Review: Justice League Vol. 4- The Sixth Dimension

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is fantastic and stands well on its own. The volume helps build even more drama and tension for the future. Meaningful and humorous character moments can be found throughout the collection. The artwork is gorgeous and punctuates the comic’s intense creativity.

Cons: Some elements of the narrative may be confusing for newer readers.

Overall: This may be the best Justice League volume in an already impressive series of Justice League volumes. The story here takes readers on a journey to a mysterious new world, where the tension is palpable, the heroes stand out, and the visuals showing it all look gorgeous. This creates a fantastic adventure that also sets up future volumes. Readers who already enjoy this series and readers who haven’t read or enjoyed it should consider picking up this volume, as it is an instant draw to this comic’s narrative while also standing well on its own.

Story

Justice League Vol. 4: The Sixth Dimension, by Scott Snyder, Jorge Jimenez, and James Tynion IV, immediately defines itself as one of the most impressive volumes in an already impressive series. This collection starts with a creatively designed and wonderfully suspenseful situation that explodes into a fantastic display of heroism. It is a great story to see play out and a great centerpiece for this collection. Then, the volume concludes by expanding on the larger narrative of this series and continuing to build toward its ultimate conclusion. This is a volume that offers plenty on its own and even more when viewed in the context of this series.

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The Sixth Dimension opens by having the Justice League enter the Sixth Dimension, an apparent utopia where the Justice League has brought peace and evil is no more. However, right from the start, a feeling that something is not right is present, punctuated by Superman’s situation. This creates tension, as readers are left to wonder what is wrong with this seemingly perfect world and at what point the truth will be revealed.

Then, the truth comes out. The majority of the Justice League members are immediately imprisoned and Batman apparently sides with the villain in a plan that will replace the multiverse with one that brutally imprisons any sign of evil. The heroes make a valiant recovery, Superman finally rejoins the group, and it is revealed that Batman had been holding out hope for Superman’s return the entire time. It is a fantastic conclusion to a fantastic series of events. 

From here, the narrative in The Sixth Dimension returns to the regular universe to show the continued rise of the Legion of Doom’s power. This portion of the book is primarily focused on setting up an even larger conflict down the road, one that will pit the Justice League and the Legion of Doom in one final battle. The marshalling of forces on both sides and the clearly apparent increases in power ensure readers that they do not want to miss the next volume.

Like previous volumes, The Sixth Dimension also continues to deliver on excellent character moments. Superman’s struggle in space, Batman’s continued belief in Superman, and Martian Manhunter’s commitment to justice all make for points of inspiration throughout the collection. Meanwhile, Starro’s admiration and a few quick quips from other characters, specifically Grodd’s comment to the Flash, add some humor into the mix.

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Art

The artwork in The Sixth Dimension is so beautiful that if the volume had no words at all, it would still be worth reading. Jorge Jimenez’s work on “The Sixth Dimension” story arc is incredible from start to finish. It provides glowing depictions of the heroes that allow them to stand out as the shining beacons of justice they are meant to be. It also provides an amazingly creative take on the Sixth Dimension itself. Here, awesome new takes on familiar characters, interesting reimaginations of older characters, and a genuinely unique depiction of an ideal world help punctuate many points made throughout the story. All of this is then further enhanced by Alejandro Sanchez’s colors, which help the volume double down on its creative elements.

The rest of The Sixth Dimension contains visuals from Javi Fernandez. Though not quite as shockingly gorgeous as the work in the rest of this collection, these chapters still contain positive artwork. The darker and creepier visuals seen here work well with the post-Year of the Villain environment. In general, the artwork throughout this volume is great and helps make this a better comic.

Continuity

Justice League Vol. 4: The Sixth Dimension continues the story from Justice League Vol. 3: Hawkworld (Review).

The story here continues in Justice League Vol. 5: The Doom War.

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

• Several Crisis events, from throughout DC’s history, are mentioned throughout this volume.
  • The Multiverse collapsed into a single reality, due to the actions of the Anti-Monitor, in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
  • The Multiverse expanded into 52 realities in Infinite Crisis.
  • The world of Nil and the death of the Monitor race was shown across the Final Crisis event.
  • The Dark Multiverse rose, the World Forger was introduced, the original Monitor returned, and the Source Wall was damaged over the course of Dark Nights: Metal (Review) (Reading Order). 
• Justice League #25-28 reference the aftermath of DC’s Year of the Villain Special #1, collected in Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen.