Comic Review: Justice League #8 (DC Comics)

A Starman has returned, but where did he come from, and what does his mysterious arrival have to do with the future and the multiverse?

What did Lex attempt to discover as he continued his travels throughout time and space? What is it that Cheetah and Black Manta in search of? And what will their collective conquests hold for the Justice League? With the Totality in their grasp, can the Justice League unlock its mysteries in time to save the universe? All the answers to those questions will be discovered in Legion of Doom part 2!

I really enjoyed Snyder’s writing in the last issue (issue 7) surprising readers with the return of one of the versions of Starman from the 80’s and to see that Tynion was gonna do the writing duties for issue 8 was a delight to look forward to. It’s pretty clever how Tynion and Co found a way to reference the 80’s series that Starman had, and retroactively incorporated the continuity of the character into the current DCU timeline, making it fit in fittingly well. There are some great moments and good attention to detail, such as Tynion acknowledging that Batman is still recuperating from the events of the Totality arc, so to see that acknowledged is greatly appreciated for readers that like to have some grounded reality aside from suspension of belief here and there. There are some really cool moments such as the levels of security that Luthor has developed within the fortress of doom, along with nice references to Geoff Johns Justice League run (new 52) and Dark Nights Metal that really makes reading the story just as fun to read even if they have never read that run.

I enjoy the concept that Snyder would write a majority of the stories, while Tynion would write some interesting one-shots focused on the Legion of Doom. I hope that this continues to be a thing since it has become a highlight for this series since Tynion, much like Snyder has a good grasp on how the members of the Legion interact with one another and reflect off of each other as they react to the situations that they are dealt with. To see the perspectives of the Legion of Doom written by Tynion in contrast to The League’s perspective written by Snyder really gives the book a funhouse mirror effect where we get to see the warped views that the Legion has as they pursue their goals in contrast to the League’s. It leaves a lot to look forward to after reading this issue, especially since the Batman Who Laughs is now returning to the fold, promising some exciting developments for the next couple of issues that Snyder and Tynion will be writing.

While the writing is spot on, I feel that Mike Janin’s artwork is a nice welcomed addition to this line up of writers and artists for this title. Mike Janin’s artwork is awesome in this issue, and it shows, especially when accompanied by the colors of Jeromy Cox. Janin is a good artist, but depending on who is coloring, it kinda butchers his artwork, but thankfully that isn’t the case here in this issue! I think the best moments are between the pages 9 to 11, along with the final pages. Janin really cements the tone and mood of Tynion’s writing with his artwork within those pages, and to see the Batman Who Laughs drawn by him is a bonus too. I’d like to also mention that Napolitano’s lettering is very fitting to the voices of the characters within this issue, balancing the dialogue well enough with the artwork, accompanying it nicely.

Side note, for all the music lovers, when I was reading this issue, I was listening to Alice In Chains “Your Decision” and Queens of the Stone age “ Better Living Through Chemistry” which really fit the tone of the book’s themes, especially with the lyrics and context to Lex Luthor, the Legion of Doom and the Justice League. This was just suggestions for readers to try out as they read this issue, because I was listening to it on my playlist and I felt it meshed well with everything, it’s merely a suggestion, so you can disregard it if you want.

Issue 8 of Justice League isn’t a huge issue full of action, but a nice breather issue that sets up a ton storylines that readers will be on board with to read. Now that the series has gotten its footing fully, it’s really exciting to see what the team of writers and artists that Snyder and Tynion are assembling will unleash as the series continues. This is a very worthwhile issue and is worth your time and money to read , so if you’re debating on what title from DC that you may want to buy, especially if you’re trying to save money, then It’s safe to say that this is definitely one of the issues to get for this new comic Wednesday pull list.