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Justice League (2016)
Liga de la Justicia vol. 01: Las máquinas de la extinción
A part of DC Universe: Rebirth!
A new day dawns for the Justice League as they welcome a slew of new members into their ranks. The question remains though, can the world's greatest superheroes trust these new recruits? And will the members of League be able to come together against an ancient evil that threatens to reclaim not just the world, but the entire universe!
Masterful storytelling, epic action, and unbelievable art come together in Justice League from best-selling comic book writer Bryan Hitch (JLA) and superstar penciler Tony S. Daniel (Batman, Detective Comics).
Collect: Justice League 1-5, Rebirth
A new day dawns for the Justice League as they welcome a slew of new members into their ranks. The question remains though, can the world's greatest superheroes trust these new recruits? And will the members of League be able to come together against an ancient evil that threatens to reclaim not just the world, but the entire universe!
Masterful storytelling, epic action, and unbelievable art come together in Justice League from best-selling comic book writer Bryan Hitch (JLA) and superstar penciler Tony S. Daniel (Batman, Detective Comics).
Collect: Justice League 1-5, Rebirth
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 18, 2017
436 people are currently reading
1169 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Hitch
873 books98 followersBryan 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 298 reviews
March 31, 2017
2.5 stars
Pretty average story, and probably the best thing I can say about it was that I didn't hate it as much as everyone else. It was readably meh.
I'm thinking that may be the reason for all of the low ratings here. I mean, you're kind of expecting something BIG with the first volume of Justice League's Rebirth title, you know? And it's not. It's just a passable story that keeps hinting there's an important change coming somewhere down the line.
BUT IT'S STILL A MYSTERY...
echo, echo, echo, etc.
The first half of of the volume sort of leads you to believe that maybe, just maybe, you're going to see something worthwhile.
Something Rebirth-y!
And while there are veiled hints and whispers of EVENTS yet to unfold, you're still pretty much sitting in the dark when you close the book.
I still like the new Superman. I think the role he played in this was one of the more interesting parts of the story - what with being an unknown to the rest of the Justice League, and also having to decide (initially, at least) how much of his quiet family life he wants to risk.
Aquaman (probably thanks to the upcoming movie) is at least being utilized as an important part of the plot, as well.
Wonder Woman, Batman and Flash were pretty much the same as always, and the new Green Lantern team of Simon and Jessica were (slightly) better than I expected.
Cyborg. sighs Why is it so hard to write an interesting version of Cyborg? He deserves better, and I hope he gets to be more than just the Computer Guy with Boom Tubes soon.
The art wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough to make up for the lack of resolution at the end of the volume. I don't know. I honestly didn't have high hopes for this title, so I wasn't as disappointed as some of my friends.
Eh. Unsatisfying, but not unreadable.
Oh, and even though this is Volume One, I wouldn't recommend anyone use this as a jumping off point for this team. I can only imagine how confusing it would be to try and unravel what the hell is going on here without any sort of background information.
Pretty average story, and probably the best thing I can say about it was that I didn't hate it as much as everyone else. It was readably meh.
I'm thinking that may be the reason for all of the low ratings here. I mean, you're kind of expecting something BIG with the first volume of Justice League's Rebirth title, you know? And it's not. It's just a passable story that keeps hinting there's an important change coming somewhere down the line.
BUT IT'S STILL A MYSTERY...
echo, echo, echo, etc.
The first half of of the volume sort of leads you to believe that maybe, just maybe, you're going to see something worthwhile.
Something Rebirth-y!
And while there are veiled hints and whispers of EVENTS yet to unfold, you're still pretty much sitting in the dark when you close the book.
I still like the new Superman. I think the role he played in this was one of the more interesting parts of the story - what with being an unknown to the rest of the Justice League, and also having to decide (initially, at least) how much of his quiet family life he wants to risk.
Aquaman (probably thanks to the upcoming movie) is at least being utilized as an important part of the plot, as well.
Wonder Woman, Batman and Flash were pretty much the same as always, and the new Green Lantern team of Simon and Jessica were (slightly) better than I expected.
Cyborg. sighs Why is it so hard to write an interesting version of Cyborg? He deserves better, and I hope he gets to be more than just the Computer Guy with Boom Tubes soon.
The art wasn't bad, but it wasn't good enough to make up for the lack of resolution at the end of the volume. I don't know. I honestly didn't have high hopes for this title, so I wasn't as disappointed as some of my friends.
Eh. Unsatisfying, but not unreadable.
Oh, and even though this is Volume One, I wouldn't recommend anyone use this as a jumping off point for this team. I can only imagine how confusing it would be to try and unravel what the hell is going on here without any sort of background information.
April 24, 2017
Bryan Hitch is a pretty stellar artist. I especially loved his work on The Ultimates, where his widescreen, cinematic approach was particularly apropos given that the…what’s that? Hitch isn’t drawing this book? He’s writing it? Ah. Well, that’s different.
I don’t think I’m being unfair or in any way insulting by saying that Bryan Hitch is a better artist than he is a writer—we all have things we’re better at than we are at others (I, for example, make a much better speedbump than I do a contributing member of society). And, he’s a really good artist.
But, I think it’s safe to say he’s a MUCH better artist than he is writer.
This book isn’t entirely devoid of entertainment—speaking of art, Tony Daniel’s a pro, and it looks pretty, with more than enough money shots to make fanboy (and girl) mouths water (that sounded way dirtier than I intended). And, there are some genuinely “Gosh, that Superman is a pretty inspiring guy!” moments that’ll get the goosebumps going.
