Issue #7 takes us into the present day and we see what the Justice League looks like after five years. The trouble is, you’d think they would grow up a little bit. The back-up story features the first New 52 appearance of Shazam.
I am always going back and forth over my opinions on Geoff John’s writing. I love how he is treating the team as a dysfunctional family, but I don’t like how he is crafting their story. This issue takes place five years after Issue #6. I would think in that time the group would grow up and learn how to work together as a team. I would think Diana wouldn’t be so brainless. I would think Superman would say more than three bland sentences. I would also think they would have a leader. This team doesn’t feel like a team.
The Justice League feels like a bunch of cardboard cutouts fighting evil around the world. Green Lantern and the Flash don’t take anything seriously. Superman and Aquaman just stand there in silence, or say some action line. Wonder Woman is still clueless (unlike in her solo book). And Batman is striving to lead the team (at least he’s doing something).
We’re not given any context to the villain of this issue, and they beat it in just a few pages. The bulk of the issue is dealing with A.R.G.U.S (Advanced Research Group Uniting Super Humans) and the government trying to regulate and control the League. This would be a great book if any of that actually went anywhere.
The backup story, featuring Shazam is an interesting start to a character I don’t know much about. I am more excited for the backup than the actual Justice League story.
The art is fine; Gene Ha composes the scenes as well as he can with what little meat there is to the story. Also, Look at the cover image. How gross does that look? Purple and green do not mix well, not to mention the giant blue chaos ball in the middle. How about a little color harmony, please? I think it’s mostly the green background that grosses me out.
This book is supposed to be the mantle piece for all New 52 to aspire towards. This is supposed to be the book everyone wants and should read. However, the first arc was incredibly rushed and chaotic. This arc is already starting off on the wrong foot.
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