Comic Review: Justice League (2018-) #38

Justice League (2018-) #38

DC Comics

Writer: Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV

Artist: Jorge Jemenez & Daniel Sampere

This is the penultimate issue of Scott Snyder’s Justice League…I’m pretty sure.  Because I’ve gotten it wrong in the past.  For the last three issues in a row, I’ve thought I was reading the penultimate issue.  But this time it’s for real…I think.

I’ve compared Scott Snyder’s Justice League to anime like Naruto in the past.  It’s got power-creep, aliens, and overly convoluted continuity.  And if this book is similar to Naruto, then Justice/Doom War is definitely the same as the war arc.  For the past three or four issues, the characters have done nothing but stay in the same location and fight people until new people show up to fight.  For a finale of such a long and epic run, it seems a little too simple.  So what happens in this issue?  The characters stay in the same location and fight people.

The whole issue here is both entertaining and infuriating at the same time.  The issue starts with a great fight between Lex and John, with Lex finishing John off with a fittingly Luthor-esque quip.  And then Lex and Flash fight until Lex says a quip and beats him.  Then Wonder Woman shows up until Lex says a quip and beats him.  And then…you see where I’m going.  The structure of this issue is incredibly repetitive.

But for what it’s worth, the issue is still entertaining.  Finally, we get to see Lex and Superman square off in this series, something that’s felt sorely lacking for the majority of this run.  And overall, the fights are really entertaining.  This is in part because of Jorge Jimenez’s phenomenal layouts.  His fight scenes feel fluid and focused.  Even with such a massive scope, Jimenez captures the reader’s attention to exactly where he wants it.

So how does the team-best Lex in this issue?  They try and appeal to his humanity.  Although this was a nice moment in the issue, you could see it coming from a mile away.  I feel like the only reason Snyder set up this whole Lex/Luthor relationship was to give this payoff at the end of his run.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Lex and Luthor team up the next issue to take down Perpetua.

While this was a decent issue, there isn’t really anything here to surprise or excite the reader.  It’s a bunch of over-the-top action.  And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the action and campiness have been one of the huge charms of this book.  But here in the finale, I want something exciting.  Compare this issue to this week’s, Doomsday Clock #12, and there’s no comparison in terms of scale and surprises.  Either way, I am still hyped for the finale of this book and can’t wait to see what Snyder has in store for us.