Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE #44

JUSTL_Cv44_R1

JUSTICE LEAGUE #44
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Jason Fabok
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: September 30, 2015

This comic is epic. It is huge. It is colossal. It is yet another amazing chapter in one of the strongest series released this year. Justice League #44 has huge ramifications for the DCU and it is absolutely brilliant.

Geoff Johns has been on fire for a very long time with Justice League, but even this excellent title has gotten better with each issue of The Darkseid War. The epic stakes of this comic are unparalleled in any other DC book and Johns handles the huge scope so well. Batman in the Moebius chair, the Amazon ties to this conflict, the Anti-Monitor in a slugfest with Darkseid and Superman & Lex stuck on Apokolips are all compelling stories and when you put them together and add in exceptional art from Jason Fabok, you get one of the best comics of 2015.

Johns knows these characters well and his interpretations of them are some of my favourite of all time. His Batman is all the right kinds of arrogant, Hal all the right kinds of stubborn and Diana is a perfect balance of power and grace. As much as this issue is defined by huge events (and I’ll freely admit I was shocked by several moments, and am still in shock if I’m being forthcoming) the character work is never sacrificed. There is as much character based drama as there is huge explosions and boom tubes, and the sheer mayhem of what is occurring on these pages makes this a fun comic. This is an event in a single comic and fans who have been burned by cross overs and long, sprawling events have got to be ecstatic about what is happening here in Justice League. Johns is at the top of his game and the ripples that will shake the DCU from this event are going to lead to some fun comics well after all this is said and done.

Geoff Johns is a master and Jason Fabok is his equal in every way on the art front. His work impresses me more with each issue and there are more jaw dropping pages in this comic than I can count. The events of this issue are huge and Fabok does them justice, bringing extremely detailed work to the table and delivering pencils that feel like the issue is quaking in your hands when a boom tube erupts. He handles a huge cast very well and considering the extreme power of all the players involved, he maintains a high level of strong characterization. The personalities of each character remain despite the madness happening around them. An example is Shazam. At no point does he look like a stock Superman ripoff, or a beefy muscle man that is devoid of his personality. Who he is stays intact no matter what is occurring, or even if he is playing a huge role or not. I find in issues of other series that have huge casts and huge events like this that many artists resort to filling in many characters with stock faces that are devoid of personality or detail. That is not the case here and Fabok never misses a beat with a single member of this massive cast. This is some of the best superhero artwork published this year and Jason Fabok is as A-list as there is.

Justice League #44 is immense. The Darkseid War is, thus far, my favourite arc of 2015, and possibly my favourite DC arc ever if this astounding level of quality is maintained. I am not saying this lightly: this event trumps every arc & major event that has occurred in the DCU since the inception of the New 52. This is a must read for any fans of the Justice League or even just fans of damn good superhero comics. Two masters are unleashing one of the greatest stories of the past decade on the DCU right in front of our eyes and I am damn happy to be along for the ride.

The Verdict: 10/10

Authors

Related posts

Top