The Creators – Joshua Williamson – Writer, Daniel Sampere – Artist, Alejandro Sanchez – Colours, Tom Napolitano – Letters

The Players – Nightwing, Superman (Jon Kent), Hal Jordan, Batman (Jace Fox), Black Adam, Wally West, Aquaman (Jackson Hyde), Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Booster Gold, Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes), Doctor Light, Frankenstein, Killer Frost, Robin, Supergirl, Wonder Girl, Deathstroke

The Story – The Justice League is dead. Some believe it, some do not. A darkness is rising and without them, it might end up being a Crisis they cannot avert.

The Take – In the latest series to bear the title Crisis, creators Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere begin this one with tragedy, something each previous series was no stranger to. It is not just the Justice League that has died though, in a sense, it is hope for without them, without those who had saved the world numerous times over, who will look out for them now? It is this question that Williamson looks to answer as those who were once sidekicks and apprentices and friends have to step up in the wake of this great loss. One person above all wants to fill the void, that being the newest person to bear the name Superman and as per Black Adam, it is not only to fill the shoes of his father but to stop a great darkness from rising and overtaking them all. Some decide to join him as he assembles a new league and others like the newest Batman and Hal Jordon do not, believing that the Justice League cannot be dead, that they would have found a way out of their predicament somehow. As a first issue, this book does a lot to set up what is coming. There is a new team, some new faces who would-be heroes and a young man looking to honour his father in the best way possible. There is also Pariah, a staple of every previous Crisis and there are villains galore who look to make their move now that the greatest heroes the world has ever known are now off the board. Finally, there is one more tragedy to add to it all as yet another hero falls at the end of a barrel. Williamson’s writing is on point and Sampere does a great job with the artwork and the exceptional amount of characters that are portrayed within. As a Justice League story, as a Superman story and as yet another Crisis, this book works in the best of ways and it not only sets up a new status quo but does so with mystery and action and enough intrigue to keep one guessing as to where it might head next.

Worth It? – Yes.