Hey party people,
John here, I wanted to discuss a bit (in no real framework or organized thought) my immediate reaction to the Geoff Johns written, Jim Lee pencilled Justice League of America coming at the end of August. While this leads to the much larger announcement DC made of reverting all standing titles back to issue #1, we're going to save that for the podcast (mostly cuz I
want to see that vein in the middle of Ron's forehead swell up like a choke victim).
But for now, let's stick with the one book.
1) Dick Grayson Batman
That really looks like Grayson on the cover, by the gauntlets and the non-glowing chest plate thing that Bruce wears (I really hate that damn logo... if you're looking to beat the shit out of people, would you put your name on your chest and have it glow in the dark?) If it is Grayson, I'm loving the idea. I'd like to see Grayson make it to the "big time"; he's technically in the Justice League, but it's full of second stringers and women (Psh... women). Seeing him kick ass alongside Superman and Wonder Woman would just be a fanboy moment. Plus, Grayson actually expresses emotion, so I'd imagine there'd be more opportunities for character moments besides the obvious "Bruce says something gruff and unapologetic".
2) Jim Lee is pencilling
I'm not going to lie, I really like Jim Lee's work. I know it represents the shift of "90's comic art" that focuses more on bad-ass poses and completely ignores things like background and blocking (not that Lee is guilty of either, but a lot of these problems spawned from his work (most notably Spawn, double parentheses!!!)) but I still really dig his style of work. Hush's saving grace was his artwork, All-Star B&R looking amazing and his X-Men run was what got me into comics as a kid. That being said..... the dude is slow. Suuuuuuper slow. Like most good artists, I assume. Plus, his role as Co-Publisher of DC Comics probably adds another brick wall to the whole process, so hopefully he's able to keep up on a monthly book. I'm sure he'll only be on for a 6 issue arc and then it'll move on, but I can still dream of a year-long run. Hell, rumors have been going on for more than a year about a Johns/Lee run on JLA, so he may have a good number of issues under his belt already.
3) Wonder Woman's wearing that costume....
Yeah, the pant suit. She's still rockin' that, aint she? Just shred down to your American Panties and get your ass back out there! Enough of this "shirt and pants" bullshit. If my women are gonna fight crime, they're gonna do it in the most degrading and misogynistic way possible. Like, have her sucking a lollipop in every scene.
4) The Cast
Geoff Johns stated in his USA Today interview that his cast will deal with "the human aspect" of the JLA, and it's been boiled down to Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Batman and Superman. The stranger addition is that of Cyborg, which adds the one minority into the group (Greeks don't count, WW!) That makes one woman, one black dude (who's like, 85% robot anyway) and a bunch of ripped white guys. Sounds about right. I am anxious to see Aquaman be relevant again and not be the butt of so many horrible jokes. "Sea lion, go rescue the hostages! Octopus, keep me steady so I can stand super-awesome like on top of your head when we surface! Sea horse, go find my car keys!" I will be kind of bummed to miss Wally West as the Flash, since I grew up with him... Barry Allen is a lot like Hal Jordan, in that neither one is really that interesting of a character underneath the costume.
5) What Was the Point of Brightest Day?
I know this is backtracking, but wasn't the point of Brightest Day to re-introduce B list characters and make them important again? A lot of folks speculated early in the limited series that the ending of Brightest Day was the segue into the new Justice League. So one would guess that Aquaman, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter and the Hawks would be included in some manner. It looks like Aquaman is the only one of the bunch making the leap, which seems odd since Martian Manhunter was just badass in the Grant Morrison run of the series. Then again, Plastic Man was badass in Morrison's run and Plastic Man sucks. Maybe speaks higher of the writer than the character?
Either way, I guess we'd just have to assume then that MM, Firestorm and Hawkman (since Hawkgirl's dead again... or missing... or fell asleep in a big bush where no one could see her...) will be receiving their own ongoings, are will just be ancillary characters in other books. Or they'll be rotating characters in the JLA book, since the roster never stays the same for more than one story arc.
Or they'll be killed again.
6) How Will The Book Be Run?
When Brad Meltzer started the current incarnation of the book, they were stand-alone stories (although the high-profile part was definitely disputed). However, as the book went along Justice League of America became a "here's what's happening in the DCU right now". The book became less about the stories and more about the Universe-wide events. Things just turned to bubbly shit when all of the mainstays were pulled off because they were going through major events in their own books. Batman was gone because he "died". Superman was off on New Krypton. Wonder Woman was.... y'know, absent. So that left Firestorm, Zatanna, Vixen, Black Canary, Plastic Man, Red Tornado blahblahblahblahblah sorry I mentally made a sandwich and shit it out and then took a nap. The book was dull, essentially. There were no heavy hitters because editorial felt the singular ongoings were more important than the team ongoing. Here's hoping Geoff Johns doesn't fall into that... although with as much swing as his dick currently creates, I don't think he'll have any trouble avoiding being shoehorned into other writers' stories.
7) Going Digital
The JLA book, as well as all of the new #1 issues, will be released both periodically and digitally going forward. It's a great move for grabbing in new readers who really don't care about the paperback versions of a book they can read on their iPad or iPhone or tablet devices or laptops or widgets and gadgets or tidgets and trinkets. Part of me is sad, though. This JLA book is going to be the harbinger of the digital age of comics, an age I'm neither ready for or anxious for. If it helps promote the product that I love, so be it. But I feel like the old man who refuses to get a mobile phone because he likes the feel of the receiver in his hand when he hand-cranks the number he's dialing. Damn stupid bullshit progress.
8) Geoff Johns Writing Batman
I'm a huge Batman fan. Meaning that I'm a huge fan of Batman, not that I'm a fan of an overweight Batman. Bad joke. Anyway, Johns is known for his less than endearing take on Bruce Wayne. I wonder if it's just the fact that Batman gets so much more attention than other characters, and Johns' whole shitick is bringing the underused to the forefront, but Johns writes Bruce Wayne as... well, as kind of a prick. If Bruce is picked to be the Batman for the JLA, then expect a bunch of douche-isms from Batman, and a lot of characters talking in the next room about what it means to be a friend.
All this being said, I'm stoked as all get-up for the book, and I can't wait to see the two biggest names in comics coordinate on the biggest characters in comics.
Except for Cyborg.
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