Comic Review: Justice League (2018-) #16

Justice League (2018-) #16

DC Comics

Writers: Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV

Artists: Jim Cheung and Stephen Segovia

In Justice League #16 we see the conclusion to the Hawkworld story. Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, and John Stewart are searching for answers on Thanagar. In a vault deep below the surface on Thanagar, Martian Manhunter learns secrets about the universe, and himself. Above him, The two Hawkwomen fight, while John Stewart deals with multiple Green Lanterns.

I’ll be completely honest, I’m still not sure what exactly happens in this issue. I’ve read it twice now (probably will go a third time) and i’m lost. I don’t know the entire history of the DC Universe, but i’ve been able to understand the story so far, with minimal amounts of Google searching. The secrets that are revealed feel like a lot of, as Kilowog says in the comic, “…big, crazy cosmic crap.”

Besides that, I think this issue feels a little rushed. John Stewart argues with Kilowog and then off panel the Green Lanterns all makeup and join forces. Martian Manhunter learns these secrets about himself and the universe, and it feels like a big information dump on us, or at least me. I kind of like what we learn about Martians and Humans, and the potentials with it. But it happens between a lot of fighting, and then just suddenly it’s over. I think maybe one more issue to this particular story would’ve been better.

Jim Cheung and Stephen Segovia split the art in this issue. There’s two styles, and while i’m not familiar with either artist enough to differentiate purely by sight, I think it all looks good. The fight/action in the middle of the book are a bit more fluid, and “clean”. Towards the end things get a bit more heavy on the lines, and more dynamic with the shadows and lighting. I like both and I think both styles serve their purpose. The beginning to middle shows the action cleanly, and the scope of the area the characters are in. The end is more close ups and conversations, so they show the character’s faces more, and their expressions.

I think the biggest problem I have with this issue is that we’re getting a lot of information back to back, without expanding on it. The quote I pulled from the comic, “big, crazy cosmic crap” is the kind of stuff I really enjoy. I don’t doubt I’ll like where all this new information takes us, or how it changes the DC universe, but we’re not there just yet.. I like this issue, it’s not bad, but I did have to read it twice to fully grasp what’s happening in it. But besides that, the art is fantastic, and I’m a fan of where this comic seems to be going.