Justice League of America #5 Review

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #5

by Geoff Johns, Brett Booth, Matt Kindt and Manuel Garcia

OK, I've seen people demanding this all over the web, and I can't help but agree: MAKE B'DG PART OF THE JLA.

JLA #5 continues directly from the fourth issue. We get some insight on the origin of Doctor Light, Catwoman's "death", and Simon Baz finally joins the team. But it's also a very cluttered issue. Johns seems like he tries to cram as many ideas into this book before Trinity War, and it just comes off as convoluted. The reveal of the leader of the Secret Society is unexpected, but it's not surprising. Another of the book's problems is the lack of focus on Simon Baz, who's only in the book for about 3 pages. However, it's biggest sin must be the lack of closure we get here. I mean, Justice League and Justice League Dark both wrapped up their Trinity War prelude arcs nicely, but this book is just left open, and is incredibly unsatisfying. Not just that, there isn't much focus on about half the team, like Katana, Hawkman, or even Green Arrow here. Thankfully, Johns does redeem himself by doing some interesting things with the Secret Society, and Stargirl absolutely steals the show.

Brett Booth's art was never suited for this book, and it's never been more apparent. His style is way to cartoonish for the story's sake. I mean, what was DC thinking when they put him on here? Not just that, but there are some really noticeable art problems. There's one panel where it's mentioned that Hawkman has a compound fracture, and has lost over a quart of blood, but there's not a single scar and drop of blood on him. Speaking of Hawkman, I'm not a fan of the way Booth draws him either. And towards the later half, the art starts to look sloppy and rushed. However, as usual, the colors look very good, but the bright palette doesn't suit the tone.

This is the most disappointing chapter of the Martian Manhunter backups yet. It's focused on why J'Onn came to Earth in the first place, but it's uninteresting, dull, and it has a terrible villain. Manuel Garcia's art looks a little choppy too. This is really odd, considering that the first two chapters of the backup were very good. The one thing it gets right though, is that Garcia's art seems to look fine in some shots.

JLA #5 is the worst issue of the series. Granted, I will be staying for Trinity War, so let's hope Doug Manhke can fix the art problems. But despite all the gripes I had with this, I am looking forward to Trinity War.

STORY: 3/5
+ Stargirl is awesome
+ Some interesting concepts
+ Simon Baz finally joins the team!
- Doesn't pay attention to about half the team, including Baz
- Doesn't do a good job wrapping up

ART: 1/5
+ Bright and pretty colors
- Bright and pretty colors
- Booth's art is not suited for a dark book
- Starts to lapse in quality towards the end
- Art flaws

BACKUP: 2/5
+ Manuel Garcia's art looks very good in some spots
- Uninteresting story
- Art looks bad in some spots

VERDICT: 2/5