Review: Justice League of America #11

DC Comics
Review: Justice League of America #11
By Philip Schweier
October 31, 2017 - 15:54

DC Comics
Writer(s): Steve Orlando
Penciller(s): Neil Edwards
Inker(s): Sandu Florea
Colourist(s): Hi-Fi
Letterer(s): Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist(s): Ivan Reis, Marcelo Maiolo; Doug Mahnke, Wil Quintana

It’s the Justice League, but I am uncertain which of the many incarnations it might be. Batman, yes, he’s a constant. But it also features Vixen, Black Canary, the Ray, and Lobo. Batman leads the League in the main narrative, in battle against Kingbutcher, an other-worldly monster intent on death and destruction. But a couple of lesser players are able to come up with the winning strategy.

Meanwhile, Killer Frost – Wait, wasn’t she a villain? Perhaps, but she’s not necessarily a JLAer here, that I can tell – and Ryan Choi are on individual quests. She seeks help in resolving her heat sickness, while he has launched a sub-atomic search for Ray Palmer. Somehow I thought that was a plotline from a few years back. I’d assumed it had long since been resolved.

Where this issue’s strength lies is not in the battle, but in the aftermath, and Ray Terrill struggles with his fractured relationship with his mother. “every negative thing in Nadine’s life, she blamed on me,” he says. “Every single thing.” I imagine it’s hard for a child to bear that burden, especially from his mother. Especially if he’s gifted with powers he doesn’t understand. Yet what makes a hero is how one might take a burden and turn it into a strength. Is his resentment justified? Perhaps. But as it is said, “At some point, who is the anger hurting more?”

Neil Edwards figure drawing is dynamic, much like Neal Adams, but without resorting to the kind of extreme poses Adams is known for. Sandu Florea’s inks are light where they needs to be, dynamic where called for. If you’re open to new iterations of the JLA, this is a book worth looking at.

Rating: 8/10