The Good

This issue really establishes Rann and Sardath. More than anything else, readers will learn about The Ultra Project, which was supposed to be a Rannian symbol of unity, which Byth took and made it into some much more sinister. What writer Jeff Lemire does exceptionally well here is build up the cosmic world the JLU are involved in. So much (all) of DC's cosmic universe is pretty much Lantern-related, so it's nice to see something a bit farther away from that, and having Lemire write it makes it so much better.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED is a ton of fun. It's imaginative and explores parts of the DCU that haven't been explored yet. Lemire's writing is incredibly different from the other books he's worked on, but it's just as good here. He does a fine job at setting up this team, in this issue, and having their personalities play off each other.

Towards the opening of this book, there is a great back and forth between Green Arrow and Animal Man. They're basically just ripping on each other and their powers, but it's a really fun scene and says a lot for how other characters think of each other in the DC Universe.

Mike McKone's work has never looked better. He and inker Dexter Vines, and Cam Smith, along with Marcelo Maiolo on colors, do one heck of a job throughout this issue. The splash page featuring Supergirl is the best looking page in this issue. The art is clear and crisp and the inks really fit the look of this book.

Marcelo Maiolo does some fantastic and some familiar things with his color work. There's certain moments where the background becomes red and the highlighted figure or object goes black and white. It's a very cool tactic that puts emphasis on a moment or action. There's also a quick, two-panel moment where it goes back to a moment with Byth in the past that Maiolo does flat colors. It works so well for that scene, and it's great to see Maiolo play with numerous different styles here. Aside from that, Maiolo's colors are wonderful. His shading and color-work look great here. He's on the top of his game in JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED.

The Bad

While this book is incredibly interesting, there is a problem with the overall issue. Lemire spends so much time trying to tell the reader that Byth is a horrible being and super-evil. Between the moments with Lobo and Hawkman and the moments where Sardath talks to the JLU, the reoccuring conversation of "Byth is someone really bad."

Supergirl's appearance feels a tad out of nowhere. Part of the problem with her being here, which is more on DC than Lemire, is that she's still a Red Lantern, so how is she not a Red Lantern here?

The Verdict

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNITED is still setting up the story for the series, but Jeff Lemire is doing a fine job here in issue #2. There's a few problems with driving the point home that Byth is evil, and the fact that Supergirl's appearance feels a bit forced, but aside from those two things, JLU is a very fun book, which is something DC really needed. At times, it's funny, but overall, the art and writing are wonderful and provide a great home for these characters. Overall, I highly recommend this issue.

Hawkman is a beast!

This issue was great, I have only one complain. This issue had the same problems the previous issues have, they felt kind of confusing, I don't know why but they did felt all over the place, probably because of all these plot-lines going on at once. Also a niptick, Green Arrow's and Animal Man's bickering felt weirdly out of place. I get Lemire is trying to built a chemistry between them, but that little bickering without a reason is annoying.

Agree with all this.

@squalleon:

I thought i was the only one feeling kinda confused XD

I love Lemire's diversity. Seriously, I near enough worship this man's writing. To go from Essex County to Green Arrow to this is just amazing. He's a man of true talent and range.

It's like when Chris Wooding went from the Braided Path to the Ketty Jay (if nobody has read those novels, you really should check them out).

Yup.

Y'all see that terrible Lemire-drawn variant cover for issue 3 of this? Looks like Equinox is on that H.

So, wait, does this mean that Supergirl isn't going to be a Red Lantern for much longer? Because I actually kinda liked that idea.

I was complaining about this Supergirl thing all the way back in issue #0 BTW.

I am so glad DC didn't forget about Hawkman, it would have been a real wast of potential. The dialogue in this book was great, this team would work great in an animated series.

5/5 for me

@maddpanda531 Yeah, she's going to leave the Red Lanterns

Hawkman. Please kill this Lobo impersonator.

Well, I got what I wanted, Hawkman has an Nth Metal hand. ^_^ I REALLY hope he sticks around and that future solicits haven't fated him to death.

I don't know, it's got fake lobo on the cover...

