Comic Review: Justice League #40

Justice League #40

DC Comics

Writer: Robert Venditti

Artist: Doug Mahnke

It’s here!  The start of Robert Venditti’s partially anticipated Justice League run is upon us.  After thirty-nine issues of end of the world shenanigans, I think I’m finally okay with this laid-back tone. For now at least.

For those who were around during the start of DC Rebirth, you’ll remember the absolute bore of a book that was Bryan Hitch’s Justice League.  Hitch’s run of the mill pencils perfectly suited his run of the mill storytelling.  It quickly felt like I was reading the same story over and over.  It was all evil aliens crashing to Earth until they’re punched to death.  It was like a college student read Morrison’s Justice League of America and decided that they could make the same thing.  So why am I bringing up Hitch’s run?  It’s because I’m scared that Venditti’s Justice League will end up the exact same way.

The story here is actually fairly interesting.  The issue begins with the long-awaited return of Sodam Yat.  You can see Venditti’s Green Lantern roots shining through in this story.  And just like in his Green Lantern run, Venditti mixes the lore of Green Lantern and Superman in this issue.  That’s right, Sodam is being hunted in this issue by none other than The Eradicator.

Even though the stakes sound high, they’re about the norm for DC’s flagship title.  Compared to the total multiversal machinations of Perpetua, The Eradicator seems like a walk in the park.  This story is a nice breath of fresh air after the thirty-nine issues of events.  But I do fear that Vendetti won’t pick up the pace after this arc is over.  For what it’s worth, I do appreciate the grand vision of Snyder’s Justice League.  And I don’t know if Vendetti is capable of spinning this slower start into an epic and memorable run.

Everything in this issue is fairly safe.  The character interactions are average.  The art is solid but nothing special.  The dialogue is passable.  It’s everything I want out of a Justice League book.  But that being said, it doesn’t present anything that I didn’t know I wanted.  Vendetti on Justice League feels just like Tomasi on Detective Comics.  Simply put, this doesn’t feel like DC’s flagship title right now.

Even though the slower pace is nice after Justice/Doom War, I’m skeptical that the pace will get any faster in arcs to come.  This is a fine start to a book, but an ultimately uninspired one.  I’m looking forward to what Venditti has in store, but this could just end up being Hitch’s Justice League 2.0.