Justice League #19 Review

Mischief Makers

Writer: Scott Snyder
Artist: Jorge Jimenez
Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: March 6, 2019
Cover Price: $3.99

Scott Snyder has set up this book to go really big and with the state of the DCU at the moment, especially with all the delays hampering the Doomsday Clock, I need something to wow me.  Sure, I also want it to make sense and while that has been a bit of a sticking point with me in this series so far, I will put a bunch of the blame on myself as I am a big dummy.  So, do we kick things up a notch, throw some spices around and yell "Bam!" or whatever the hell Emeril used to yell?  Let's find out...



The issue opens up with Superman in Metropolis and while this series has been pretty dark overall, this felt fun and light right away.  Seeing Clark working on a Drowned Earth piece for Perry (who is yelling, of course) made me smile especially when he had to use his powers of distraction...who knew a super sneeze could come so in handy?!?  The reason for the distraction, to get out of work and off to join his Superfriends, of course!

The gang is all here and with all the dismal stuff going on in most of the other books, this jokey team that feels like friends (the horror!) again put a smile on my face.  That smile got bigger when I found out why the had gathered and who they were about to trap.

Now, I am a fan of Mxyzptlk, but I am not a scholar of him and while some of his rules seem to be bent a bit here, it is something I haven't seen before with him so I am going to let it slide for the stories sake.  Plus, he is so much fun and when he called what Lex and the Legion of Doom are up to "The baddest mischief of all" it just felt like a perfect way for Mxy to describe it.

Scott Snyder does let Jorge Jimenez cut loose with the art a bit and the craziness of the Justice League vs Mxy's magic looked really cool, but it is more for the visuals than actual story, but it's pretty much worth it.  Back to the story, we see that Brainiac is wary of the League even as Lex is still way overconfident with five of the seven dark energies in his hand.

To that end, as we saw at the end of the last issue, the 6th Dimension is important in all of this and the League asks Mxy to help them get there...after he explains it all to them and us the reader.  This is another thing I liked...we get a pretty good explanation of what the 6th Dimension is and it ties into the DCU as a whole and also a question left hanging after Metal when the Wold Forger is brought up.

Continuing on, Mxy agrees to send Superman to the 6th Dimension and while the reason he is going alone felt a bit forced, it holds water overall since Mxy is involved and the Man of Steel is off into the great unknown.

The issue ends with a very distinguished Superman returning almost right away with a plan for the rest of the League...join him.  It all feels a bit too easy and thankfully (or not!) we see everything isn't what it seems.  The last couple of pages strip away the fun and the hope a bit to set up a pretty big ending.  There have been rumors swirling about that the Doomsday Clock is no longer the book that will lead us forward into a brand new DCU and if that is true, this ending feels like Snyder taking the wheel and setting sail toward a future guided by this book and his hand.

I liked this issue a whole lot.  Mxy is always fun and having him involved in the fight against the Legion of Doom and Perpetua was cool.  The name drop of the World Forger makes the overall Metal to Justice League story feel more connected and the ending was great.  Yea, it may be a bit too jokey for some, but I liked the story and the art was awesome.  

Bits and Pieces:

This is the type of issue I have been waiting for from this book for a while.  Light versus dark in one issue, some laughs, some information, awesome art and a great cliffhanger that feels important.  The only thing holding it back from a higher score are some forced moments, but they don't hold it back much.  I am back on the Justice League Trolley!

9.0/10