Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Justice League Of America #6
DC Comics
Johns, Lemire & Mahnke
The Trinity War crossover continues with a chopped-up issue. Basically, the first big fight scene draws to a close, the problem is analyzed, an investigation is started and the final Justice League team is brought into the fold. A lot occurs in this issue but it's more of bridging issue to the next piece of story. It's a decent read but isn't as strong as the first.
Basically, the fight takes the center stage for the initial part of the book. There aren't too many individual matchups, but just a ton of characters in the mix together. Thankfully, DC provides a rundown of the character's names and pictures to keep the book more new reader friendly. The fight only ends when Superman manages to control himself and turns himself in.
The rest of the book focuses on some of the characters trying to either clear Superman's name, stop the power that affected him or take a more hands-on approach to everything with the big man down. The ending is a modest cliffhanger.
There are a few problems with the dialogue. Specifically an exchange between Firestorm and Shazam where the characters throw around words like "balls" and "crap" just made me shake my head. It seemed lazy and out of place. Another concern is that Pandora is talked about but never shown, except on the cover. This type of tactic isn't exactly new reader friendly and doesn't tie well with the previous issue. DC likes to assume you are reading everything they publish and if you aren't then these comics will make you want to seek out the back issues to find out more about these characters and situations. It's annoying.
The art is another drawback. I read through the comic without looking at the credits and I guessed two pencil artists (maybe one "finisher") and five inkers. When I looked back and found only one, Mahnke, on pencils and only four inkers I knew there was a problem. Details escaped the comic page to page. Sideburns appear and disappear, character placement has no flow from panel to panel or page to page, characters appear years older or young depending on the page. However, the key pages that involve the fight are terrific. Mahnke delivers in a huge way during the first third of the book. If you like your action then these opening pages are stunning and that makes up for a lot of the mess the art provides in the issue.
Trinity War seems like a good crossover. This comic has a transition feel to it as the story slows down from the big fight scene to get back to the larger story. It's interesting that Superman is really off the table and looks to be that way for the remainder of the crossover. This will help level the playing field and make for some interesting confrontations. This is shaping up to be a good read.
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
