This week: “We Are Yesterday” crossover comes to the conclusion of crushing in Justice League Unlimited #8.
Note: The review below contains spoilers. If you need quick spoiler purchase/pass recommendations for the manga in question, please see the bottom of the article for the final verdict.
Justice League Unlimited #8
Author: Mark Waid
Artist: Danmora
Colorist: Tamura Bombyline
Letter: Ariana Maher
Cover Artist: Danmora
When Mark Waid, Danmora, Tamra Bombirine and Ariana Maher launched DC’s Justice League unlimited in November, they brought in Inferno, a shadow villain group for teams to face off. “We’re yesterday,” Batman/Superman: World’s Finest, the current crossover between JLU and a series created by another WAID, revealed that Inferno is a legion of Doom, despite Gorilla Grodd being a group of past versions raised in the present. This week’s Justice League Unlimited #8 concluded “We Are Towery” with all of that time trip glory, ultimately revealing Grodd’s ultimate goal, leading the entire DC in an incredible direction with the storyline.
On the five issues leading up to this, Waid and the team of guest artists are strengthening excitement as a legion of fate’s infiltrating, dominating the JLU watchtower. Now reuniting with Mora, an artist from the regular series, this conclusion chapter is a group of heroes from time and space brought to the present by the League, the Legion of Doom, and the Airwave. Even amidst the mayhem, Wade does a strong job of laying the story down on characters. Grod’s ultimate goal is perfectly consistent with what Super Gorilla readers who hate Homo Sapien have known for decades, but after being fooled by the corps to betray the league, the need for redemption in Airwave is too human and approachable. The final result of the storyline will also be a few great characters interactions in the future.
It is difficult to exaggerate how absolutely they are killing Mora and Bonvillain’s work on this issue. There are dozens of characters, including multiple versions of the same character, and are engaged in full action throughout the issue. It’s huge and exciting, but everything is visually clear and easy to follow. Mora’s linework and page structure are as agile as ever, with Bonvillain’s colours popping out of the page, helping readers track everything that’s going on. The impact of colours, such as the slightly attached air waves and the use of omega energy in Grods, is incredible. This issue only encourages the argument that Mora and Bonvillain are the best art teams in superhero comics.
“We Are Yesterday” is a summary of the mystery that was founded at the time of Justice League Unlimited’s launch, and it was also a lot of setup for things as well as for itself. There were quite a few hoops to jump to bring past destiny legions into the present, and it was sometimes confusing to go back and forth between periods, tracking which version of each character was in each scene. The middle point of the storyline is where things really go, past all the expositions and explanations, and it was explosive when they did this storyline.
Justice League Unlimited #8 establishes an updated status quo for both the JLU series and all the overall storyline, adding many new players to the DCU field, while at the same time a satisfying conclusion to “We Are Toghtas.” The last page bullying (which actually builds from something from this week’s issue of Superman, but it reads well on its own) hints at what comes from the next big DC event, as well as Waid, Mora, and co. Being close to the helm of that event should be a great time.
Final Verdict: Purchase.
round up
Elsewhere, in time and elsewhere in the comics that were contemplated, there is a new history of DC Universe #1. This is the debut issue of a four-volume miniseries that establishes targets and clever canons at a new and decisive time for DCU. In this first issue, the Wade team with Jerry Ordway and Todd Nowuk covers from the beginning of time since the 1960s. It’s not a history book, not a story, but it’s fun to see the scraped threads weaving into a consistent timeline. As we enter the age of superheroes, we look forward to the future issues of this. Superman #27 of Joshua Williamson, Eddie Burrows, Ever Ferreira and Sean Izarks has put together a number of storylines ongoing since the launch of this current series. I didn’t think there was such a sense of finality in much of what was happening here, but at the same time everything happened organically, and this feels like some natural endpoints in these stories. But there’s still a lot to tell, and Williamson clearly has plans for where the series will adopt these characters next. I am particularly excited about the legion-centric story on the horizon. Green Arrow #25 launches a new arc of the series with a story focused on the relationship between Oliver Queen and Roy Harper. Chris Condon, Montos, and Adriano Lucas have created this very quickly into one of DC’s best books. Ollie and Roy have history and are very welcome for fans of the characters to see them on display. In absolute universe, given the weather for most of the US this week, that’s the right time, given that Absolute Mars Manhunter #4 is set during the heat waves that are white Mars. The dialogue at Dennis Camp is incredible about the destruction of everyone’s minds under the oppressive heat, and Javier Rodriguez continues to give masterclasses in the book’s visual storytelling. Something incredible.
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