Justice League #72
Scheduled to arrive in stores: February 15, 2022
Cover date: April 2022
“Leagues of Chaos” – Part One
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Szymon Kudranski, Emanuela Lupacchino and Wade Von Grawbadger
Cover: Yanick Paquet
Variant Cover: Ariel Olivetti
Reviewed by: James Lantz
Zatanna, Doctor Fate and Madame Xanadu have all had visions of a possibly possessed Black Adam going mad and reigning chaos on the the world in the future. Adam, while trying to fit into the Justice League, is visited in Kahndaq by Xanadoth, the original Lord of Chaos. Other Lords of Chaos and Order banished her when she became too power hungry. Now she wants to use Black Adam as host organism whether he is willing or not to serve her. Xanadoth takes Adam. There to reveal this unwilling alliance are Zatanna and Madame Xanadu. Meanwhile, the spirit of Nabu has left the new Doctor Fate.
Story – 4: I’m not sure this merits a perfect score. It falls into the category of “Too early to tell”. It’s Bendis at his best. However, perhaps a bit more Xanadoth back story would have worked better to ease us into her introduction to Black Adam. The published version of this issue doesn’t tell the reader that much. Maybe when this story has concluded, what we see in this chapter will work better as a whole.
Art – 3: All artists involved, especially Lupachino, are great in their own right. In fact, aside from some minor flaws, the visuals deserve a higher rating. Yet, perhaps only one style would have worked better. The artistic changes throughout this issue are way too jarring to the reader.
Cover Art – 5: Black Adam’s face took some getting used to at first, but upon closer inspection of this cover, it’s a great team image to start off this serial.
Variant Cover Art – 5: Ariel Olivetti is one of my favorite artists. This variant shows his strengths and talent off perfectly.
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