And Then I Read: JUSTICE LEAGUE 7

Images © DC Comics, Inc.

This issue begins not one but two new storylines, as the book has a main story and a backup. Geoff Johns writes both, the feature has art by Gene Ha, an excellent choice to replace Jim Lee. More on that in a minute. The story focuses on a new villain called Spore, who seems more of a typical human-turned-monster than previous JL opponents, and the “team” continues to act more like a group of headstrong individuals when facing this new danger. The interplay is rather fun, but this is not much of a team. At the end we have a quite interesting character story about Colonel Steve Trevor, who is acting as a sort of JL liaison to the U.S. government, his new assistant Miss Candy, and a certain Wonder Woman. It plays out well for me.

Here’s a page of fine Gene Ha art with some pretty creepy monsters created by Spore.

The backup features the relaunch of the character formerly known as Captain Marvel, now simply Shazam, I think. It begins as almost an homage to the stories of the Golden Age character, but then takes a swift turn into something much more contemporary. I thought I might dislike this, but I actually rather like it. Kind of looking forward to more. Be interesting to see how they handle Shazam, as he simply appears on the final page. Artist Gary Frank does an excellent job with the art as well, drawing a great Batson with lots of subtle acting.

Recommended.