So this comic is an interesting one for multiple reasons. It is a rebranded version of the old Justice League Quarterly, except this time each of these issues are getting #1s instead of being labeled under a single series. This might actually help sales as readers are unlikely to remember a random series coming out each month, but might be slightly more inclined to get a new #1.
Anyway, Justice League Dark Tomorrow #1 focuses on the time-displaced heroes from the event “We are Yesterday” as they are sent on a mission to figure out who’s offing time travelers. What is worth mentioning is that Mark Waid is joined by Marc Guggenheim on writing duties and as such we see some references to his work on the CW. Like a new character going by Legend, or a ship called the Waverider (which we see after the comic book character Waverider is killed off just so we don’t confuse the two). The references aren’t overbearing but your mileage will vary on whether or not you like them or not.
Additionally, we see the character Gold Beetle again who is glitching out of existence thanks to all the time shenanigans going on. Unfortunately, here’s something that does stick out to me…none of the characters barring the aforementioned Legend and Air Wave (who continues to be the focus of this Justice League run) get a lot of characterization. Now this is expected to an extent as team books have to juggle multiple characters. However, we don’t get to see why these characters choose to go on this mission in the first place, other than the meta reasoning that they are time-displaced. I guess it’s ironic?
Still the plot is actually pretty nice and tight with the heroes (and Hex) bouncing around trying to save different time travelers, both heroes and villains. We do see them work well together and justify why they were picked despite the ragtag nature of the group.
The best part about time travelers is that you can kill them over and over again…Of course, this brings us to the final part of this story…namely the fact that it is a tie-in to the overall Absolute DC plot. We already saw different members of Darkseid’s Legion being teased, starting with Superman #28, and this one showcases a new evil Shadow Lass. Except there was clearly a miscommunication at some point because this Shadow Lass is shown to have pale white skin. But we also see Legend call her “blue” which is Tasmia’s usual skin tone. It’s a minor quibble in the end (one that will probably get fixed in the Absolute trade or whatever this thing ends up being called), and I kinda like this slow burn before the event. (I do reserve the right to change my opinion once the event actually starts).
…like Extant who died last in the pages of JSARecommended If
- You are reading everything leading up to the inevitable clash with Darkseid
- You wanted to see heroes go out and do cool things
- You miss the CW DC Universe
Overall
Justice League Dark Tomorrow #1 is a decent one-shot as well as a stepping stone in the overall Absolute DC narrative. While we don’t get to spend a lot of time with the characters, the lack of characterization in this issue doesn’t hurt the plot. I just hope we get a proper reading order at some point because it is becoming difficult to keep track of which issue to read next.
Score: 7.5/10
Disclaimer: DC Comics provided advance copies of this comic for review purposes
English (US) · 