(Side note: I much prefer “goosebumps” to “gooseflesh”; the former sounds kind of cute and folksy; the latter sounds either erotic (in a bestiality kind of way) or carnivorous (in an orc yelling “MANFLESH!” kind of way.)
That said…I have basically no idea what happened nor why it happened, the characterization was surface-level at best, and there were at least 17 awkward expository conversations (e.g., things along the lines of “I thought earthquakes normally occurred along fault lines, such as the San Andreas Fault in California?”—it’s like Justice League by way of Reading Rainbow).
Ultimately, it’s the comics equivalent of my chest: A for effort (or cup size), C- for execution (and, in the case of my chest, concavity). We’ll round up from 2.5 stars.
I don’t think I’m being unfair or in any way insulting by saying that Bryan Hitch is a better artist than he is a writer—we all have things we’re better at than we are at others (I, for example, make a much better speedbump than I do a contributing member of society). And, he’s a really good artist.
But, I think it’s safe to say he’s a MUCH better artist than he is writer.
This book isn’t entirely devoid of entertainment—speaking of art, Tony Daniel’s a pro, and it looks pretty, with more than enough money shots to make fanboy (and girl) mouths water (that sounded way dirtier than I intended). And, there are some genuinely “Gosh, that Superman is a pretty inspiring guy!” moments that’ll get the goosebumps going.
(Side note: I much prefer “goosebumps” to “gooseflesh”; the former sounds kind of cute and folksy; the latter sounds either erotic (in a bestiality kind of way) or carnivorous (in an orc yelling “MANFLESH!” kind of way.)
That said…I have basically no idea what happened nor why it happened, the characterization was surface-level at best, and there were at least 17 awkward expository conversations (e.g., things along the lines of “I thought earthquakes normally occurred along fault lines, such as the San Andreas Fault in California?”—it’s like Justice League by way of Reading Rainbow).
Ultimately, it’s the comics equivalent of my chest: A for effort (or cup size), C- for execution (and, in the case of my chest, concavity). We’ll round up from 2.5 stars.
February 6, 2017
I was glad to hear Geoff Johns was leaving Justice League as I wasn’t a fan of his New 52 run and I still wanted to read a great Justice League comic. My optimism was soon dampened though after hearing Bryan Hitch was taking over. Have you read his Image series Real Heroes? The premise is what if actors playing superheroes actually got superpowers and had to save the world for reals. Sounds ok, right? I couldn’t get through the first issue, it was so, so bad - it even gave me a headache!
The good news is Hitch has gotten better since then - marginally. He’s gone from being unreadable to just a poor writer, an improvement but not enough of one. His first Justice League Rebirth book is still pretty bad.
I can broadly summarise the plot as that tired old cliche of aliens wanting to destroy Earth and the superheroes having to stop them. The details of how they plan to do this or how the Justice League stop them, why the aliens want to do this and who they are though are nebulous at best, and that’s what I mean about bad writing ruining the book for me.
There are giant insect aliens and giant Doctor Manhattan-types made of people, and I think they’re at war with one another, maybe, or possibly there’s another alien species against them, but the Justice League are hitting every alien in sight regardless. It’s impossible to get too invested in a plot that’s such nonsense.
I suppose Hitch should get some credit for utilising all the members of the Justice League in the story - they all have a part to play and they effectively work together as a team to beat the bad guys. But they get such dull, static roles: Wonder Woman stands inside one of these giants so we can see their perspective, Aquapants is hanging onto some magic singing crystals that’ll save the day (really), Superman’s got to punch something right hard, and the Lanterns have a green pipeline of something to defeat the baddies. When they all align, it’s like that board game Mouse Trap but with superheroes, all doing their thing one after the other like clockwork! It’s very contrived.
As an aside, I’m really fed up of newcaster talking heads being used as the Greek chorus, it’s so done and unimaginative. You can always tell the age of a writer when you see this crap deployed because it was everywhere in the ‘80s and ‘90s when it felt more fresh. And Cyborg is once again there to be the info dump guy - another sign of bad writing, when you need a character to vomit exposition just to make sense of the unnecessarily convoluted plot. The ending to this one too is so unsatisfyingly abrupt thanks to Aquapants’ Deus Ex Machina.
While Hitch is yet another artist who can’t write, his art remains good and I enjoyed the opening issue he illustrated. Tony S. Daniel’s art, while not his best, is also decent here with strong lines and a good eye for interesting page composition.
Unfortunately there’s not a lot of positives about this one besides the art and almost-robotic utility of the characters; Justice League remains a title with a lot to be desired. And back I go to now waiting for Bryan Hitch to leave the title and hopefully someone good picking it up!
The good news is Hitch has gotten better since then - marginally. He’s gone from being unreadable to just a poor writer, an improvement but not enough of one. His first Justice League Rebirth book is still pretty bad.
I can broadly summarise the plot as that tired old cliche of aliens wanting to destroy Earth and the superheroes having to stop them. The details of how they plan to do this or how the Justice League stop them, why the aliens want to do this and who they are though are nebulous at best, and that’s what I mean about bad writing ruining the book for me.
There are giant insect aliens and giant Doctor Manhattan-types made of people, and I think they’re at war with one another, maybe, or possibly there’s another alien species against them, but the Justice League are hitting every alien in sight regardless. It’s impossible to get too invested in a plot that’s such nonsense.
