Scan barcode
jonwesleyhuff's review against another edition
2.0
I'm torn about this one. There are some fantastic highlights here. I liked the Drowned Earth storyline overall. But as a volume of Justice League this gets messy. The choice of Frazier Irving here is a poor one, I think. I like Irving's style for specific projects and where his heavily stylized work is used to its advatage. But rotating him in and out with other artists is visual whiplash. Also, I'm not sure this is his best work. He seems to over rely on an action scene with floating heads of characters spouting dialogue behind the main action. There is one shot where Aquaman looks like Johnny Bravo and it's unintentionally hilarious. Also, for a while his art is used mostly in the "Graveyard of the Gods" which works OKAY, but then it's STILL used in the real world and the storytelling at this point really breaks down. It's a shame because some of this volume contains absolutely stunning art and colors, and I think i would have enjoyed the book more if there had been more consitency.
stevequinn's review against another edition
3.0
Boy, the art was fantastic. Boy, the story was confusing.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
2.0
I picked this up because it's part of The Batman Who Laughs chronology. I mean, he's on the cover, he must be an importnt part of the story, right?
Not so much. The first issue reveals that he was somehow captured by Lex Luthor after the events of [b:Dark Nights: Metal|36268449|Dark Nights Metal|Scott Snyder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516032051l/36268449._SY75_.jpg|57924142]. How? It's not explained. After that, he doesn't appear or have any influence over the events.
This is a run of the mill Justice League collection. A couple of one-off stories that close without much explanation, they just sort of end. And then it's an Aquaman/Atlantis storyline. None of it appealed to me as a comic reader. Sure, I'm not generally a Justice League or Aquaman fan, but the right writer or the writer plot can hold my attention. Neither of those things were present here. I was soon bored and eager to just skim the story.
If you love Justice League books or Scott Snyder's writing, maybe this is for you? I enoyed Snyder's work before and during The New 52 but I'm finding his work after Rebirth to be sloppy and boring. He's lucky to be teamed with some of DC's best artists so that the books are at least fun to look at, but it doesn't seem like his heart is at all engaged in his writing.
Not so much. The first issue reveals that he was somehow captured by Lex Luthor after the events of [b:Dark Nights: Metal|36268449|Dark Nights Metal|Scott Snyder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516032051l/36268449._SY75_.jpg|57924142]. How? It's not explained. After that, he doesn't appear or have any influence over the events.
This is a run of the mill Justice League collection. A couple of one-off stories that close without much explanation, they just sort of end. And then it's an Aquaman/Atlantis storyline. None of it appealed to me as a comic reader. Sure, I'm not generally a Justice League or Aquaman fan, but the right writer or the writer plot can hold my attention. Neither of those things were present here. I was soon bored and eager to just skim the story.
If you love Justice League books or Scott Snyder's writing, maybe this is for you? I enoyed Snyder's work before and during The New 52 but I'm finding his work after Rebirth to be sloppy and boring. He's lucky to be teamed with some of DC's best artists so that the books are at least fun to look at, but it doesn't seem like his heart is at all engaged in his writing.
rashthedoctor's review against another edition
3.0
If you want a coherent story , this isn't it . If you want action , stunning art , lots of surprises , and the authors having fun with the characters ... This is it
This felt like a big scale event really , and I guess when the DC universe's best and strongest are forming a team , anything less than big scale would be dissatisfactory . The fact that the legion of doom are a recurring element and both the volumes connecting to each other makes it an intriguing experimentation . That , for now , I sure am enjoying .
I am curious to see how return of starman impacts , and of course , Batman's new kid .
The book falters in its length , Snyder insists of making multiple long tirades filled with exposition . This makes it all look a bit too dragged and dull . I couldn't wait for the book to end , and yet it never ended . I absolutely felt the length of the book .
Meanwhile Joker's treatment has been disappointing so far and the book being so heavy on Aquaman was also a bit claustrophobic .
Either ways , I still find this JL run better than the last 2 (new 52 and Rebirth) runs , so here's to further entertaining books ahead
This felt like a big scale event really , and I guess when the DC universe's best and strongest are forming a team , anything less than big scale would be dissatisfactory . The fact that the legion of doom are a recurring element and both the volumes connecting to each other makes it an intriguing experimentation . That , for now , I sure am enjoying .
