1. Opening up with Booster’s origin wasn’t the worst idea ever, even if out of every character involved in this title his is the one that has been gone over the most times in the past couple of years. Look at the cast, Booster is the star here, and it’s starting to feel like they’re recognizing it. Not only that, but Booster is very obviously standing in the unclaimed position of leadership in this book. It suits him.
2. The new Rocket Red has some pretty awesome looking armor, and I like what they’re doing with the character. An old school pro-Soviet kind of guy. Last issue he proved to have great battle banter, and this issue he proves that he has a funny bone.
3. I do like Max Lord as a villain, but I don’t fully get what he’s trying to do here. Yes, he erased the minds of everyone in the world of who he is, but what is he doing next? Is he just running around the globe hiding from the JLI? Why can’t he just reerase himself from their minds? I know these are questions with inevitable answer sessions, but they’re on my mind now.
4. It’s nice to see Captain Atom do what Captain Atom does best. Blow up.
5. I don’t know how I feel about emo Ice. I mean, sure, there’s plenty of reason to be, but I’m just not sure it works for me. She’s spent every issue so far with speaking lines complaining about one thing or another. So what if you were dead? You’re not anymore!
6. Aaron Lopresti is a great fit for this book, and I’m just happy to see him working on something with a higher profile. I’ve been a fan of his since the first time I saw his pencils, and he’s really only gotten better. If they launch a JLI book out of this he better draw it.
7. The pacing of the series is one of my few problems with it. Things are happening but almost at a snails pace, and while I trust that things will pick up and get more exciting as we start getting into the meat of it, I can understand why some people are calling it slow.
8. Jaime Reyes fits in better here then he does in Teen Titans, and I would like to see him drop that book like a bad habit and just hang out with Booster and Captain Atom from now on. He plays well off of the characters and it feels more natural. With Teen Titans he was just sort of there most of the time it felt like.
9. The whole “I’m your friend” thing by Max is weird. I mean, I get that he’s trying to think back about better times, but can he really say that they’re friends with a straight face after introducing a bullet to the inside of Ted Kord’s skull? Or after beating Booster savagely with a pipe?
10. Rating: 7/10 The book isn’t perfect, but it’s fun. It’s got a nice mix of vintage JLI and modern story telling, as well as that it gives purpose to some character who have a history of serious neglect. I’m more pleased with this series than I expected to be going in, and I find myself anxiously awaiting the next issue.