I suppose Hitch should get some credit for utilising all the members of the Justice League in the story - they all have a part to play and they effectively work together as a team to beat the bad guys. But they get such dull, static roles: Wonder Woman stands inside one of these giants so we can see their perspective, Aquapants is hanging onto some magic singing crystals that’ll save the day (really), Superman’s got to punch something right hard, and the Lanterns have a green pipeline of something to defeat the baddies. When they all align, it’s like that board game Mouse Trap but with superheroes, all doing their thing one after the other like clockwork! It’s very contrived.
As an aside, I’m really fed up of newcaster talking heads being used as the Greek chorus, it’s so done and unimaginative. You can always tell the age of a writer when you see this crap deployed because it was everywhere in the ‘80s and ‘90s when it felt more fresh. And Cyborg is once again there to be the info dump guy - another sign of bad writing, when you need a character to vomit exposition just to make sense of the unnecessarily convoluted plot. The ending to this one too is so unsatisfyingly abrupt thanks to Aquapants’ Deus Ex Machina.
While Hitch is yet another artist who can’t write, his art remains good and I enjoyed the opening issue he illustrated. Tony S. Daniel’s art, while not his best, is also decent here with strong lines and a good eye for interesting page composition.
Unfortunately there’s not a lot of positives about this one besides the art and almost-robotic utility of the characters; Justice League remains a title with a lot to be desired. And back I go to now waiting for Bryan Hitch to leave the title and hopefully someone good picking it up!
February 5, 2017
*Sniff Sniff*
What's that? Is that a gigantic pile of SHIT!?
OMFG It's dog shit on my e-reader. On no...it's not that. It's...oh my GOD! GUYS!? It's....Justice League....
What is this horseshit I just read? Okay I'll be honest. Issue 1 wasn't bad. I was like "Okay, so they doing the set up, not bad, this can be good" then nope. It goes nowhere. It's filled with boring "bad guys" who look like they belong in the B-reel of Watchmen. You got out of character dialog from multiple characters, biggest offender is Clark and Batman. I hated both of them here. Oh and fuck me, what kind of anticlimactic shit was that?
After the horrid Darkseid War I can say this was just as bad if not worse, because it COULD have been great, and it sucked ass. SKIP THIS ONE.
What's that? Is that a gigantic pile of SHIT!?
OMFG It's dog shit on my e-reader. On no...it's not that. It's...oh my GOD! GUYS!? It's....Justice League....
What is this horseshit I just read? Okay I'll be honest. Issue 1 wasn't bad. I was like "Okay, so they doing the set up, not bad, this can be good" then nope. It goes nowhere. It's filled with boring "bad guys" who look like they belong in the B-reel of Watchmen. You got out of character dialog from multiple characters, biggest offender is Clark and Batman. I hated both of them here. Oh and fuck me, what kind of anticlimactic shit was that?
After the horrid Darkseid War I can say this was just as bad if not worse, because it COULD have been great, and it sucked ass. SKIP THIS ONE.
July 22, 2018
I really don't understand why you hand over one of your biggest titles to a guy who's barely written anything. Yes, he's been a top notch artist for years but I've never even come across anything he's written. Hitch writes and draws the rebirth issue. Hitch's artwork in this is not very good. He seems to be using a simpler style and everything just looks a little sketchy without the detail work he's normally fantastic at.
Tony Daniel pencils the main story and his artwork is very good. Definitely good enough to anchor a top tier book. The writing in this however is not good. Nothing is explained. The Justice League repeatedly lucks out and we get no reasons why anything is occurring. The beginning of this book feels like the plot was stolen directly from the "God" arc Hitch drew in the Authority. Thousands of aliens start crashing into earth and taking over people. Then separately all these people are taken over by something called the "Kindred" and combine into giant wannabe Doc Manhattan types. We get no explanation what the aliens are or want, what the Kindred is, where the bombs in the Earth's crust came from, why there's aliens that look like Cyborg on this other planet where the aliens come from. All of it just happens. Batman's pretty much useless and the only reason the JL save the day is because Aquaman found some magic crystals. What I did like about the book is how the rest of the JL is reluctant to trust this new Superman.
Tony Daniel pencils the main story and his artwork is very good. Definitely good enough to anchor a top tier book. The writing in this however is not good. Nothing is explained. The Justice League repeatedly lucks out and we get no reasons why anything is occurring. The beginning of this book feels like the plot was stolen directly from the "God" arc Hitch drew in the Authority. Thousands of aliens start crashing into earth and taking over people. Then separately all these people are taken over by something called the "Kindred" and combine into giant wannabe Doc Manhattan types. We get no explanation what the aliens are or want, what the Kindred is, where the bombs in the Earth's crust came from, why there's aliens that look like Cyborg on this other planet where the aliens come from. All of it just happens. Batman's pretty much useless and the only reason the JL save the day is because Aquaman found some magic crystals. What I did like about the book is how the rest of the JL is reluctant to trust this new Superman.
February 4, 2017
You can kind of see the point where DC got a firm yet polite letter from Bioware's legal team. That would be sometime after Hitch stopped calling the giant, vaguely cephalopod aliens Reapers, no longer referred to them as harvesting humanity, and focused more on the indoctrinated humans. (For those who have not played Mass Effect, first do that, but turn the game off about fifteen minutes before the end. You'll know when. Then try to read this again without considering DC's legal fees.) The funny thing is, I actually think the book suffered from the shift. Who doesn't want to see Superman punch the Reapers out? And that would have been a better and more coherent storyline than this turned out to be. It put me in mind of some of Hickman's weirder cosmic stories in Avengers, something that I just wasn't that big of a fan of. So far, this is my least favorite Rebirth title.
