Review: JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE #2

JUSTICE LEAGUE: NO JUSTICE #2
Written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson
Art by Francis Manapul, Marcus To, Hi-Fi, Andworld Design
Edited by Andrea Shea, Rebecca Taylor, Marie Javins
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: May 16, 2018

The teams are assembled and now it’s time for the Justice League to do what the Justice League does…but this is No Justice!

Part two of this weekly event storms forward at a good pace, the strength of these new teams immediately apparent. I’m not sure how writing duties were split in this issue, but the banter between unexpected team members is absolutely brilliant. I can’t wait for more Martian Manhunter/Starro in the future, and seeing these iconic DC heroes thrown together with anti-heroes, villains and Teen Titans leads to some fresh, new situations. While classic rosters have their place, sometimes shaking things up can give an entire publishing line a shot in the arm.

The pacing of this issue is strong, and these writers are no strangers to weekly books. The issue flows nicely from the first and does not waste time getting to the point. With a massive cast and providing the framework for 4 new teams, there’s a lot to get done here, so the team uses these four trees and universal aspects well. This is a giant cosmic threat comic fans are familiar with, the faceless all powerful entity hellbent on destruction, so the writers don’t have to waste a lot of valuable space building a villain. This is all about how these characters are going to come together to actually accomplish something, and what will be the fallout from their actions on Colu. There’s a lot going on and this whole mini-event feels like it could be summed up in a single word: big.

Francis Manapul excels at “big” art, and his work is fantastic. His huge splash pages are phenomenal, and his style meshes very well with Marcus To’s. The whole issue has a very cohesive feel despite being penciled by two people, which consistent work by Hi-Fi helps with. Hi-Fi’s colour work is solid, with the giant cast being handled well and the pencil work given that extra visual pop when it is needed. The art team does a great job presenting this story with the grand feeling it needs – big cosmic threats that require this many heavyweight characters needs big art and this team gets that. The layouts in the issue are especially strong, and used to shift the story through the different teams well. This issue could have easily been an overcrowded mess, but the art team does a great job of keeping the story focused and moving.

No Justice #2 keeps this event moving full steam ahead in a great way, with a talented creative team setting up where the Justice League books are headed in a fun way. Character banter steals the show, the art is great and DC’s got a winner with this mini-event thus far.

The Verdict: 9.0/10

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