JLA #38 opens with a desperate Blue Jay (remember him?) weaving his way through the Justice League trophy room. He is trying to evade an unseen attacker, but despite his agility, the villain’s blasts finally catch up with him and it seems that it’s the end for Angor’s last son. Meanwhile, at the JLA’s original base, the Cave in Happy Harbour, Rhode Island, Vixen has called together the surviving members of the current League (Plastic Man, Dr Light, Red Tornado, and herself) to debate their condition. Their recent encounter with Prometheus (Cry For Justice, which hasn’t been published yet) has left them battered, bruised, and demoralised. Vixen had promised Superman that she’d keep the JLA name going, but she now doubts whether there is any point in continuing when they’re so under resourced.

As if to prove how underpowered they are, the quartet suddenly come under attack from Despero. He carries the unconscious Gypsy with him and taunts them that his attack on her was just the warm up. Despero tears though them and overwhelms the weakened League. Even with Gypsy’s help they don’t stand a chance against a villain of his class. Despero’s reason for attacking them isn’t clear, but he does quote quid pro quo at them (latin “something in return”) suggesting that he’s operating for somebody else. Zatanna’s equally sudden appearance promises to even the odds, but Despero vanishes in a puff of smoke and Zatanna confesses that his departure was not her doing.

Zatanna had actually come to warn Vixen and co. that the dead are rising from their graves (Blackest Night #1-3). The issue ends with Zatanna teleporting them all away to face whatever is occurring at the Hall of Justice.

If you were expecting JLA #38 to be the start of a dramatic new era for the Justice League you will be sorely disappointed. The new creative team of James Robinson and Mark Bagley may have taken over, but their new team doesn’t launch until January. We are still in the story telling interregnum between the departure of Dwayne McDuffie and the launch of James Robinson’s full team. The new team spins out of the events of the Cry For Justice mini-series and of Blackest Night, however, neither of those events have concluded yet. The first three issues of the interregnum (JLA #35- 37) were by Len Wein and show cased the remaining JLA members against the Royal Flush Gang. This issue takes place after Cry for Justice, but parallel to Blackest Night #1-3, and (I think) before Blackest Night #4. JLA #39-40 will then feature a cross-over with Blackest Night and the new JLA line-up will launch in JLA #41.

Even if Dwayne McDuffie had stayed on the title he still would have had to deal with the absence of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman and the effects of Blackest Night/Cry For Justice. In response to questions about whether he had planned to bring the Milestone characters Icon and Hardwire into the League McDuffie replied,

Dan [Didio DC Executive Editor] wanted Icon in JLA, but I wasn’t sold. Eddie [Berganza JLA Editor] seemed to want Hardware in there. I’d planned to have Jon Stewart blackmail Hardware into helping for a while (until the real team came back), and bringing Icon back as a guest star in a year or so. Neither would join, in my plans. But then, the JLA wouldn’t have reconstituted until spring 2011.

I really wouldn’t be surprised if that spring 2011 time scale still remains. The reason is that it will probably take most of 2010 to wrap up the big story arcs in the Superman and Batman franchises that have pulled them out of the team. These are the same story arcs that are propelling Mon-El and the Dick Grayson Batman into Robinson’s League.

In many ways Justice League of America #38 is the only thing it could have been. It is best seen as a prologue to the Robinson/Bagley’s run and sets up a mystery villain that attacked Blue Jay and sent Despero after Vixen’s friends. Len Wein’s three-part story ended with the reveal that Roulette and the Key had worked for an unseen villain so it is reasonable to assume that it’s the same unseen villain as hinted at in this issue. I had originally suspected Prometheus, but the implication is that this takes place, one assumes, after his defeat in Cry For Justice.

