Justice League 23.3
Special “Villains Month” Title: Dial E 1
China Mievelle, Various
Forever Evil Crossover
Spoiler alert! You have been warned!
Wow. The newest Justice League tie-in (the Dial H finale) to Villains Month and Forever Evil was certainly something else. After twenty years of reading comics, I have to say that it pains me to give this distinction to a company that I love and respect so very much. But I have to be honest. This comic might be the worst comic I have ever read, let alone purchased.
As if the fancy 3-D cover wasn’t enough of a gimmick for this failed series, but they had to give it a fancy new title (Justice League) so they could sell a few extra copies. And then there’s the other gimmick, which is dumb even in theory, let alone in practice. It’s penciled (with a different artist for every single page) by Mateus Santolouco, Carla Berrocal, Jock, Tula Lotay, Marley Zarcone, Emi Lenox, Jeff Lemire, Frazier Irving, Sloane Leong, Kelsey Wroten, Zak Smith, Alberto Ponticelli, Dan Green, Riccardo Burchielli, Brendan McCarthy, David Lapham, Michelle Farran, Liam Sharp, Emma Rios, Carmen Carnero, and Annie Wu. Not only are none of these artists ones that would stand out to me, but none of them would even register on the radar of a casual reader. If you’re going to do something like this, throw in a page by Jim Lee or Ivan Reis or someone who can actually, you know, draw. Everyone associated with this comic should be fired, or at least scolded for producing such a steaming pile. That is, excluding perhaps Liam Sharp, Frazier Irving, and Jock, who have done good work in the past but sort of forgot to bring their A-game to the table on this one.
I have no idea what the story was because it changed every half-page. I have no idea who any of the characters were because I, like a majority of the comics-collecting world, passed on this series when it first came out, knowing that it would be cancelled after looking at the concept alone. Even the beautiful Brian Bolland covers couldn’t get me to pick them up. If I wanted to read about an overweight obnoxious guy who wishes he was a superhero, I’d just talk to the people who frequent the local comic shops. I had never heard of writer China Mievelle before this series was announced, and will not be looking into his other works any time soon. I apologize for anyone who bought this issue, especially the extra dollar cover. Not worth the extra buck for the fancy cover. Not even worth picking up. This is one of very few comics that I’m actually embarrassed to own.
My Rating: 0.5/5
If you can genuinely look at this list of artists, Mateus Santolouco, Carla Berrocal, Jock, Tula Lotay, Marley Zarcone, Emi Lenox, Jeff Lemire, Frazier Irving, Sloane Leong, Kelsey Wroten, Zak Smith, Alberto Ponticelli, Dan Green, Riccardo Burchielli, Brendan McCarthy, David Lapham, Michelle Farran, Liam Sharp, Emma Rios, Carmen Carnero, and Annie Wu, and not be interested by any of them, let alone think none of them are talented, then you sir are the one who should be fired.
"someone who can actually, you know, draw."
Wow. Just…wow. Andrew, you're fighting a good fight, sir, but I don't think it's worth it against a guy who thinks that way about a handful of really talented people, just because they aren't household names. I, too, have to question Comicbooked for letting this "semi-reformed frat boy" write reviews for their website.
Maybe you shouldn't review things you know nothing about, idiot.
Not liking it is fine, saying everyone on the book should be fired? That crosses into something else entirely.
“I’ve never even heard of China Mieville”
Why are you reviewing this book if you haven’t read Dial H you freaking idiot