JUSTICE LEAGUE #15

[ A DEAL OF THEIR OWN ] 

Who the hells wants a watery throne? There's no substance, no vapor, no bone. I know Aquaman likes this type of thing. He's stoic yet rather mean. Plus doesn't read novels by the sister of Joan. Collins that is. Not the super creative team of Writer: Geoff Johns; Artist: Ivan Reis; plus Publisher: DC Comics in January 2013.

So what’s the STORY morning glory?

Now apart from Superman and Wonder Woman -- who go out for dinner together in Smallville -- the rest of the League are in a right pickle in this first part of the 'Throne of Atlantis' cross-over event! For example:

• The Watchtower goes on the blink, leaving Cyborg stranded in Space.
• Aquaman and Mera are pissed off because their fish won't talk to them anymore.
• And Batman is concerned about the whereabouts of a missing naval vessel.

Oh! Wait a minute! Your not thinking what I'm thinking, are you? Two watery quandaries for the price of one! Surely Aquman's brother, Orin, hasn't instigated a war with the surface-world? Furthermore, because of this predicament, broke Clark and Diana's dinner plans, forcing them to catch a flying ship!

Ouch!

Meanwhile, in the Shazam back-up feature, the worlds mightiest mortal keeps on running into trouble with his youthful side-kick, Freddy, resulting in a revelation and a man called Adam.

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

The stand-out conversation for me in this issue was that bit where Clark was explaining to Diana his origins...

'It all started in Smallville. Right in this room I thought about giving up being Clark Kent completely. But I like being Clark Kent. I like who I am and who my parents were. So I came up with the idea of a dual identity. I thought about wearing a mask like Bruce does. But as close as we are, Batman's going for something different than I am. I'd rather good people trust me then bad people fear me. I think they need to see your eyes for that. So Clark wears a mask instead of Superman. Here, try these [he hands Diana his spectacles]'.

Nice little wholesome speech that, isn't it? Plus in many ways defines who Clark is as a person, instead of a cosmic symbol of hope. 

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

As much as I enjoyed reading Clark's dinner date with Diana, plus certain ground-work scenes supplied by the main-tale, I thought the best thing about this comic book was the Shazam back-up feature.

Wow! It was like a 'Superbad' version of Captain Marvel without the swearing in it. I particularly liked how his powers seemed to 'guide' him towards trouble time and time again, plus the manner in which Billy seems to be lucking out with his adventures so far.

I said 'so far', ha!

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

My one small gripe about this yarn was how certain characters popped up whenever something dramatic took place. Aquaman surfaced when Batman was chasing down the Scarecrows henchmen. Mera showed her face when said henchmen tried to get away. And Lois and Jimmy made their small cameo when the ship was flying over their heads.

No. Not my cup of tea really. Not the appearances in themselves. It's always nice to see a guest star or two. But the repetitive manner and tone this emergence was conveyed. It was too formulaic.

What was the most INNOVATIVE thing about this issue?

Without a shadow of a doubt, the most creative thing about this story has to be Mera's breasts... err... I mean the art. Ivan Reis really does a bang-up job on the pencils in this issue, making each scene very cinematic in scope, and very personable in flavor.

Just take a look at how he composes the intimate scenes between 'the loving couple', compared to the more grandiose exploits of the main-adventure, and you'll see what I'm getting at.

Intimate: close and warm. Grandiose: wide and cinematic.

If you had to CAST TWO CHARACTERS in this comic book, who would they be and why?

AQUAMAN: Continuing this months plant-themed casting-call, dear reader, and in the right frame of mind of casting this sea-king as a 'Amphiphytes'. According to wiki-wiki, this is the term used to define plants that are able to live in water or on land

MERA: As for this sea-queen on the other hand, I feel duty-bound to cast her as a couple of watermelons. For obvious reasons of course.

What WORD or PHRASE could you use to sum-up this story?

'I've haddock enough of this plaice' -- by those people who like fishy puns.

If this issue were a MOVIE, an OBJECT, or a piece of MUSIC, what would that be and why? 

Mainly due of the watery slant to this story-line, I feel compelled to compare it to the Beatles song 'Octopuses Garden'.

Did you know that this was one of the only song's Ringo wrote whilst he was with the fab-four?

FINAL thoughts...

As per-usual, I'm a bit ying-yang with this 'Justice League' book at the moment. I like the art. I like the back-up feature. And I like the initial thrust of this present story-line to boot. Yet, in the same breath, most of the exposition comes across quite hollow in execution, and I'm not really sure if the cost justifies the price of admission -- so to speak.

Not to take anything away from the artists of course. All of them seem to go the extra mile to produce something worthwhile on this comic book. However, where the writer is concerned -- Geoff Johns -- is he stretching himself a bit too thin?

Green Lantern. Both strand's on this series. And whatever else he has to do for DC Comics. Surely this heavy workload must drag him down on a creative level! Inadvertently making his stories appear sparse in content; and his output nominal.

Go and have a sabbatical, Geoff. I'm sure you need one. Take a bit of time off to recharge your batteries, so you can come back fighting fit once more.

MARKS out of 10? 8.8