Justice League #15 Review

JUSTICE LEAGUE #15

by Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Gary Frank

Justice League #15 is a massive step up in quality, after the dreadful 2-issue Cheetah arc. Why? Follow me, and I'll show you...

Justice League #15 might as well be another first issue. It's an excellent jumping on point for fans, and continuity doesn't really matter. This feels more like Marvel's the Avengers film, instead of Johns' Justice  League. The story is massive and epic in scope, with shades of disaster movies such as The Day After Tomorrow, and some  influence from (the god-awful) Ultimatum by Jeph Loeb and David Finch. Johns deals with a lot of character development between Clark and Diana, and well... Rockets and Atlantis. The tone of the book is akin to that of a Michael Bay movie (if it actually had brains). The big reveal at the end makes sense, and will definitely cause a LOT of complications for Aquaman and the League. However, I still feel some of the book was to overdramatic for my tastes, and it seems Johns' take on Batman feels too stale.

Meanwhile, Ivan Reis is a much more capable artist than Jim Lee is, as he keeps a very even feel through the book. Joe Prado's inks are solid, and gives the issue a very distinctive look. However, Reis' facial expressions sometimes look so overdone, it's almost  ridiculous. Case in point: Diana's face on the "Clark. It really works" panel.

The Shazam backup was "meh" as usual. I wish we found out why Black Adam allied with Sloth in the last issue, and Billy is way too unlikable for my taste. Gary Frank's artwork is fine, but as with Reis, his faces occasionally seem too expressive.

Justice League #15 is what DC's flagship title should be. A fun and explosive popcorn movie, with lots of character development, and great art.

STORY: 4/5

ART: 4/5

BACKUP: 2/5

VERDICT: 3.5/5