Blue Jay fans should be mollified by an exchange between James Robinson and a fan on Twitter:

TecJohnson: @JamesDRobinson I thought you said you finished your first arc of JLA and nobody died. What happened to that? (12:40 PM Oct 20th)

JamesDRobinson: @TecJohnson No idea what you’re talking about. And I was talking about plotting out my first arc. I’m writing it now. (12:55 PM Oct 20th)

TecJohnson: @JamesDRobinson They just released the first 5 pages of JLA #38 with Bluejay. (1:12 PM Oct 20th)

JamesDRobinson: @TecJohnson I wouldn’t assume you’ve seen the last of Blue Jay. I consider him a little guy with a big future. (1:23 PM Oct 20th)

TecJohnson: @JamesDRobinson Then I humbly apologize for jumping the gun. (1:27 PM Oct 20th)

TecJohnson: @JamesDRobinson oh, and thank you for answering. (1:29 PM Oct 20th)

Later on Robinson reiterated that,

JamesDRobinson: For the record Blue Jay isn’t dead. And he has a big heroic heart in a little body and a big future. And I confess to always liking him. (1:10 AM Oct 23rd)

Brian Cronin @ Comics Should Be Good numerates the editorial challenges facing this issue and then concludes:

Luckily, Robinson acquits himself pretty well – he tells an engaging story with a lot of strong action (Mark Bagley is particularly good on the art for the book). If it weren’t for those obstacles which are mostly outside of his control, I think this would be a comic I might even recommend, which is a big improvement over Justice League: Cry For Justice.

J. Caleb Mozzocco @ Blog@Newsarama takes the apparent sacrifice of Blue Jay as a sign of a dark conspiracy with the DC offices.

DC Comics have long been full of dark and evil gods, constantly making trouble for our heroes and heroines. But as bad as Darkseid, Ares and their ilk might be, you know the comic book gods that really scare me?

The ones some of DC writers seem to worship.

Now, the existence of a secret cult that meets in the basement of 1700 Broadway on the nights of full moons, their identities hidden even from one another by ritual cloaks and hoods, to chant in a secret, blasphemous language and bow before a profane, obscene stone idol of a hideous monster-god is just a theory of mine.

I have no actual proof of it, other than the suggestion that surely there must be some reason so many writers have begun their new series or new story arcs with a blood sacrifice, as if it were part of a ritual beseeching some entity for success.

Doug Zawisza @ CBR is damning in his assessment of the new team despite acknowledging the challenges facing them.

Robinson and Bagley are thrown into the deep end, having to set up a “Blackest Night” tie-in while trying to determine and set their own direction. Maybe my expectations were too high, but this is the “Justice Leaggue of America” not “Justice League Task Force.” This comic needs to be DC’s shining gemstone –- the one book that everyone who loves DC Comics should look forward to each and every month. Instead this issue is just hollow and lackluster.

Mart Gray ends a generally positive review with the note that,

One final, trivial word, though – if you’re giving us a new era for the JLA, DC, jolly well put the proper logo on the cover!

seventhsoldier @ Read/RANT! confesses to be their resident James Robinson fan, but wasn’t so impressed with the writing. His views on Mark Bagley’s art are more positive and are generally representative of what I’ve said elsewhere:

Mark Bagley, recent superstar of DC’s Trinity, does a fine job on the art.  His style is extremely traditional – impossibly thin, curvy women and enormous, muscle-bound men – but that hardly hurts the issue.  The action segments flow smoothly and he keeps the dialogue-driven scenes running well, too, most notably because of Plastic Man, who looks increasingly as though he’s about to fall apart as the issue progresses.

Joey Esposito @ Crave Online‘s review is balanced and well written sums up what a lot of us are thinking:

I have no doubt that Robinson’s run on Justice League will be, in the long run, epic and perhaps even legendary. However, this is the issue that will be looked over when it comes time to form a definitive collection of his run, or when you are pulling through your longboxes to re-read it as a whole. But, I’ll be damned if I’m going to pass up more Plastic Man action.

Excluding Dan Philips @ IGN who absolutely hated this this issue (“This is a bad comic.”), I think the general trend in the reviews I’ve read is towards the positive. There is, however, a general feeling of disappointment, maybe it’s better to call it frustration, that this wasn’t a massive event, flash-bang, launch issue, but it was never going to be that. There is certainly annoyance that yet another character appears to have been killed off (see the Twitter quotes above), but a lot a reviews recognise Robinson’s skill as a writer (despite the requisite cheap shot at Cry For Justice) and people suspect/hope that things will improve once we get beyond the crossovers.

Personally I think this issue, and probably the next two, should be seen as a prologue or warm up to the real relaunch of the Justice League that comes in January. If you’re a completest or are interested in the Blackest Night cross over then you should stick around, but if you’re thinking of picking the book afresh you may want to wait for JLA #41 when the title should hopefully be into clear water.

The Verdict