Review: Justice League of America Vol. 2- Curse of the Kingbutcher
Quick Summary
Pros: The overall story and the message it conveys is interesting. The book’s focus on team dynamics proves to be entertaining. The setup for future storylines is exciting.
Cons: One of the book’s romances feels forced. There are a number of small, logical errors in one of the storylines.
Overall: In this volume, readers will see three separate, but related stories involving the characteristically charming members of the Justice League of America. On their own, these stories are alright, despite having their fair share of flaws. However, when viewed together, they pull in larger themes and tease a future story that promises to be even more grandiose. This is a book best suited for those who appreciate the characters in this iteration of the League or those intrigued by the prospect of a larger showdown yet to come.
Story
The overall story in Steve Orlando’s Justice League of America Vol. 2: Curse of the Kingbutcher is compelling and provides an alluring tease for what is to come. However, the individual stories suffer from a number of flaws that make them stand weaker on their own. While not ideal, the book’s focus on interpersonal relationships between this Justice League makes it easier to look past these flaws. All of this, in turn, creates a final product that is an alright character piece that helps transition the series toward a larger endgame.
(spoilers start here)
The story begins with Killer Frost and the Atom investigating a possible cure for Caitlin’s heat sickness. While their investigation proves fruitless, they are able to stop a madman along the way, leading to an intense confrontation between him and Frost. With the villain out of the way, Ryan continues to express his frustration over being unable to cure Caitlin. She assures him that it isn’t his fault and the two show characteristic signs of a burgeoning romance.
While a relationship between these two would be fine to see, its commencement here is not handled well. There is little to no setup for the couple’s feelings, making them appear to come from nowhere. It cheapens the relationship by making it less organic and makes it seem like the two are just being pushed together so this new Justice League can have some romantic tension.
The next storyline revolves around a man, raised in the wild, who is forced back into civilization following a criminal group’s attack on his jungle home. The majority of the League instantly trusts the man and helps him set up a new life, something made easier by his considerable inheritance. Batman remains skeptical and soon discovers the criminal group who attacked this man was hired by his own family members, who he now plans on murdering as revenge. The League is able to stop him and imprison his evil family members.
This storyline works because it assists in the establishment of a unique team dynamic and personal belief systems ripe for exploration. The Ray preaches optimism and wants to believe the best in others, an ideal that flies contradictory to Batman’s hyper-paranoia. The two both bring up a valid point but have trouble making the other understand.
However, this same storyline is heavily encumbered by a number of logical errors. The boy from the jungle speaks perfect English despite learning it from emergency manuals on a plane, he randomly grows claws for no adequately explained reason, and is somehow able to hold his own against the Justice League for a surprising amount of time, considering the fact that he has no superpowers at all. With errors as blatant and obvious as these, it becomes significantly harder to appreciate this storyline on its own.
Luckily, the following story arc does not have this problem. It follows a town where the people’s wishes are being granted by a mysterious entity known as the “Might Beyond the Mirror,” who has been previously referenced throughout this series. To “correct” the potential chaos caused by these wishes, the Kingbutcher shows up to eliminate the wishers before their wishes can do any damage. It is a continuation of the earlier explored concepts of trust and optimism, once again pitting the Ray and Batman on opposite sides of the issue. Steve Orlando seems to be only just scraping the surface of these concepts so it will be interesting to see how the develop in the future.
On the topic of the future, another positive aspect of this book is how well it sets up future storylines. Catlin Snow’s potential evil is teased again, Batman’s motives for putting the entire team together are questioned, and the “Might Beyond the Mirror” makes a more meaningful appearance. The volume even ends with the implication that the Atom has made a wish from the Might, which could have intense consequences in the future. While this volume had its fair share of problems, it did manage to get me very excited for what is coming next.
(spoilers end here)
Art
Overall, the artwork in this book looks alright; it doesn’t stray too far in either a positive or negative direction. The League looks fine in nearly every issue and the colors by Hi-Fi Design are as bold and bright as one would expect from this series. Jamal Campbell’s work is undoubtedly the best portion of the book, as his version of the Justice League is both detailed and beautiful. All in all, while not impressive, the actual work in each individual issue does not disappoint.
However, this collection also features the work of four separate pencilers, all contributing their unique style to the fold. On their own, each one looks fine and manages to fit the style that has been present throughout this series. When viewed together though, the inconsistencies between artists become more pronounced. For example, the Kingbutcher’s design changes from one issue to the next and the Ray’s powers are displayed in different ways. These small flaws push the decidedly average book closer to the negative side of things, but are not quite numerous enough to completely wreck the work as a whole.
Continuity
Justice League of America Vol. 2: Curse of the Kingbutcher continues the story from Justice League of America Vol. 1: The Extremists (Review).
The story here continues in Justice League of America Vol. 3: Panic in the Microverse (Review).
This volume also references stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below:
- Ice from the Justice League International receives a mention early on in this book. Ice joined the team at their beginning in Justice League International Vol. 1: The Signal Masters and stayed with them until their end in Justice League International Vol. 2: Breakdown.
- A television news report references “monsters in Gotham” and “speed storms in Central City.” This events are from Batman: Night of the Monster Men (Review) and The Flash Vol. 1: Lightning Strikes Twice (Review).
- Dominic Mndawe appears in this storyline. His last DC Comics appearance provides more of an explanation of his power set and is collected in Midnighter Vol. 2: Hard (Review)