August 22, 2024
The best thing about this book is the cover art and character design compilations at the end. The story fails to capture readers and is one of the least immersive Justice League opening volumes. Superman is splintered from the rest, there is no real team dynamic on display, and it is as boring as watching paint dry. Oh the things we put ourselves through for these characters....
March 11, 2022
This was a weird one tbh.
It starts with the JL facing the threats of some disasters which they stop and then the post-crisis Superman joining the team and then the disasters start again, strange beings in all directions are forming calling themselves "The Kindred" while at the same time alien beings similar to broods in Marvel comics attacking, here they are called "the purge" and well disasters and all and well JL trying hard to stop them, Superman in the molten core, Aquaman collecting some strange things while GLs take the battle to the source and well Batman and Cyborg doing stuff while in the end they all come together to stop these threats and then the thing is.. over? Hints of things to come maybe? Forever crisis or what? Strange sudden ending after so much buildup.
This was a weird volume and while the story is a simple one, its decompressed and well for a book which is a team-up its so separated and well Superman and Aquaman are basically in one place forever what feels like so thats disappointing but other than that I am still not sure who the villains are and then the ending was even weird.. what was the point of it all or is it referring to some things to come in the future?
Honestly its weird and kinda felt boring, Hitch really tried to make it epic and its too many redundant ideas thrown in here and its boring. There were some character moments but they felt flat. Anyways the art is nice I guess. Good one-time read.
It starts with the JL facing the threats of some disasters which they stop and then the post-crisis Superman joining the team and then the disasters start again, strange beings in all directions are forming calling themselves "The Kindred" while at the same time alien beings similar to broods in Marvel comics attacking, here they are called "the purge" and well disasters and all and well JL trying hard to stop them, Superman in the molten core, Aquaman collecting some strange things while GLs take the battle to the source and well Batman and Cyborg doing stuff while in the end they all come together to stop these threats and then the thing is.. over? Hints of things to come maybe? Forever crisis or what? Strange sudden ending after so much buildup.
This was a weird volume and while the story is a simple one, its decompressed and well for a book which is a team-up its so separated and well Superman and Aquaman are basically in one place forever what feels like so thats disappointing but other than that I am still not sure who the villains are and then the ending was even weird.. what was the point of it all or is it referring to some things to come in the future?
Honestly its weird and kinda felt boring, Hitch really tried to make it epic and its too many redundant ideas thrown in here and its boring. There were some character moments but they felt flat. Anyways the art is nice I guess. Good one-time read.
December 24, 2016
NOT....WORTH....YOUR.....TIME!!! If your new to comics and you wanna get into Justice League, go read Geoff Johns New 52 JL run. As far as this one is concerned, you just keep on clicking away!
March 22, 2017
It was hard to decide whether this truly deserved 2 stars. To say this was a disappoijtment would be an understatement. If this was the story they decided to lead the whole "Rebirth" initiative, then we should all be concerned.
The first issue, which was the one-shot Rebirth issue, wasn't bad. I felt the story was good and enjoyed the art. I am not sure what happened between this issue and issue 1 of the title, but there was a significant decline in the story and art.
The basic story is that there are major cataclysmic events taking place throughout the world, and the Justice League needs to investigate to determine the cause. These 4 large creatures emerge with a "song to sing" to bring an end to civilization.
The league is battling the environmental issues along with trying to determine the cause. Eventually, Aquaman discovers these crystal zodiac statues in Atlantis which tell him, and only him, where to. place these statues to counteract the destruction caused by the Giants.
Of course, it all works out, and the earth is saved.
My criticism of this story is that I felt like I didn't really care what was happening. I know there is a suspension of disbelief necessary when reading comics, but I just didn't see the point of the story being told. Thenl writing was choppy and stiff, and the art felt mediocre at best. The heart was missing from the storyline. It felt like the characters were going through the motions.
If you are going to write a story, then make it count. It felt like any generic hero could have been placed into any one of these positions. There was no need for these characters to add value or use their unique skills to solve 6h3 the problem.
I really hope the next set of stories have the thought and passion that this one truly lacked.
The first issue, which was the one-shot Rebirth issue, wasn't bad. I felt the story was good and enjoyed the art. I am not sure what happened between this issue and issue 1 of the title, but there was a significant decline in the story and art.
The basic story is that there are major cataclysmic events taking place throughout the world, and the Justice League needs to investigate to determine the cause. These 4 large creatures emerge with a "song to sing" to bring an end to civilization.
The league is battling the environmental issues along with trying to determine the cause. Eventually, Aquaman discovers these crystal zodiac statues in Atlantis which tell him, and only him, where to. place these statues to counteract the destruction caused by the Giants.
Of course, it all works out, and the earth is saved.
My criticism of this story is that I felt like I didn't really care what was happening. I know there is a suspension of disbelief necessary when reading comics, but I just didn't see the point of the story being told. Thenl writing was choppy and stiff, and the art felt mediocre at best. The heart was missing from the storyline. It felt like the characters were going through the motions.
If you are going to write a story, then make it count. It felt like any generic hero could have been placed into any one of these positions. There was no need for these characters to add value or use their unique skills to solve 6h3 the problem.
