Personally, despite my early assessment of the Justice League, I have to say now that it is not quite living up to its potential. Granted, the third issue of the DC New 52 Justice League has a lot more content and a tighter layout, there is still much I would have like to have seen by now.
Even though I have not been the most enthusiastic advocate of DC Comics in a decade or so, I grew up with all these characters and have to admit I have been quite impressed overall with DC Comics recent 52 title re-launch, if not from a marketing standpoint then by the refreshing new look that DC has offered us, the comic book fans. And, despite the lack of a story in the first two issues of Justice League, I have been overly patient. Maybe it was the Flash’s question in issue #2 of Batman not having powers as well as Batman’s seemingly disregard for the Green Lantern in issue #1, or the fact that they all try to take down Superman without even realizing that, well… he’s Superman (and that Batman hasn’t clued into the fact he should keep a sliver of Kryptonite in his nifty little utility belt).
Anyway, the first two issues were overly short and contained a lot of unexplained violence which between that and just the freshness of the newly re-booted title were their only saving graces, but Justice League #3 does begin to offer a bit more story (just not enough to make me all sweaty and hormonal like a tween in line for a Justin Bieber Concert). And, there's a lot more going on with some actual progression taking place with all of the different plot threads. Wonder Woman makes her first appearance after Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Flash begin to work as a team (Batman will figure out the Kryptonite trick later on I am guessing). There’s also the Cyborg side-plot that reaches some emotional depth as well making Cyborg’s ‘new’ origin effective and engaging.
As for the artwork and such, the panels are smaller with a tighter layout, pacing is much faster, and this issue feels a lot less like a picture book with the occasional bit of dialog. Jim Lee's art, as with the previous two issues, is spot on, although it never has been a problem with this series. There are some times when some of the visuals feel a bit like filler, but this is possibly due to the threading storyline. And, Geoff Johns' writing is much better in this issue, possibly because he has actually started to write a bit more into the book, but, seriously, the way he is scripting this is clearly leading the reader to be able to see this new world that hates the heroes as well as why (hint: have you ever stopped to look at all the destruction that takes place in even the simplest hero/villain confrontations? I just have to say I am glad I rent).
Overall, Johns and Lee still have some series work ahead of them, especially with this being the flagship title for DC Comics. And, even though I still feel that Justice League has yet to meet its potential, I still look forward to the next issue and would recommend it.
Story: Geoff Johns
Art: Jim Lee & Scott Williams
Cover: Jim Lee, Scott Williams, & Alex Sinclair
32 Pages/FC
Price: $3.99
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