Justice League 8: Darkseid War

Nice condition

This is the concluding chapter for Geoff Johns' time on the Justice League for the foreseeable future. As such, this review is going to be a bit longer, so bear with me. Throughout all the League's adventures, Darkseid has always been called back to in some way or another. Even if it was in a single panel, Darkseid's face was shown or his name was spoken, reminding the reader of his importance. Part One began Johns' final arc for the Justice League and, while perhaps not a great standalone, gave us the return of Darkseid, and his conflict with the Anti-Monitor. Part One set the expectations high, and as the penultimate chapter of Johns' JL, your expectations should be likewise highly set for Darkseid War Part Two.Before I go any further, there are some minor spoilers, but nothing earth-shattering. The writing is solid. Not Johns' best work, but generally satisfying. However, certain plot points feel unnatural and unnecessarily ambiguous. The Justice League title has always been able to stand alone, and when certain characters are missing, it is usually referenced. The same goes for major plot points that occurred outside this title. This seems to have been completely disregarded in this book. There are several little character tweaks that seem strange when considering previous Justice League stories. For example, Superman and Wonder Woman's relationship was introduced in this title, by Johns. At the time, it was a pretty big deal. It was especially addressed in volumes three and four. In this story, Wonder Woman only says that she's not in love with Superman, and that they are only 'more than friends.' People who follow the WW/SM title probably won't be shocked, but I had no idea what the basis was for this shift in tone. Cyborg, likewise, received a new upgrade in his own title, and is shown here with his new digs. There is, however, not even a single line of dialogue recognizing this. He just goes form issue 1 having his 'classic' look to his new one. While it looks good, it's a bit off putting to see it unannounced. Aquaman's absence is still unexplained here. There are other cases, but those are some of the most noticeable.As for the main course, the story itself is satisfactory. It stays pretty linear despite the wide breadth of characters (not an easy job) and the pacing is excellent most of the time. The dialogue is entertaining, and the story itself is genuinely engaging. The Anti-Monitor is written differently, and yet is a familiar foe. Older characters are brought back and given time to shine. It reads well, the issue is what was written, not how.Similar to Forever Evil, the conclusion seems amazing at first, but upon 24 hours of giving it time to process, doesn't seem quite as epic. Like Forever Evil, a lot happens in the conclusion, but doesn't flow the most organically. It sometimes feels as if something happens because it needed to happen for the plot, not as 'natural' flow of the story. My final comparison to Forever Evil is that Darkseid War also ends with several cliffhangers. While it can be expected for a comic book collection to do so, it seemed a bit excessive. A few plot details from prior adventures Johns claimed would be revealed never are (i.e. why Batman was so easily able to connect to WW in FE with her lasso). There are some deaths, but they don't feel conclusive, merely teasers for future events. There is one particular event near the end with Batman that had the potential to be epic (even though it would be more limelight on Batman) but is awkwardly dropped with a sputter. Many New 52 titles ended with 52 issues, but JL did not. I feel like one of those issues would have been well suited here. With Rebirth getting as close to a clean start as you can without rebooting, I was hoping volume 8 would be more concluding than it is.The art is amazing. Manapul starts the volume, and it is a refreshing change-up that looks neat and vibrant. Fabok's work is some of his best ever; he delivers in every panel of every page. His detail is meticulous and figures captivating. If the story doesn't do it for you, the art certainly will. It flows together so perfectly, and it is readily apparent that he gave it his all through the very end. He, likewise, is departing the Justice League title, and his legacy sets a precedent for the art readers deserve for the most prominent of DC's characters.In the end, it was pretty close to what I wanted. There is a lot that happens in this story, and it has legitimate repercussions on several characters moving forward. I only wish that for every answer we get, three more questions didn't appear. If you were wondering it the Justice League supplementary JL Power of the Gods title is necessary, I can say it is not. I did not purchase it, and while certain characters change with little explanation, the stuff that matters is addressed here. Would it help? Sure, but it's not crucial. As this is the last of Johns' Justice League, it reflects both his strengths and weaknesses as a writer. He writes the characters well and crafts a neat story, but his incessant need to tease future plots can leave a story feeling unintentionally incomplete.

