Justice League #41 Review

Justice League #41
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Jason Fabok
Colored by Brad Anderson
Published by DC Comics

“Damn. That was an incredible comic!”

That was my first thought as I read the last page of Justice League #41, part one of the highly anticipated “Darkseid War”, an event that has been building in one form or another since the very first issue of the series.

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Why would a reaction like that be a big deal? Because for someone like me, who has been reading comics for the better part of 35 years, it is very difficult to impress me anymore. Call me a cynic, call me jaded, but when it comes to super hero comics from Marvel and DC, they usually fall into one of two categories: been there or done that.

Regardless, I still enjoy most comics, and it doesn’t stop me from continuing to love the hobby of reading and collecting comic books. It’s just that, for me, the “Wow!” factor has long disappeared.

Until a book like Justice League #41 comes along and makes me feel like I’m 10 years old again and everything is fresh and new.

Plain and simple, Justice League #41 is amazing.

Somehow Geoff Johns, the mastermind behind everything good that has come from DC the last few years, managed to surprise me. At no less than three points during the issue, I thought I knew what was coming only to discover I was completely off base. Two of those made me say “Oh #$%@!” out loud, so thank God I was at home reading this comic and not in a coffee shop somewhere.

Plain and simple, Justice League #41 is amazing. Huge revelations, life and death struggles, this one has it all. You don’t need to know Darkseid or the Justice League from a hole in the wall to be thoroughly and completely entertained. The story moves at a brisk pace with a healthy combination of action and characterization, which is what Johns excels at so well. While Mark Millar is the master of widescreen epics and Brian Michael Bendis fills his stories with lots and lots of character moments, Johns has always expertly mixed elements of both to create some of the best super hero comics around. With Justice League #41, he has achieved something very special that I never thought I would ever see: the perfect comic book.

Then there is the artwork by Jason Fabok. I dare anyone to read this book and find any flaw with his work here. From the incredible splash pages that will make your jaw hit the floor (and there are many) to the smaller moments that help move the story along, each is given the same lavish attention to detail. There is an energy and cinematic style at work in Justice League #41 that I haven’t seen in a DC comic since the heyday of George Perez when he was working on The New Teen Titans.

I’ll put it this way: when you finish Justice League #41, you’re going to think to yourself “Jim who?”

Mention must also be made of the incredible work of colorist Brad Anderson and letterer Rob Leigh, without whose contributions Justice League #41 wouldn’t be nearly as good. The creative team on this book is the best of the best and it shows on every beautiful page.

And just wait until you get the the end and see those final pages. Damn.

The Bottom Line: Comic books don’t get any better than Justice League #41. It is easily the best single DC comic I have read in quite a while and any fan of super heroes would be foolish to pass up on this book. It has everything you could ever want from a comic book with Justice League in the title and it will restore your faith that yes, truly great comics can still come from the Big Two. A “must buy” if ever there was one.

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