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Comic fans still stinging from the incomprehensible disappointment that was Marvel's Age of Ultron, DC looks to ease our pain with their Justice League-centric Trinity War event, which kicks off in Justice League #22 and runs through Justice League of America, Justice League Dark, and a handful of peripheral mini-series. Unfortunately, despite the extraordinary talent involved (Geoff Johns on words and Ivan Reis on pictures), Justice League #22 is just another overstuffed crossover kick-off.
It's a darn shame, since the last Justice League mini-event, the "Throne of Atlantis" crossover was quite good. It was the first time the inconsistent Justice League title really had a solid footing in a familiar DC Universe, boasted terrific art across the board, and felt like something we hadn't seen before. On the other hand, Justice League #22 picks up threads from the recently-wrapped Geoff Johns/Gary Frank Shazamback-up stories (which drives home just how off-putting, forced, and awkward this take on the Shazam mythology is), while trying to remind fans a little about the mysterious Pandora, who has been lurking on the outskirts of many DC books since the 2011 reboot.
So, just to be clear, we have mysterious supervillain forces manipulating one of our most recognizable forces into seemingly committing murder breeding mistrust and pitting the world against them. Didn't we already see this in 2005's extraordinarily dull Justice League mope-fest, the OMAC Project? Oh, and the magical forces of the DCU are also gathering like ominous stormclouds? Am I getting all of this? Awfully familiar, even for a superhero comic. It's sometimes difficult to believe that this is the same Geoff Johns who brought Green Lantern to previously unheard of heights of popularity, or told one of the best Superman stories of the last decade, let alone the same guy who practically defined team books for an era with his JSA.
To say that Justice League #22 isn't a very good comic isn't really fair. After all, the art by Ivan Reis is extraordinary, but we've really come to expect that from him. If nothing else, Justice League #22 is lovely to look at, and that's at least half the battle in comics. But as the kick-off to a major story that's going to set the tone for the DC Universe for the rest of the year? It's not very promising. "Event fatigue" is as much of a cliche as the events themselves, but maybe it IS time to just give these things an indefinite rest.
Story: 3/10
Art: 8/10
Overall: 5/10