Jessica is dead and the League is transformed. Who can stop Darkseid now other than a newly formed Justice League Odyssey? Spoilers for Justice League Odyssey #13 follow.
The last issue of Justice League Odyssey significantly changed the status quo of the series in a great way. Gone are our heroes and Darkseid has seemingly won. It felt like Dan Abnett was finally finishing the story that had been set up Joshua Williamson when the series started a year ago and was beginning his own. This is where Abnett has really shined as a writer though when he upheaves the status quo. He changes everything that the audience thinks they know. He creates a sort of ripple effect that throws the reader off, while not alienating them from what they thought they knew. That’s exactly what he does with this issue and it works to great effect.
With the status quo of the series essentially thrown out the window, Abnett is now free to explore his own devices. Sepulkore has been activated, thus finishing the arc that began in the first issue. But since that was never Abnett’s story, the series had never fully lived up to its interesting potential. It felt repetitive and predictable, making it not very interesting. Now that we’re past that though, the series feels freer. Despite having these grand ideas, there was always a constraining effect that the series had. However, this issue no longer feels that way. There’s an uncertainty to what’s occurring that feels refreshing for the series.
Because of the new uncertainty that has been established in this issue, it really manages to keep you on your toes. It’s much smaller in scale than pretty much every previous issue, as it is more of a bottle issue, but somehow it feels larger. There’s a lot going on and constantly surprises you about characters arriving and who is reintroduced. Plus, Jessica comes back from the dead, which shouldn’t be shocking, yet this issue manages to make it so.
The art for this issue also feels like it’s Will Conrad at his best so far on this series. This isn’t because there’s some grandiose action present, but rather because there isn’t. The first two-thirds of this issue is entirely dialogue-driven, yet he manages to make it interesting. That’s the true test of a comic artist, can they make dialogue-heavy scenes interesting, and Conrad does in this issue. There’s nothing revolutionary about what he does in this issue, but it’s effective, which is what matters. His figures are distinct, which manages to give each of them a distinct personality. The pacing of this issue mostly works as well, which helps make the dialogue interesting.
CHECK OUT: Justice League Odyssey #12 Review: Darkseid Wins…