Justice League of America #43

DC Comics
Justice League of America #43
By Josh Dean
April 3, 2010 - 15:48

DC Comics
Writer(s): James Robinson
Penciller(s): Mark Bagley
Inker(s): Rob Hunter & Norm Rapmund
Colourist(s): Pete Pantazis
Letterer(s): Rob Leigh
Cover Artist(s): Bagley & Hunter
$3.99 US

What is going on here? While Cry for Justice was not the void of decency most of the internet claimed, Robinson has dropped the ball in his Justice League run very badly. Like Dwayne McDuffie and Brad Metzler, Robinson’s run has been plagued with ties to larger crossovers and storylines within the DCU. Unlike Robinson’s great work with Rucka weaving the Superman titles together, this issue is yet another dispiriting example of chaotic action with no weight.

For those just joining the party, Robinson is tying the current arc of JLA into the “Green Arrow goes Wild” storyline being called “Rise and Fall.” This title makes no sense whatsoever as no one is rising in the least. As the Justice League search for Green Arrow they run afoul of a group of…villains(?) with the powers of the New Gods. An old JLA member (who was almost certainly already killed off once before) is brought in and maybe killed again with little fanfare. There is a final page with a “next issue” blurb and then four more pages for some reason with another blurb. Really, it is a mess.

Not doing yourself a favor by the comparison...

The villains’ motives, powers and goals are unclear. There is a reveal at the conclusion of the second ending that means nothing. The team that was advertised and thrown together by Robinson last issue has already been narrowed down to four heroes by the end of this issue. This team has no identity. Is it another version of the Titans? Is it a hodge-podge of…er, outsiders…like Congorilla? There are going to be moments in time when a super team is in flux but the entire run to date has been a revolving door of characters. Next issue promises the Justice Society and the Green Arrow related events of this issue will be continued in his own title, no doubt. No direction, half-told stories and crossover interference have hobbled this run almost completely and any enjoyment one obtains from reading it is almost assuredly coincidental.

Mark Bagley does fine work here. Having seen what he could do week after week with Trinity, the detail he puts into this title is appreciated. Like a junior level John Byrne or a better than average Top Cow artist, Bagley is great with fight scenes and character design but never gets too adventurous in his compositions. Due to the overstuffed nature of the narrative, Bagley has to draw a metric ton of characters (we’re talking close to George Perez numbers) and handles them with no problem. One of his unsung strengths is drawing “special effects” like Red Tornado’s attack or the rending of reality’s fabric that occurs when the Newer Gods turn on their machine. If only he had a story worth drawing.

Justice League of America resembles only Countdown to Final Crisis and nothing else. Say what you will about Cry for Justice but it told an uninterrupted narrative concerning a fairly set number of characters with a clear beginning, middle and end. The League is still lost in the desert and needs to be given some space to develop on its own terms.

Rating: 2/10