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Justice League Red
152 pages, Paperback
Published May 12, 2026
About the author
Saladin Ahmed
478 books1,773 followersSaladin Ahmed was born in Detroit and raised in a working-class, Arab American enclave in Dearborn, MI.
His short stories have been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell awards, and have appeared in Year's Best Fantasy and numerous other magazines, anthologies, and podcasts, as well as being translated into five foreign languages. He is represented by Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON is his first novel.
Saladin lives near Detroit with his wife and twin children.
His short stories have been nominated for the Nebula and Campbell awards, and have appeared in Year's Best Fantasy and numerous other magazines, anthologies, and podcasts, as well as being translated into five foreign languages. He is represented by Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. THRONE OF THE CRESCENT MOON is his first novel.
Saladin lives near Detroit with his wife and twin children.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 15, 2026
1.5 or 1.75 either way rounded up to 2 stars.
Took many (imo bad) twists and turns to get to a rogue AI. The JLU Red is less a team that gets character growth and moreso the characters wrapped up in, and then cleaning up, Red Tornado's Rogue AI moment who is the real center of this story. There is not any team stuff which I think the advertising misled people to believe was on equal grounds with the main conspiracy.
Drama and conspiracy is at the forefront here with Red Tornado's questionable actions fraught with ulterior motives and purposefully not keeping people in the loop. I think this sort of does the “Should we questionable things now for the better of the future” that Civil War 2 asked and similar to there it fumbles around it. At first the concept is interesting but by the end its turned into a much more generic rogue AI setup which I can’t help but feel was a real fumble on Ahmed’s part. Like I enjoy the idea that humanity is important and human feelings cannot be cast aside to cold rationality. But the ideas brought up earlier were more interesting. And the rogue AI issue is sort of lame when it could’ve been HEAVILY avoided by Red Tornado. And then Red Canary is here to get involved in The Red but that’s sealed away in the very miniseries that introduces it. :/ Maybe some other series will pick up on that since Red Canary has been given some feelers from DC in the All-In era and I’ve seen nothing but interest. This is also oddly lightly connected to DC KO which was odd since it felt sort of tacked on.
I think this reads better collected as a trade. Reading this in issue format would be pretty draining as the marketing was very heavy about this being a team but it takes until halfway through for everyone to come together and even then the focus is more firmly on Red Tornado's actions.
Clayton Henry's art is pretty solid and does well in the action. Its a shame they gave him so many panels of people sitting in a room talking with fairly plain paneling. I mean, he draws them well but I hope I see his art in another comic for sure if you get what I mean.
Took many (imo bad) twists and turns to get to a rogue AI. The JLU Red is less a team that gets character growth and moreso the characters wrapped up in, and then cleaning up, Red Tornado's Rogue AI moment who is the real center of this story. There is not any team stuff which I think the advertising misled people to believe was on equal grounds with the main conspiracy.
Drama and conspiracy is at the forefront here with Red Tornado's questionable actions fraught with ulterior motives and purposefully not keeping people in the loop. I think this sort of does the “Should we questionable things now for the better of the future” that Civil War 2 asked and similar to there it fumbles around it. At first the concept is interesting but by the end its turned into a much more generic rogue AI setup which I can’t help but feel was a real fumble on Ahmed’s part. Like I enjoy the idea that humanity is important and human feelings cannot be cast aside to cold rationality. But the ideas brought up earlier were more interesting. And the rogue AI issue is sort of lame when it could’ve been HEAVILY avoided by Red Tornado. And then Red Canary is here to get involved in The Red but that’s sealed away in the very miniseries that introduces it. :/ Maybe some other series will pick up on that since Red Canary has been given some feelers from DC in the All-In era and I’ve seen nothing but interest. This is also oddly lightly connected to DC KO which was odd since it felt sort of tacked on.
I think this reads better collected as a trade. Reading this in issue format would be pretty draining as the marketing was very heavy about this being a team but it takes until halfway through for everyone to come together and even then the focus is more firmly on Red Tornado's actions.
Clayton Henry's art is pretty solid and does well in the action. Its a shame they gave him so many panels of people sitting in a room talking with fairly plain paneling. I mean, he draws them well but I hope I see his art in another comic for sure if you get what I mean.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy
What really makes this story stand out is the unconventional team lineup. You don’t often see characters like Red Tornado, Simon Baz, and Red Canary getting meaningful spotlight. The book does a great job giving each of them more depth and personality.
The mystery element is what really hooked me, though. From the start, there’s this underlying question of what is actually going on, and it kept me turning pages. It felt intentional and well-paced, with just enough intrigue to stay engaging and for me to want to solve it.
Where the story loses me a bit is in the ending. The buildup around Red Tornado paints him as this morally gray, almost anti-hero figure or someone making questionable choices for what he believes is the greater good. That’s a compelling direction. But then the story pivots into a twist where it’s not really him, but some kind of secondary tech entity controlling things while his real body is trapped (I think.. got lost here). Instead of deepening the conflict, it kind of undercuts it. The moral ambiguity disappears, and the resolution becomes much more straightforward than it probably should have been. It’s not a bad ending, but it just feels like it dodges the more interesting story it was setting up to be.
This story also had pacing issues. The story has enough ideas to easily fill 8–10 single issues, but it’s compressed into six. Because of that, the ending feels rushed compared to how strong and deliberate the setup is. That’s less of a writing flaw and more of a structural/production limitation, but it still impacts the overall experience.
