Justice League #1 - DC's New 52

It's finally here; the first issue of DC Comics New 52 hits shelves.

Justice League #1 starts the now infamous DC re-launch that has been a long time coming. As a comic reader who isn't particularly partial to DC products that aren't written by Jeph Loeb I was really interested to see how DC handled the reboot. When I got my hands on the book the interest turned into a lot excitement; knowing I was holding the first issue of DC's historical re-launch that was essential to the future of the company genuinely got my blood pumping. That feeling of excitement before reading the book pales in comparison to the enthusiasm I have for the new 52 and it's all thanks to a great first issue of Justice League.

The book is heavily focused around Hal Jordan's Green Lantern and Batman first meeting. The interactions between a very flashy Green Lantern and the subtle cover of darkness Bruce Wayne was excellent. Their dialogue was reminiscent of the banter between Deadpool and Fantomex in Marvel's top selling Uncanny X-Force books. The humor, the showmanship, and the jabs about the other super heroes shortcomings are truly great, and the chemistry between Bruce and Hal is perfectly set up to continue for a long time in the coming Justice League books. The other members of the Justice League are barely mentioned however, as this book truly hits the restart button on the DC universe. Justice League issue one Hal Jordan was unaware of Batman and his skill set just as Bruce Wayne knew very little about the Green Lanterns.

Geoff John's story is excellent. The pair goes on an exciting romp chasing an alien life form in Gotham city and seeing Green Lantern use his rings powers in Batman's backyard was very cool. Besides having to deal with the unknown alien and each other, America's heroes also have to battle the American government since right now in the DC universe the general public sees Batman and the other heroes as criminals. This forced Batman and Green Lantern to work together, even though it was pretty obvious they didn't want to. The issue ends on a cliff hanger setting up possibly one of the coolest things that can happen in the DC Universe, but ill let you find out what that is for yourself.

Review By: Alex Ralston