A fairly lackluster pair of books this time around, nothing really special. The two offerings were DC Comics Rebirth tie-ins, Justice League and Green Arrow.
Justice League 4
Written by Bryan Hitch
Pencils by Jesus Merino
Inks by Sandu Flores, Jesus Merino and Andy Owens
I admit to not knowing a whole lot about the art of inking a comic book, other than to avoid calling an inker a “tracer” at comic book conventions.
Three inkers on this book, though, seems like a lot.
But anyway…
Bryan Hitch’s “The Extinction Machine” story continues on and the heroes seem to be a bit over matched. The giants that look kind of like Dr. Manhattan – but who probably aren’t connected to Watchmen at all – are saying they’re going to sing, and it’s presented as something done to keep everyone safe, but they also took away Flash’s speed and cause Wonder Woman to question all she is. Aquaman is playing with singing crystals that only he can hear (I hope the crystals don’t turn into Michigan J. Frog…) and the rookie Green Lanterns are out in space as a front line defense.
Meanwhile, Batman and Cyborg are protecting Lois Lane and Jon Kent while the pre-Flashpoint Superman is down under the Earth’s crust and being actually effective – a rare thing for the Justice League in this story.
There’s a lot going on in this issue, but it still feels really empty. Maybe it will come together as a collected edition and it will feel more cohesive. But I didn’t buy a collected edition, I didn’t buy a trade paperback. I bought a single issue of a comic book.
I really kind of hope we get a new writer on Justice League some time soon…
Green Arrow 6
Written by Benjamin Percy
Art by Stephen Byrne
I really have been enjoying Benjamin Percy’s run on Green Arrow thus far, but this sixth issue, the beginning of a new arc focusing on Emiko and fleshing out her history with her brother Oliver Queen.
The issue flashes between the present day, where Emiko and her mother Shado are off to Japan to take on Yakuza crime lords, and the recent past, where Emiko encounters a new version of the Clock King, who has been targeting rich teens with a… watch. The Clock King bits are interesting, because it leaves things open for future investigation with no clear resolution. It looks like we’ll be going deeper into things next issue, as the solicitation copy suggests the flashbacks will continue.
The Arrow and flashbacks. I guess they just go hand-in-hand now after four seasons of the TV show.
I’d call this issue of Green Arrow a miss if it wasn’t for the art from Stephen Byrne. Byrne’s work here is really beautiful and expressive and completely makes up for the otherwise lackluster issue.