Overall, this is a really fun, mystery-driven story with a unique team, strong character moments, and fantastic art. It stumbles a bit at the finish line, but the journey is engaging enough to make it worth reading.
The mystery element is what really hooked me, though. From the start, there’s this underlying question of what is actually going on, and it kept me turning pages. It felt intentional and well-paced, with just enough intrigue to stay engaging and for me to want to solve it.
Where the story loses me a bit is in the ending. The buildup around Red Tornado paints him as this morally gray, almost anti-hero figure or someone making questionable choices for what he believes is the greater good. That’s a compelling direction. But then the story pivots into a twist where it’s not really him, but some kind of secondary tech entity controlling things while his real body is trapped (I think.. got lost here). Instead of deepening the conflict, it kind of undercuts it. The moral ambiguity disappears, and the resolution becomes much more straightforward than it probably should have been. It’s not a bad ending, but it just feels like it dodges the more interesting story it was setting up to be.
This story also had pacing issues. The story has enough ideas to easily fill 8–10 single issues, but it’s compressed into six. Because of that, the ending feels rushed compared to how strong and deliberate the setup is. That’s less of a writing flaw and more of a structural/production limitation, but it still impacts the overall experience.
Overall, this is a really fun, mystery-driven story with a unique team, strong character moments, and fantastic art. It stumbles a bit at the finish line, but the journey is engaging enough to make it worth reading.
Review of advance copy
This starts out very strong, and then kind of peters out. I'm not sure if it was cut down to size and was meant to be longer, or if this was meant to lead into DC KO (it doesn't, not properly), but something about it felt off.
The idea's sound - Red Tornado recruits an undercover Justice League to deal with threats the main JLU can't deal with because it's their fault they exist. Of course, he's using predictive AI and no one trusts it, especially once it turns out he's either lying to them or not giving them all the facts before sending them off. The team doesn't really get to gel since they spend so long worried about whether they can trust Reddy or not, and there's a strange subplot about Red Canary actually being tied to the Red itself that gets introduced and then used up by the end of the series - same with the Black Adam Feast of Worlds story that seemed like it was going somewhere and then doesn't.
The conclusion's fine, the team works out what's wrong and saves the day, but it definitely feels either truncated or incomplete. A solid idea, but not really executed in the best way. The art's nice at least - Clayton Henry draws all six issues, and he's always reliable.
The idea's sound - Red Tornado recruits an undercover Justice League to deal with threats the main JLU can't deal with because it's their fault they exist. Of course, he's using predictive AI and no one trusts it, especially once it turns out he's either lying to them or not giving them all the facts before sending them off. The team doesn't really get to gel since they spend so long worried about whether they can trust Reddy or not, and there's a strange subplot about Red Canary actually being tied to the Red itself that gets introduced and then used up by the end of the series - same with the Black Adam Feast of Worlds story that seemed like it was going somewhere and then doesn't.
The conclusion's fine, the team works out what's wrong and saves the day, but it definitely feels either truncated or incomplete. A solid idea, but not really executed in the best way. The art's nice at least - Clayton Henry draws all six issues, and he's always reliable.
Review of advance copy
Read in single issues on the DCU App and abandoned.
The characters have no individual voices.
The concept is that the reformation of the justice league is going to lead to the end of the world, just because. No real explanation. Nothing. Then there’s the dialogue 🙄.
Not sure how this writer continues to get work.
People would kill for the opportunities he’s been given and he writes the most uninspiring garbage.
DC are doing well with their core titles just now but continue to shaft beloved lower tier characters by farming them out to hopeless writers who have no handle on them.
The characters have no individual voices.
The concept is that the reformation of the justice league is going to lead to the end of the world, just because. No real explanation. Nothing. Then there’s the dialogue 🙄.
Not sure how this writer continues to get work.
People would kill for the opportunities he’s been given and he writes the most uninspiring garbage.
DC are doing well with their core titles just now but continue to shaft beloved lower tier characters by farming them out to hopeless writers who have no handle on them.
February 3, 2026
6 issue minis are like the comics version of 8 episode limited series bc i am so sad whenever i find a sick ass concept with unfortunately not enough time to let the writer’s voice truly flourish and take time w the characters i rly liked this besides the lack of consistent pacing w characters
however. i am investing in big sienna red canary bucks rn bc I AM GOING TO BECOME THE SIENNA RED CANARY SCHOLAR EVER
however. i am investing in big sienna red canary bucks rn bc I AM GOING TO BECOME THE SIENNA RED CANARY SCHOLAR EVER
May 14, 2026
Three and a half stars from me. The overall plot didn't really grab me. The art though and the character voices made this an especially run read. I really like Ahmed's take on Power Girl. There's almost a Carol Danvers quality to her.
June 13, 2026
A quirky group that could have been really fun to follow given that the current JL is made up of EVERYONE. A splinter group makes sense ( except Red Canary who sucks) but the Red Tornado takes over the world storyline never got traction then I assume they were cancelled cause it ends in a thud.
Review of advance copy
I'm just happy to see more power girl
June 5, 2026
Feel like the potential is there but this just lands middle of the road at being alright. Could’ve had good setup for DC KO and had some connections to the justice league unlimited run.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews