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Justice League of America #0
Book Released: 19 July 2006
Review posted: 25 July 2006
Writer: Brad Meltzer
Artist: Various
Publisher: DC Comics
1.00 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by Adam White
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When the DCU went all wonky with Infinite Crisis, JLA took the brunt of the beating with random creators
and a random roster. With OYL the whole idea at DC seems to be that everything should be fresh and accessible, and that the
continuity baggage from all the incarnations of the past be left behind for one definitive DCU. Relaunching Justice
League of America with a new creative team and a new team surrounding the three core characters appeared to be part of
that program in hopes of securing a bigger audience coming out of Infinite Crisis and Identity Crisis.
Justice League of America was the chance for a new beginning, unencumbered by all the past iterations of the League,
avoiding baffling new readers with old news and giving them something original. So, naturally, Meltzer and Company did the
exact opposite and churned out a rehash of the same old crap with a few extra-confusing additions for good measure.
Brad Meltzer, who I have nothing personal against as a writer, had an opportunity to do something interesting with the
JLA and make Justice League of America a worthwhile title, yet he didn’t use it. Meltzer instead takes us on a
journey of the history of the JLA as told by Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman,
Meltzer and Company churn out a rehash of the same old crap with a few extra-confusing additions
for good measure.
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focusing on all the times they have met in regards to the League. In each era represented Meltzer portrays each of the Big
Three with their various personalities from the histories of their individual books; while he does so accurately, all this
does is serve to confuse any new readers and frustrate existing ones because the story lacks any real point. What I found
most special was Meltzer’s wanderings into hypothetical futures of the characters, ones that will never play out as
represented here yet we are asked to believe that they are canon. I have no idea who at DC decided that Justice League of
America #0 needed to have a convoluted, pointless plot with contrived emotions shoved down readers’ throats, but I
will say here that it was the exact wrong way to relaunch the JLA.
To further confuse the reader, and this is honestly the thing that got me most, was that each character was drawn in the
style appropriate to the era represented in each scene. Now, sure, many of the artists did a great job
recreating certain looks from days-gone-by, but from a publishing standpoint, doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of
the relaunch and of everything they just went through in Infinite Crisis? (Answer: a resounding “Yes”)
Many of the artists included in the book are excellent, talented creators (and a few aren’t), but the jumble of
always-shifting styles and inconsistency of the book as a whole goes against everything necessary in a relaunch for any title.
Justice League of America #0 is a gigantic mess. While it could have been a cute nostalgia piece included in the
back of an 80-Page Giant, Meltzer completely screws the pooch by making Justice League of America #0 an inaccessible,
sappy piece of needless reminiscence. Existing readers know and/or don’t care, and new readers get lost as their eyes
gloss over at the rapidly changing character personalities and art styles. Although not as bad as Wonder Woman #1, not even the list of
magnificent artists could save this book. If the rest of the series is anything at all like #0, then Justice League of
America is already a complete and utter failure in every sense of the word.
Full Artist List: Ed Benes, George Pérez, Jim Lee, J. H. Williams, Gene Ha, Dick Giordano, Eric Wright, Tony Harris, Kevin Maguire, Dan Jurgens, Howard Porter, Luke McDonnell, Rags Morales, Ethan Van Sciver and Phil Jimenez
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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