Justice League 3001 #1 Review

Written by: J.M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen
Art by: Howard Porter and Hi-Fi
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: June 25, 2015

Twinkle, Twinkle

I'd love to say that Justice League 3000 was my guilty pleasure of the New 52, but that would be a lie.  Why?  Because I don't feel guilty at all for loving the hilarious adventures of the almost Justice League as they fought gods, monsters, demons...but mostly themselves.  I was hooked from the beginning and the book just got stronger and stronger with each issue.  However, at times it really felt like I was alone on an island begging people to give this book a try.  I gave it my all, but low and behold Justice League 3000 was canceled.  But in a move that would make the fiery phoenix jealous, Justice League 3001 has risen from the ashes with promises of more jokes, action and a new #1 issue. Will that be enough to get more people on the trolley?  Let's find out...



I don't know about anybody else, but this book is exactly what I expected...and more.  The issue begins with a funny recap of JL 3000 and it is obvious that something weird is going on.  First off, Ariel is alive and second, she's acting strange.  Strange as in she wants the Justice League dead.  Everything is explained and while I don't want to spoil the fun, it's a perfect setup for this book going forward.

We then get to the meat and cheese of the issue, the Justice League themselves.  If you expected that the one year leap in time would yield a new Justice League, you would be wrong.  We get the misfits we know and love with one addition so far...Guy Gardner.  However, he isn't a guy anymore and I am calling her Gal Gardner from here on out.  She was in the sneak peek last month, so it's no surprise she is included.  What is a surprise is how awesome she is and how hilarious it is to watch the other members deal with her current gender situation.  I could watch Superman and Batman argue about her all day long.  Really, it's that good.

The main narrative involves the Justice League dealing with Starro and the enslavement of an entire planet.  While there is no real fighting here, there is arguing and a lot of red tape.  Starro claims he can enslave the planet because he filed the proper paperwork and when Gal Gardner flies off to check on it, it really felt like she was flying out of this book and into Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy territory.  Being a fan of both, I was loving it.

While this is going on, we check in with some other favorites.  Fire and Ice head to Takron Galtos to look for Booster and Beetle and Sinsestro is doing a little "research".  I wasn't a huge fan of Fire and Ice in 3000 and we didn't get much of Sinestro before this issue.  That is all remedied here as the dialogue between Bea and Tora is outstandingly hilarious and Sinestro's field work is awesome.

During the entire book, we keep getting hints that Firestorm is increasing the JL roster and this month's cliffhanger brings one of my favorite characters (and one I mentioned in my Top 5 HERE) into the mix.  One issue in and this book is already getting better.

I loved this issue.  I'm not sure how new readers will react, but if I picked up this issue without any prior knowledge of JL 3000, I may be a little confused, but I'd probably be laughing too much to care. Besides when Booster and Beetle showed up, this issue tops everything that DeMatteis and Giffen gave us in Justice League 3000.

Howard Porter is one of my favorite artists.  His worl is so good on it's own, but I don't think there is another book where the artists style fits the story and tone of the book so well.  I really can't imagine this book without him.  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Hi-Fi's colors.  They compliment Porter's art as well as Porter's art compliments this book.  This book is like a crazy Ouroboros that just keeps making me laugh.

Bits and Pieces:

There really isn't much wrong with this book.  Maybe you can fault it for not being completely new user friendly, but I still think new users can jump in and have a ball.  If you were a fan of Justice League 3000, trust me when I tell you, 3001 is already better and the cliffhanger promises so much more.  Just buy it and fall in love all over again.  Justice League 3000 is dead...Long live Justice League 3001!

9.6/10