Justice League: Rebirth Deluxe Edition, Book 1

Justice League (2016) #1-2

by Bryan Hitch, Tony S. Daniel (Illustrator)

Comics superstars Bryan Hitch and Tony S. Daniel join a league of talented artists in JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE REBIRTH DELUXE EDITION BOOK ONE! Exploding from the pages of the blockbuster DC Universe Rebirth event, this deluxe edition collects the first eleven issues of the acclaimed series and the Rebirth special that started it, all together in one hardcover volume for the first time!
Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. The Flash. Cyborg. Green Lantern. They’re more than just a team of superheroes. They’re the Justice League…and they’re about to enter a whole new era!

The Superman these incredible heroes once knew is dead, leaving an older, wiser Man of Steel from a vanished universe to take up the fight against evil. Hal Jordan, the greatest of the Green Lanterns, has taken to the stars, entrusting his place in the League to his powerful but untested young protégés, Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz. Now the Justice League must get used to these new faces and learn to work as a team once more.

But they’d better do it fast. They’re about to confront the biggest threats they’ve ever faced, from godlike machines capable of converting all life on Earth into a weapon, to a humble hacker who’s ready to hit them where it hurts most…

Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE (Rebirth) #1-11.

Genres: Dc Comics, Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Batman

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2017

About the author

Bryan Hitch is a British comic book artist and writer who gained prominence on American titles such as Wildstorm's Stormwatch and The Authority, DC Comics' JLA, and Marvel Comics' The Ultimates.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know it's a bad sign when the part of an 11 issue volume you enjoy the best are the variant covers at the end.

Let me save you all the trouble and spoil this Mofo for you: generic massive threat, bickering and self-doubt, some contrived reason Superman can't fix everything on his own, rinse and repeat.

Very disappointing: you'd figure DC would keep a steadier hand on its flagship property.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very formulaic. Big bad comes, JLA takes turns being the one that saves the moment, only to get taken out the next. Rinse, repeat. Not even bad, but like the ultimate superhero stereotype.

However, it's still the JLA. Flash is at his best, and Batman and Alfred make a couple fun tandem plays. The Green Lanterns during this run suck, though.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this (Volume 1) was okay... The second half went downhill fast. I will say any of the art Tony Daniels did was great, he was the highlight of this. But story wise, not good.

[Richard Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read of the new year! “Seems the world’s in trouble again,” quips Superman in the final pages of the second issue, acknowledging the constant state of peril the world is in. Writer Bryan Hitch wasted little time in bringing a potentially world-ending event to the rebirth of Justice League, although sometimes it tends to continue in this pattern. There’s a genuine sense of threat, and that lack of team cohesion creates a war being fought on two fronts for the fledgling team. The sense of fear and doubt that the newish Lanterns have in the first arc carries over into the second, where the fears of the team literally take over the team. This arc doesn’t feel as complete as the first, with an almost throwaway set of ideas wrapping up within a handful of issues. It’s a filler arc if ever there was one, and a sign that Hitch might have been running out of steam early on. However, the first issue of third arc ‘Outbreak’ an almost perfect exemplar of the writer’s well-established blockbuster approach to comic book storytelling. Tony Daniel’s art in the first arc is sublime, and while several artists work on the different arc, it’s Neil Edwards’ fluid pencils that match Hitch’s pace every inch of the way, especially the dynamic series of poses and shapes that Batman pulls as he goes flying through the air with explosions behind him. It’s a minor spoiler, but any issue where there’s art of a dinosaur adjacent to Alfred Pennyworth with a rocket launcher is going to elicit some fangasms. This is the high-concept stuff that the biggest stories are made of, and any one of these arcs would have made a better film than the contemporary adaptation that came out. Having said that, Hitch effectively delivers three arcs in which the League’s powers are either working against them or unreliable in some way. Perhaps the threat of Deathstroke and Maxwell Lord in the second volume will help take the book in a different direction.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justice League: Rebirth Deluxe Edition Book is brilliant from the start, full of cunning, daring do, humour, character development, great art, three dimensional characters, heroic, adventure and action! Crisp high five! Brilliant and highly recommended! Get it when you can! :D

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weak stories. Tony Daniel’s art was good but the others were subpar for such a big name series.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

This volume collects the contents of Justice League, Volume 1: The Extinction Machines and Justice League, Volume 2: Outbreak. They're bad and terrible respectively. See my review for volume one here and volume two here.

TL;DR: Bad writing, good art, nice format—avoid this book.

