Justice League (2016-2018) Vol. 4: Endless

Great comic and deal

Somehow I've missed reading JL up to this point but it was easy for me to jump in as the characters have been in other titles I'm following (ie The Flash & Green Lanterns specifically tied to this volume). We have a set of three separate stories but the whole theme is that the League (and the planet) are to be DOOMED in the near future. First Flash has a groundhog day he keeps repeating where he's trying to save Jessica from being killed. Turns out not to be the coming Doom. Next, millions of bugs from an asteroid follow Jessica into the WatchTower. They try to take over and the JL realise the Queen must be in/on Jessica somewhere Crisis diverted. Finally, Shirak comes to bring peace by eliminating every terrorist/would-be terrorist no matter how many innocent civilians are in the way. Another big battle to overcome evil but still yet again "the end is here".After I finished this I went back and read Vol.1-3 so now I'm all caught up and this is the best book in the series so far.

I can't believe I'm giving this 4 stars!Story: This book actually collects several stories, but Amazon only gives the description of the first one. The first book is a simple time travel story involving the Flash going further and further back in time, on the same day so he's forced to relive the destruction of New York City by a device powered by a super powerful alien source. It's basically Groundhog Day meets the JL. It was simple, entertaining enough, but there were some things left unexplained. Like, why are the JL members fighting this alien guy? Where did he come from? How did the fight start? They just sort of are fighting him because....reasons. It's nothing new with Hitch. He seems to write quite a lot of action for action's sake. We move onto another story where a former soldier has acquired advanced tech and he wants to bring terror to Middle Eastern terrorists by killing a lot of people with a biotech weapon. This mostly involves Batman, Wonder Woman, and Jessica Cruz. Cruz, after having recently been told by Wonder Woman that she is a worthy training partner, starts to believe in herself. This is good. This particular issue was written by Tom DeFalco if I'm remembering right. What's great about this issue is that DeFalco is writing Cruz the way I have wanted her to be written for some time now. Sam Humphries keeps writing Cruz in the Green Lanterns title as constantly suffering from anxiety and telling herself she's not good enough. I was starting to understand why a YouTube comics person said that Green Lanterns is a book about two Lanterns who don't deserve the ring. BUT, in this book, Jessica is quick to believe in herself and she comes through in the end. This is what we need from her as a character. Having her repeatedly tell herself she's not good enough is not only annoying as hell, but it makes her characterization inconsistent with the kind of character who would wield a Green Lantern power ring. Hopefully, Humphries can see this issue in this book and take it to heart. The issue that really stands out here is the one written by Dan Abnett and drawn by Ian Churchill. The JL notices the superstorm caused by the Crown of Thorns being encased over Atlantis as depicted at the end of Aquaman volume 3: Crown of Atlantis. Mera has been using her aquakinesis to try to break through the barrier, but this is sending major tidal waves to the East coast of the U.S.. The JL manages to stop the tidal waves, and then they confront Mera who in her mental stress attacks the JL. It's amazing how she takes out the entire League and almost chokes Batman to death until he whips out a hypersonics device that stops the brawl. Mera informs the League about Aquaman being dethroned. Mera is invited to come aboard the Watchtower and she explains that she never felt home except in Mercy Reef and Xebel. She doesn't feel as if she belongs anywhere else and she has trouble trusting the JL, but some good words from Wonder Woman encourages Mera to try and confide in the JL, as it's also what helped Arthur to find friends and a home on the surface. With Hitch at least acknowledging the continuity of Aquaman volume 3, it seems that him and the rest of the writers here are very quick to replace Arthur on the JL with Mera. I think this is the first time that Mera has ever been a member of the JL. As the team heads out for another mission, they take notice of what Mera was able to do to them in a fight. It makes sense that DC is seemingly acknowledging that Mera should be one of the most powerful people on Earth, being able to telekinetically control all water. Mera has been attached to Aquaman forever, serving as his love interest, wife, and currently fiancee. Could this book mark the beginning of DC wanting to distance Mera from being anchored to Aquaman? Sort of like what DC did with Harley Quinn. She was able to be distanced from the Joker, and really come into her own as a deep character with her own adventures. I guess we'll see where this goes. The last story involves a little history lesson about an old foe of the Green Lantern Corps named Shirak who conquered many worlds. It took the Guardians and the entire GLC to defeat him. When he was blown up, he put his essence into tiny gems or rocks and flew them out into space to other worlds. All of them were found by the GLC except for one which made it to a world. Guess which one? So, Cyborg and Baz are sort of chaperoning a field trip to a local museum when one of the fathers goes nuts and eventually shoots himself, his blood touching the Shirak stone held in one of the glass cases, which resurrects him. As Cyborg evacuates the place, Baz lights up and tries to fight Shirak, but is no match for him. Shirak starts turning the local populace within a several mile radius into this army. Baz summons the League and he manages to outsmart Shirak, realizing that the stone he regenerated from is tech based. Baz and Cyborg rewrite the tech and defeat Shirak. Not really sure how I feel about Shirak being defeated so easily. I mean, this guy was so dangerous that the last time he was alive, the entire GLC and the Guardians were needed to defeat him, and none of them could figure out that weakness?! While this is going on, Batman is dealing with that lady that attacked the League at the end of the Timeless event being transferred to another holding facility. She proceeds to tell Batman about the nature of the multiverse, their universe, and how it is on an endless loop of death and rebirth, with certain events happening only slightly different each time. Batman denies the notion that all actions are preordained, and declares that everyone's actions matter, and people have to deal with the consequences of their actions. So, overall, we have several stories, most of them straightforward. Some of it comes across as action for action's sake, but that's nothing new to Hitch's run. I still want him to be taken off of this title. Fans really deserve a JL book that's considered one of the best of the whole line.Art: I never liked Hitch's art, but it's slightly better here. Still not a fan. Some of his body proportion and body position work is laughably bad. Paul Pelletier does fine here, but it's not as good as his work on the New 52 Aquaman title. Tom Derrenick does a pretty good job here. I liked his art for the issue with Batman, WW, and Cruz dealing with the terrorist guys. The coloring of that issue is also fantastic! The red of the terrorist's shield and the green of Cruz's power look so good together on the same page. The real standout in art here is easily Ian Churchill! His art is not only head and shoulders above the rest, but his style is also the most unique present here. Not only was the writing of the issue great, but Churchill's art is phenomenal! There's no doubt that this issue is really why I'm giving this whole book a 4 star rating. It just barely edged it out. The coloring for Churchill's issue is also a step above what I normally see. The coloring is noticeably darker for when the JL is fighting Mera. It actually looks like they're in a storm at sea. The coloring significantly brightens when they go aboard the Watchtower. It was cool to see the colorist pay extra attention to that detail and not just color the book the same the whole way through.Overall: A decent book. It has its moments. It's got some character development, particularly for Jessica Cruz. Some of the art is subpar, but some of it also is phenomenal. It's inconsistent for the book as a whole, but then again, it's done by a lot of different artists. This is mostly just a collection of smaller stories with some buildup to something much darker that's coming in the future. I enjoyed reading enough of it to warrant a recommendation. There are better books in DC's Rebirth lineup. This is still (unfortunately) the Michael Bay book of Rebirth. I don't think that'll change as long as Hitch is writing it. The other writers here did a better job in my opinion. Their stories seemed to have more substance to them. I was a bit worried that the issue where the League fights Mera would make the men out to be cucks, but it all came off as fine. Seriously though, this book barely manages to get a 4 star rating from me.

