Justice League #63
Recap
Last issue the Justice League used the Cosmic Treadmill to slide themselves to Naomi's birth world, but the slide didn't work as expected. Instead of defeating Brutus, the team finds themselves on the defensive. In Justice League Dark, the team is joined by Etrigan the Demon's human counterpart, Jason Blood, in the Library of Babel. They are searching the library for hints about Merlin's plan.
Review
In Justice League, we don’t go anywhere in this issue ending at the same plot point as last issue. What we do get are pages of spectacular battle scenes between the Justice League and Brutus. In Justice League Dark, Ram V has fun with the written word and the Library of Babel. Watch close or you’ll miss the secret to Zatana’s power problems. Merlin takes another step on his master plan, but the JLD now has an idea of where he went.
Subplot
It feels like we’re building up to a big reveal about why the Justice League’s powers are wonky. Did Flash goof it up? Is it Naomi’s birth world? I can’t tell because there’s been so little illustration of the power problems. We’ve been told that Superman and Black Adam are having power problems, but they keep flying around. Black Canary’s scream is more powerful than normal, and Naomi is fading away. That’s not much to go by, and it undermines how powerful Brutus needs to be to fight the entire Justice League.
Themes
What happens when mega-powered individuals are introduced to a normal world? Are they fated to destroy it? Can a world that’s been devastated be brought back to natural balance? These are great themes to serve as the foundation of our current Justice League story.
The Words
The dialogue of the Naomi-worlders (is there an Earth-X number for Naomi’s birth world?) is consistent from last issue, but it sounds like everyone is a teenager or using television caricature speech to sound alien. Bendis has found a voice for each member of the Justice League, but there are so many characters that everyone gets little time to say anything. Aquaman has some of the best lines, but the family he’s speaking with are very forgettable.
The Art
This is a power-house art issue. Marquez’s Justice League pages are a visual feast. There’s a panel of Queen Hippolyta that has to be made into a poster. I didn’t think it was possible, but the art by Xermanico on Justice League Dark was better than last issue.
Final Thoughts
We could have used more explanation about what's happening to Naomi, Superman and Black Adam? The introduction of Queen Hippolyta is inspired. The Justice League Dark has fun in a library. It's good from cover to cover.
Justice League #63: All Hail the Queen!
- Writing - 9/109/10
- Storyline - 8/108/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 8/108/10
- Cover Art - 4/104/10