I enjoyed the first volume of the Darkseid War but I didn’t love it and my issues are spelled out in my review. What I was hoping for here was a big ending after a less than spectacular first volume but apparently it was not meant to be.There were things about the story I really enjoyed, for instance, having Batman grow so attached/dependent on the Mobius chair. I always love the Crime Syndicate as long as they aren’t totally misused and I’m fine with their treatment here. On the other hand, I absolutely hated the replacement for Darkseid following his death at the hands of the Anti-Monitor. I complained in my previous review about the changes to Anti-Monitor and now he’s pretty much unrecognizable. He’s been inexplicably reduced to man size and talks a lot more than he used to. The gravitas he used to hold has been dramatically diminished. I didn’t like the way Kalibak and Kanto were punked out by Big Barda. Barda is tough but Jack Kirby smartly made the villains tougher. He knew a hero was measured by the obstacles he or she overcame and when you make the villains look like chumps it dwindles the heroes.Maybe I’m getting nitpicky with all my complaints because this is far from a terrible story and it's a decent addition to the continuing storyline that stretches all the way back to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Unfortunately, it has the kind of pervasive darkness evident that is hurting DC and Warner Brothers in their competition with Marvel. I enjoyed Batman v Superman immensely but did nearly the entire film really need to take place at night? Did Snyder have to put on a sepia filter even in the day scenes? A huge number of fans HATE that tone and this book carries it in with lots of night scenes and heavy inking. We don’t have to go back to the wacky Silver Age but there has to be a balance. Fans are speaking up and many just don’t like the direction of the DCU. A story can be serious and still fun.At about the two thirds mark things go entirely goes off the rails. I will try to remain as vague as possible to avoid spoilers. When writing a fictional story, for instance fantasy, science fiction or superhero, the writer has the luxury to create their own world with its own set of rules under which the world operates. In my opinion, regardless of the rules, the writer owes it to the reader to stick to those rules. For example, one would expect Godzilla to use his atomic breath because it’s established he has atomic breath but most people would call foul if he suddenly sprouted wings and flew around. There should be some parameters in which the world operates or the story becomes chaos with no sense of structure. In the last act of Darkseid Wars any sense of structure or rules are abandoned. Characters are suddenly exhibiting powers far beyond anything they’d shown before. One of the most powerful characters in the history of the DCU is taken down in an instant by a character who never before had any super powers. A NEWBORN is used as an unstoppable weapon. I was left shaking my head. The ridiculous Deus Ex Machina ending insulted the entire event. It’s hard to become invested in a story when any bloody thing can happen.I really can’t say what happened here. Maybe Geoff Johns is being spread too thin with all the work he’s doing for Warner Brothers. The story just feels rushed and sloppy. I’m willing to bet a lot of comic readers are going to give this book high praise because there is no lack of action and the art is, for the most part, quite lovely. If you’re looking for a great superhero team story from DC I would suggest Earth 2 because Dan Abnett is doing some really interesting stuff. I remain a fan of Geoff Johns but this is far from his best work.

Fast delivery. No damage during delivery just great overall.

Vol.8: Darkseid war part 2, brings this storyline to it's final conclusion. Batman has become the god of knowledge, the flash became the God of death, shazam the god of God's, superman the god of strength and, lex luthor the god of apokolips. Wonder woman has to do something to help her friends before they lose their humanity altogether.To help her friends, wonder woman decides to form a difficult alliance, with the only people who know the anti-monitor the best. The crime syndicate of America team up with the justice league and, it proves to be a tricky alliance. Meanwhile grail is busy putting together the rest of her devious plan. Grail has become the god of the anti equation and, is planning on using Steve Trevor to hurt Diana.There are plenty of battles and, distrust between various characters. Jessica Cruz who was selected to be the next power ring, has got her own personal battle to contend with. Volthoom has taken control of Jessica's body and, Jessica must find a way to get back full control of her own consciousness.Pregnant CSA member superwoman, Lois lane of earth 3 is about to give birth to her own baby. What part does her baby have play in the gigantic battle that's already taken place. Myrina black, grail's mother has a secret revelation for Wonder woman. What could this big secret be? You'll have to read this book to find out what happens.The writer Geoff johns wraps things up brilliantly and, the artwork by Jason fabok is as good as ever.

The item was well packed and as described. I absolutely love it! And the story line is definitely worth the read! One of my favourite storyline through the Justice league in the NEW 52 era!!

Great graphic novell! the art are amazing! The colors fantastic! The history (created by the writers) is fabulous! For me the book is better than the work made for geoff jonhs! I recomend!

A beautiful conclusion to a great storyline. All DC New 52 fans should definitely check this out. The art is phenomenal, the illustrations are dare I say phenomenal and the overall arc is great. The reason I have it a 4/5 is that there is too much happening, it’s jumping from one characters panel to another. “Yes, it is a superhero comic this is expected.” But other than that great 👍🏻.

OK, qui la copertina non mente, vai Diana!!!!, vederla lanciarsi all'assalto di....bè altre titaniche divinità con Superman, Green Lantern, Shazam, Power Ring ecc....è qualcosa di colossale!.Occhio perchè l'intero fumetto è molto ignorante (nel senso buono del termine) l'unico spessore è dato da quello della lama monomolecolare della principessa di Temeschira....mooooolto sottile.Botte da orbi con un finale esplosivo il tutto condito dal Maestro Jim Lee!.Consigliatissimo per l'acquisto.