Justice League, Vol. 2: The Villain's Journey

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Justice League, Vol. 2: The Villain's Journey (Justice League Vol. II #2)

3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 · rating details · 414 ratings · 51 reviews

Collecting JUSTICE LEAGUE #7-13! Now that the team's origin story is complete, we shift to the present-day Justice League! What has changed? Who has joined the team since? And why does Green Arrow want to join those ranks so badly? Plus, the birth of a new super-villain! Someone is out to get the Justice League and he is determined to show the world how mortal these godlik...more

Hardcover, The New 52, 160 pages

Published February 5th 2013 by DC Comics

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Feb 07, 2013 Sam Quixote rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. “STAAAY!” “AWWAAY!” “STAYAWAAYY!” screech the toothy horrors that burst off of the first page of the second Justice League book. It serves as a not-so-subtle warning to potential readers that this volume of Justice League is pretty diabolical and might best be avoided. As a fan of the first book, I was surprised to see how low the quality of writing had dipped and disappointed that by the second book the magic had all but gone. However, like the JL in the story, I hacked my way through the monst...more “STAAAY!” “AWWAAY!” “STAYAWAAYY!” screech the toothy horrors that burst off of the first page of the second Justice League book. It serves as a not-so-subtle warning to potential readers that this volume of Justice League is pretty diabolical and might best be avoided. As a fan of the first book, I was surprised to see how low the quality of writing had dipped and disappointed that by the second book the magic had all but gone. However, like the JL in the story, I hacked my way through the monsters and delved deeper into “The Villain’s Journey”, a confusing story about nothing.

The villain in question is Mr Graves, a bestselling author of a book about the Justice League with an interest in the supernatural. After he and his family are saved from Darkseid and his minions by the JL (see the first volume), his family become sick from exposure to Darkseid’s omega energy and die. Warped with sickness and grief he seeks out an unholy power in the uncharted mountains of Asia to reunite him with his loved ones and destroy those who had taken them from him - the Justice League!

This book gets off to a really slow start. The first issue is the prologue to the “Villain’s Journey” and frankly this could’ve been two pages instead of a whole issue, two pages added to the first chapter of the story for all the relevance it has to the arc. The second issue is by far the worst though. This is the Green Arrow crossover that sits awkwardly in between the prologue and first chapter of the main storyline. Green Arrow wants to join the Justice League SO BAD! He follows them everywhere, whining “aw, c’mon guys! Let me join the club!” etc. For an entire issue. He is so annoying and needy! This issue has no point at all either, especially with the splash page at the end where we see the new “New 52” series “Justice League of America” revealed - with Green Arrow kneeling and drawing back his bow. So we find out he wants to join a superhero team and at the end he gets his lame wish. Why...

This story picks up 5 years after the first book. Let me say that again because this is a huge plot point - Volume 1 = 5 years ago, Volume 2 = 5 years later. 5 years! What happened in between? Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, an army dude, got together then broke it off, and the Justice League have not managed to mesh as a team and still bicker about who the leader is. I don’t understand why Geoff Johns made this decision. In this reboot, technically we’re seeing the characters for the first time but when you fast forward 5 years in between issues, you’re avoiding all of the stuff that you should really be addressing in a reboot. Those are the formative years of these heroes and we’re still not seeing them, even in a reboot designed specifically for this purpose!

And it would really make sense for this book to still be set in the early years of the Justice League’s formation because are we really to believe that after 5 years they still can’t work together as a team - are they truly that ill-suited to teamwork? Then why not disband? But I’m getting ahead of myself...

The problem with skipping over so much time is that everything is told in passing or in flashbacks. So the emotional core of the book is Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor’s relationship but we never saw any of that because it was never written, at least not in the New 52. So we’re told in passing and in a handful of panels sprinkled across the entire book that WW and Steve Trevor had a relationship but WW broke it off for some reason and poor Steve never got over it. Why Steve is even in this book is baffling - why do the JL need a liaison between themselves and the rest of the world? There’s also a tantalising storyline that’s not explored - a splash page of the JL fighting J’onn J’onzz who’s managing to hold his own against the entire team! Uh... I’d like to read that story! That looks fantastic! Martian Manhunter - he was on the team or he wasn’t? Anyway, I’d much prefer to read that than this Mr Graves crap. But no, it’s a 2 page spread and then we’ve moved on. Flashback over, we’re 5 years ahead. Do you care about Steve Trevor now? No? Too bad, we’re 5 years ahead.

