Comics this week

Justice League #24- After a less than exciting start, the Forever Evil event has been steadily picking up steam and this issue of the Justice League is the perfect example of why. In this issue, writer Geoff Johns manages to do two things. In the first part of the issue, he fleshes out the origin of Ultraman. I don’t know if Johns intended to do it but I found Ultraman’s origin to be hilarious. The destruction of Krypton, the relationship between Papa Kent and Mama Kent; the twisted ways of Earth 3 was refreshingly funny. After watching the saintly Martha Kent stand up to Zod in “Man of Steel”, seeing the fact that Mama Kent is an addict in this universe is comedy gold. Then in the second part of this issue, Johns shine the light on Black Adam. His return is more than welcomed as, finally, we have someone who can stand up to the all-powerful Crime Syndicate. With the great art of Ivan Reis backing up the story, this is an excellent issue all around.

Justice League Dark #24- There is something call “too much of a good thing”, and I’m afraid DC has reached that threshold with John Constantine. As the Justice League showcase the Crime Syndicate and Ultraman, and the Justice League of America spotlight the JLA trying to escape their prison; JL Dark spotlight…John Constantine? I will admit Nightmare Nurse might be an interesting addition to the team in the long run but unless he’s been given a mandate from editorial to push John Constantine, new writer J.M. DeMatteis need to move away from the character. Considering how popular he is, there is a real danger that the character might overshadow the whole JL Dark. Well, at least artist Mikel Janin is still on board.

Red Lanterns #24- Like most readers, I believe Red Lanterns is the weakest of all the Lanterns books out there. A few more issues like this, and everyone will be singing a different tune. Written by Charles Soule, and with art from Alessandro Vitti, #24 is great. Soule manages to capture the character of Guy Gardner, the rest of the Red Lanterns, Relic, and push forward the story of the “Lights Out” crossover; all at the same time. Now that’s impressive.