Writer: Geoff Johns
Penciller: Jason Fabok
“The Darkseid War” comes to a head in this months exciting issue of Justice League, and our heroes are caught in the middle! With nowhere left to run, what do these “super-friends” do? They charge right into battle. Meanwhile on Apokolips, Superman and Lex Luthor are confronted by slaves of the dark lord, Darkseid, and are met with the unfortunate realization that there is no sun on Apokolips; and with no sun, means no superpowers for our Man of Steel!
If you care to remember, I was not a huge fan of last month’s issue of JL. The final page/resolution left me with a feeling of reproach rather than excitement, like a father who disapproves of you writing freelance for some comic book websites, but still loves you so he sticks by your side (I still love you, Dad). This issue, I’m glad to say, was a complete 180 for me. I’m still not a big enthusiast of Bats being the new Metron, or of him being bestowed with God-like powers, but this issue shows that Johns might be steering this in a direction that is exciting to me. The only downside to the scenes with the entire Justice League is that the whole conversation had by them was a bit of an exposition dump. I understand that these things need to happen from time-to-time, but there may have been a better, and un-comic booky way of doing it. Let this be the departure for my grubs and gripes, though, as the rest of the issue is flawless. I won’t spoil what happens with Supes and Luthor, but I’m VERY interested to see where that goes and how that will parallel with what Wonder Woman is alluding to when she says, “Not all of us will survive.”
I truly loved the stand-off of Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor and how it mirrors the story of Charybdis, Scylla, and Odysseus. The splash page of these two Gods squaring off with the Earth hanging in between them is, personally, my favorite piece of Fabok’s art that I’ve ever seen. If this issue is any indication as to what we can expect for the finale of this “Darkseid War,” then count me in!
