DCU Comic Book Reviews

JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #1

The Beginning

September 2009

Written by James Robinson

Pencils by Mauro Cascioli

Inks by Mauro Cascioli

Cover by Mauro Cascioli

Synopsis

On the Watchtower, Hal Jordan tells the rest of the Justice League that he is tired of waiting for villains to commit a crime before going after them.  Instead, he wants to be proactive and go after them before the crime has been committed.  And it begins with Libra and the Secret Society.  In New Mexico, Ryan Choi (aka the Atom) and Ray Palmer question Killer Moth regarding stolen time pool technology.  Killer Moth refuses to talk, but Ray tortures him to get the identity of the thief:  Prometheus.  In Opal City, Mikaal Thomas attends the funeral for Tony.  In Africa, Congorilla cries for the deaths of his friends, including Freedom Beast.       

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This book is going to have an uphill climb.  It is late and not in the sense that the artist is behind schedule, although that may very well be the case.  No, it is late because the events that drive this book occurred well over 6 months ago.  So it is kinda hard to feel the urgency of what Hal is feeling regarding Libra (who died in the final issue of Final Crisis) or the Secret Society (who has not been seen or heard from since the end of Final Crisis).  In fact, the issue of Justice League of America (#31) in which we (the readers) learned Hal created his own group was released several months ago.  While reading, you ask yourself, why has taken you so long.  Anyway, it is going to take some effort to overcome the lateness to make this book relevant to the current DC universe.  Sadly, this issue doesn’t make a very convincing case. 

The biggest problem is that nothing happens in this book.  It is, essentially, a role call of the cast of characters, and not even a complete roll call.  Several of the characters, Supergirl and Captain Marvel, have yet to appear.  To add to the problem, Robinson pulls out a few older characters that are less well known and therefore will take some effort to inform the reader on who they are.  Moreover, there is no connective thread among these characters, which means Robinson is going to have to explain how these characters come together.  This suggests we are going to get 2 more issues (maybe more) to bring everyone together before they will actually get involved and pro-active in going after Prometheus.  It does not bode well for a 7-issue mini-series for half of the issues to consist of scenes simply introducing the new team.  It should not take three issues before the main plot comes into play.

Ultimately (even with the commentary from Robinson and the 52-style origin of Congorilla) this issue feels incomplete and rather empty.  It is not bad, per se, but it lacks plot or story so it is difficult to really sense what Robinson is trying to do, other than introduce us to characters who cry for justice.  And we need more than that. 

This may be a nit-pick, but it seems to me that the characters are more interested in revenge (or vengeance) rather than justice.  Each of them have experienced some sort of personal tragedy and are looking for some way to make someone pay for that tragedy.  I am not sure if this is Robinson not understanding how to define Justice or if this will become a theme that will be explored.  If the latter is the case, this might be an interesting story. 

It is an interesting group of characters standing in the background of Hal Jordan’s announcement of his plan.  It is the Meltzer-era version of the team, but Plastic Man, Supergirl, Firestorm, Zatanna, and Huntress can also be seen in the background.  Firestorm and Zatanna make sense, as they are current members, although at the time this comic was written, I have to wonder why they are there.  The presence of Supergirl can be explained due to her relationship with Superman, but even then she is not really associated with the Justice League.  However, Plastic Man and Huntress are head scratchers, as neither have been associated with the team in any fashion since the recent re-boot.

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