Justice League #74 ends Brian Michael Bendis’ run in a lackluster story with difficult art that still highlights the best of the characters.
Acclaimed writer Brian Michael Bendis took over the Justice League series a year ago, with issue #59. Since then, Bendis has added the classic DC Comics character Black Adam and his own creation, Naomi McDuffie, to the league’s roster. He even brought in the former queen of the Amazons Hippolyta to fill her daughter’s seat at the Hall of Justice. While Black Adam has traditionally served as a morally ambiguous anti-hero, his inclusion in the Justice League has evoked both delight and caution from his colleagues. When an ancient Lord of Chaos, Xanadoth, takes over the mortal shell of Black Adam as her vessel, things turn from bad to worse. Justice League #74 marks the end of Bendis’ run and puts the world’s greatest defenders at risk of imminent death.
Justice League #74, written by Brian Michael Bendis with artwork from Szymon Kudranski, Emanuela Lupacchino, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Hi-Fi, brings the Leagues of Chaos arc to a close. The Lord of Chaos, Xanadoth, has abducted Madame Xanadu and taken her to her realm. Xanadoth hints that she and Xanadu have a past connection that she will only reveal if the latter meets her demands. Knowing that agreeing to Xanadoth’s terms will tilt the situation in her favor, Madame Xanadu instead sends out a magical flare. Soon, a combined team of the Justice League and the Justice League Dark responds to the call. Meanwhile, the Lord of Order, Nabu, examines the novice superhero, Naomi McDuffie, speculating that her fascinating powers could be the key to saving the world.
Justice League #74 is not one of the most coherent pieces of storytelling from writer Brian Michael Bendis, who bases the whole arc on an all too familiar premise. The pacing of the story engages the reader in a multi-sided, non-linear tale with stakes so high that they can tip the cosmic scales. However, the convoluted strings of monotonous dialogue and empty platitudes make the reading experience tiresome. Bendis ties up loose ends in a rather anti-climactic fashion, turning Naomi into a mere power booster and the imposing central antagonist into something akin to a filler villain. The story does well to reaffirm Black Adam’s position in the League as the upcoming battles will need someone of Teth-Adam’s vigor.
Justice League #74 distracts the reader with a mishmash of different art styles from artists around the globe. Polish artist Szymon Kudranski combines continuous lines with bold brush strokes to create hauntingly dark artwork that relies heavily on key light and shadows. He saturates the pages in black for aesthetic purposes and uses alternating red and blue tones for lighting. However, it gets to a point where the action and panels become too hard to follow. The artwork of Italian artist Emanuela Lupacchino is much simpler in comparison and gives off a cartoonish appearance. Famed colorist Hi-Fi uses brighter, warmer colors to complement Lupacchino’s art and to signify the victory of good over evil. The lack of shading, however, makes the dearth of depth more apparent.
Justice League #74 is an underwhelming end to an otherwise epic tale that successfully brings together the two branches of the Justice League. Many of the promising aspects of storytelling come to nothing in this conclusion, which has been a recurring issue with Bendis’ lackluster run on DC Comics’ premier superhero team. However, the creative team did cause a shake-up and changed much of the status quo, bringing both fresh blood and old warhorses into the fold. While fans would have liked to see Naomi play a more prominent role or Hippolyta have more action than throwaway one-liners, these inclusions have opened up floodgates to future storylines.
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