Justice League 3001 #2

By Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Howard Porter & Hi-Fi

Justice League 3001’s second issue continues the adventures of the relaunched Justice League 3000 book with the same creative team of Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis by introducing Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, who’s just arrived in the future to add to the interesting mix of superheroes that’s handled very well indeed. However, the Justice League of the future is busy dealing with a Starro invasion, and Kara didn’t exactly pick the most quiet time to arrive even if she doesn’t show up until halfway through the issue. That may dismay readers who pick up this book looking for Supergirl (just ahead of her upcoming CBS TV series), but there’s enough here with the entertaining adventures of this Justice League that won’t make leave readers disappointed.

The issue itself concludes the second part of a two-issue story where the Justice League is trying to liberate a planet from Starro whilst the team is still being discredited at the same time. It certainly sounds like an interesting and odd mix of ideas and as a result Justice League 3001 feels like one of the most ‘out there’ books on DC’s shelves right now, with some fun science fiction adventure that’s a bit hit and miss. Some ideas work, but the book can’t help feel uneven as a result which is kind of disappointing given the action going on here. Something else that feels like a disappointment is the lack of Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire, and Ice, as Giffen and DeMatteis made their appearances at the end of the previous one some of the best things about the book, and hopefully they can be reintroduced sooner rather than later.

The jokes in this issue are a mixed bag. Some may not work, but an amusing one is where Superman is addressed as “Clarkie”, rather than Clark, for example, as he decides who’s allowed to call him by that name and who’s not – Teri for example is, but Wonder Woman isn’t. It’s fun humour that comes with the dynamic characters that you certainly wouldn’t get in Johns’ Justice League book, and it offers up an interesting take for those looking for a lighter book featuring different visions of the characters involved, with the dialogue-heavy comic being handled well.

Porter’s artwork is solid. Supergirl’s introduction is handled well and it’s hard not to love the page fairly early on in the book where The Flash runs really quickly around several high-rise skyscrapers looking for Starro-Prime, before deciding that the creature may not even be on the planet in first place or in the ship that turns out to herald the arrival of Supergirl. The colours provided by Hi-Fi are excellent as usual, and really add a fantastic, light feel to the book with the science fiction atmosphere being created very well indeed, and the futuristic vision of the Starro controlled city works pretty strongly as well.

In conclusion then, Justice League 3001 #2 is a flawed but fun second issue that continues to entertain. Whilst not perfect there’s more than enough to keep fans reading and it’ll be interesting to see where Giffen, DeMatteis, Porter and HiFi go from here and what insane idea they can come up with next.