Justice League of America #12 Review

Don't Stop Believing

Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Ivan Reis, Marcelo Maiolo and Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: August 9, 2017

It's about time we get back to the search for Ray Palmer.  I mean, you would think that Ryan would be going nuts after all this time, but we can all sit back and enjoy the main reason I was excited for the JLA book in the first place.  Is it a good start?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with a little Batman/Lobo action and while it's all about Lobo wanting to get paid, the dialogue makes it seem like Lobo is up to sexy time business in Mammoth City.  Batman has more plans for Lobo before he can go off and retire and we then cut to Vixen, Canary and Frost off fighting the good fight around the world...and Pittsburgh.  I joke because I care.

Back in Happy Harbor, Xenos and Ray are watching old movies and talking about Ray's mom.  Yea, the whole "my mom has a new family and I hate it even though I left her years ago and never told her I was going or where I was" bit is already getting way old!  At least Xenos is there to tell him to stop it right before Ryan calls everyone to check something out.

If you read the DC Universe Rebirth book and/or Ryan's one-shot Rebirth special, you'll know what's going on...Ray Palmer discovered and then disappeared into the Microverse.  Well, from last issue's cliffhanger, we know Ryan has found him...kind of.

After Batman tells Vixen, Canary and The Ray to sit tight and mind the store, the rest of the team go all Fantastic Journey and jump into the Shrinkship and away they go.  Unfortunately, once inside the Microverse, they are attacked and crash land.

They find out who shot them down as they follow Ray Palmer's signal.  I wish it would have taken a bit more effort, but they cut through some aliens with ease and then...well, that's the cliffhanger I will not spoil.

While I like this story enough, it really is tied down by Steve Orlando's continuous awful dialogue.  The characters talk as if they aren't listening to each other and there is a point where I swear that word bubbles were switched up by mistake.  He doesn't have a good voice for any of the characters with Lobo being the worse.  Yea, just having him spout out catchphrases does not make him sound authentic...it makes him sound like a blabbering douchebag.  Okay, maybe that's the plan!

I really liked Ivan Reis' art in this issue.  It is a little inconsistent with some spectacular panels coupled with average ones, but the good easily outweighs the bad.

Bits and Pieces:

This is an okay start to a really big story that I've been waiting a year to read.  The dialogue is not good at all, but the art and overall story has me excited for next issue only because I want Ray Palmer back and the cliffhanger was really cool.  I can't say I'd recommend it to non JLA readers, but stay tuned.

6.0/10