I really hope the next set of stories have the thought and passion that this one truly lacked.
February 5, 2017
I received this from Edelweiss and DC Comics in exchange for an honest review.
2 stars, barely.
This was an overly simplistic plot that really fails to capitalize on the actual superheroes. They're there, but with the exception of Aquaman, Superman, the GLs, and Cyborg, they do an awful lot of just standing around and talking. At times, it felt more like the Super Friends than the Justice League.
2 stars, barely.
This was an overly simplistic plot that really fails to capitalize on the actual superheroes. They're there, but with the exception of Aquaman, Superman, the GLs, and Cyborg, they do an awful lot of just standing around and talking. At times, it felt more like the Super Friends than the Justice League.
July 27, 2017
A bit more convoluted than necessary. I need to be done with this "New" Superman story line though. Fine art.
February 6, 2017
This is how you write a Justice League story. Each character doing what they do best as a team to defeat the foe. It was even a pleasure to see the Justice League battling against the elements of nature rather than a villain per se.
October 22, 2020
I don't know what was happening in it, not a strong plot, and what's wrong with superman?
February 6, 2017
A fairly bland beginning. Some of the artwork is nice, and the villains work well in concept (if not execution). Unfortunately, it's let down by an ultimately wooden script, some onerous scenes involving Batman and Lois Lane, and a lacklustre ending. It feels like Hitch wanted to invert one of the things which made Geoff Johns' first JL book so good: instead of everyone working on-site together and emerging as a team, the JL split off to take care of separate issues connected to the main threat. I like that idea, especially since it showcases each member's unique quality which enhances the team (and also Aquaman is there).
For the record, despite some of the criticisms floating around, this is also not the worst JL book in recent memory, since Cry for Justice, The Villain's Journey and Trinity War still loom large in that regard. This reads like an earnest attempt to write a short, pulpy punch-em-up but ends up being a somewhat disappointing bit of fluff. Not worthy of a flamethrower, but certainly not a must-have.
For the record, despite some of the criticisms floating around, this is also not the worst JL book in recent memory, since Cry for Justice, The Villain's Journey and Trinity War still loom large in that regard. This reads like an earnest attempt to write a short, pulpy punch-em-up but ends up being a somewhat disappointing bit of fluff. Not worthy of a flamethrower, but certainly not a must-have.
September 14, 2021
This probably deserves three stars but I'm tired of first volumes. Everything is so in the moment, everything is just a big battle against big armies, I'm bored with it all. So, yeah, here we go, a non-classic classic take on the Justice League, with weird complications due to Superman not being the New 52 Superman so only the readers care about him but not the other characters. A big faceless army and a hint of ANOTHER Crisis coming down the road.
I'm just gonna lie down for a second.
I'm just gonna lie down for a second.
March 19, 2020
I finished it and I wasn't skimming, so I can't justify 1 star, since those two things are what I usually reserve 1 star ratings for. And I liked the art most of the time (though some of Tony S Daniel's stuff started looking a little rushed at times).
But... this was just not good. A lot of it seemed incredibly arbitrary. Like those superhero comics where the good guy and bad guy are punching each other the entire issue/arc, with no apparent effect until suddenly, at the end, those punches start doing something because the author was ready for the story to end.
Everything just sort of happened, often without any real reason. When characters fought back against the big bad, they fought it by just willing their attacks to work. Every time they ran into any sort of problem, all they had to do was just willpower their way through it. Hell, Aquaman's entire subplot in this volume was basically just deus ex machina: Even Hitch seemed a bit embarrassed by the stupidity of that, given Aquaman's 4th wall breaking narration.
On top of that, a couple of times, characters just happened upon exposition for barely any good reason. "Hi, readers, this is the author. I'd like to tell you what's going on, since I clearly can't show it to you."
A lot of this reminded me an awful lot of Mass Effect 2's plot, which is an odd thing to see in a Justice League comic. I guess ripping off a popular video game series is better than rehashing the plots of old comics (as, apparently, in Batman: Night of the Monster Men, among other things), but it's not great.
And, really, ripping off Mass Effect is one thing (Mass Effect itself is heavily inspired by some major works of science fiction, like the Ender series, Revelation Space, and A Fire Upon the Deep), but the execution of said rip-off wasn't even done well. It's so completely plot-driven that the characters really don't matter (to be fair, that's often true of the Justice League stories I've read). It's like Hitch had some ideas for a story that sounded good but he had absolutely no idea how to fit them together into Justice League.
As I was writing this, I had a suspicion I'm not at all surprised to have just confirmed: Bryan Hitch is an artist-turned-writer. It seems like just about every time that happens, the writing is terrible. Whether it's Tony S. Daniel (e.g., Detective Comics: Faces of Death), Phil Jimenez (e.g., Who Killed Superwoman?), or this volume by Bryan Hitch, these great artists make terrible writers. I'm sure there are numerous exceptions but I've seen too many of them fail to have much confidence that your typical artist is apt to be a good writer. Though maybe DC's just bad at identifying which of their artists can write worth a damn.
If there's anything good I can say about this, I do rather like the idea of something very bad being a threat but also having its raison d'etre be to kill another, bigger bad thing. Here again, though, I can't give Hitch much credit for that since it's ripped right out of Mass Effect (). Unless I'm totally off base here and he's never played any of the Mass Effect games and it's all a giant coincidence.
