Justice League Odyssey #12: Is it Over Yet?

Another month and another issue of Justice League Odyssey. As usually, this book is visually stunning as Conrad continues to turn in exceptional work month after month. From galactic spreads to cult armies and “para-angels”, Conrad spares no expense in bringing this book to life. Unfortunately, the book continues to falter in terms of writing. Even in this issue, in which things actually did happen– Starfire and Azrael take their places alongside Cyborg as Darkseid’s New Gods– there is still the feeling of this series being an inevitable placeholder for something more… important.

There is just no excitement here. No suspense. The return of a major villain like Darkseid should have me excitedly turning pages but instead it feels begrudging month after month. Part of this feeling of apathy stems from, in my opinion, the gross mischaraterization of nearly every character involved. Even a callback to Jessica Cruz’s crippling anxiety that left her isolated to her home rings hollow in the face of her being written with absolutely zero anxiety. Azrael is stripped clean of his zealotry. Starfire lacks the emotional punch she was imbued with in the Wolfman-era. Victor is so removed from humanity he may as well be Robot. These characters, manipulated by both plot and writer, feel hollow. Even the surprise ending in which Darkseid slays a Power-Ring-drained Jessica Cruz, there is no sense of despair or mourning. That never felt like Jessica Cruz to begin with, so why should I worry?

I don’t enjoy slamming a book as some reviewers do. I wish I felt differently about this one. I truly do. It’s a writer I typically enjoy writing characters I have grown to love over the years, and in some cases decades. But I feel like you, dear reader, deserve MY truth. Justice League Odyssey is not an enjoyable book and is entirely skippable in the grand scheme of the DC Universe.