Justice League Odyssey #1 // Review
After multiple unexpected delays, Joshua Williamson and Stjepan Sejic finally deliver the latest ‘New Justice’ title to comic shops this week. Hounded with heavy anticipation, this series pits a new cell of the Justice League within a space opera landscape, making for a brand new iteration of the team dynamic, filled with unique potential story avenues. From the beautiful artwork of Sejic and the eccentric scripts of Williamson, Justice League Odyssey is a beautiful romp in space for readers of any caliber.
Being the first issue leaves the primary focus lying on the assembly of the team, while their larger purpose has yet to be fully developed. Had the series not seen it’s unfortunate delays, picking up immediately after the events of ‘Justice League No Justice’ would have left a larger impact. Albeit still an entertaining read nonetheless, what was made to be a big reveal of Darkseid on the final pages are undercut by both versions of the cover, yet another mistake that would have added more weight to the “mystery” of the teams origin and the grand cosmic scale.
Penning The Flash for the past two years, being an architect behind ‘Justice League: No Justice,” and now on to Odyssey, Joshua Williamson takes the readers through a journey across the cosmos of the DC universe. Although the origin tropes are apparent as JLO becomes a reality, Williamson brings a new twist, adding new importance to these niche characters. Williamson scripts another fun first issue to kick off what hopes to be a long lived journey into the unknown.
From the absolutely gorgeous cover down to the beautiful interiors, Sejic sets the tone and fully realizes the grandiose nature of the series. Every page seeps in glorious color works, from his characters to the different planets explored throughout the issue, Sejic continually brings his best work to the shelves with every new project he takes on. Having Sejic leave after the first arc will certainly require another top quality artist to fill such large shoes.
With the team coming together, even with the undercut mystery of Darkseid previously mentioned, the doors are open for the second issue and beyond to create all new interesting stories to be told. Although plagued by multiple delays, this series manages to keep interests peaked while bolstering niche characters in a very fun and honest way. This gorgeous space opera marks yet another homerun for the ‘New Justice’ imprint, and DC Comics in general.