[Josh Angel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this, but I’m afraid the writing was abysmal. The plot moves so fast that you never get a moment with any of the characters, and the dialogue is consistently cheesy. Often, the story arcs end in ways that make no sense, or have elements that are even too unbelievable for a comic book, often breaking the rules of the internal logic of the world. However, it does get slightly better as it goes on, but only slightly. The first and second story arcs were awful, the third one was bearable. The only reason I give this two stars is because the art was pretty solid. I would recommend avoiding this one.

[Bahman Naraghi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Admittedly, I haven't read any Justice League since before DC Rebirth, but the first arc, "Extinction Machines" was somewhat incomprehensible and fizzled out more than ended in any sort of boss fight. The second arc, "State of Fear" was also pretty lame. Overall, I was less than impressed with this run of the League.

[Cora Pop · Rating 3 out of 5]

The graphics are beautiful and I really wish the stories were more developed. They seem rushed, frustratingly so, and perhaps because they're handling too many main characters there is little depth to any of them.

[Dimitris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first arc is ok and probably what a standard JLA comic should be, a team of super heroes dealing with a large threat. The art is pretty good and definitely suitable for this kind of large scale destruction. The less being said about the second half of the book the better.

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Generic superhero stuff where everything is more or less solved by punching or blasting something or other. Pretty art, but you don't get epic by just filling pages with explosions and breaking things.

[Jokoloyo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This deluxe edition is a jar of sweet crunchy cookies. Delicious arts, many action scenes, but the usual hardly any characterization progress.

For the arts alone, 3.5 star in average. The first two arches have 4 star arts.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing art, great story idea, terrible writing. I was more impressed with the art work than I was with the writing. The dialog was weak, boring, repetitive, and slow.

[Tyler Zamora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok I feel like I’ve been striking out with some of my comic picks lately, so I thought I’d start a full blown series instead of reading one shots or short series. Justice League’s Rebirth run is one I’ve always wanted to read. I was so focused on other Rebirth titles like Aquaman, Batgirl, and Wonder Woman at the time, I completely overlooked the JL run. After reading the first 11 issues of the series I can say it started out strong, but it’s looking scarier by the issue. This hurts my heart to say because I love JL and I love some of the artwork in this series, so the fact that the storyline left more to be desired was disappointing.

I loved the idea of the Kindred and it made the beginning of this series actually scary. These huge beings that use the life force of humans to generate immense power. Even the artwork of them standing huge over cities and landscapes all over the world was intimidating. I thought they were a good villain/foil to the Justice League. Also having bombs placed inside the Earth made for a dramatic sense of suspense. The problem, which happens many times in comics, is that it felt like the writers had to wrap it up fast, so things ended too quickly and the bad guys are defeated too easily for the amount of terror they induced and power they wielded earlier in the story.

The artwork in the first half of this deluxe edition was absolutely beautiful though, that cannot be debated. Tony Daniel and Sandu Florea are a dynamic duo. It also helps that Tomeu Morey’s coloring is right on point with the mood of the story. This comic is beautiful and just fun to look at. I think they do a great job at visually depicting the League separately and as a unit. For instance, the introduction of Wonder Woman in issue number one, total chef’s kiss! Aquaman’s moments are awesome too. There’s also a steady spotlight and attention given to the Green Lanterns, which I appreciate as they’re somewhat the outsiders on the team. When the group is together, the art is also on point. This series has some of the best single issue covers. They’re one of the main reason I wanted to read this series.

After the Extinction Machine storyline, I felt the pull of the narrative started to drift a little. We go right into Fear State, which focuses on conflict within the team itself as a mysterious force causes them to fight with each other. My issue here is that the artwork, while good, is just not as strong as the first half of the book, I’m sorry to say. It’s not bad, just not as good. Secondly, I think the writers messed up by pitting the team against each other so quickly. As a reader, I’m just entering this new world of Justice League stories and the team dynamic hasn’t been completely solidified yet. It makes everything seem off kilter, like we’re on a rollercoaster with no destination. Like what are this Rebirth version of Justice League’s goals, dreams, team dynamic, etc? We don’t know any of that yet, so it just felt off. I did like the focus on Jessica Cruz, as she’s always been a character I’ve found interesting. I also liked the idea of Cyborg being used as a vessel for evil, so not everything was lost.

