Comic Book Review: Justice League of America: Rebirth #1 - DC Comics

JLA Rebirth
Written by Steve Orlando
Pencils by Ivan Reis
Inks by Joe Prado & Oclair Albert
Colors by Marcelo Maiolo

Batman is putting together a new team.  A team of heroes that are less God-like and more human.  A group the people of the world can identify with.  The question is, can this group find a way to get along with each other?  Beware: the rest is spoilers.

This book starts out with Batman recruiting Killer Frost.  The two look over the base of operations that Batman has chosen, a secret cave in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island.  From here, Batman and Killer Frost head to Seattle to recruit Black Canary who was a bit surprised the once villainous Killer Frost had come to her city.  The next to be recruited is the alien biker Lobo.  Lobo agrees and the group look to have Ray Palmer, The Atom, join in the fun.  Ray Palmer is missing but his student aid, Ryan Choi, is there and he has been using Palmer technology to search for The Atom.  Batman was against it but Lobo liked the kid.  Now it's the Ryan's turn to recruit so now The Ray is in the group.  Batman rounded out the group by convincing Vixen to join.

This book reminded me of the beginning of Justice League International during the New 52 run.  Batman puts together a group to look good for the masses.  He chooses a leader most of the group wouldn't expect(Killer Frost for JLA and Booster Gold for JLI).  Justice League International was a fun series and I foresee the same with this comic book team.  Having Lobo and Black Canary on a team with Killer Frost should make for plenty of interesting panels.

Ivan Reis is one of my favorite comic book artists today.  It is awesome seeing his work on so many heroes.  The attention he gives to the facial expressions and the poses each character is in is phenomenal.  The colors by Marcelo Maiolo looked amazing as well.  So many of the panels within the book were cover-worthy.

What are your thoughts on the Justice League of America?  What comic book series' are you reading?  Let us know by reaching out to us through social media.

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Arrow Review: Season 4 Episode 15 "Taken"

Arrow Season 4 Episode 15

“Taken”

Synopsis:

Oliver calls in his old friend for help in fighting Darhk, while Thea has a Heart to Heart talk with Malcolm.

Review:

The episode starts with Darhk informing Oliver that he has his son William, his demand for Williams return are to drop out of the Mayor race and to back his wife.

With Oliver dealing with a kidnapped son and Felicity now knowing his secrets he now needs some additional help. He calls on a friend with whom he had an Animated past with….Vixen.

With Vixen now in the fold, she informs the team that like her, Darhk must have a object which is providing him with his magical power. Team come up with a plan to save William and to take away the Damian powers. 

The episode come to an end with the team being able to destroy the token which provide the powers, William was saved and Felicity being able to walk again and giving the ring back to Oliver.

Final Thoughts.

I just love Crossovers, obviously this one is a little more obscured do to the fact its with the Animated Web Series Vixen. It non the less was just as great as most we have seen thus far. Megalyn Echilunwoke was wonderful as Mari McCabe/Vixen. Great addition to the DC television Universe. 

The episode it self provided a lot of great twists for the remainder of the season, with Darhk missing his powers its now interesting to see how he will rage havoc on Team Arrow. The episode also muddy what had seemed to be an obvious answer to who was in the grave a couple of months from now. With William and his mother safe and far away, these two obviously fall off the list. This leave the possibilities down to only Diggle, Thea or Captain Lance. With the show runners annoucing the possibility of Diggle getting a new helmet. My last two guesses would have to be Lance or Thea.

The return of Evil Malcolm might be the best thing this season has brought us, but the return of the up and down relationship between Felicity and Oliver will definitely cast a shadow over what has become an awesome season thus far.

I give this episode two thumbs up. Let us know what your thoughts of the episode were and leave your comments below.

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Comic Book Review: Justice League International - Volume 1 - DC Comics (2011)

Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Aaron Lopresti & Marco Castiello

A group superheroes representing different countries are put together by Andre Briggs, Head of United Nations Intelligence.  The thought is, this group would be able to answer to an authority, something the Justice League does not do.  The new team, led by Booster Gold, are tasked with their first challenge which is much larger than they originally thought.  This review is about the first volume trade paperback which collects the first five issues.

This series was much better than I was originally willing to give it credit for.  Dan Jurgens writes a fun series, as one could imagine, with Booster Gold leading a team who are tasked to go out as a team having never met each other previously.  The task, being much more than they had imagined, turns into five issues of action, humor and seeing a team come together.

The team has familiar faces and, for those not as familiar with DC Comics, some not so familiar faces.  As stated earlier, Booster Gold is the leader and the other members include Ice, Vixen, Fire, Rocket Red, August General In Iron, Guy Gardner, and Godiva.  If that doesn't tickle your fancy, DC puts Batman with the group to help keep things going and give everyone an open mind to give this team a chance.

Admittedly, I do not know as much about DC as many others so I really enjoy the books that have some of the lesser known characters.  The interactions in this volume are done really well.  The heroes, being from different parts of the globe have different feelings on how to deal with threats.  There are other philosophical differences which also lead to butting of heads.  Guy Gardner alone adds the dimension of confrontation, especially when Booster Gold, who isn't known to be the most serious individual, is made leader.

Batman ties this all together well.  His belief in Booster Gold and his mentoring helps move this book along.  I was hesitant to believe Batman would be the right short-term addition to this book.
I really thought the Caped Crusader was on the cover to help the book get sold.  He may have been, but inside the pages, it works.

Aaron Loprestri, Marco Castiello, Matt Ryan, Vincenzo Acunzo, and Hi-Fi are the art team of this first volume.  They do a fantastic jobwith eye popping visuals.  I like when heroes are jumping out of panels and all of the action with all of these super-powered individuals are displayed extraordinarily.  The colors from Hi-Fi are great as pages seem to glow with the explosions, Guy Gardner's Green Lantern powers, and the interplanetary foes.

If you are looking for a fun book with a ton of action, then check out Justice League International.  It's a short lived series and you can pick up the trade paperbacks.  You can probably find the original comic books at a decent price if that's your preference.

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