Oh my Gods I can finally see the end of Darkseid War. Before I can officially dive right into Rebirth, the official chapter of the New 52 must be closed and it’s only fitting that Justice League by Geoff Johns are the last people to leave the bar. Heading into this final chapter, there are so many different plots and subplots all converging (heh) that despite Geoff John’s ability to craft an entertaining comic story, my brain still rattles at how John’s pulls all the strings together to form a coherent story. At least it’ll look amazing by Jason Fabok.
I wanted to enjoy this issue a lot more than I actually did. After months and months of buildup (and some filler) the conclusion to Darkseid War can easily be summed up in two words, sensory overload. Thankfully the expanded page count does allow for certain plot elements to have their time in the sun, but it doesn’t detract how pointless the filler issues were. The first big problem I had was the waste of Steve Trevor being infused with the anti-life equation, since you could easily cut out that element of the story and still have the son of Superwoman and Alexander Luthor become the embodiment of Darkseid. There was no emotional payoff for Wonder Woman between her and Steve, as all signs hinted to something dramatic occurring between the two of them. Combine all this with Jessica Cruz “dying” Darkseid being reborn as an infant, and of course Grail continuing her shenanigans all snowballed into a story that was all over the place.
What Geoff John’s did well for his final issue on Justice League was deliver amazing moments that will make readers gasp in shock and awe. However despite the “moments” they failed to link together to deliver a great story and served more so as a checklist. I’m not upset that this issue really didn’t have a solid ending since this is still comics and serialization is the name of the game, I just wanted some more substance than there was, especially since the issue was ripe for it.
Despite the short comings from the writing side, once again Jason Fabok remains the superstar artist with his work on this particular issue. Even though I was critical that this issue centered around moments and nothing more, Jason Faboks art made them look epic beyond belief. His action sequences were full of kinetic energy, and his storytelling remains top notch. What stuck out to me again was his facial expression work. I talk about facial expression a lot, but only because I see some comic artists lacking in this area, so to see Fabok not only giving extra attention to this important factor but going the extra mile so the reader can connect to his God like characters.
The final issue for John’s and Fabok’s Justice League was a bit of a mess, that didn’t lack any explosiveness but rather lacked the substance. Perhaps it was foolish of me to expect something like that for this bombastic of an issue. Either way it’s finally over and now we can get on with the Rebirth.
Justice League #50 earns a 3/5
Wow that is truly the best justice league 50 issue .