Mr Graves as a villain is baffling. He single-handedly discovers an area of Asia where giant Indian Death Gods wander the mountainous landscape that no one’s ever seen before, and somehow inherits from them these magical powers that feed on emotion... or something. Also, he’s one of these villains who looks inhuman - so you know he’s evil - and whose powers kind of swirl around him ethereally so he doesn’t have to do anything, he just stands there and lets the mists or ghosts or whatever they are do their thing while he stands back cackling evilly. That’s always interesting to see a bad guy doing – nothing. And through doing nothing, managing to defeat the most powerful team of beings on the planet.

He not only looks like a stereotypical villain, he does something all idiot villains do: when he has Steve Trevor tied up and on the brink of death, he leaves before witnessing his death! Even though Steve’s death is central to his plan of destroying the JL - “You have to be dead for this to work!” he exclaims in surprise when Steve shows up at the end - he doesn’t make sure he’s dead! It’s shocking how inept a bad guy he is.

His plan to “show the world who the Justice League really are”? Never understood it. How exactly was he going to do this? There was a moment where Wonder Woman, for no real reason, decides to punch Green Lantern and then Superman gets roped in and is kicked by WW, and Graves, somehow, manages to broadcast this scene on every single screen in the world, thus showing the world they’re not a very unified team. But that was it. And that’s not much of a plan in the first place is it? I mean what if WW hadn’t flipped out and they flew calmly off – what then? No big scene and the world continue loving the JL, Graves’ plan is in the crapper. I guess it’s a good thing the script is so obliging.

Also, Graves’ writing cabin? It’s a freakin’ mansion, not a cabin! And why does he need a dedicated cabin/mansion to write anyway? Does he really need so much ritual and pretension to write his crummy books?

There are a lot of moments throughout the book that don’t really make sense but instead feel wholly contrived. Wonder Woman and Superman kissing at the end? When did they have feelings for one another - don’t tell me, in the 5 year gap, right? Because it’s not established anywhere. WW fighting Green Lantern and Superman for no reason, then Aquaman challenging Batman for leadership of the JL at the end, and Green Lantern leaving the Justice League - why are any of these things happening!?! There are no reasons, these are events that just happen. I like Geoff Johns’ writing, I think his first JL book was great and his “Aquaman” and “Batman Year One” books were excellent, but his awful writing in this book is inexcusable.

Believe me, I really wanted to like Volume 2, especially after such an enjoyable first volume, but there was so much wrong with this book from the awful villain, the nonsensical story, the bizarre moments, and the glaring 5 year gap between books, that I couldn’t enjoy it. All of these problems failed to immerse me in the story and instead I found myself dreading turning the page for fear of the next blunder about to emerge. Jim Lee’s art is ok but in no way makes up for Johns’ lacklustre script. I’d heard there was a Shazam backup to the JL comics drawn by Gary Frank that I was looking forward to reading but it’s not included in this hardback - maybe they’re saving it for the next book or as a standalone series? Anyway, “The Villain’s Journey” is a dud - “SSTAAYAWAAAYY!”.(less)

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May 08, 2013 Shannon Appelcline rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, comics-dc

I’m usually quite fond of Johns’ writing, so I was really sad to see him fall flat *again* on this volume. I had two major problems with it. First, it read like satire. Everyone’s preening and powerful and nothing can stand up to them, and then the next moment they’re fighting with each other. Constantly. It’s like a Mad Magazine take on the ‘70s or ‘80s Justice League. Second, none of the characters seem to fit with their individual comics, with the exception of Aquaman. Heck, even Green Lanter...more

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Feb 17, 2013 Nicola rated it 5 of 5 stars

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

I'm hooked on this series! Thrilling storyline with plenty of character development getting readers up to speed on characters they may not know much about. There are lots of small flashbacks (sometimes just a frame) worked in throughout the book reminding us (or telling new readers) that Batman's parents were gunned down in front of him as a child and so on with the other heroes. This volume has two story arcs running back to back while both running under t...more Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

