Justice League #3

writer: Geoff Johns
artist: Jim Lee

I'm astounded that a Justice League book can be this good. I think I've said that a number of different ways already, calling it a monthly event book, for instance, and if that's still the best way to say it, then that'll work, too. This is better than Grant Morrison's widescreen JLA, better than Brad Meltzer's, so much more confident in the exploration not only of the team as it comes together, but how the individual members represent themselves. Too easily and too often team books concentrate on trite dialogue that gives token presence to individual members when they're really just homogenizing everyone into some adventure that's supposed to be big enough for the reader to overlook this fact. The best team books overcome this basic deficiency by actually delivering on big adventure, or instead relying on the relationship game (which Young Heroes in Love parodied). Johns has been doing so many event books recently that he's perfected the formula of writing various characters with unique perspectives while simultaneously building a bigger story around them. This issue we finally meet Wonder Woman, and the approach here is so fresh, so vibrant, it's an embarrassment to every other writer who has failed to capture that same spirit through the years, instead counting on reader familiarity that has actually robbed the character of her best qualities. The good thing is that Brian Azzarello seems perfectly capable of matching that tone in the Wonder Woman ongoing. This is the best kind of flagship title, because it absolutely deserves that distinction.