DC Announces Justice League of America

DC announced at Fan Expo on Sunday that they would be forming another Justice League for their new upcoming series Justice League of America. Since the New 52 relaunch, the DC universe has had two teams of the Justice League. First there’s your standard Justice League with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg. Then you got the JLI, Justice League International, the UN sanctioned version of the team consisting of Booster Gold, Guy Gardner, Rocket Red, Fire, Ice, Vixen, Godiva, August General in Iron and Batman again. But with Justice League International having been cancelled after its 12th issue earlier this month, I guess DC felt it needed another comic out there with the Justice League name on it.

So let’s meet the new team. Front and center we have the Martian Manhunter, who was a part of Stormwatch before he quit. To his right is Steve Trevor, liaison to the Justice League proper and former Wonder Woman boytoy. Then there’s Catwoman, who is weird choice but whatever. Next to her is a dude called Vibe, who I know absolutely nothing about. To the Manhunter’s left there’s Katana, who was most recently seen rolling with the Birds of Prey. Kneeling beside her is Green Arrow, who has been desperately trying to get into the Justice League since we first saw him in the Justice League comic. Flying behind him is Hawkman. I don’t really read his shit. Speaking of flying, behind the Manhunter is Stargirl. She’s like Starman, but a girl. Finally there’s Baz, the new Green Lantern. We saw him briefly in Green Lantern 11 and he was in the FCBD issue which I didn’t read. There are some big things happening in the Green Lantern Corps right now and Baz will play a role in it.

The series is going to be written by Geoff Johns and drawn by David Finch. Johns released the following statement along with the announcement.

“This is a very different kind of team book. On first glance, people might think the heroes of the JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA stand in the shadows of Superman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the JUSTICE LEAGUE, but Green Arrow, Katana, Martian Manhunter, the new Green Lantern, Stargirl, Vibe, Hawkman and Catwoman thrive in the shadows. They’re underdogs who have everything to prove and something to lose. They’re a team of unlikely heroes who will help one another discover they’re as A-List as anybody — yes, even Vibe. Though getting there won’t be easy. Why they’re formed, why each member joins, what they’re after and who the society of villains is they’re trying to take apart will all be clear in the first issue when it hits early 2013. David and I are really focused on delving deep into what it’s like to not be a member of the big seven and why, sometimes, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”

I am looking forward to this book. It doesn’t feel like a natural team, and I would never have seen all these people joining forces. It will be interesting seeing how all these people work together. With Katana talking to her husband who lives sword, Catwoman being a thief and not really fitting into the whole team image and the wild card that currently is Baz, it will be interesting to see how this team works out.