Justice League #15 Review

Oceans Prime

Written by: James Tynion and Scott Snyder
Art by: Jim Cheung, Stephen Segovia, Mark Morales, Tomeu Morey, Wil Quintana, and Tom
Napolitano
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 9, 2019

I have enjoyed this run of Justice League so far, but I feel as if I have lost grip on the overall narrative a bit.  I have been waiting for answers to so many things going on and I hope that the huge scope of things means that we will be left hanging for a while still.  This issue continues with John Stewart, Martian Manhunter and Kendra on Thanagar Prime and after last issue's crazy cliffhanger, I couldn't wait to see what happens next.  Well, here we are and away we go...



We open with Starman going nuclear and while it's a very quick scene, it sets up the big nature of the story here.  That continues as we head off to Thanagar Prime and see Savage Hawkman about to give Kendra the service end of his mace right in the kisser.  It's all a big fake out and we catch up with our escaping trio as they head to Jonn's old apartment to gear up for their next big moment...storming the Thanagar Prime vaults to find the Martian Keep!

This was a real action-packed opening and I was pretty damn fired up...until Jame Tynion slammed on the breaks.  I have been a bit down on his writing lately as he really seems to over-explain things, whether or not it helps the story at that point in time.  I understand that this stuff is new and he is giving the reader some nice world-building, but in an issue that's set up to be an interstellar heist with cool set pieces and awesome characters, it might be better served to not slow things down so much.  Plus, some of the stuff we learn doesn't necessarily come into play.

The main culprit here is the over-narrated intro to the Rheon Gallt vault system.  I just imagined Martian Manhunter explaining it all while Kendra and John just tapped their feet and watches, eager to go.  Again, I understand the setup, but when the trio just bypasses it all to get into the vaults, it felt like a lot of wasted time.

They do eventually get caught, first by Shayera and Katar and then by the Green Lantern Corps.  After all the talk of Green Lanterns not allowed on Thanagar Prime, that felt a bit odd, but it was cool seeing them nonetheless.

While the rest duke it out, Martian Manhunter goes off to talk to the Keep and we do find out some big and interesting stuff.  It ties into Hawkman lore and makes a lot of what has happened in these two issues make a lot more sense...especially why Savage Hawkman is running around here.

We end back on Earth with a continuation of what Jonn is learning on Thanagar Prime.  Starman lets the Trinity in on a little secret, but it's one that readers already know.  It may not be shocking because of that, but it's still big as long as Batman and company can get their hands back on the Totality.

The last four pages of this issue are where it's at.  I already mentioned the pacing problems that plagued the first half of the book and it's only more obvious when we throw it all into overdrive to end the issue.  This still was a lot of setup, but it steers the book back on a solid course and I am very excited about that.  I really wish that Scott Snyder would get back to writing the scripts, though, but maybe that's more of a personal thing.

Speaking of personal things, I personally loved the art in this issue.  If you noticed in the credits above, there are a ton of people on the art team and while that usually spells trouble, it doesn't here.  There is a whole lot going on, but it all looks really good.

Bits and Pieces:

We get some big questions, but also so big answers in this issue.  After a middle section that was weighed down by some over exposition, the pace picks up by the end and has me excited for the next issue.  I can't ignore the pacing issue here, but I still went away feeling positive about this book.

6.0/10