Feb
10
2017
0

Justice League of America: Rebirth #1 Review

Written by: Steve Orlando

Art by: Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Oclair Albert, & Marcelo Maiolo

Published by: DC Comics

JLA: Rebirth #1 is a perfect reflection of the cynicism of DC comics. A cast of lesser known characters can’t survive on their own – so their ranks are bolstered by Batman. Readers have to be spoon fed information – so we get another issue of introductions to characters that have had their own Rebirth one shots.

Fortunately, that introduction is better than it’s been anywhere else. It reminded me of a montage you would see in a heist film, where the main characters (Batman and Killer Frost) get the crew (Vixen, The Ray, The Atom, Lobo, and Black Canary) together. I mean, it lacks the energy of those scenes, largely because it’s broken up by more exposition.

The thing is, there are hints here of the Steve Orlando of old – the one that did Midnighter and Undertow. This is the second book I’ve read this week (the first being Supergirl) that has reminded me of his talent. Particular scenes, such as Canary’s recruitment, are really solid character moments. If this book has more of that going forward, I’m in.

That being said, the book does retread some of the same ground as the Rebirth one shots. I don’t need to be told about Killer Frost’s internal struggle again. I don’t need random reminders of events that occurred in those god-awful issues. What should have been a virtual issue #1 is just more introductions – it feels exploitative.

Honestly, had I not read those Rebirth one shots, my enjoyment of this would have been much greater. It’s an efficient introduction to all the characters, done quickly and with some decent charact moments. And Batman, which is unfortunate. Literally every other character has an interesting line of dialogue here. He is the exception.

Despite my overall enjoyment of this book, it is difficult to argue in favor of it because of the idiotic internal logic. So, Batman wants to put together a team of humans. Fine, cool. I get it. But why is Lobo, a literal alien, on the team then? Like, Lobo’s cool and all, but seriously? And he’s a member of the team alongside a bunch of characters with incredible superpowers. It doesn’t make a ton of sense.

As is typical of Ivan Reis, the art very much fits DC’s house style, which he did help to establish. I don’t necessarily mean that in a reductive manner – Reis remains excellent at visual storytelling. Combined with Marcelo Maiolo on colors and Joe Prado and Oclair Albert inking, this book has an incredibly solid visual style.

At the end of the day, I think I actually like this issue much less than I thought I did on my initial pass. Additional readings and discourse about the issue has actually hurt it for me, and that’s never a good sign. This isn’t a book I’m particularly interested in going out and paying for – and I wouldn’t recommend you do either. But I’m definitely curious.