The war between Darkseid and Anti-Monitor really heated up last issue. With the death of Darkseid, it was hard to figure out what could happen next. Would this death mean the Darkseid War would be over? Apparently not. This is now the beginning of Act Two and that's pretty fantastic.
Let's just address the immediate change right away before we dive into the story elements. Jason Fabok isn't drawing this issue. He's been doing an utterly amazing job and he will be back in a couple issues. He definitely deserves a break after killing it on the first Act. Joining Geoff Johns on art, we have Francis Manapul. Manapul's art has a completely different style but it too is completely gorgeous. It's always hard to imagine another artist filling in during a great artist's run but Manapul's art is always welcomed and capable of blowing your mind. His art and colors (with some colors by Brian Buccellato as well), are incredible to look at. Once you get over the fact that we get to fully see Manapul's designs for the Justice League here, you'll soon realize all the crazy and intense things Johns is continuing in this part of the story.
The League is facing their biggest battle yet. Getting sucked into the huge fight between Darkseid and Anti-Monitor, we've seen some members go through transformations, such as Batman, Superman, and Flash. It turns out the transformations continue. I can't remember the last time being this deep into a comic book event/story and not looking forward to or thinking about the ending. I don't want to know when this story will end. I just want to enjoy what's going on with all the crazy consequences happening. I don't need to know when it will end or how it will affect other things. Geoff Johns is showing no signs of running out of steam with this arc.
There's a lot going on here. It's hard to resist hitting specific moments and changes that happen. With so many characters, DC's top tier characters, each change that happens is one that could and should be fully explored. It appears we'll get just that with the Darkseid War one-shot issues focusing on each separate characters. Yes, it means more books for us to buy but there's just too much going on and I'd hate to see these developments regulated to just a few pages or panels per issue.
This has been and continues to be an epic story. Geoff Johns is not slowing down. The first act of Darkseid War may have ended but there's clearly so much more to come. Jason Fabok's art is missed but there is absolutely no complaining since we get the gorgeous art of Francis Manapul. I was a little concerned with the upcoming one-shots happening but after reading this, you'll be welcoming them in order to get more of this story. JUSTICE LEAGUE is not a title to be missed. There's so much going on. You'll love being able to dive in and get sucked into the story.
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