smallest aspect of the art.

GEORGE: And Jim Lee’s art already lends itself to hours of study.

ADAM: Unfortunately I don’t see too many instances where he takes advantage of this. Because it’s Jim Lee, it’s obviously incredibly detailed. There are things to notice on the page, but nothing you wouldn’t see holding a regular comic. I can’t bring myself to say that they are truly taking advantage of the new format. Although I appreciate the ease at which I was able to download it without getting up from my couch. Digital comics are clearly the format of choice for the slothful.

GEORGE: The two-page spread of Batman running from the police (because, in this brave sort-of-new world, the public is uncertain about these so-called heroes) is beautiful. But we’ve been blessed with a lot of stunning Batman artwork by Jim Lee.

ADAM: Exactly. It’s hard to read this book and imagine that this is the future of the medium. There’s nothing in this first issue that’s innovative, in either the story or the art. Perhaps that’s the point?

GEORGE: That feeling just confirms for me that I – as a long time reader of comic books – am not the target audience for this. This initiative is part of the quest for the fabled “new reader,” which, for the sake of the industry,Family Guy Seasons 1-9 DVD Box Set, I hope is found.

ADAM: I enjoyed the issue, but I may be a victim of the hype machine as I was left feeling like something was lacking. I hope future issues will show us just how different the new universe they are creating can truly be.

GEORGE: Agreed. Creatively and financially, the soundness of this initiative won’t be clear until three or four months in at the earliest.