Review: Justice League of America #9

DC Comics
Review: Justice League of America #9
By Philip Schweier
August 31, 2016 - 05:42

DC Comics
Writer(s): Bryan Hitch
Penciller(s): Bryan Hitch
Inker(s): Daniel Henriques
Colourist(s): Alex Sinclair
Letterer(s): Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist(s): Bryan Hitch and Alex Sinclair; variant by jim Lee and Alex Sinclair

I haven’t read JLA since the end of the New 52. So I was surprised to open the latest and find the title to be “Power and Glory, Part Eight.” Chapter eight already? Wow.

But as I continued, I saw the Flash, and the Green Lantern, and then the Flash again, and the Green Lantern again. IS the rest of the JLA even in this chapter? Fortunately, the answer is yes, otherwise I would’ve been very disappointed. They were busy with bigger problems.

From what I gather (coming into the middle of the story as I did) a Kryptonian deity named Rao is attempting to bring the universe under his control, mostly by any means necessary. The League has been split up, how or why I am uncertain, but they seem able to handle Rao. At least until – ah, but that would be spoiling it, wouldn’t it? I don’t do spoilers.

For narrative, I will not judge a handful of pages in a much larger story, but artwise, I must say I was a bit disappointed. It seemed relatively consistent, until I reached page 4. There I found something deviated so heavily from the previous pages it looked completely out of place. And that’s largely my concern with the art. It’s good, but there are so many moments in which it seems extra attention has been paid, or perhaps almost none at all, they seem a bit jarring.

There also seems to be a great deal of emphasis on the coloring. So much so that it seems some of the artwork has been left in the hands of colorist Alex Sinclair. He doesn’t disappoint, but it almost seems lazy on the part of Hitch and Henriques. In one panel, Batman actually looks a bit too much like Michael Keaton.

It’s rather ambitious introducing a Kryptonian deity. On Earth, would that make him a super-deity? I don’t know, but it certainly raises the stakes for the JLA, who are often faced with lackluster opponents. Finding someone worthy of the League’s attention can be a challenge for a writer. I’ll give Hitch credit for creating his own.