Justice League Unlimited #4: Fight Fire With Flora

Justice League Unlimited hit the ground running last year with an exciting debut and has maintained its momentum ever since. Though only four issues in, Justice League Unlimited has been incredibly well paced with solid issue after solid issue thanks to Mark Waid’s writing and Dan Mora’s art. Waid and Mora have put together quite the resume together, and Mora seems to continue to top himself. Justice League Unlimited #4 feels like the largest issue of the series in scale with a near-perfect climax and packed with surprises. Previous reviews have mentioned Waid’s ability to write for a large cast of characters, and it feels especially impressive in this issue. Juggling a massive cast of characters can work on paper but be poorly executed in the art, but luckily Mora matches if not exceeds Waid’s writing in this manner. Few things can improve Mora’s art, and one of them is Tamra Bonvillain’s coloring. 

Waid and Mora are two names thrown around together but it really should be Waid, Mora, and Bonvillain if not Mora and Bonvillain. The colors in the majority of this issue are spectacular and vivid and radiate an energy that feels fresh and exciting. Along with some interesting angels and “wide shot” panels, there is a sense of scale that feels especially impressive. The issue builds and builds on this scale with a sense of urgency thanks to Mr. Terrific making it entirely clear that the Amazon jungle is in grave danger. As exciting as the main plot is, the issue takes a turn and cuts to Batman and Martian Manhunter, who has exiled himself to the desert far from any flame. The contrast in the visuals is stunning. Mora switches it up and gets up close and personal while illustrating incredibly real emotion in Batman and Martian Manhunter’s faces. In what would be a perfectly fine ending to the issue, Waid ups the stakes and sends Aquaman and Tefé Holland into the Green, spectacularly visualized by Mora and Bonvillain. The climax of the issue should be experienced firsthand because it feels entirely unexpected but completely earned.