I'm hooked on this series! Thrilling storyline with plenty of character development getting readers up to speed on characters they may not know much about. There are lots of small flashbacks (sometimes just a frame) worked in throughout the book reminding us (or telling new readers) that Batman's parents were gunned down in front of him as a child and so on with the other heroes. This volume has two story arcs running back to back while both running under the main storyline of an evil force who wants to bring the JL down to size in the eyes of humanity. The first story arc has Green Arrow hot to trot and anxious to be a member of the team. With no welcome in sight he follows them around showing off his stuff but as to paraphrase Lantern. "We already got a guy with no superpowers and I'm the green one, change it to Blue Arrow and we might talk about it!" GL's tiny humorous nips at Batman's lack of any real superpowers continue as do everyone else's at each other. These are not a group of people who particularly like each other, though we do find out who has been seeing or helping who behind the other's backs. And this is the focus of the second story arc. The group's infighting, petty jealousies, major attitudes towards each other coupled with the personal human or relationship side of their lives leaves them vulnerable to the one who is trying to bring them down.

This is the only New 52 series, I am currently reading. However I am wanting to spread out from here. This volume references several: starting off immediately with complaints to have Justice League International disbanded even though Batman had joined in with them. Flashes are shown of various superheroes fighting "the owls" which refers to the New 52 Batman series. I also noticed a reference to Aquaman being the leader of "The Others" which refers to Aquaman Vol. 2. Also the end of this volume advertises the forthcoming of "Justice League of America" which is very exciting! I'm sure I may have missed others. I'm going to take note of this though to help guide my reading. At this time I'm going to pick up the Batman (my fav. of the biggies) and the JLI trades (there are only 2, it was cancelled after 12 issues) for more immersion in the new DC Universe. And I eagerly await the JL of A volume!(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 Jessica at Book Sake rated it 4 of 5 stars

ARC reviewed by Chris for <Book Sake.
Book Received: For free from publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The first volume of Justice League was all out action, forgoing much in the way of story. The second installment doesn’t suffer from that weakness. It seems like the story has jumped forward in time a little and now the Justice League is established. The world loves these guys. However our super friends quickly learn that is is quite easy to fall off the celebrity pedestal.

It is great...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Angie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I wonder if Geoff Johns has even bothered to read the current Wonder Woman solo book (which is wonderful, by the way), and I wonder if he did read it and just decided to disregard everything about it, from characterization to the story itself. Not only is his take on Diana clumsy and inconsistent at /best/ but he also seems determined to make Steve Trevor/Diana this epic love that once was; never mind that he's not even been mentioned once in Diana's solo book. I understand that this is his inco...more

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Sep 06, 2012 Felix Zilich rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dc-new-52

Первый том “Лиги” давил через визуал, со второго создатели решили работать на сценарий и крутой концепт. Традиционный мотив становления героя – hero’s journey – был перевернут с ног на голову и превращен в villain’s journey. На протяжении шести выпусков мы наблюдаем становление нового эпического злодея – Дэвида Грейвса.

Популярный писатель, создавший пять лет назад культ вокруг рождения Лиги, подвергся облучению во время вторжения Дарксейда. Из-за этого облучения погибла его семья, а сам Грейвс,...more

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Feb 12, 2013 Jacob rated it 3 of 5 stars

Public library copy.

I wish I could state that the story was special or unique because of how all the characters got re-imagined, but what readers really get is more of the same old, same old. There's nothing about any of this that couldn't have been related in its former continuity. It's not terrible, but it's not as enjoyable as readers expect or deserve.

One would think the teaming of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee would lead up to them raising their A-game, but instead this book suffers (art-wise) fr...more Public library copy.

I wish I could state that the story was special or unique because of how all the characters got re-imagined, but what readers really get is more of the same old, same old. There's nothing about any of this that couldn't have been related in its former continuity. It's not terrible, but it's not as enjoyable as readers expect or deserve.

One would think the teaming of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee would lead up to them raising their A-game, but instead this book suffers (art-wise) from talented fill-in artists because Jim Lee obviously couldn't meet his deadlines. To make matters worse (for him) the fill-in artists are sometimes better than Jim Lee.

I was annoyed with the many cut scenes of completed missions the readers missed. On a few occasions I wondered had I accidentally turned two pages or was the book misprinted? Readers were robbed of the Martian Manhunter story and Steve Trevor's secret relationship with Wonder Woman, to name a few. At the turn of a page another mission might occur, an hour, day, or week might transpire. And then on other pages, time seems to flow in real time.

