Justice League 3000 #1
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Keith Giffen & J.M. Dematteis
Artist: Howard Porter
Cover: Howard Porter
It’s the 31st Century and things have changed a lot over the millennia. Wonder Woman is an over the top Amazon, Superman is a self absorbed jerk, Green Lantern just wants a ring, Flash broods more than Batman, while Batman himself is more of a “mother hen.” Needless to say, these are not the Justice League members of old. In fact the secret behind them is held close to the chest by the “Wonder Twins” Tery and Teri, who are currently searching for their missing mentor. They feel she might reveal the truth behind the heroes, and this is a secret the heads of Project Cadmus don’t want revealed.
With the various Justice League titles already on the shelf you might ask what makes this one any different. Also what makes this one stand out when DC already has an increasingly large number of books staring these characters or variations of them on the shelves already. Well, for one, Giffen and Dematteis deliver a great opener that kept this issue from feeling like any of the other Justice League titles out there now. From the settings to the major personality differences of the League everything just fit together and had a purpose. The personality shifts were something that could have come off rather boring, but this League is who they are for a reason. It’s a very important plot point mixed in with the reason why they were put into action by the twins. Even if one of them is a bit delusional about the team’s ability. The tone of the book also isn’t all dark and moody as some of these leaps into the future seem to be. We do get a sense of danger as the evil known as The Five is introduced, but there are light moments scattered throughout. Mostly through the banter between Batman and Superman who don’t see eye to eye on much of anything.
This is also one visually great looking book thanks to Porter and the colors from Hi-Fi! There’s a consistently great level of detail in Porter’s work that Hi-Fi takes to the next level as your eye moves from panel to panel. The costume redesigns are also some of the better ones I’ve seen in these alternate timeline or future stories that have come along. For the most part the changes are small with a few aesthetic tweaks, but Green Lantern’s would be the one that is most different from what we’re used to seeing. Though it’s a change that directly ties into how he utilizes his abilities now.
Justice League 3000 #1 has a feel all its own so far in regards to the writing as well as the art. It also has the freedom of not being tied to what we’re currently seeing in the New 52, so let’s hope the creative team takes advantage of this. If you’re a fan of these types of stories or just a die hard Justice League reader then I’d suggest giving this one a look.
Infinite Speech
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