The Good
Captain Cold continues to adjust to being a "good guy," even though some of the Rogues don't understand it. Superman and Lex Luthor take on Gorilla Grodd. Flash works with Jessica to figure out how to use the Power Ring without having it affect her.
This issue is a bit of a roller coaster, jumping between "so-so" stories and some really interesting elements. Two parts of this book really stood out to me. Flash working with Jessica and learning to control the Power Ring. I'm not the biggest fan of power ring (the power/ring. I'm not talking about Jessica), but I really love the development writer Geoff Johns is taking with this character here. It shows a lot of promise and this is going to be a fun journey.
The other scene that really stands out is the dialogue between Captain Cold and Mirror Master. I'm a HUGE fan of the Rogues, so I'll take what I can get. Mirror Master wants to know why Lenoard is working for Lex Luthor. Leonard reassures him it's for the greater good, and by greater good, I mean it's for the Rogues, eventually. If JUSTICE LEAGUE adds more of the Rogues to each of the issues, I will become a loyal reader.
I do like the relationship building between Wonder Woman and Lex. He needs someone to trust him on the inside, since Superman never will, and his side-missions with Diana help establish him as a member of JLA to the rest of the team and the rest of the world.
The Bad
While I am a huge fan of Scott Kolins, there were quite a few moments I did not like his work on this book. There's always been a certain edge to his style which gets lost in this issue. In the past, he's done some amazing work with Solomon Grundy and The Rogues. However, that "Kolins style" that I fell in love with years ago feels lost. His art looks great for the Flash and Captain Cold, but the rest felt jarring.
I'm really unsure about this ending. It's this whole idea of alluding the reader that Lex is still a bad guy, but for some reason, I'm not entirely buying it, even though he's living it up with Owlman. It seems way to "duh." I'm really hoping there's a bit more to this than what is presented.
The Verdict
There's a lot of great things happening in JUSTICE LEAGUE #34, but there's also a lot of just "so-so" moments. For me, the issue breaks the 4-star barrier, but not by much. The scenes with Power Ring and Flash were awesome, as well as anything involving the Rogues. The art is both hit and miss for me, as a fan of Scott Kolins work. He's at the top of his game here, but I feel he lost a bit of what attracted me to him, as an artist, in the first place. Overall, it was a solid issue and sets up the rest of the story pretty dang well.