Review: DEAR JUSTICE LEAGUE
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer:Â Michael Northrop
Artist:Â Gustavo Duarte
Colorist:Â Marcelo Maiolo
Letterer:Â Wes Abbott
Reviewer:Â Tony Farina
Summary
Dear Justice League is a DC Zoom book that imagines a world where children of the world have access to the Justice League via email. Each chapter focuses on one letter written to one member of the league and we see the recipient of the letter take some action that relates to the letter. Readers see Superman make mistakes, The Flash make quick work of some bullies, Wonder Woman remember her 11th birthday and other fun stories from Simon Baz, Hawkgirl, Aquaman, Batman and Cyborg.
Positives
The simple thing would be to just write “Everything about this book is positive” but that would be no fun. Writer Michael Northrop has found a perfect way to break though DC’s dark image and introduce the Justice League to young readers. Dear Justice League even features the Super Friends Hall of Justice. He made the right choice by making the “villains” of the through story be an invasive alien bug race. That way, the violence is cartoony and the stakes seem low. There is not a lot of dialogue, so he lets the images tell a story which is a perfect invitation to reluctant readers.
Artist Gustavo Duarte holds true to Northrop’s concept by drawing the Justice League in broad strokes. They are clearly big and strong, but they are not overly drawn. There are no 10 packs. They look exactly like a cartoon version of these heroes should look. They smile and smirk and have a lot of fun.
While Northrop and Duarte shine, the star of the show is colorist Marcelo Maiolo. Every single page pops. The colors are bright and bold and yet they do not overwhelm the excellent work that Duarte has done. If you can get a copy of this on high quality paper, do so. You will get lost just staring.
Negatives
If you are a DC purist and you don’t like DC Superhero Girls, Dear Justice League is not for you.
Verdict
Honestly, there is nothing bad to say about this book. If you are an adult comic book nerd who wants a safe way to get kids 10 and under into DC comics, Dear Justice League is the answer. If you are an adult comic book nerd who wants to take a break from the dark side of things and just want to have a flash back to the old timey days of Super Friends, but without all the cheese that comes with that show, Dear Justice League is for you. Kids of all genders and ages are welcome to this book. Run, don’t walk.
