Justice League #35 Review

Hateful 8

Written by: Priest
Art by: Pete Woods and Willie Shu
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 20, 2017

I liked the first issue of Priest's Justice League run enough.  It started off as a more personal and grounded story...that ended in disaster.  Going into this issue, I was left wondering if we'd see more of that and even if we'd see Batman at all. That's really messed up, but in an exciting way.  So, how was this second issue?  Let's find out...


The issue opens with Wonder Woman dealing with the aftermath of last issue.  She is being questioned on what went down with the terrorists and the nuns and you can tell that Priest is pushing the idea that we are seeing something new for Wonder Woman and the reader...repercussions.  If you read last issue, you know that each side has a point, but Wonder Woman just bolts when the heat gets too...well, hot.

Back in the Watchtower, Jessica Cruz gets attacked by an unknown guy who speaks her language...I mean Spanish right there.  There are a couple of pages and while I took Spanish in college, that was a long time ago and I can't say I know what really went on in this scene.  Hey, you might call me a piece of shit for not taking the time to translate the dialogue, but at least I am admitting it!

We finally find out what is going on and I can't say it was crazy whack funky.  The mystery man is an alien bounty hunter who is after a space cockroach.  Yep, a space cockroach!  The team tells Barry to start looking for it and in a nice bit, Kid Flash is doing a run along.  Most know I love Flash/Kid Flash teamups and Wally is the best part of this issue.  I wish I liked Barry as much.

I had a little problem with how Priest was writing the characters in his first issue and while we didn't get a ton of Flash, this issue we get a heavy dose and I was not a fan.  Instead of fun, Priest goes for overly technical jargon and while Simon had an issue with him as well, I don't really like Simon here either.  I am quickly getting the idea that I  don't like anyone on the Justice League anymore.  There is a little part with the alien bounty hunter pushing Cyborg to be a leader that I liked, but there just isn't a character I can get behind on this team anymore.

They do end up taking care of the bug problem, but it really didn't matter much.  I know that I complained that Bryan Hitch's run was full of a string of overly dramatic world ending scenarios, but a hive mind bunch of cockroaches? Come on!

The best part of this issue and the part that pushes the overall story forward,  comes at the end when we see that the video of the trouble with the terrorists from last issue has gone viral and it's obvious that people aren't going to be so happy with the Justice League anymore.  I'm not so happy with them either.

Lately on our Podcast, we have been talking about books that handicap their heroes and that's one of my biggest problems with this run of Priest's so far.  It's bad enough that the "threats" haven't been too threatening, but as I said above, I don't like the characters in this book.  You know, the greatest characters in all of DC Land.  If this is what a more "human" Justice League is, I want the inhuman version.  That doesn't make sense, but I'm going with it.

I do like Pete Woods art.  It's more of a cartoony look than I'm used to on the Justice League, but I've enjoyed it so far.  It didn't make this a must read issue, but it didn't hurt it either.

Bits and Pieces:

Priest continues his run on Justice League with an issue that made me laugh in the wrong way, but also made me like my favorite characters less and less.  It's a shame because Pete Wood's art is good, but so far, this new approach to the Justice League is not killing it.

6.0/10