JUSTICE LEAGUE #51

[ INVADING THE SHOPS ] 

If you're a young person you must always do what you're elders tell you to do. So if they should tell you to tidy your room, you should tidy your room. And if they should tell you to fight a hoard of evil looking aliens, you should tell them to go f*** a duck and read the following comic book created by Dan Abnett, Paul Pelletier, Sandra Hope, and published by DC Comics in June, 2016.

TO QUOTE Homer Simpson: 'Woo-Hooo'.

THE REVIEW:

Five years ago, not so long after Darkseid's initial invasion of Earth, a number of strange abnormalities started to pop up all over the place. At first, some of these abnormalities appeared fairly benign, taking the shape of strange weather patterns or environmental abrasions. Yet as time ticked on, and this situation began to grow and grow, eventually things got so dire the Justice League had to step in and save the day.     

Thing is, at the time this was happening Batman decided to bring along with him his sidekick, Robin: The Boy Wonder (AKA Dick Grayson), so he could see what he might have in store for himself in the future. Not that this was a bad thing, mind you. Even though some members of the League were curious as to why Robin was there, as you'd expect, a time came where he proved to them why he's such a wonderful kid to have around.

You see, when Robin and the League first arrived at abnormality central, immediately they got attacked by three separate entities -- A pack of War-hounds, the villain known as Mammoth, plus a green-skinned alien from the planet Colu, named Bron Vox, who I presume is related to Brainiac. Yet what made this situation even more interesting to follow, is that thanks to Robins deductive abilities, the League figures out that each of these 'beings' where brought here because Superman 'broke time' when he punched Darkseid at the end of the war.

Hey! Don't worry. As he says in this issue, if Superman broke it he can fix it too, and I can't say fairer than that. I mean, I can't really, can I? I've spoilt enough for you already, and I wouldn't want to spoil any more. Although, if I may, I would like to say that I did enjoy the artwork provided by Paul Pelletier (very silver age stuff), plus I did enjoy every scene involving Robin and Cyborg (nostalgia overload), any of those scenes where the League had some fun at Batman's expense (see my comparison section), plus those sequences where the League warmed up to Robin (did you notice how Dick couldn't look Diana in the face... or chest?).

That said, however, there were two things about this issue I wasn't too keen on. The first of which was how most of the League's opponents came across very generic in both tone and stature. As much as I did like the inclusion of Mammoth, the War-Hounds, and Bron Vox, apart from Bron, hardly any of them said much apart from the occasional grunt or grown. Whilst my second gripe with this issue is all to do with the simplicity of it, and how, conceptually, it was a basic hero verses villain type of scenario we've all seen many times before.   

So yeah, on the whole I didn't mind this episode of the Justice League. The art was clean and crisp. The story, although simple, was very magical in the way in which it was told. And all in all, good job, let the Titans begin!!!! Ha!

THE MUSIC:

One of the key things you get out of this comic book is the need a child has to prove his worth to his elders. Back in the day there were a series of films that revolved around a character called Andy Hardy. They starred Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, and in a very direct fashion they did a very similar thing, hence...

THE COMPARISON:

For this month's comparison I'm going to take a leaf out of Green Lanterns book by taking on board what he said to Batman...

'What's this? Bring your kid to work day?'.

Ha! I couldn't have put it better myself.

THE CONCLUSION:

One of the things I deliberately failed to mention was the fact that a mysterious character was lurking, hypothesizing, and spouting fractured sentences throughout this entire comic book. So, for the sake of fun -- spit! -- can you guess who this character is and what's the last thing they say out of the following eight options? Could it be...

1. Darkseid: Goo-Goo-Gah-Gah, blublublu!
2. Braniac: 0010001010101010.
3. Lex Luthor: I will get my revenge and a wig.
4. The Parasite: I was named after dinner.
5. General Zod: Kneel before Zod so I can tie up your shoelaces.
6. The Joker: I want to be directed by Kevin Smith.
7. A mysterious alien who will soon appear in the new Titans comic book: The child. Robin.
8. Donald Trump: Goo-Goo-Gah-Gah, blublublu, wig!

Nuff said.