At this point I am keeping my fingers crossed that the "New 52" fizzles out and the publisher goes back to using their iconic characters in the way they were before the relaunch. I'm hopeful years from now fans of these characters will look at these moments as Elseworld stories and meaningful continuity and stories come back. The character personalities feel all wrong to me. They feel immature or undeveloped. This new, non-spit curl, non-red-underwear-wearing-on-the-outside Superman would never have kissed Wonder Woman (especially a rebounding Wonder Woman nor would she accept his advances) and Green Lantern and the Flash wouldn't BFF bicker back and forth like Blue Beatle and Booster Gold used to in the JLI or like some turd frat guys. Sure, there's supposed to be team conflict, but not like this. I guess that's called bromance, right?

DC Comics should be publishing better JL stories than what's being offered.(less)

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Feb 15, 2013 Paul Casteel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

*****May contain some spoilers*****

Let me begin with a very small bit of background on my Comic/Graphic Novel reading history. I began reading comic books back in the early nineties (1990-1991) when I was in late junior high and really ramped up my reading in high school. I actively collected comics up through right about 2000 when I dropped everything. During that time I pretty much exclusively read Marvel and Image comics (specifically the X-Men books and spin-offs and the Youngblood/Prophet/S...more *****May contain some spoilers*****

Let me begin with a very small bit of background on my Comic/Graphic Novel reading history. I began reading comic books back in the early nineties (1990-1991) when I was in late junior high and really ramped up my reading in high school. I actively collected comics up through right about 2000 when I dropped everything. During that time I pretty much exclusively read Marvel and Image comics (specifically the X-Men books and spin-offs and the Youngblood/Prophet/Spawn books). Since then, I’ve pretty much gotten my super hero kicks from video games and movies. My reading habits aside, for as long as I can actually remember though, my all-time favorite super hero was always Superman (of which I specifically was fond of the Christopher Reeve movies and the George Reeves TV reruns). Batman was in a close second having grown up with everything from Scooby Doo appearances and the Adam West series and then really growing fond of the character with Michael Keaton and then like so many others, loving the current Nolan movies. So, as odd as it is, outside of reading Superman: Red Son back in about 2005, I never read or picked up a DC book until 2008 with The Dark Knight movie, at which point I bought and read Batman: Year One, Batman: Long Halloween, Batman: Killing Joke, Batman: Dark Knight Returns and then the Kingdom Come graphic novel.

So, the Justice League being my first dive back into current comic reading, and especially anything at all related to DC’s “The New 52” relaunch/rebranding, the simplest thing I can say right off is that I am finding it interesting. Having won this particular title from goodreads first-reads giveaway, I went to my local store and picked up the Volume 1 book so I wouldn’t be starting midway through anything.

This book encompasses issues 7-12 of the regular series and though from having just read volume 1, which of course had issues 1-6, I can say that it isn’t necessary to have read that previous book to understand the story arc here other than setting up an understanding that the Justice League’s members, though “friends”, don’t always work extremely well together.

This book takes place 5 years after the formation of the team and presents a fairly well written story about the concepts of personal loss and the different ways different individuals deal with it. The story also deals with the fact that the Justice League does have lingering disfunctionality that needs to be worked out so that the team can truly come together and be the heroes the world wants and needs them to be and forces the realization that though the world considers them to be nearly like Gods, they have the same flaws and setbacks that every other person does. Additionally, as it was stated in the book, even though they have chosen to take on the responsibility of protecting the world because of their powers and abilities, they must accept that they cannot save every person on it.

The story itself doesn’t really start kicking into high gear until about midway through this story arc, most of the beginning being a large amount of action. Once the story really got going, however, it was well, if not succinctly, done. The art style of this book, especially compared to the first volume, threw me off several times. The art style of each individual issue, especially in the first couple issues of this volume, changes drastically as the artist of each issue is different. In my opinion, the flux of art styles was a distraction over the course of this story arc and I feel that if at all possible, the artist should remain consistent for the duration of an entire story. I especially like Jim Lee’s penciling and would have preferred him to do the entire story arc, but even if they would have gone with Gene Ha who did issue 7 and was my least favorite, it would have been preferable to be consistent. And though the costume design changes with The New 52 can and will be debated for all the rest of comic eternity, I can say that they do start to grow on you (though I’m thankful they are not using the “jeans” Wonder Woman).

