Justice League of America 12
Matt Kindt, Eddy Barrows, Tom Derenick, R. B. Silva
Forever Evil Crossover
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
Matt Kindt is a mystery to me. He is absolutely dominating Suicide Squad. And absolutely destroying Justice League of America. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on. Perhaps its my lack of caring about Stargirl or the post-Flashpoint interpretation of the Martian Manhunter. But still. Good writing should make me care about them in spite of myself. Right? And this story is just all over the place. The narrative is sloppy and unnecessarily confusing. Despero is a great character. And this is a good concept (albeit weird) with Firestorm being the ticking time bomb of a prison that he is for the rest of the Leagues. But something just isn’t quite right. And it doesn’t help that artists Eddy Barrows, R. B. Silva, and Tom Derenick aren’t exactly working well together to present a visually-appealing book. This is one book that after Forever Evil is concluded, I certainly won’t miss reviewing. Which is too bad, because it used to be one of my favorites.
Picking up (or rather, dragging on) after the events of last issue, Stargirl continues her quest to save her team and her family and Martian Manhunter continues to be completely worthless. Seriously. Despero is a great villain, yes, and a powerful one, too. But come on, J’onn. This character was on his way to ruination from his first New 52 appearance, but this storyline is just flat-out embarrassing. And adding insult to injury was the utterly emotionless scene where Stargirl finds her mother beaten and her little brother dead. What a worthless issue. The only saving grace (beyond it being nearly over) is the artwork. And even though it is three artists seemingly trying their hardest to tell an impressive story based on the obviously overworked and unfocused scripter, somehow manage to give us a few powerful scenes. In other words, do yourself a favor and either skip this issue entirely (and enjoy the excellent Suicide Squad issue that Kindt put out this week) or just look at the pictures.
Harsh, I know. But this is a 3.99 comic. It should not be okay. Or good. It should be great. Each and every single issue. It’s a major title. Put major characters in it. And if you’re going to be dumb (or brave) enough to take everything that makes this book successful (top ten writer, recognizable heroes, fan-favorite villains) at least do your best to at least tell a worthwhile story. As far as I’m concerned, this entire storyline could be a dream and I’d be happy. (Not really. That would be lame. But you get my drift.) Alrighty. End nerd rant. See you next issue for more of the same with a hopefully poignant and redeeming finale. But before I end my review, let me be completely honest: It’s not a completely worthless issue. Or even storyline. I’m just very disappointed. Kindt and company can do better. (And often times, DO do better. Ha. Doo doo.) So pick it up if you have faith. But probably wait to read it all in one sitting. It does not work very well in monthly installments. And it’s still better than Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion. Which isn’t saying much, but yeah. You get the point.
My Rating: 3/5
