Justice League: Rebirth #1

By Bryan Hitch, Alex Sinclair, Daniel Henriques and Scott Hanna

DC Rebirth has been a roaring success so far. Issues are selling out and going to second and third prints, sometimes even before they hit the stands. As the optimism for the next title rises week after week, collectors await for the next big title to launch. This week Justice League Rebirth hits stands, and even though it’s polished with a new number 1 on the cover, there is something oddly familiar to it.

Bryan Hitch had a brief but successful run on JLA this past year. The problem with that series, like many Bryan Hitch titles, is that there were delays that hampered it until it eventually got put on hiatus. To parody the great Vanilla Ice, Hitch is back with a brand new edition, Justice League Rebirth ( I know that was lame, but I don’t care). Even though this is a different story, it feels like a continuation off of Hitch’s JLA run. Some things have changed, for instance we have a new Superman. Hitch does a good job with the new Green Lanterns. As they respond to help the other heroes, their conversation about how this is the first time they are called on for help and they’re late seems very realistic. The dialogue between Clark and Lois is also real. Clark feeling insecure about this world’s Justice League is great. It’s nice to see him not be the most confident person on earth every now and then. One of the weak points of the book is the, for lack of a better word, villain. It appears to be an alien race that shoots parasites on to people’s faces. It kind of reminds you of the work Hitch did with Mark Miller on The Authority. We don’t know enough about these creatures yet, but they came of kind of generic so far. Hitch has brought some change to the title, with the Green Lanterns and a new Superman, which is interesting enough to be a rebirth of sorts, but if you feel a sense of familiarity, it is completely understandable.

The pencils are also handled by Hitch, with colors by Alex Sinclair and inks by Scott Hanna and Daniel Henriques. There shouldn’t really be too many complaints when Bryan Hitch is on art duties for a book. His panels and splash pages are very cinematic and life-like. While the alien creatures may not make for the best antagonist so far, Hitch draws their spacecraft wonderfully. The first couple pages look great as the little parasites cling to faces and the Justice League attempt to fight them off. Hitch’s Flash is always a pleasure to see as he speeds all over the panels; for as fast moving and far away as he appears sometimes, Hitch always gives him detail and he never looks bad. The colors by Alex Sinclair are excellent as usual. He makes Hitch’s art come to life with his realistic tones and colors. The little things, like the glow of a Green Lantern Ring or the bright yellow that follow Barry seem extremely real with him on color duty. The art and colors are very good this issue and really make it worth a buy, if you’re not interested in the story.

Justice League Rebirth feels like a continuation of a title that was never fully told. You shouldn’t hold that against it though, and just accept Justice League Rebirth for what it is. The script is decent and the art is excellent, and that should be enough for readers to at least give it a chance.