Justice League: The New 52, Book One

Justice League (2011) #1-3

by Geoff Johns, Jim Lee (Illustrator)

In the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths the origins of the Justice League of America are re-imagined for a new era. 

Witness legendary duo Geoff Johns and Jim Lee on their Justice League origin story!

A familiar but fresh taste on the Justice League following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths . Mark Waid reinvents the origins of the world’s most famous super team using a brand new roster. 

In a world where inexperienced superheroes operate under a cloud of suspicion from the public, loner vigilante Batman has stumbled upon a dark evil that threatens to destroy the earth as we know it. Now, faced with a threat far beyond anything he can handle on his own, the Dark Knight must trust an alien, a Scarlet Speedster, an accidental teenage hero, a space cop, an Amazon Princess and an undersea monarch. Will Superman, the Flash, Cyborg, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Aquaman be able to put aside their differences and come together to save the world? Or will they destroy each other first?

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics

528 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2024

About the author

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and JSA (co-written with David S. Goyer) for DC Comics. He worked with Richard Donner for four years, leaving the company to pursue writing full-time.

His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.

Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just the first three trades from the New 52 put together. I feel like this series hits its stride as it goes along. The first arc is just OK. It's a flashback to 5 years ago when the team first got together and Darkseid invades Earth. DC's decision at the time to severely compress their timelines hurt all of the New 52 comics that tried to address it. It was kind of an editorial quagmire because all of the books were not on the same page. (For some reason, Green Lantern didn't seem to go through Flashpoint at all and just kept going uninterrupted. Mainly because Geoff Johns didn't want to interrupt his run.) The crossover with Aquaman in book 3 is fantastic. All out war with Atlantis? Yes, please.

Jim Lee and his team of 6,000 inkers are fine. The art can get a little too much depending on who the inker is and if we are throwing in a bunch of splash pages to pad this out. I think the best looking issues are the ones Ivan Reis draws for Throne of Atlantis.

[Chase Bramble · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long graphic novel but still an easy read, the only thing that makes it feel long/exaggerated is the constantly switching villains which were all done well but it just felt like more than one story was being told

[John Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and strong “origin” of the Justice League and showing when and why they are needed, with the pros and cons of the team dynamics.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooh I loved this… after putting it aside for way too long I read the last like 60% in basically 1 go and was obsessed