My only other complaint is that there is not a lot of individual character development, but I assume that character development is mainly handled in the individual books. I’ll be able to see if this is true at least for Superman as I was fortunate enough to win a prize pack from another book site which contained Action Comics volume 1 as well as Superman Earth One volumes 1 and 2.
(less)

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Feb 10, 2013 David Edmonds rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, graphic-novel, dc-comics, read-2013, super-heroes

Well, I have to say that this arc was a large improvement over the previous arc from the first collected edition. Taking place a couple of years after the events in Origin , we are thrown right into the action as the League discovers that several of the villains they have fought in the intervening years have been attacked themselves and have been forced to give up what they know about the League and its weaknesses. What follows is an interesting study into what it means to have the powers that t...more

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May 13, 2013 Nathan rated it 2 of 5 stars

This story was interesting but ultimately was muddled towards the ending. Graves is a man who lost everything following Darkseid's attack on Earth and this is a great setup for a villain the audience can connect with however Johns fumbles this story when Graves turns into a weird super villain collage seriously he's got everything: black cape, red claw like gloves and a creepy skull face to top it off. I like how he attacked each character individually but in the end his goals were ho-hum and I...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Timothy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-reviewed-in-2013

Sometimes a person's life seems to have so much promise, and then things go awry. Sometimes horrifically so. They can not seem to grasp why so many bad things are happening to them, so they lash out at others. A special target can be those people that were formerly viewed as friends or heroes.

In Justice League, Vol. 2: The Villain's Journey, this is exactly what happened to the main “civilian observer” of the previous volume. In Volume One of the Justice League comic post-Flashpoint reboot, the...more Sometimes a person's life seems to have so much promise, and then things go awry. Sometimes horrifically so. They can not seem to grasp why so many bad things are happening to them, so they lash out at others. A special target can be those people that were formerly viewed as friends or heroes.

In Justice League, Vol. 2: The Villain's Journey, this is exactly what happened to the main “civilian observer” of the previous volume. In Volume One of the Justice League comic post-Flashpoint reboot, the assembled heroes save the world from an invasion by the evil god Darkseid. All seems to be going well for our heroes, but appearances can sometimes be deceiving. Indeed, the most ardent admirer they have, the young author and family man who praised them so effusively after they saved the lives of him and his family during said invasion, is about to become a deadly enemy. For he and his family are sick and dying due to something they were exposed to on Apokolips (Darkseid's world), and he blames the League for not finding this out and saving his family. Now, he wants revenge.

The story wasn't half-bad, and was a vast improvement over the mediocre tale in the first volume. It had character development, and moved the story forward quite a bit. But that is actually where the problem lies from the point of view of the DC Universe's internal logic.

The story begins five years after the end of the previous tale, Justice League, Vol. 1: Origins, and.... nothing has happened. Apparently the heroes can work together for about five years, and except for Batman and Superman's growing friendship, nothing changes. Nothing at all. I get that they wanted to tell the story of the Justice League forming in the past and then moving forward a few years to the “present day”. That's a compelling narrative, but it is completely ruined and unbelievable when one is asked to accept the idea that the characters could know each other for five years and not change at all. They don't know that they are fictional characters waiting for the next story arc to have any development at all, so this makes no sense.

That is really the only problem I had other than the idiocy of the writers pairing off Wonder Woman and Superman at the expense of Lois Lane and Steve Trevor. Why bring back Steve Trevor from the dead post-reboot, in order to have him and Wondy be on the outs? And why ruin the iconic relationship of Superman and Lois Lane? It seems more like the authors' visions from their childhood are being shoved down our throats, and it really irks me. I hope they change this stupidity, and soon.

Overall, not a bad volume. It just has a major, glaring problem in it's internal logic.(less)

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May 22, 2013 Steven rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphicnovels, super-heroes

Like the first volume of this collection series, the book is far more hype than actual heft to its stories.

Jim Lee's art is nice, but it's more attuned to pinups and collectible page art than it is focused on storytelling. Frankly, it's too busy everywhere to really draw one's attention to the focus of a panel or page.