One other thing to note, and I don't know if the blame for it should be laid Hitch's feet or Daniel's. Some of the images of the huge things in this volume (whether it was the Reaper from the first issue or the Kindred) looked really damned cool, but there was an an aspect of the Kindred that I didn't care for.
I got this volume from my library together with the next one as part of Justice League: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition - Book 1 (Justice League. Though the content stinks, it's a nice collection. I always appreciate the slightly larger size of DC's Deluxe Editions. It'd be nice if I could read one that had its writing match the quality of its presentation.
But... this was just not good. A lot of it seemed incredibly arbitrary. Like those superhero comics where the good guy and bad guy are punching each other the entire issue/arc, with no apparent effect until suddenly, at the end, those punches start doing something because the author was ready for the story to end.
Everything just sort of happened, often without any real reason. When characters fought back against the big bad, they fought it by just willing their attacks to work. Every time they ran into any sort of problem, all they had to do was just willpower their way through it. Hell, Aquaman's entire subplot in this volume was basically just deus ex machina: Even Hitch seemed a bit embarrassed by the stupidity of that, given Aquaman's 4th wall breaking narration.
On top of that, a couple of times, characters just happened upon exposition for barely any good reason. "Hi, readers, this is the author. I'd like to tell you what's going on, since I clearly can't show it to you."
A lot of this reminded me an awful lot of Mass Effect 2's plot, which is an odd thing to see in a Justice League comic. I guess ripping off a popular video game series is better than rehashing the plots of old comics (as, apparently, in Batman: Night of the Monster Men, among other things), but it's not great.
And, really, ripping off Mass Effect is one thing (Mass Effect itself is heavily inspired by some major works of science fiction, like the Ender series, Revelation Space, and A Fire Upon the Deep), but the execution of said rip-off wasn't even done well. It's so completely plot-driven that the characters really don't matter (to be fair, that's often true of the Justice League stories I've read). It's like Hitch had some ideas for a story that sounded good but he had absolutely no idea how to fit them together into Justice League.
As I was writing this, I had a suspicion I'm not at all surprised to have just confirmed: Bryan Hitch is an artist-turned-writer. It seems like just about every time that happens, the writing is terrible. Whether it's Tony S. Daniel (e.g., Detective Comics: Faces of Death), Phil Jimenez (e.g., Who Killed Superwoman?), or this volume by Bryan Hitch, these great artists make terrible writers. I'm sure there are numerous exceptions but I've seen too many of them fail to have much confidence that your typical artist is apt to be a good writer. Though maybe DC's just bad at identifying which of their artists can write worth a damn.
If there's anything good I can say about this, I do rather like the idea of something very bad being a threat but also having its raison d'etre be to kill another, bigger bad thing. Here again, though, I can't give Hitch much credit for that since it's ripped right out of Mass Effect (). Unless I'm totally off base here and he's never played any of the Mass Effect games and it's all a giant coincidence.
One other thing to note, and I don't know if the blame for it should be laid Hitch's feet or Daniel's. Some of the images of the huge things in this volume (whether it was the Reaper from the first issue or the Kindred) looked really damned cool, but there was an an aspect of the Kindred that I didn't care for.
I got this volume from my library together with the next one as part of Justice League: The Rebirth Deluxe Edition - Book 1 (Justice League. Though the content stinks, it's a nice collection. I always appreciate the slightly larger size of DC's Deluxe Editions. It'd be nice if I could read one that had its writing match the quality of its presentation.
June 8, 2017
Coming off Johns' new 52 JL run to this... This may actually be the worst Rebirth book (that I read), which is a shame, because this is the freaking Justice League.
The art is fine, but the writing, ugh, full of info dumpy dialogues and the characters' personality/voice are almost completely interchangeable, especially between the two Green Lanterns. The premise sounds interesting, but it didn't deliver, unfortunately. The plot was all over the place and I don't understand how Hitch is still writing this series until issue 20+.
The art is fine, but the writing, ugh, full of info dumpy dialogues and the characters' personality/voice are almost completely interchangeable, especially between the two Green Lanterns. The premise sounds interesting, but it didn't deliver, unfortunately. The plot was all over the place and I don't understand how Hitch is still writing this series until issue 20+.
September 7, 2017
Didn't completely dislike it, but it was rather routine. Fortunately there was a lot of action (no time wasted - right from the second page!) and it seemed fast-moving. However, our beloved characters often come across as devoid of personality. I mean, I expect a little witty banter as they save the world for the umpteenth time.
July 12, 2017
After reading and loving Titans, I decided to give this one a go as well. However, I was let down by this first volume. The story seemed like it was everywhere and there was no organization, they were referencing events that didn't happen in any of the previous New 52 volumes, but I was more confused with the Superman story arc than anything. I don't care for the new Green Lanterns, and I think that hurt the story a bit. I absolutely loved Hal Jordan during the New 52 arc, and we didn't have his comedic relief. Instead we had an arrogant green lantern and a power ring that questioned if she was good enough to be on the team. It just seemed like she was whining throughout the whole thing. Overall, I thought it was okay and understand why the rating is so low. Hoping volume 2 is much better.
October 14, 2017
I was not enthralled. I've been reading so many nuanced graphic novels recently and this was pretty much all action all the time. It just didn't grab me.
March 23, 2018
This one is going off the movie formula, which is as follows:
Buncha heroes get together
Buncha heroes fight...something. Some kind of faceless CG hoard of stuffs that work in a movie because it's cool to punch their heads off.