The updated origin for Ultra is great. But I hate that he just looks like a generic alien baby. I appreciate this issue wasn't a quick read, even if it was a bit wordy in some areas.

Thing about it this way, you see him getting punched by Hawkman :-)

@brinkthemoviemyfavoritemovie: I don't know what "that H" is, but if it means she looks like a zombified crackhead with AIDS sores, than I agree.

I forgot to pick this up, but I am happy it is doing well. Lemire's last issue of Green Arrow had me all happy. Cant wait.

@bsaa: yeah it means she looks like a strung-out heroin addict, which she totally does in that picture. Please somebody make Jeff Lemire stop attempting to draw.

@brinkthemoviemyfavoritemovie: have u seen that hilariously bad picture of Superboy that he drew? It looked like dead vomit.

DEAR GOD @bsaa

@brinkthemoviemyfavoritemovie: It looks like Warner Bross cast Steve Buscemi as Superboy :O

@dkmark96: And he's a Nazi, apparently!

@brinkthemoviemyfavoritemovie: Why is Joe Camel dressed up as Pre-Flashpoint Superboy? And what is the anatomical name for those things on Krypto's head, cuz they aren't ears!

I really like the cosmic concepts they are touching on this book, it's good to get away from the Lanterns for a while. But MAN I really don't like Keone's art.

I think his art is nice but sometimes the paneling is a bit weird and can't get the image through well like when

@squalleon: Everybodies faces look really weird

Also, why does Equinox look asian in some pictures?

@brinkthemoviemyfavoritemovie said:

DEAR GOD @bsaa

Krypto is soooooo cute! (We should just crop Superboy out of this picture @_@ Though I think Lemire's art could improve leaps and bounds if he works on improving the faces of his characters. I mean, they all kinda looked the same. Like with DS.)

@zbvmx: that pic is almost as bad as that Alex Maleev Namor that looked like a combination of Joe Pesci, Jean Reno, and Bendis himself.

@squalleon: Is that what was happening in that panel? All I saw was limbs in a doorway, I was super confused. Anyway, I like the series so far. With someone else on art I'd like it a lot more.

I dropped this. #1 didn't impress me whatsoever.

Yeah, the multiple plot-lines and weird layouts make this title very confusing. Even though I like the artists style, I sometime am confused with his panels.

I wasn't confused at all. Great issue. Loved the banter between green arrow and animal man

@demonknights: Same. It was entertaining

The only part of the comic that I genuinely didn't like was the one scene where they're all standing around, with Stargirl in the foreground (back towards us), and Animal Man and Green Arrow and bickering. However, it's not the bickering that bothered me. It's the fact that they remained static for four entire panels. They were arguing and the entire time, they were just facing forward making the exact same face and in the exact same pose.

Solid issue. I love how wordy it is. Far too many comics these days are just grunts and punches, it is refreshing to see real, lengthy dialog. The art was good, I like how it feels off beat and not in DC's house style.

Supergirl's appearance is not forced, everyone knew she was going to go back to normal eventually. We'll find out how in a few months.

@zbvmx said:

@brinkthemoviemyfavoritemovie said:

DEAR GOD @bsaa

Krypto is soooooo cute! (We should just crop Superboy out of this picture @_@ Though I think Lemire's art could improve leaps and bounds if he works on improving the faces of his characters. I mean, they all kinda looked the same. Like with DS.)

Actually I think Lemire is a great artist, but his style doesn't fit superhero comics at all. In Sweet Tooth (my all-time favourite comic), on the other hand, his art's synergy with the story is terrific.

@maddpanda531: I think it was meant as a joke

@bsaa: I'm not complaining about the joke. I'm complaining about how the same static panel was recycled four times on the same page.

Very solid issue indeed. Fun team dynamics, enjoyable cosmic building of the DCU with what's going on in the Vegan and Polaris systems not to mention a neat update of Ultra's origin that makes sense and fits the character. And the art was pretty good, especially on the facial expressions and spreads. My only complaint is that Superigirl appeared out of nowhere (finally get what Matt was saying about Supergirl hearing a roar across half a galaxy in one of the last podcasts) and that Equinox is tagged on with only a few pages not really connecting to the other storyline.