While the new villain was interesting, it was a little too esoteric an origin and power set to match/suit the Justice League, IMO. I really LOVE esoteric stuff, but this Graves c...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Jeff Holton rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've been out of the comics loop for about 4 years (it was getting too expensive). However I got an advance of this Graphic Novel on my Nook and I am really liking the story. Having been a die hard JLA & Batman fan of old I must say I really like the angle of this new 52 series. I am not claiming to be a fanboy nor am I going to dissect the story line (like a true comic book nerd). I just want to say that I am really enjoying this story. I can't wait to tackle the other three or four graphic...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, graphic-novels, read-in-2013

I've got a couple of good friends here on Goodreads who are going to totally disagree with this review.
sigh
(view spoiler)

I reallyreallyreally liked The Villain's Journey.
Was it perfection? No.
But it was flashy and fun.
However, I do understand where some of the complaints are coming from with the 5 year jump. I want...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Chris Lemmerman rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was quite disappointed with how the first volume of Justice League ended; it devolved into a splash-page fest with very little character to it, leading to me dropping the book after issue #6. This second volume is much more consistent, and feels like the premiere book of the New 52, as it should.

The first two issues are done-in-ones that act as a prologue to both the main Villain's Journey story and to the upcoming Justice League of America title, as we see Green Arrow attempt to join the Just...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Jake rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

This volume of Justice League was in interesting territory following the New 52 origin of the League. unlike the previous volume, which I highly recommend as well, this collection has some subplots in addition to the main story-line. Writer Geoff Johns is known for planting story seeds and this collection is no exception. Some of he aforementioned subplots will ultimately be resolved in later issues, but the book does not feel open ended.
As for the rest of the story it was very satisfactory. I a...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Abhinav rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: justice-league, superheroes, superman, wonder-woman, batman, the-flash, green-lantern, aquaman, comics, science-fiction, cosmic-sf, fantasy, dc-comics, new-52

You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:

http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/10/...

“The biggest surprise reading from last month, this second arc was plain disappointing.”

The second arc for Geoff Johns’s Justice League series highlights one of the major issues with DC’s New 52 reboot: some of these titles are just plain boring and uninspiring and really, really bland. I had that with the first three issues of The Flash, the first four issues of The Savage Hawkman, and all of the Su...more You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:

http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/10/...

“The biggest surprise reading from last month, this second arc was plain disappointing.”

The second arc for Geoff Johns’s Justice League series highlights one of the major issues with DC’s New 52 reboot: some of these titles are just plain boring and uninspiring and really, really bland. I had that with the first three issues of The Flash, the first four issues of The Savage Hawkman, and all of the Superman main-title run. Or even Wonder Woman for that matter, which is a more apt comparison with Justice League. As with Azzarello, Geoff Johns started out really, really well with his first arc, but in the second arc, he seems to have lost his vision for this series and the script does nothing more than just fumble along.

The problem with the second arc is that Johns is trying to do too much at the same time and he can’t give any of them proper attention to deliver a concise, unified script. We have Green Arrow who is infuriatingly desperate about becoming part of the Justice League, some shadowy government stuff going on which continues a trend in superhero universes where the government doesn’t trust them and goes behind their back, plus a new villain who is more suited to a saturday/sunday morning cartoon than a major comic title like Justice League. The whole execution here was flawed, surprising since on the whole I hold Johns to be a really talented writer who can usually deliver a cracking reading experience, the New 52 Aquaman series being a perfect example. The second volume of this series is a big letdown in terms of the script, plain and simple. Had the script focused on one or two key elements rather than what we get, most of it being really childish, it would have been much better. The only thing that Johns got right in my opinion is the scene sequence in #12 where Superman and Wonder Woman hook up for the first time. There is a nuance to those panels that is missing in the rest of the 6-issue arc.

While the internal artwork (pencils, colours etc) is still as good as it is for the first arc, the covers are another letdown. The word “mediocre” comes to mind and that’s all the praise I can give the covers really. As with the script, the only cover I like is #12 featuring Superman and Wonder Woman making out in the air. The cover for #7 has something to it too but is not the best that Jim Lee has done for the series so far, no where near the best.

The good thing about the second arc is that it ends on a very promising note. There is a backup story to all six issues, dealing with Billy Batson as he is adopted by a new family and has to work at fitting in with them. I liked the backups more than the main stories as it turns out. I know next to nothing about Billy/Shazam other than seeing him in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and a minor role in an old comic which had Darkseid’s agents stirring up trouble on Earth and using Billy Batson and an engineered death of one of his opponents to turn public sentiment against all superheroes. So its nice to see his origins. Definitely want to see more of him in future issues.

