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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Justice League #15 - Feb. 2013

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Comics Weekend "Throne of Atlantis Chapter One" by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Rod Reis.

...ah, now this is more like it!


A Navy battleship is running a routine missile test, until it becomes clear that the missiles have been redirected to another spot in the ocean:
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After brief interludes with Clark and Diana (where he is teaching her the finer points of having a secret identity), and Cyborg (aboard the JLA Watchtower), we flash across the world to Gotham City, where Batman is trying to apprehend some of the Scarecrow's henchmen. After he rescues their hostages, the masked crooks draw their guns on the Dark Knight Detective, only to find themselves facing another hero:
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In Metropolis, Clark and Diana share an evening out, like normal people. Unfortunately, it's soon interrupted when the power goes out, followed by a massive tidal wave, in the heart of the city!

Clark and Diana slip into their work clothes, stopping the aircraft carrier we saw earlier from crashing into the buildings. There's still the matter of the water, which manages to sweep Lois Lane away. Luckily, Vulko is also here, and he rescues Lois, just before passing out, muttering about having to find King Arthur.

Reports come in about similar attacks happening in Boston. Aquaman and Mera know what this means--someone is using Atlantean War Plans to attack the surface world. They know this because...Aquaman wrote them!
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...to be continued in Aquaman #15!


After over a year of underwhelming stories, I felt like this issue of Justice League is the first one to capitalize on the possibilities inherent in this book. Maybe I'm just biased because this storyline focuses so heavily on Aquaman--I was overjoyed to see Mera show up--but it seems to me that the art team of Reis/Prado/Reis really seems to bring something out in Johns that manifests itself in his scripts. There was no pointless posing this time around; everyone has something to do and the plot moves forward at a brisk clip.
As I've mentioned before, each issue of Aquaman had a memorable ka-pow moment, where the guys really got to show off their chops while also furthering the story. This inaugural Justice League has several; I look forward to future issues where all the members will get their moment to shine--to be truly, heroically impressive--courtesy Reis/Prado/Reis.

Since Aquaman #15 is part two of this story, we decided to follow along in order, so be back at noon and we'll take a look at Chapter Two of "Throne of Atlantis"!


9 comments:

Doug said...

Great assessment of the issue, Rob! "Justice League" finally feels like a Justice League comic with this issue.

Joe Slab said...

A Bold New Era, indeed!

I just LOVE that cover.

Back a few years ago ant NYCC 2010, Geoff Johns said at a panel that he saw Aquaman not only as the leader of the Justice League, but of the DC Universe in general and that we would see this play out in the future...

Glad to see he's finally getting to tell the story and position the Sea King both literally and figuratively at the center of DC's world.

Great issue all around!

Joe Slab

Jorge PR said...

Love it! Aquaman taking center stage, despite being mocked by the cops again, is great. His interactions with Bruce were good as well. And I love sleeveless Mera, she's as hot as hell.

Anonymous said...

Was I reading a comic book or watching a movie? Ivan Reis art is epic.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic issue. Finally AC is front and center in the DCU. Just like he always deserved to be. Good job.

Andy Luckett said...

Now THIS is how you do Justice League!

Just the pure energy of this issue got my blood pumping (well, that and Mera's new sleeveless outfit; do I detect an homage to her Silver Age costume?). The pacing flowed like a finely-tuned film's opening credits sequence, and the art snapped off the page with relish. I totally agree with you Rob; this is JL at its full potential. If this level of quality keeps up through "Throne of Atlantis", I think we've got a classic on our hands.

Oh, and that Billy Tucci/Hiroshige woodblock-inspired cover is freaking amazing.

Orin's dad said...

The only reason I've stuck with JL so far has been because Aquaman was in it, and I'm supporting him as much as I can, but this book made it worth all the months of total mediocrity up till now. The story was good, and the art was fantastic. "The Boys" haven't missed a beat moving from a solo book to a team book. The art is still absolutely incredible! Looking forward to the rest of this storyline, and hoping JL continues to be strong after this!

Joseph Brian Scott said...

Loved, loved, loved this issue! Was captivated by every panel.

Ocean Master: my knee-jerk reaction is to be a little peeved that the whole Cain/Abel dynamic has been swept away by making him an Atlantean scion, but even I can't deny that this new Orm incarnation is a bit of an improvement. He needed something, some "oomph"; just being a guy with a cool mask didn't cut it; and neither did "Here's a staff! Bam! You're a sorcerer!"
Reimagining him as an Atlantean superhuman with abilities to rival those of Arthur finally elevates him to worthy villain status. Plus, he looks great.

Len said...

Great issue. Love that Tucci alternate cover. Gotta say that Aqua-signal joke made me chuckle a little bit.