Justice League: Generation Lost #1

The JLI unofficially reforms to take care of a problem they're uniquely qualified to handle - - Maxwell Lord's return.
 

The Good

Lopresti did some really good work this issue - - just a great total package where I was never once drawn out of the story by thinking about whether the anatomy was right or the perspective was correct. I do feel like I should compliment Matt Ryan's inks too, because they're notably tight - - offering an impressive range of textures. I rarely notice inks, but these stood out especially well. Storywise, this was a great romp in the DCU, finally addressing a lot of loose ends that have been left hanging since Lord's "heel turn." You can definitely feel the JLI's sense of betrayal and their frustration over being blocked from getting restitution.  Without spoiling anything, I'll say that Captain Atom's "explosive surprise" and the "mind-bending" twist over Lord's identity at the end were stand-outs that I really didn't see coming.

The Bad

My complaint isn't specific to this book so much at is to the nature of superhero deaths in general. Obviously, resurrections are a part of superheroes, but I couldn't stop thinking about how half of these characters have died (and in such spectacular fashions). Much the same as I'm feeling about the current Superman books getting too crowded with Kryptonians, I feel like all the good the original Crisis on Infinite Earths did to simplify and streamline has been steadily undone and characters' histories are getting too convoluted for their own good.

The Verdict - 4/5

I think this throwback to the fondly-remember JLI was pulled off a lot better than what the Booster Gold solo title was trying to do in the same vein this week. Maybe that has something to do with Judd Winick co-writing this. This is definitely one of the better issues I've read this week. It's trying into the larger latticework of Brightest Day, but it's strong enough to stand on its own. I'm curious to see what happens now that Max's genie is back in the bottle, so to speak.