Hopefully the storylines pick up, but I’m sure going to miss the art from the original issues. That is my own problem though and I will have to get over it. This read was fun and I did enjoy myself, so maybe I just need to read it again to soak it all up. Visually it was very beautiful, so I’d highly recommend to those who love comic art, but don’t wait for any inspiration as a writer. I hate to be so harsh, but I guess I expect a lot from my JL comics, sorry!

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't too bad. As is the case with the Justice League, sometimes the threats almost have to be too big in order to make them worthy of such a powerful team. That happens here, as in the very first story arc the world almost ends due to..well, it's too confusing to get into here, mainly because I couldn't explain it if I wanted to. The first story was confusing (things in the Earth causing quakes at faultlines to destroy the Earth, and singing light giants made of people, and yes you read that right), and really the second was as well (some black goo that infects everyone with fear and makes them doubt themselves and act like jerks.) The last story in the volume was my favorite, but had some nebulous happenings as well (a rogue search engine tries to kill the league, mostly by sending villains after them.)

Good, but not great. I think it was a little too much "hard sci-fi" for me.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first deluxe collection of the Rebirth era of Justice League was fascinating and enthralling. From new recruits into the League to the interesting relationship of the New 52 heroes merging into the Rebirth era and meeting the Pre-Flashpoint Superman, who has emerged and introduced himself to the world after the previous Superman’s fall. The powerful forces that are introduced showcase the need for this new and powerful roster of heroes to join together, learn to trust one another and fight off threats that could tear the universe apart forever. From grand cosmic tales to intimate stories of loss and grief fueling a threat against the JL, these first twelve issues are a great way to jump into the series.

[Ashley Lambert-Maberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can barely remember it. Was trying to get back into comics through the Comixology app. Had tried during the new 52 reboot (which I found terribly confusing, the series' were set in different time periods). I think the key (for us elders) is to pick one title, read the series, possibly reading a few others if your favourite character gets caught in a crossover, but trying to keep up with all the series at once, especially after the fact, made for an uncomfortable reading experience.

(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to finish this, but I did! I found the story a little hard to follow at some points though I finally did catch on after awhile. I’m not sure how to describe this collection—it didn’t blow me away, but it really wasn’t the worst comic I’ve ever read. The art was super and I enjoyed following each of the heroes & their unique perspectives.

[Bryen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't the greatest. The writing was incredibly cheesy and the storyline bounced around so much it was like you didn't get any time with any of the characters. This made for it to be confusing at times. The artwork was the best thing about this one.

[Will Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Came here to write a review and forgot everything that happened. Good art.

[Alexander Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! Love the new take on super man

[Billie Flaming · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do love the Justice League, and this is looking to be a fun start to this newest chapter. I liked Aquaman, and the Barry and Jessica stuff was cute.

[Diego · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bien flojito. La verdad.

[Bill Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really a fan of this kind of artwork!

And I find a lot of the interactions among the good guys interesting.

BUT, the stories don’t seem to be well thought out - especially with regard to the villains or menaces that they face. The writer comes up with ideas that would generate interesting conflicts, but doesn’t fully explain. In the first story, we have no idea as to the origin of the Extinction Machines. There’s just a lot of fighting and action.

In the third story “Outbreak”, I find the origin of the menace absurd and unbelievable. And a waste of a lot of villains at the end.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This stinking comic book was full of all the feels. On the one hand, you have the Justice League who are grieving the loss of the Superman they knew. On the other hand, you have poor Clark, who has been letting this Earth’s version of him do all the Supermanning while he stays in the shadows. He's ready to get back into the action. Which is difficult to do when the JLA’s defacto leader (aka Batman) doesn't trust him at all (yet). Of course, the bad guys don’t care about the League’s emotional issues, so they have to deal with all of this while saving the world. I love it. The Superman & Action Comics stuff I’ve read don’t show much of the mistrust and hurt surrounding the Clark Kent/Superman exchange, so it was nice to see some of that friction as Clark tries to fit in with alternate versions of his closest friends.

[J.J Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fear the reaper: This is an intro, showing us the superheroes that will make part of the Justice League, such as the new Superman.

The Extinction Machines: A godlike threat unlike any the League has ever fought is coming. Vast engines of destruction are about to be unleashed, remaking the planet’s surface and forging its people into living weapons.

State of fear: Some kind of dark energy gets into Superman and Jessica, so they try to kill the rest of the Justice League members

Outbreak: During the first arc event, some people died, one of these people was the wife of a hacker, he wants to take revenge against the JL trying to make each other get killed, at the end, a big offer is made to some JL'S foes, so our heroes needs to stop 'em.


The first two arcs were on fleek, but the last two are boring af.