Who wants to read about the boring Justice League? Nothing but a buncha whiny do gooders, who want “justice” for all. Sounds boring if you ask me. Do you know what the cool kids like? The cool kids like Injustice (no not the hit video game), the cool kids like….Doom (also not the hit video game). So pull up a chair, and let sound of evil ring in. There will be spoilers, but do you really care about spoilers? Enter Doom.

I won’t lie to you folks, I’m not the biggest fans of villain centered stories. I don’t mind reading one every now and then. but it takes a very special story that will grab my attention. After reading this issue, I can proudly say this will go down as a personal favorite villain story. Namely because of the conversation between Lex Luthor and The Batman Who Laughs (yes he’s very much back). I love that James Tynion pays homage to Silence of The Lambs, with this sequence. Not replicating word for word thankfully, but it still has the same unsettling feeling to it. It also helps that Tynion dialog between The Batman Who Laughs and The Lex Luthor is engrossing. It’s like watching two versions of Satan joining forces, it’s spine chilling. Plus I love that the Joker, Grodd, and Sinestro are all very weary about the idea of trusting this twisted Batman. I might have nightmares after this issue.

One of great things that this latest Justice League series has brought is that it’s go big or go home. While this issue is far more grounded than the first seven, One of the better examples of this, is having The Cheetah and Black Manta track down Poseidon and murder him, and that’s after they murdered a small town to find out information about his whereabouts. Again it’s not nearly as crazy as the previous issues, but this scene somehow sits within perfect balance of the mundane and the fantastical, it’s that balance where superhero (or super villain) comics thrive. Honestly one of my favorite bits in this scene was the random civilian thinking that he live was saved because he helped them first, only to be brutally murdered first. I’m not the biggest fan of dark humor, but I was in stitches.

Despite James Tynion’s amazing writing, what makes this comic truly excel is Mikel Janin’s pencils, Focusing back on Lex and Joker Batman for just a moment, to certain readers the dialog will be what they remember the most about this comics It’s the small facial ticks from The Batman Who Laughs and Lex that really elevate the creepiness of the scene. Seeing Lex dig a small knife into his cheek after proclaiming that he doesn’t get afraid (btw Lex, that was super fucking gross). Plus I love how deceptively simple Janin’s style looks at a first glance, but once you starting noticing the details, you start to appreciate the effort into each page. My personal favorite page is Lex walking into the room with chained up Batman Who Laughs. The Christ like pose, combined with the amount of over abundant chains is super striking, it’s almost as if Lex is approaching his savior in a weird way.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go sleep with my lights on and hope that The Batman Who Laughs isn’t out side my door……

Justice League #8 earns a 5/5