Style over any substance from Johns
The Justice League is now brought to the present and we have guest artist Gene Ha step in for Jim Lee.
The Good:
With the team now established and everything brought into the present, that means less time introducing each character and a little more time on story development. We have a little bit of both in this issue with the introduction of a new villain posing a minor threat and a focus on Steve Trevor this time around. The new focus on Trevor is a refreshing one and his "relationship" with Diana is addressed. He spends his time re-enforcing his trust in the Justice League by being their alleged "caretaker" There are also a few humorous moments between Steve and the League while he video-chats with Diana and finally the JLA Watchtower is revealed.
Guest artist Gene Ha steps in for Jim Lee this issue and take over the art. While his art isn't bad being wonderfully vibrant and a unique style, it's a definite step down from Lee's art. The art lacks sharpness and is somewhat inconsistant here and there but fortunately, it is one of the better parts of the issue.
Another positive side is the addition of the "SHAZAM" short at the end of this issue. The art by Gary Frank is stunning and while the mythos is changed around quite significantly and it does cut short, it's an interesting read especially considering the change to a major character.
The Bad:
Geoff Johns continues writing this new arc for the Justice League. Due to his experience with a few of the main characters, you'd expect better characterization from him, but he seems to throw it all out the window. Green Lantern acts like an imbecile, Flash and Diana try to play The Devil's Advocate's and Cyborg seems to be the brains of the bunch. I'm still baffled to see how little interest Johns put into making Superman and Aquaman lively at ALL considering his brilliant work on Aquaman's solo run and both character lacking more than a few sentences in the entirety of the issue.
The Verdict:
While it's nice to see Justice League brought into present times, nothing appears to have changed at all. Johns adds refreshing characterization to Steve Trevor but seems to annoyingly avoid putting any interest into the lead characters leaning towards more style over substance writing in this issue. The art and the SHAZAM short seemed to be the only saving grace this time around.