JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #7 REVIEW.
Writer: James Robinson
Pencils: Mauro Cascioli, Scott Clark and Ibraim Roberson
Inks: Mauro Cascioli, Scott Clark, David Beaty and Ibraim Roberson
Colors: Mauro Cascioli, Siya Oum and Giovani Kososki
Letters: Steve Wands
Cover: Mauro Cascioli
The moment I finished Cry For Justice I went into a minor state of shock, Robinson delivered a mini-series that will have lasting repercussions for several members of the Justice League, and ended it in a way that I did not see coming. I do not intend to spoil anything, but I will say this, after Robinson’s first issue taking over the Justice League of America I heard from many fans: “This just ruined Cry For Justice for me, I already know how it ends” and I am quite certain that right now all this people are upset because no matter what they thought, they did not know how it actually ended. I admit that I am a fan of execution, I have read several stories, or watched movies, for which I already knew the ending, and I still find them enjoyable and surprising. Remember: It is not so much the destination as the journey. In my opinion for a story to pass the test of time a strong build-up is necessary, (clearly this is not the only requirement). And in this case the execution was close to perfect.
As kind of a recap, most of the issue is spent by our heroes trying to stop Prometheus’ machines to be activated, and after exhausting every method known to them, they realize, that this villain thought things through to the last detail, and instead of slowing the activation time, they are actually speeding them up. Every second they keep him prisoner the death toll increases, and so they are faced with one of the great dilemmas: “Do we let him go enabling him to eventually come up with another, possibly deadlier, plan or do we keep him prisoner and do our best to save who we can, knowing that the amount of victims will still increase, but we did not strike a deal with a terrorist?” Eventually they reach a decision after a very heartfelt speech by none other than Green Arrow.
One of the things that Robinson excelled at was using a wide variety of heroes in the DC universe, making them relevant to the story, while keeping each hero’s continuity as a key element in the plot. And this issue presents some more fine examples of this, worthy of mention are Miss Martian and the Bulleteer’s appearances.
And speaking of using a hero’s continuity as a key element in the plot, I think it was a great decision to give Green Arrow such a pivotal role in the series, and for Star City to be the place that Prometheus’ disaster affected the most. His actions and dialogue make perfect sense given Green Arrow’s classical conception and it remains true even to the modern nature of the character.
On the art Cascioli, Clark and Roberson stay at the top of their game, giving us beautifully painted pages, with a minimum amount of inconsistency when going from one artist to the other. It takes much more than a casual look to notice the subtle differences between each artist techniques. Their bright and heroic portrayal of our protagonists was an integral part of this series and it enhanced the experience, more than justifying the $3.99 that each issue costs.
If you did not collect the single issues, I highly recommend getting the trade. This certainly has been one of the best minis to come out lately involving members of the Justice League and despite not being labeled as an event, the ramifications of the story will be present for quite some time in the DC Universe.
Story 9/10 (Overall 8/10)
Art 9/10 (Overall 10/10)
Cover 10/10
