Justice League of America #31

DC Comics
Justice League of America #31
By Hervé St-Louis
March 28, 2009 - 09:35

DC Comics
Writer(s): Dwayne McDuffie
Penciller(s): Shane Orvis
Inker(s): Sandra Hope
Colourist(s): Peter Pantasis
Letterer(s): Rob Leigh
Cover Artist(s): Ed Benes, Brian Miller
$2.99 US

The Justice League is facing Armageddon as its members are quitting or plotting to create a new team. Will the remaining members be effective enough to maintain the ship or will it all crumble?

This issue had me asking the eternal question. Does she or doesn’t she? Is Black Canary a founding member of the Justice League or not? Since Infinite Crisis and the 52, series, it has been hinted at that she was a founding member of the team, along with Wonder Woman who she originally replaced. In this issue, this origin is again challenged which helps the story make more sense, but also complicates other matters. Writers and editors at DC Comics should make up their minds once and for all and move on. The only way the undermining of leadership can be fully grasped, is if she is not a founding member and thus has no weight. I did like how the second trinity at DC Comics imploded (Green Arrow, Green Lantern and Black Canary) in the face of the implosion of the first one consisting of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. This is probably the best characterization Black Canary has had since Gail Simone left the Birds of Prey series a few years ago. Here, it was shown that there is indeed a cast in the DC universe and that apparently some characters, such as Black Canary are on the losing end. I liked how Superman and Wonder Woman were shown as jerks full of themselves and not really team players, when Batman was not around. It had been a while since something interesting happened in this series and I’m glad changes are in the stores, even though the series was just finally cemented last year.

The artist for this issue is probably the best that has worked in it since this series began. Unfortunately, Sandra Hope’s pencils don’t enhance his work as she tries to turn him into another Ed Benes clone.

Rating: 9.5/10