I was going to review each issue one at a time, but the current run has such a compulsive speed to it that here I am on issue #77! I finished #76 and just went right to #77 to see what happened next. I even started reading #78 (that was quite a cliffhanger) but I reckon I should go back and post a letter here as well.
As ever, thanks for taking the time, O.
I’m glad the pace hasn’t let up for you, as that’s how it was intended to be! A series of explosive moments without a moment to breathe, each escalating into something bigger and more tragic each time. This has probably been one of the deadliest threats the team have faced in their storied history, and it felt right that it be non-stop from the get go.
As you might have gathered, I'm enjoying the propulsive plotting. These issues have a very natural, fluid, kinetic energy to them that keeps me hooked. I was shocked by the "big twist," I did not anticipate the Joker showing up as the big villain!
This is something I’ve been planning for ages, as you’ll see with the conclusion in
Justice League #80, which just hit. I wanted to knit everything together, and hopefully you’ll see how the threats ducks and weaves with established continuity in that issue. It’s a big one, and it’s in full THIS IS WHY THAT SCENE WAS IMPORTANT mode, which hopefully isn’t too distracting.
I knew that Aleph Pharmaceuticals was up to no good and you planted the seeds for this arc a long time ago, to great effect; the Guardian's personal stake in this disaster makes it much more pressing, while the global spread of the "Jokerbots" (Jokernites? Nanojokers?) is a suitable crisis for the Justice League.
It felt appropriate that an escalation on the Joker’s part would involve something not limited to Gotham City, even though I wanted to misdirect in that direction. If he’s breaking up with Batman and moving onto the Justice League, he’s got to make a show of it, right?
With regards to Aleph, I was always worried that any “check in” with them across the dozens of issues since their initial appearance, and the first shot across the bow of this story, in
Justice League #53, would fall flat, because… what actually is going on there? Why is this weird little pharmaceutical company important to the ongoing adventures of the team? I’m glad that it was more foreboding than deflating!
I have to say that I'm not the biggest fan of the Joker as the Big Bad. That's mainly on me, I'm just not the biggest fan of the Joker; Steve K tacked the other way, of course. I find Joker an overblown villain in recent years-- gaining superpowers that he's never had, or needed. I prefer the Joker as a psychological threat to the Batman-- unable, and even unwilling, to punch it out with the Bat, let alone go toe-to-toe with someone like Talia al'Ghul or a metahuman.
Hopefully everything comes together with
Justice League #80. I’m a fan of both versions of the Joker. Him being a criminal mastermind is great, and that’s on full display here, but I also wanted him to be a physical threat, so the Jokernites (I love it) were a great way to deliver that. Again, that’s something that’ll be explained in #80.
A character also muses on that point in
Justice League #81, which I sent to Mark on Wednesday! We’re about to enter a very interesting time for the team!
That said, I enjoyed his monologue and I think his reasoning and jealousy of Wonder Woman was clever and entertaining. I'm just having trouble imagining the Joker in the same league as Wonder Woman, let alone with the ability to produce super-nanites. Whatever I think about the Joker, however, I'm along for the ride!
As I said previously, hopefully #80 puts everything into place to make this seem less far-fetched! There had to be a physical factor to the threat the Joker posed, and I didn’t want to do a Legion of Doom-type story
yet, because I think those are the kind of things that have to be earned, and we’re not there yet.
My main intention with the book has been to not use character-specific threats, that’s why we’ve had some of the odder tangents these last few years. If every story involved Lex Luthor then the threat that character poses would lose its shine. And sure, there have been appearances by the likes of Ares and MA'ALEFA'AK, but I’d rate them B-List rather than A. And for every God of War and the Burning, we’ve had the Engineer, Imperator and Neverland; oceans losing their tension, nightmare gods from fiction dimensions, and much, much more. Like Tempus. God love Tempus.
Otherwise, the past two issues featured some awesome scenes and great character moments. I really like Firestorm's impressive use of her powers and you're teasing out some future changes for the hero that I'm interested in seeing next.
I have so many plans, and I’ve said it so many times, but I’m always concerned I’ll drop the ball with one, or let a spinning plate shatter, and forget to carry something forward! Firestorm’s ongoing challenges are going to be a big part of the series when we return from our hiatus late next year, though I do have character spotlights planned to land sporadically throughout 2019. I’m tempted to have those be part of the ongoing series, but understand the power of the one-shot. Plus, I want to not waste issues in the run-up to #100. Because you know that’s going to be massive, considering what just happened from #75.
The plotting was top-notch; Batman's escape plan was plausible and exciting, and I enjoy how disturbed he is by the Joker. The scene when he 'summoned' Superman was a great character moment and an epic reminder of how inspiring and uplifting Superman can be.
I .Love. Superman. I’m so glad we’ve seen the launch of
Superman on the site, and with
Action Comics coming back as well, 2019 promises to be one hell of a year for the character.
I always go back to
All-Star Superman and the utterly optimistic version of the character we see there, as well as that scene in
Man of Steel where he starts flying for the first time, and the utter joy Cavill brings to the performance. I guess the cat is out of the bag with this arc… Superman’s back in the Justice League!
I also think the relationship between Batman and Superman is mega important and interesting, and I want to explore that in the future. But first, there are other stories that demand my attention… why isn’t there enough time in the day?!
Well, I've already started reading #78! Cheers!
And I’m working on part two of our next arc as we speak-- though I am using writing this feedback as an excuse not to make much progress…
