I’m back doing this! And on an actual Wednesday no less! Will wonders never cease? Anyhoo, I am going to try and keep this going on a weekly basis by selecting a DC book, a Marvel book and a book from a third publisher of my choice. So with that out of the way let’s get to reviewing some comics!

JUSTICE LEAGUE #31

Forever Evil is over and Lex Luthor is everyone’s favorite bald guy! He also has figured out Bruce Wayne is Batman and looks to use that info to get an invite onto the Justice League. While that is going on the League is searching for the evil power ring from Earth 3 but they may be too late as the ring has chosen it’s new wearer whether she wants to be chosen or not.

Final Verdict: This was a relatively quiet “day in the life” type story that still managed to deliver big surprises and some really compelling (and important!) interaction between characters. We got a fun interlude featuring Cyborg and a very bored Shazam on monitor duty that ended upo showing that Shazam may be more than just a Superman clone while also not having even a rudimentary control of the magic power he wields.

Captain Cold got his first taste of what it is like to be a hero when he went for his interview at LexCorp. Cold’s addition to the League is going to be even more interesting than Luthor’s to me and I am really curious as to just what Lex’s plans are for him because things at LexCorp ended on a pretty ominous note in regards to the good captain.
While I am still reserving judgment on the new Power Ring I do have to say that I am confident I will like Jessica Cruz just based on what little we have seen of her. She is an already complex character and adding the curse of an evil power ring to the mix seems like a recipe for entertaining stories. Plus the way her section of the comic ended (with a huge surprise appearance on the final page) was a major geek out moment for me.

And finally we get to Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor’s cat-and-mouse game. These two characters always have an intriguing dynamic when they go against one another. It was cool watching Batman stay in the “Bruce Wayne, Playboy” character for as long as possible while Lex was trying to get him to come clean about his nocturnal activities. And the Mexican stand-off between Lex, Bruce and Alfred was awesome. Having Luthor and Batman interacting on a regular basis has me extremely excited for the future of this book or for however long Lex can keep himself from screwing the Justice League over.
Doug Mahnke’s art was great and totally fits this book just like it did the first time he was a Justice League artist. Hopefully he sticks around for the foreseeable future.
Grade: B