Justice League #31 Review

How will Bruce react to Luthor’s discovery? Read on to find out.

The official description from DC Comics:

Introducing the new Power Ring! But who is she? What does she want? And how will her presence affect the team?

Since the end of Forever Evil Justice League has lost a little bit of it’s spark as despite remaining a thoroughly enjoyable series it’s not quite as good as it once was. The highlight of the issue had to be the confrontation between Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne with the latter’s secret being the key discussion point. Despite this the issue as a whole felt a little too much like set-up work, lacking in overall energy.

Geoff Johns as ever scripts this series with the legendary writer producing an intriguing issue, despite it’s lack of energy. The way that Johns handled the dialogue throughout the entire issue was simply amazing with the Luthor/Wayne encounter being extremely gripping. I especially admired the reference to The Scorpion and the Frog within this intense confrontation with the symbolism of it being delightful. In addition to this Johns also gives a sensational cliffhanger with the next issue looking very promising.

Doug Mahnke does a stellar job on the artwork for this issue bringing a dynamic flair to the story. His eye-catching layouts and wonderful character position has always appealed to me with the cinematic tone being very captivating. Mahnke also captures the story’s tension brilliantly as though the characters facial expressions may feel slightly awkward at times (especially around mouths) they still add to the drama. Mahnke’s wonderful pencils is accompanied by terrific inks from Keith Champagne and Christian Alamy as well as beautiful colours from Rod Reis.

Justice League has hit a slightly slump since the conclusion of Forever Evil as despite some captivating developments and a sensational confrontation the overall lack of energy let this issue down. It does however barely squeeze by with a recommendation.