Tough call picking a winner this week as both Aquaman and Justice League United were quality reads. But someone's gotta be the loser.
Aquaman #30
And it was the fill-in penciller that did it in. Alvaro Martinez pencils 6 pages of this issue, and while his work is very similar to series regular Paul Pelletier, someone had to be #2. It makes me ask, why couldn't Pelletier just do those 6 pages?
Unlike the atrocity that Green Lantern is becoming, Jeff Parker's transition onto a Geoff Johns book is seamless. Parker isn't afraid to make Aquaman part of the larger DC Universe and even expands it by introducing Hercules, which in turn brings Wonder Woman into the book. Parker has a nice touch when it comes to the shared universe he's writing.
No mind blowing plot twists in this issue, but you can feel its just a piece of a more important story Parker and Pelletier (and Martinez) are telling.
Justice League United #0
DC had me at Jeff Lemire. His DC superhero resume (Superboy, Animal Man, Justice League Dark) has garnered him quite a bit of credit in my book. He's been flawless in the titles I've read. So even though I didn't like Justice League of America (which this book is replacing) Lemire's name alone guaranteed I'd buy it. It also didn't hurt that Mike McKone, who has done various high quality DC work would be pencilling.
But it wasn't just the creative talent that drew me to this book: its the disparate characters that make up the JLU. Featuring Animal Man, Martian Manhunter, Stargirl, Green Arrow, Supergirl and Adam Strange, this book has the right cast and writer to take me back to the good old days when Guardians of the Galaxy was a great book. This first issue didn't disappoint introducing the majority of the team and setting up the greater story, which will take place between Canada and outer space revolving around someone kidnapping Earthlings and other aliens for what... we don't know.
I can't really say there was anything bad about this issue. McKone's artwork is slightly different than I remember, but that's more just different than bad. So far so good. I think I'm really going to like this book.
Panels of the Week:
A few panels from Justice League United by Mike McKone. This type of thing (the stark red and black panel, is becoming a trend in DC books lately. This is the third book I've seen this appear in, so it leads me to believe this isn't a coincidence.
-Gint
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