Review: Justice League: No Justice #1
Quick Summary
Pros: The issue is filled with fun and excitement. The concept is incredibly interesting and is already beginning to show how much potential it has. The artwork is beautiful and every page is a visual knockout.
Cons: The pacing might be a bit rapid for fans coming in with no knowledge of Dark Nights: Metal.
Overall: The first issue in this limited series manages to capitalize on its own potential and demonstrate that there is plenty more where that came from. An action-packed opening is balanced out by an exposition-heavy middle to create an introduction that is both informative and exciting. In addition, the conclusion leaves the story in a state of suspense that will further build anticipation for the next issue. Overall, this is a solid start to a series that has a lot of promise.
Story
The first issue in the Justice League: No Justice series is a heavy-hitting collection of action, drama, and fun that provides a great start to a new cosmic adventure. Writers Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson immediately take the fallout from Dark Nights: Metal and mold into a formidable threat for the entire cast of the DC Universe to go up against. This allows the story to have tremendously high stakes right from the start and makes every character’s action feel as if it could potentially have grave consequences. The only downside to this is that the issue may feel like too-much-too-soon for those who did not receive the prelude to this story by reading Metal. However, the fun and excitement contained here are still easily accessible to everyone and turn this into a comic I would highly recommend.
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The issue opens up with the members of the Justice League, Justice League of America, Teen Titans, and Suicide Squad being attacked and captured by Brainiac. The initial fight is entertaining and allows the book to start out with a heavy dose of action. In doing this, the issue gives readers something fun to witness right off the bat and provides some initial appeal before the story is fully explained. It also helps balance out the next portion of the book, which is heavily focused on exposition.
This exposition begins when the various heroes wake up on Brainiac’s ship and discover the full details behind the attack. Recent events have opened the universe up to an invasion from four ancient beings of unimaginable power. To stop them from destroying life as we know it, Brainiac has recruited heroes and villains from Earth and beyond in order to form strike teams capable of neutralizing the threat.
As a concept, this is excellent as it puts different DC Comics characters in situations that they would never be in otherwise. Scenes like Starfire threatening Sinestro and Beast Boy joking around with Harley Quinn provide a small peak at the entertaining interactions that may be coming from this series. The teams also appear to be laid out in a more logical manner than many fans had initially believed, as each one is designed to represent some portion of the “fundamental energies of sentient life”. All in all, the concept is very promising and this issue instills even more confidence in that promise.
The issue ends with a few pages that highlight the danger of the present threat and throw an additional complication into the mix. The heroes arrive at the world they need to save and are confronted by one of the Omega Titans. The Titan is massive and his scale instantly conveys his power to both the heroes and the reader. Meanwhile, an intrusion from Amanda Waller knocks out Brainiac and leaves the already struggling heroes in an even more dire situation. The writers close the issue by making it feel as if the circumstances could not get any worse, which only makes me want to read the next issue even more. It is a solid ending to an overall promising issue.
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Art
Though the story is great, the artwork might be the true highlight of this comic. Francis Manapul’s work here is bold and his depictions of characters and locations are fantastic. Specifically, I was taken aback by the full page spreads, all of which are remarkably detailed and beautiful. The layouts here are also incredible; they manage to be completely filled with information, yet structured in a way that makes them easy to follow. All of this is then further enhanced by some great colors from Hi-Fi Design and great lettering from AndWorld Design. Overall, this is a visually stunning book that everyone should be able to appreciate.
Continuity
Justice League: No Justice #1 is the first issue in a four issue comic event. Though it is the first issue, it is heavily affected by the fallout from Dark Nights: Metal (Reviews), which happened immediately prior.
The story here will continue in Justice League: No Justice #2.
This volume also references the stories from other comic books, detailed below:
- The hole in the Source Wall is the direct fallout of the conclusion of Dark Nights: Metal (Reviews).
- The existence of Amanda Waller’s “Task Force XI” dates back to Justice League vs. Suicide Squad (Review).
- Lex Luthor’s status as a hero was established back in Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League (Review).
- Harley Quinn references the last time she worked together with Robin. This was in the “Gotham Resistance” storyline from Dark Nights: Metal.