The Creators – Saladin Ahmed – Writer, Clayton Henry – Artist, Arif Prianto – Colours, Lucas Gattoni & Ryan Christy – Letters

The Players – Red Tornado, Power Girl, Green Lantern (Simon Baz)

The Story – Red Tornado has discovered that humanity is heading towards disaster thanks to the Justice League’s reformation. A team is needed to stop that from happening.

The Take – There is a lot to love about this first issue by Saladin Ahmed and Clayton Henry, whether it is having another Justice League title on the stands or one that features Red Tornado or even that it brings together Power Girl and one of Earth’s many Green Lanterns, Simon Baz. Suffice it to say, Baz has not been used very much in the last number of years, and it is good to see the man make a return to the printed page. As it is, the story finds Red Tornado, being more robot than man, having run a million scenarios in his spare time and all of them pointing to the Earth being in a most precarious position, namely, being brought to the brink of destruction. This has all come about due to the planet’s most prominent team getting back together, and as a result, things have been put in motion. Red Tornado has discovered that it is not just one thing, though, but many and now, if he does not do something about it, then everything that the Justice League has done and will do will be for naught. There is one caveat about it all, which Power Girl and Green Lantern are told, and that is the fact that everything they do for Red Tornado must be done in secret. The League can never know, for if they do, they will alter their actions, which could have devastating effects. So it is that Baz and Power Girl agree, head off on their mission, and after a little struggle, accomplish what they set out to do. Not everything is as it seems, though, and they have questions that leave the book on both a mystery and a cliffhanger, all done so that readers will have to come back to find out just where it all leads. Ahmed does an excellent job of setting everything up, starting with the initial pages that explain the book’s concept. Through Red Tornado, to the selection of the first team members and then finishing it all in the best possible manner to ensure positive and returning engagement, Ahmed understands what it takes to make a book successful. Making this book look as good as it does, Henry outdoes himself with some incredible pencils. Clean, soft lines with some sharp colours by Arif Prianto really give the book an edge over many of its competitors.  Pages so good, readers will want to go through it one more time before putting it down. There is nothing quite like reading the beginning chapter of a great book, and Justice League Red is another strong entry from the new DC.

Worth It? – Yes.