Time's Up!Written by: Steve Orlando
Art by: Hugo Petrus, Hi-Fi and Clayton Cowles
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: March 28, 2018
I don't think it will surprise many if I say that I have not been a fan of this run of JLA. Actually, that's a bit of an understatement if we are going to be totally honest here. However, some would be shocked if I told them that I'm rooting for Steve Orlando to get it together to give readers a kick-ass send off to his team that he obviously loves. So, with a few issues left, does this book do a 180 and make me wish it was sticking around? Let's find out...
The issue opens in the Microverse with a fight between Ray Palmer and Chronos. I know we ended last issue with a bit of a Chronos cliffhanger, but while Steve Orlando seems to want to make the reader think this beginning has been setup well, it hasn't been. When Chronos slips through Ray's hands at the end of the scene, I have a feeling that there will be a lot of reader's confused with what is going on in this issue. Just another standard beginning for this series.
Back in Happy Harbor we see that the JLA is still busy rebuilding the Sanctuary while we catch up with Frost, Vixen and the team. Aztek brags about being the solution for Vanity's probelms while not being there and Frost suddenly is okay with being who and what she is. I'm sure that Null soldier's family wouldn't agree! Never forget!
It all leads to the workers finding something underneath the Sanctuary. An old indian burial ground? I wish! Nope, it's a fossilized (though it doesn't look like it is) bunch of 4-D energy. Oh, that explains so much!!! Before they can dig deeper (deeper is better), Ryan alerts them that Chronos is in the house, gives us some background on the villain right before he attacks them with Techno-Chiefs. As the team attacks, Chronos counters with various time manipulations that he calls out like he is either LARPing ("Magic Missle") or a villain in a really poorly written comic book. Hmmm...
After slowing down everyone but Ryan, Chronos spills the beans about his grand plan and while I'd usually look at that as pretty silly, I'm sure Ryan understood about as much as I did...which means none of it. It all goes back to Rhode Island being the birthplace of the Cowsills and superheroes and I understand that Orlando is trying to change up the "kill you before you were born" time traveling villain bit, but instead of coming off as big, it is just silly to the point of being downright laughable. Plus, the whole concept seems to be coming out of Milk Wars...WTF?!?!?
The issue continues with Chronos being foiled by Aztek and her 4-D Battery (again...WTF?!?!?), but not for long. He escapes (even with Ryan giving chase), but the whole team then heads off through time in pursuit. They end up in "Time Promordial" without much explanation at all and we get a cliffhanger that is complete and utter nonsense!
I will not miss this book. It should have been cancelled months ago. Strike that, it should have never exsited! I like the team, but not with Steve Orlando writing them. This issue is full of non-setup, ill timed explanation and a plot that is convoluted at best. The art is good, but that is not enough to stop me from wondering why...WHY??????
Bits and Pieces:
This book is being cancelled and while I don't know the inner workings over at DC Comics, I would like to think that the arrival of "No Justice" had little to nothing to do with it. This book stands clearly on it's own as one of the worst written books on the shelf right now and while the team is awesomely diverse and could be interesting, I can't wait until this mess is over and I can begin trying to forget about it. I would like to say it won't take long, but everytime some asks me what my least favorite book of Rebirth was, this one will surely pop up in my head.
3.5/10
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