This review contains minor spoilers.
After so much hype, Justice League of America has been a frustrating mess. With such a strong cast of characters and Steve Orlando’s talents, this series should be better than what it currently is. I mean, it carries the Justice League name, so it has the responsibility of being awesome. Thankfully, this latest issue is a step in the right direction – if only a small step. But hey, it’s better than nothing.
In part three of “The Extremists,” the Justice League of America meet and offer their assistance to a small group of rebels. As they plan to fight for Kravia’s sovereignty, the Extremists take control of the nations surrounding the country and increase their political stranglehold. The JLA and rebels battle the villains and gain the upper hand. Only Lord Havok stands in their way, but he proudly boasts that he alone is more than enough. Well, maybe if you’re Darkseid, dude…
The strong political theme of this story cannot be ignored – it’s equally Star Wars as it is real life. While it was too on the nose and annoying in the past two issues, the theme works well here. I particularly like how Orlando shows the other side of fascism, where there are people who genuinely believe their leader will protect them. It’s far more realistic than the belief that everyone craves democracy.
Nonetheless, Orlando’s story still contains the same problems that have plagued this series so far. First, it focuses too heavily on the villains, when there’s no need to go into so much detail about them or their history. We hardly know anything about the heroes’ state of mind or their dynamics, but know everything about the antagonists. I beg the question, why?
Second, the exposition is killing me. I’m just waiting for Havok to reveal exactly how to defeat him via an extensive monologue in the next issue. Orlando is guilty of overwriting here, and needs to trust the visuals to speak to the audience more. Some of the mistakes made here are extremely amateurish at this level, and we know the writer’s better than this.
The artwork mirrors the story as well: good in places, but not great. There are a few panels, such as the one of Lobo lighting a cigar, that immediately jump out at you, while there are others that appear plain lazy. The inkers, Ruy Jose and Marc Deering, are to blame for this, as it’s easy to spot that there are two different people at work when it shouldn’t be the case. That said, the art quality is an overall improvement from the ghastly last issue, which disappointed more than anything else in recent memory.
Justice League of America #3 is certainly a much-needed improvement, but it’s still far from being worthy of its prestigious title. With such an exciting array of heroes, the book remains infatuated with its villains and their motives, ignoring the real stars of the story. Orlando also needs to self-edit and look at the unnecessary exposition and excessive wordiness. Remove at least 20% of the dialogue and the overall quality of his story will improve. The series holds potential, but it needs a lot of work.