I am curious to see how return of starman impacts , and of course , Batman's new kid .
The book falters in its length , Snyder insists of making multiple long tirades filled with exposition . This makes it all look a bit too dragged and dull . I couldn't wait for the book to end , and yet it never ended . I absolutely felt the length of the book .
Meanwhile Joker's treatment has been disappointing so far and the book being so heavy on Aquaman was also a bit claustrophobic .
Either ways , I still find this JL run better than the last 2 (new 52 and Rebirth) runs , so here's to further entertaining books ahead
the_rox13's review against another edition
2.0
Synopsis: Black Manta and Cheetah go after Poseidon and Cheetah is able to kill him with her claws which have been tainted with the Tear of Extinction (don't ask, I don't know), but it can kill gods. Cheetah does manage to kill Poseidon, sending him to the Graveyard of the Gods. Meanwhile, Superman puts the moon back together after it got destroyed in the last volume. Batman is also wearing a crazy suit that allows him to move around even though he broke almost every bone in his body. Martian Manhunter asks Hawkgirl to go to Thanagar Prime with him. Superman fights some moon monsters and puts the moon back together, then we're off into the Drowned Earth event. I'm not going to cover that here, but I'll be posting it soon for that comic.
Review: Based on the two issues before Drowned Earth, it's ok. They're build-up issues and that's about it, but I didn't know what was going on until I read Drowned Earth, so those issues aren't that impressive. To be fair, I'm not including the Drowned Earth event in this rating/review because I did go through the trouble of buying both volumes. My advice: don't buy both volumes. I'd just buy this one and be done with it. I think the only thing it doesn't include is an issue of Aquaman that isn't vital to your understanding of the story.
Review: Based on the two issues before Drowned Earth, it's ok. They're build-up issues and that's about it, but I didn't know what was going on until I read Drowned Earth, so those issues aren't that impressive. To be fair, I'm not including the Drowned Earth event in this rating/review because I did go through the trouble of buying both volumes. My advice: don't buy both volumes. I'd just buy this one and be done with it. I think the only thing it doesn't include is an issue of Aquaman that isn't vital to your understanding of the story.
mattquann's review
2.0
Man, what a serious drop in quality.
The story here continues Lex Luthor's quest to acquire the "dark energies" of the universe, but these next two energies related to Aquaman and Wonder Woman made little sense to me. It turns into one of those stories where impossible odds are met with deus ex machina left and right. What you end up with is an almost inscrutable story about space-sea alien gods with very few actual stakes.
Can I also say, at the end of the story I don't even know what the two new energies are? They were at least clearly the Still Force and Invisible Spectrum in the first volume. Are these just life and death? Who knows? Frankly, at the end of this volume, who cares? Luthor's knob is lit up with two more colours and the story will move on.
Also, the art is painfully obnoxious in this volume. It changes all over the place between Jorge Jimenez and, later on, Frazer Irving. I know everyone doesn't love Irving--I happen to be a fan--but he is an exceptionally strange choice because he changes the visual language of the book so dramatically that it only complicates an already muddled story. Put simply, if you're going to have multiple artists on a single book let them at least be similar.
In any case, a really weak arc that crosses over with the main Aquaman book. I'll be going back for volume 3, but if that seems to stink I'll likely drop the book.
The story here continues Lex Luthor's quest to acquire the "dark energies" of the universe, but these next two energies related to Aquaman and Wonder Woman made little sense to me. It turns into one of those stories where impossible odds are met with deus ex machina left and right. What you end up with is an almost inscrutable story about space-sea alien gods with very few actual stakes.
Can I also say, at the end of the story I don't even know what the two new energies are? They were at least clearly the Still Force and Invisible Spectrum in the first volume. Are these just life and death? Who knows? Frankly, at the end of this volume, who cares? Luthor's knob is lit up with two more colours and the story will move on.
Also, the art is painfully obnoxious in this volume. It changes all over the place between Jorge Jimenez and, later on, Frazer Irving. I know everyone doesn't love Irving--I happen to be a fan--but he is an exceptionally strange choice because he changes the visual language of the book so dramatically that it only complicates an already muddled story. Put simply, if you're going to have multiple artists on a single book let them at least be similar.
In any case, a really weak arc that crosses over with the main Aquaman book. I'll be going back for volume 3, but if that seems to stink I'll likely drop the book.
More...