Buncha heroes maybe gonna lose. And the news
HOLD ON! I have a thing here.
The fuckin' news in this book, the world is being destroyed from the inside or something, and the news is like, "Why isn't the Justice League doing more?" Motherfuckers, Superman is INSIDE the Earth trying to defuse enormous bombs that shouldn't even exist. Green Lantern(s) save like half the world. Maybe instead of asking why the Justice League hasn't fixed the shit yet, it's time to pick up a shovel and do something of value.
Sorry, I get so incensed when it comes to fake news, and by fake news I mean of the type made up for comic books.
Back to the story!
Buncha heroes punch different, harder, like they mean it, and everything's cool.
It's a good team, but in a world of choices, this one doesn't scratch any outstanding itches.
Buncha heroes get together
Buncha heroes fight...something. Some kind of faceless CG hoard of stuffs that work in a movie because it's cool to punch their heads off.
Buncha heroes maybe gonna lose. And the news
HOLD ON! I have a thing here.
The fuckin' news in this book, the world is being destroyed from the inside or something, and the news is like, "Why isn't the Justice League doing more?" Motherfuckers, Superman is INSIDE the Earth trying to defuse enormous bombs that shouldn't even exist. Green Lantern(s) save like half the world. Maybe instead of asking why the Justice League hasn't fixed the shit yet, it's time to pick up a shovel and do something of value.
Sorry, I get so incensed when it comes to fake news, and by fake news I mean of the type made up for comic books.
Back to the story!
Buncha heroes punch different, harder, like they mean it, and everything's cool.
It's a good team, but in a world of choices, this one doesn't scratch any outstanding itches.
November 3, 2016
What the hell was this? (Not in the good epic way)
As the first Justice League Rebirth issue this should have been better, it needed to be better to caught new readers. This story is more like a filler (of what? I don't know).
The villain didn't got proper character development, the Justice League saves the day by a series of convenient plot twists. Aquaman conveniently founds those Zodiac stuff, Ciborg conveniently connects with those things, all the members of the League conveniently get to the same spot on earth. And finally the story nevers gets interesting, all just happens and happens, but I couldn't care less about what was going on.
Not continuing this for the moment, in the future I will pick it up to see if things got better.
As the first Justice League Rebirth issue this should have been better, it needed to be better to caught new readers. This story is more like a filler (of what? I don't know).
The villain didn't got proper character development, the Justice League saves the day by a series of convenient plot twists. Aquaman conveniently founds those Zodiac stuff, Ciborg conveniently connects with those things, all the members of the League conveniently get to the same spot on earth. And finally the story nevers gets interesting, all just happens and happens, but I couldn't care less about what was going on.
Not continuing this for the moment, in the future I will pick it up to see if things got better.
February 10, 2017
Meh.
I like bringing the new/old Superman into the Justice League, and I similarly like the integration of two lesser known Green Lanterns. But those are the only high points of this volume.
Its biggest problem is that it's a Justice League comic where the Justice League is mostly separated. Meanwhile, the comic is so decompressed that the few pages we get of each character in each issue have them doing the same thing issue after issue. And for some, that's a lot of nothing: Batman and Cyborg stand around in a field for most of the volume.
Beyond that, the mysterious villains have mysterious motives and they're never revealed. To be continued in some other dull volume.
I like bringing the new/old Superman into the Justice League, and I similarly like the integration of two lesser known Green Lanterns. But those are the only high points of this volume.
Its biggest problem is that it's a Justice League comic where the Justice League is mostly separated. Meanwhile, the comic is so decompressed that the few pages we get of each character in each issue have them doing the same thing issue after issue. And for some, that's a lot of nothing: Batman and Cyborg stand around in a field for most of the volume.
Beyond that, the mysterious villains have mysterious motives and they're never revealed. To be continued in some other dull volume.
December 20, 2017
This was not as enjoyable as I expected and that's probably why it took me so long to read it. I get that the original superman is back and I love that; however, this plot was awful. It didn't make sense and there's this awkward thing going on between Barry and Jessica. I just hope this whole thing gets better but from my understanding it won't at all. This was my first time reading any justice league comics and I just expected a whole lot me and a whole lot better thank what I just read. Smh The artwork was great though haha
March 2, 2017
This didn't do much for me. It was a bit confusing and underdeveloped. The artwork was good though.
March 3, 2020
That was... mediocre. 2.5 stars. Feels like buildup for another story and not a self contained story.
February 17, 2017
Justice League enters the Rebirth era with The Extinction Machines.
After the death of the New 52 Superman, his Justice League teammates warily engage the older Superman who steps into his place. At the same time, they integrate rookie Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, appointed by Hal Jordan to protect Earth in his absence. The team first deals with a massive alien creature that attempts to prime Earth for a harvest. The team then deals with a series of devastating natural disasters caused by ancient devices buried in the Earth’s crust. The League is caught between a mechanical alien swarm called The Purge and a quartet of powerful beings called The Kindred, composite creatures made up of hundreds of fused humans to channel primal energy forces. A potential link to one of the heroes emerges and a seeming victory portends more threats to come.
Better known as an artist, Bryan Hitch has been growing into the role of writer over the past couple years. He gets the new era of Justice League off to a solid start, paying homage to the Silver Age with the arc’s structure. For much of the story, the League is split up, with solo efforts or teams of two dealing with individual aspects of a bigger threat, then coming together for a rousing climax that unites the whole team and its varied abilities to achieve victory. It’s a decent example of updating a classic plot archetype with a modern sensibility.
