Justice League International #3 – Review

By: Dan Jurgens (writer), Aaron Lopresti (penciller), Matt Ryan (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: Actually, I can believe it’s not the Justice League.

The Review: On the topic of super-teams that need to distinguish themselves from the Justice League, let’s turn our attention to one of the most obvious offenders.  We mustn’t forget that for a long time, JLI was the Justice League, one that some readers loved and still remember as their definitive version of the team.  Ever since Grant Morrison’s “pantheon” version of League, however, JLI has been relegated to running joke status, a rut that can be a challenge to get out of.

It looks like Jurgens wants to tackle the issue head-on, but at an angle.  Instead of setting up JLI as an actual joke (vis-à-vis Geoff Johns’ take on Aquaman #1), Jurgens establishes them from the start as more of a PR stunt, a band of heroes that excel more in political correctness than actual competence as a fighting unit (Godiva proves, once again, that she is nearly worthless in a crisis situation).  Think of Vatican City’s Swiss Guard, and you’ll get the general idea.

To get the group past that image, Jurgens throws in a global-scale threat, betting they have what it takes to beat the odds and actually use their multinational strength for global good.  Of course, you have to question why other, more practiced teams (say, Stormwatch, or, I dunno, the Justice League?) don’t step in to take care of things as they usually do, but let’s leave that matter aside.  After all, the JLI have to prove themselves useful at some point, right?

Unfortunately, they don’t do much of that in this issue.  Overall, the plot becomes your typical “split off the team and watch them fall apart, two-by-two,” which becomes a bit predictable after a while, especially since each unit has exactly the same mission (one distracts the giant, the other establishes access to the cavern underneath) and they wind up scrapping with the exact same enemies (earthen golems that chitter—“Chtk-chtk-chtk!”—in an increasingly annoying fashion).

Justice League International #2 – Review

By: Dan Jurgens (writer), Aaron Lopresti (penciller), Matt Ryan (inker), Hi-Fi (colorist)

The Story: Well, it’s not “Hands Around the World,” but it’ll have to do.

The Review: With one Justice League already in existence, and with all the world’s biggest, brawniest, most recognizable heroes counted in the roster, it really puts all other teams to shame, doesn’t it?  Justice League Dark may have proven its value where purely mystical threats are concerned, and Stormwatch when it comes to covert planetary guardianship, but JLI has been a sanctioned imitation from the start, and will have to work that much harder to break out.

It’ll have a much harder time of it if Jurgens doesn’t figure out how to write any of the characters beyond their most basic conceptions.  Rocket Red and August General spend most of the issue taking digs at each other’s nationalistic pride (“To be saved by miracle of Russian technology is glorious for you!”  “Chinese science would have been faster and more efficient.”), which comes across embarrassingly clichéd and antiquated—what is this, the late seventies?

This lack of identity applies double to the women.  While Godiva has sort of found a voice for herself (and it is the voice of a randy lady), her fellow females all have a sameness to their dialogue, making them exceptionally interchangeable.  Here’s a sample of all four women talking at once (see if you can tell who’s who!): “Is he trying to tell Batman what to do?”  “You heard right.”  “This is about to get good.”  …”He’ll need the doctor more than me.”

Even with the most fully-formed personalities of the team, Jurgens seems in creative competition with others and himself.  Batman sounds as dour and commanding as ever, but certainly has none of the spark Scott Snyder, Geoff Johns, or Grant Morrison have given him.  Jurgens gives Guy a lot of sound and fury, but none of the wit and depth Peter Tomasi lends him in Green Lantern Corps.  And while Booster, as Jurgens’ specialty, comes across the most convincing of all the team, his agonizing self-doubt certainly makes him unrecognizable.

While shocking to see the team rank on Booster, just because he chooses to back off from a fight and see to his teammate’s injuries, it’s even more shocking to see Booster simply take their abuse so personally and without a peep.  The fact he even considers stepping down at this first sight of discontent already proves he doesn’t have the chops to lead, and ultimately, it’s the intercession of Batman and August General, not his own skills, which restores trust in him.

Broken Trinity: Aftermath – Review

“Paying Debts” – By Ron Marz (Writer), Jorge Lucas (Art), and Felix Serrano (Colors)

“Lessons” – By Bryan Edward Hill (Writer), Tyler Kirkham (Pencils), Sal Regla (Inks), and John Starr (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Broken Trinity, the action-packed event that promised to shake things up the Top Cow universe, proved to be a very solid piece of entertainment. While the storyline ultimately did little more than introduce two new characters and set the stage for an epic fight, the spectacular visuals by Stjepan Sejic made the event worth investing in. In addition, the new characters were interesting enough to be considered worthy additions to the Witchblade/Darkness mythos. I looked forward to seeing more of them. That’s where Broken Trinity: Aftermath comes in…

The Story: “Paying Debts” tells the story of Finn’s rescue of/ reunion with Jackie Estacado (The Darkness). It also sets Finn’s story truly in motion as he talks with Jackie about his newfound power and the information he’s learned. “Lessons” is about Glorianna’s situation following the Broken Trinity battle and what the future may hold for her and her power.

The Good and The Not So Good: As a whole, Broken Trinity: Aftermath works quite well. Short, but sweet, both stories in Aftermath do a nice job of better establishing the characters in charge of the recently introduced ice and fire artifacts. And really, that’s all they need to do. I really look forward to seeing more of the characters in the future (though I’m not sure how much more of Glorianna there is to show…I’ll get to that in a moment). Now, onto the technical stuff…

“Paying Debts” is the more enjoyable read of the two thanks to the way Ron Marz handles Finn. As he did during Broken Trinity, Finn comes across as an extremely likable guy who knows he’s in over his head but is more than willing to make the best of it. Heck, even when killing people as a ice giant, Finn’s personality manages to make an impact. If Finn’s story has a low point, it’s that the visual’s don’t really sync up all that well to the character. While the dark, gritty style works initially, it’s mostly unfit for handling Finn’s ice giant form. With the exception of a striking panel or two, the visuals of the ice giant disappoint.

“Lessons” is told almost entirely through the attractive visuals, but the dialogue that is there proves to be rather compelling in regards to Glorianna’s place in the Top Cow universe. Now as for those visuals…well they mostly involve Glorianna being naked. Before you roll your eyes, the nakedness does fit the story and contributes to one extremely impressive full page shot of her naked body in the center of a giant dragon outline in the melted snow to kick things off. That said, it still comes across as rather gratuitous.

Conclusion: Broken Trinity: Aftermath is a worthy addition to any Top Cow fan’s collection. While the stories included in the one-shot are short, they are each worth a look. Especially considering that Finn and Glorianna may be major players in the universe sooner rather than later.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny