DC's FOREVER EVIL #7 & JUSTICE LEAGUE #30
I am writing an extended review of two comic books this time because they two are so intimately related. There is some serious fodder for theological reflection, as well as aesthetic review in both cases. I have to say again that despite my misgivings, the FOREVER EVIL storyline went very well, indeed, and these comic books are a great way to end that storyline and begin a new direction for the flagship DC comic book, Justice League.
One of the interesting things about this final issue and this new beginning is that collectively they have to do with the quasi-redemption of Lex Luthor. There is some really development in the character here and it is in something of a redemptive direction, and that really surprised me. But it was handled in a more realistic way than such transformations are usually handled. Lex has discovered a profound truth in his struggle against the Criminal Syndicate: that vulnerability and weakness are not inherent evils. He sees that weakness and admitting weakness may not always be a bad thing. But his awareness of the real power of vulnerability is lacking, as he sees altruism and weakness as ways to more subtly and effectively wield power pump up his own ego. He has realized that absolute self-serving at all costs is ultimately self-destructive and so doomed to failure, but he doesn't see that vulnerability is not a means to an end but an end in itself.
Selfishness still reigns in Luthor's heart, but it is a selfishness alloyed with some wisdom. Most people realize eventually that a sense of self that supports a very small circle of human beings ultimately severely limits one's options. Pure selfishness is self-defeating. It is an ouroboros, a snake that eats its tail. Yet if one pursues vulnerability as a route to manipulation, if one uses self-sacrifice as a subtler form of self-imposition, then the profound reality to which vulnerability points is corrupted. Realization that there is some power in weakness is a plus, but seeking that power for power's sake is just a subtler form of coercion. Love is the end, not a means to an end. That love has power is simply a sign of God's presence within it. But it is not the power that is the end, the love is the end. Luthor is a sociopath and so probably incapable of anything like this kind of more profound vulnerability.
Yet one sees the possibility of such a realization in what he has become now. Luthor has become honest about himself to himself in a way few would believe the character could in any BELIEVABLE way. That Geoff Johns could pull this off is a testament to his real skill at writing comic books. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
While both books cover this Luthorian transformation, Forever Evil is the superior book. The pacing, the art, everything was spot on. Justice League was good, but just not as good aesthetically. Its pacing felt off and the dialogue was a little forced. Overall, though, they were two good books.
FOREVER EVIL:
Storyline: 4.5 Stars
Dialogue: 4.5 Stars
Pacing: 4 Stars
Art: 4.5 Stars
Overall: 4.5 Stars
JUSTICE LEAGUE:
Storyline: 4 Stars
Dialogue: 3.5 Stars
Pacing: 3.5 Stars
Art: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment