JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED #9
Written by Jeff Lemire
Art by Neil Edwards
Published by DC Comics
Release Date: February 11, 2015
JLU drives toward the conclusion of its second arc with issue #9, a space romp that will delight Legion of Super-Heroes fans with its huge cast and big crazy fun.
Justice League United has had a very different tone than the other Justice League books, and if you trend toward liking some campy dialogue and big space adventure, it’s probably right up your alley. Lemire continues with his consistent writing in this issue, handling a huge cast and slowly tying up loose ends from the first arc to close out the second. He acknowledges the insane situation he has created well in the script, with Legion members bantering about just how many of them are involved in this conflict and JLU members struggling to keep up with what the hell is going on amidst the anarchy. Lemire’s script evokes the feel of 80s/90s comics with some cheesy dialogue and an approach of cramming as many characters as possible into the story and finding a way to make it work. While none of the main team gets much spotlight, it works for this series as this motley crew really is about the whole, not individual parts. Some aspects of this story worked for me, some got a bit of a groan as I’m not well experienced with the Legion, but overall I smiled more than I frowned, so I’m calling that a win.
Neil Edwards delivers some solid artwork here, handling the massive cast well and giving readers a few dazzling splash pages. He handles the craziness of the cosmos well, with the backgrounds always featuring some kind of dazzling visual to keep the eyes entertained. For readers like myself who do not recognize these Legion members at the drop of a hat, Edwards does a good job of visually introducing them, their talents, and makes them memorable while doing it. That’s not an easy thing to do when you’ve got a cast this size in an issue, and his work impressed me overall. His style suits this story and vice versa, props to editorial for making this match.
Justice League United #9 drives this arc toward its final chapter and really, if you haven’t read the arc up to this point, this isn’t the best time to jump in. While it wouldn’t be impossible, with a cast this size it would not be easy to follow if you haven’t read any JLU to this point. Lemire’s carving a different path through the DCU with this title and, for the most part, it’s working for me. These characters don’t make the most sense together, but that’s part of the zaniness and I do like a bit of zany in my life. I’ll be back for #10 to see how this rounds out.
The Verdict: 7.0/10