Rating: 4/10(less)

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May 22, 2013 Trevor rated it 4 of 5 stars

Geoff Johns' work on Justice League continues to keep me from completely writing off the New 52. Just like the first volume, the interactions between the team-members are very well written and always entertaining, and I even liked the look at how his past relationship with Wonder Woman has essentially ruined Steve Trevor's life. Though the overall conflict of this volume isn't as exciting as the battle against Darkseid in the first volume, it's still a more than worthy read.

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Feb 20, 2013 Magic Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars

This volume isn't as good as the first volume although the villain may actually be better here. The best part about this volume is Steve Trevor. I really liked the goings on with his character the most in this volume. The heroes interacting with each other is still fun here and the artwork is consistently good. This isn't a great volume overall, but a good one that keeps the book going to a hopefully better future!

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Feb 20, 2013 Brock rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I really liked Justice League, Vol. 2:The Villain's Journey. I thought it was well written and the art was great! I like how Geoff Johns has made the League seem more real, seem more human. A.R.G.U.S., D.C., Congress, Trevor's family, all made it seem more like reality. The characters aren't these superheroes that are so out of touch with reality. The story made them seem really plausible (or as plausible as superheroes could actually be).

I really enjoy Geoff Johns as a writer and am excited to...more

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Feb 17, 2013 SugarRay Dodge rated it 5 of 5 stars

Let me count the way I love Villain's Journey. Spoiler-free for all you whiners.

1. The new villain was fantastic. Great and original, and they didn't feel the need to give him a super-stupid name like "Machine Ghost" or "Oblivion" or something. Just David Graves.

2. The way the members of the Justice League play off each other. So many dynamics to explore.

3. The way the team is set up now reminded me of The Ultimates, which is good. But it is also distinct from the Ultimates, which is also good.

4...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Emmytt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Wow just wow. This is one of the best graphic novel's I have read in a while. I won't say to much due to the risk of spoilers but by the gods was this a fantastic second volume of the Justice League. It promises great and huge things coming to the new 52! I loved this book from the great writing to the fantastic art! I was blown away and can not wait to read more.

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May 03, 2013 Philip Lister rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great combo of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. I can't afford to buy them so I'm glad libraries carry them now.Bringing a 21st century depth to these 70+ year old characters.So much better than the comic-book movies that come off of the assembly line trying to please everybody. The Art is stunning!

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Mar 16, 2013 Bob rated it 3 of 5 stars

Geoff Johns is one of my favorite writers in comics but for some reason I don't love his take on the Justice League. It seems more like the Justice Leauge Europe from the 1990's. The art was great as usual but the story to me came up short but not too short as to preclude me from liking it.

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Feb 12, 2013 Adam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Justice league vol 2: The villians Journey takes place 5 years after the first volume of the comic series and tells the new story of the justice leagues struggle to come together as a team and defeat a new and terrible villian known only as graves.
overall 7/10

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Mar 01, 2013 Suzy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Phenomenal book. The artwork is stunning and the author truly knows how to captivate his audience. I highly recommend this book to all nerds. The creative team working together on Justice League is only second to those working on Batman. :)

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Mar 27, 2013 Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Highlighting not only what makes the world's most powerful superhero team awesome but their emotional weaknesses and vulnerabilities as well, The Villain's Journey is the best Justice League story I've read since Identity Crisis.

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Mar 30, 2013 William Thomas rated it 1 of 5 stars

Sigh. Geoff Johns phones it in here with a villain we don't care about, stiff characterization, cheap romance and stilted dialogue. Not worth a review, and not worth reading.

Writing: F
Art: B

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Mar 20, 2013 Danny rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel

Confusing, cheap thrills and busy. Unless you read all the other titles this arc makes little sense and even then it is not very interesting. Makes me think Geoff Johns is past his prime. Lame.

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Jan 31, 2013 Seth Jacquay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Starts off weak sauce, but then gets easier to digest. When I read the new Justice League I feel as though I must have missed some big events in their time line. I am guessing this is intentional.

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About Geoff Johns

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990’s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career...more

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Books by Geoff Johns

Green Lantern, Vol. 4: The Sinestro Corps War, Vol. 1

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Justice League, Vol. 2: The Villain's Journey (Justice League Vol. II #2)

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