Review: Justice League Vol. 2- Graveyard of Gods

Quick Summary

Pros: The transition from the previous volume to this one is handled well and builds excitement for the future. The main narrative is engaging. The characters are well-written throughout the book. The volume’s artwork looks great and comes from a variety of talented artists.

Cons: The “Drowned Earth” story arc gets off to a somewhat generic start.

Overall: Epic adventures and great moments from the Justice League continue in this volume. The volume takes the success of the previous collection and uses it to launch another satisfying story arc. This leads to fun action, deep emotion, and a general sense of progression for the series as a whole, all backed up by some good-looking visuals. Anyone who enjoyed the first volume should absolutely keep reading here.

Story

Justice League Vol. 2: Graveyard of Gods, by Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV, is an awesome second entry in this Justice League series. It starts with a few chapters that showcase the Justice League’s capacity for hope and inspiration while also showcasing their enemies’ capacity for cruelty and manipulation. Then, it launches a dramatic and exciting story arc that works well on its own or as part of the larger conflict running through this comic. This creates a book with a fantastic narrative but that is also able to take time out to show off its characters.

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Graveyard of Gods starts out with two chapters that begin to address the aftermath from the previous volume. Part of these chapters is spent on reviving hope and dealing with problems. Here, the members of the League get a chance to talk to one another, deepening their relationships, and Superman reassembles the moon, providing the hope and inspiration the Justice League stands for. The other part of these chapters is spent ramping up excitement and tension for the future. Here, Luthor’s dealings with the Batman Who Laughs ensure readers something sinister is on the horizon and the general actions of the Legion of Doom help set up the “Drowned Earth” story arc. As a whole, these opening chapters are a perfect transition period between this volume and the previous one.

Unfortunately, the “Drowned Earth” arc gets off to a somewhat lackluster start. The concept of a flooded Earth and a plague that turns normal humans into villains feels too similar to many of the recent events from the Justice League and Aquaman. The entire event also, even from the start, is clearly designed to simply return Atlantis to its undersea status quo, which is disappointing considering that Atlantis barely did anything of interest while above water.

However, once the “Drowned Earth” arc gets going, it begins to improve dramatically. The concept of linking the ocean and the cosmos is fresh and interesting. It also leads to plenty of great action, a few surprising twists, and a conclusion that features a satisfying moral victory on top of an emotional sacrifice. I still would have preferred to see Atlantis above the water for a while longer, but, besides this, was generally pleased with the crossover as a whole.

The other major positive in Graveyard of Gods is the way Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV write the characters throughout the volume. Each hero and villain, whether through action, dialogue, or narration, has an opportunity to develop and showcase their character. Superman’s mission on the moon is inspirational, the stand-off between the Batman Who Laughs and Luthor is chilling, and the Flash and Green Lantern’s conversation is wholesome. There are also small moments, like Flash’s comments over the Hall of Justice’s intercom or Starro calling Batman “dad” that add some fun into the mix. All of this helps build a book where the characters are just as important as the narrative.

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Art

The artwork in Graveyard of Gods is a veritable who’s who of talented creators. Mikel Janín starts the volume off strong with a detailed and realistic chapter that emphasizes the sinister nature of the Legion of Doom. Seeing them presented with this level of realism is chilling in a way that is clearly intentional. This is then followed by Jorge Jiménez’s bright and inspiring take on the Justice League. The visual contrasts between these two chapters are instantly apparent and help thematically separate the forces of good and evil in this series.

Graveyard of Gods then goes on to depict the “Drowned Earth” story arc. Francis Manapul gets this portion of the narrative going with highly creative visuals that instantly assure fans that this is going to be something worth reading. The way Manapul blends undersea life with cosmic forces is beautiful and is a huge asset to this portion of the book. Meanwhile, Howard Porter’s work brings some more “standard” comic visuals to the book and works well in moments that are more focused on action. Plus, a single chapter from Frazer Irving and Bruno Redondo works to highlight some of the arc’s creepier and mystic features. In the end, all of the visuals coming together here are great on their own but together help make this an even better read.

Continuity

Justice League Vol. 2: Graveyard of Gods continues the story from Justice League Vol. 1: The Totality (Review).

This volume also contains pieces of the Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth crossover event. This event continues the story from the Justice League series but also follows up on the rise of Atlantis from Aquaman #38, collected in Aquaman Vol. 6: Kingslayer (Review). The layout of the crossover will be explained in our upcoming “Justice League/Aquaman: Drowned Earth Reading Order”.

The Justice League story continues in Justice League Vol. 3: Hawkworld. The Aquaman story continues in Aquaman Vol. 1: Unspoken Water.   

This volume also references stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• The backstory behind the Batman Who Laughs and the Justice League’s fight against Barbatos is detailed across the Dark Nights: Metal (Review) (Reading Order) event.
• Wonder Woman’s connection to magic and association with the Justice League Dark (Reading Order) is shown across the Justice League Dark Vol. 2 series, starting with Justice League Dark Vol. 1: The Last Age of Magic.
• Mera was officially crowned Queen of Atlantis in Suicide Squad #45, the first chapter in the Aquaman/Suicide Squad: Sink Atlantis (Review) (Reading Order) crossover.