This collects issues 20-25 of Bryan Hitch's JL run.The first three issues or so is Hitch's time travel/ground hog day storyline that gets more interesting the further in you are. I'm happy with its resolution and how classic it feels. After this Tom DeFalco and Dan Abnett are on one shot duties. Their stories are nice and focuses on Jessica Cruz vs terrorism and Mera joining the league. And finally the trade ends with Hitch returning to seed more of his apocalyptic epic with fantastic character interactions.This trade will feel "filler-y" to many fans as there isn't a lot of meat on these stories, but it's a great reprieve from the last trade and upcoming future kids arc.3.5/5

I have so wanted to like Justice League Rebirth, but the truth is that the story-telling has been... lackluster. If there is a larger story-arch here, then I haven't been able to hone in on it. Forgettable enemies, unclear motivations, and - with the exception of the two newbie lanterns - little consideration of character development. Aquaman has got so little coverage that he may well be on his way out. Honestly, given the story telling going on in the rest of the DC universe, this is a pretty sad read.

Very average stories, need bigger villains and better plots. Maybe the series need Geoff Johns back with some kick-ass storylines

The first story (a two-part time travel story) was actually pretty fun to read and I wish they made a whole arc about that. Instead, We are then treated to a bunch of laughably bad one-shots. The first deals with a bug infestation, The second involves a weak terrorist leader who's protective shield is quickly beaten by Green Lantern Jessica (good for her character development as it shows she's grown in her ability to control the power of will but the story itself is very basic), The third involves a petty fight with Mera as she deals with Arthur being removed as King (it's over within a couple of pages and the story isn't the least bit interesting) and the last one shot is pretty much a conversation with Batman mixed in with some lame villain of the week fighting agaisnt the Justice League.All in all, It's a terrible volume and I genuinely don't know why they just didn't follow with a whole time travel arc rather than all these terrible one-shot comics that aren't the least bit interesting.

Was ok

Me gusto cómic ligero como hace un rato no había visto uno.

Bryan Hitch é sem dúvida um dos melhores artistas no mercado de HQs.Contudo, sua passagem pela Liga da Justiça mostra que como roteirista ele decepciona.Desde que assumiu o título (um dos principais da DC) ele não se mostrou capaz de fazer algo que cativasse os leitores de alguma forma (como Giffen e Dematties, Morrison, Waid, Meltzer e outros).

Ok. I was expecting something more exiting

A multiple story racing action packed graphic novel. Story and artworks is neutral but building potential to read more.

This volume is like a compendium of short stories, with no big transcendence.You can skip it and nothing will change for you.Just amusing, I'd say.