Hitch has a good grasp of his cast and crafts strong moments for each hero. The interactions among the team work fairly well, as the dynamic of a “new” Superman and rookie Green Lanterns bouncing off the established core of the team produces some good drama. Hitch brings in Lois Lane as an impactful supporting character, giving her and Batman some particularly good scenes. The Purge and The Kindred provide a world-shaking challenge worthy of the team, though each feels a tad underdeveloped. But Hitch makes clear there’s more to come from this story avenue and he writes the big action sequences rather convincingly. It’s a good opening arc, one that suggests a lot of promise for the series.
The team of penciler Tony Daniel, inker Sandru Florea and colorist Tomeu Morey handles the bulk of the art chores for The Extinction Machines. They nail the “big screen” aesthetic that a book like this requires, assaying large scale fight and adventure sequences with a lot of style, while also infusing the quieter moments with enough tension and dynamism to keep the energy level up. Morey does some especially impressive work, as the demands of the story call for an expansive palette, specialized coloring effects and careful attention to the mood and shadings of scenes. In addition to the primary team, Hitch himself pencils the Rebirth special issue (working with Daniel Henriques and Alex Sinclair) and Jesus Merino and Andy Owens spell the Daniel/Florea team on an issue mid-arc. Hitch brings his distinctive style to his kick-off issue, while Merino and Owens work in a similar enough vein to Daniel and Florea to make the substitution fairly seamless. So far, at least, the book is holding up to its twice monthly schedule with minimal cause for comment.
While some knowledge of recent DC history is a benefit, it’s not necessarily crucial to enjoy The Extinction Machines. Hitch and company craft a classic Justice League story that’s enjoyable and an effective launch for the new era.
After the death of the New 52 Superman, his Justice League teammates warily engage the older Superman who steps into his place. At the same time, they integrate rookie Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz, appointed by Hal Jordan to protect Earth in his absence. The team first deals with a massive alien creature that attempts to prime Earth for a harvest. The team then deals with a series of devastating natural disasters caused by ancient devices buried in the Earth’s crust. The League is caught between a mechanical alien swarm called The Purge and a quartet of powerful beings called The Kindred, composite creatures made up of hundreds of fused humans to channel primal energy forces. A potential link to one of the heroes emerges and a seeming victory portends more threats to come.
Better known as an artist, Bryan Hitch has been growing into the role of writer over the past couple years. He gets the new era of Justice League off to a solid start, paying homage to the Silver Age with the arc’s structure. For much of the story, the League is split up, with solo efforts or teams of two dealing with individual aspects of a bigger threat, then coming together for a rousing climax that unites the whole team and its varied abilities to achieve victory. It’s a decent example of updating a classic plot archetype with a modern sensibility.
Hitch has a good grasp of his cast and crafts strong moments for each hero. The interactions among the team work fairly well, as the dynamic of a “new” Superman and rookie Green Lanterns bouncing off the established core of the team produces some good drama. Hitch brings in Lois Lane as an impactful supporting character, giving her and Batman some particularly good scenes. The Purge and The Kindred provide a world-shaking challenge worthy of the team, though each feels a tad underdeveloped. But Hitch makes clear there’s more to come from this story avenue and he writes the big action sequences rather convincingly. It’s a good opening arc, one that suggests a lot of promise for the series.
The team of penciler Tony Daniel, inker Sandru Florea and colorist Tomeu Morey handles the bulk of the art chores for The Extinction Machines. They nail the “big screen” aesthetic that a book like this requires, assaying large scale fight and adventure sequences with a lot of style, while also infusing the quieter moments with enough tension and dynamism to keep the energy level up. Morey does some especially impressive work, as the demands of the story call for an expansive palette, specialized coloring effects and careful attention to the mood and shadings of scenes. In addition to the primary team, Hitch himself pencils the Rebirth special issue (working with Daniel Henriques and Alex Sinclair) and Jesus Merino and Andy Owens spell the Daniel/Florea team on an issue mid-arc. Hitch brings his distinctive style to his kick-off issue, while Merino and Owens work in a similar enough vein to Daniel and Florea to make the substitution fairly seamless. So far, at least, the book is holding up to its twice monthly schedule with minimal cause for comment.
While some knowledge of recent DC history is a benefit, it’s not necessarily crucial to enjoy The Extinction Machines. Hitch and company craft a classic Justice League story that’s enjoyable and an effective launch for the new era.
February 9, 2017
This was a solid two star book but....the art and characters has me rounding up to three stars.
Not very impressive at all.
If this was a novel I would say the author told a story that was incomprehensible with characters that I didn't connect with, a plot that was all over the place. I finished the story and still don't know what happened. All of the problems had to do with the writer - everything else (pencils, colors, letters) was amazing.
I might try Justice League one more time but if they don't ditch the writer or if he doesn't learn how to actually, ya know, write then my time with this series will be short.
Not very impressive at all.
If this was a novel I would say the author told a story that was incomprehensible with characters that I didn't connect with, a plot that was all over the place. I finished the story and still don't know what happened. All of the problems had to do with the writer - everything else (pencils, colors, letters) was amazing.
I might try Justice League one more time but if they don't ditch the writer or if he doesn't learn how to actually, ya know, write then my time with this series will be short.
January 20, 2019
Das einzig faszinierende hierbei ist die wechselnde Oberweite von Wonder Woman. Da kann nicht mal ich vorbei gucken.
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