Justice League #21

Writer: Bryan Hitch

Artist: Bryan Hitch

Colourist: Alex Sinclair

Publisher: DC Comics

I honestly don't understand how Bryan Hitch got to write this series. Following Geoff Johns is a hard act, sure, but at least someone who can craft a story with a beginning, middle, and end without an ending thrown out of nowhere. Aquaman and Wonder Woman pissed me off in this issue. That's all I'll say about that.

I do appreciate Hitch taking a step back from his traditional action movie style, instead giving us a mission with a slight spy vibe to it. It was fun while it lasted.

Hitch's art, as I've said before, isn't as good with characters interactions but is better with scale. His dialogue scenes and the like here were actually pretty good. The faces had a bit more detail on them so they didn't look lifeless, which I think is an achievement given the issue is so full of on-the-ground character stuff.

As for the ending; it was another non-ending. This is the end of this arc, which was a two-parter, and it ends the same way most of his arcs have been ending, which is incredibly frustrating to me. Yes, he teases the whole Rebirth mystery, which he's done in the exact same way for months now. I think Hitch feels like he's contributing to the overall mystery, but so many other books are doing it in a better, more natural way. The last issue of Titans did a great job of it.

Another arc, and another disappointing story. While Hitch's art wasn't bad and the story had a bit of a different structure than his previous stories, it still didn't deliver on character and plot. Things have been conveniently wrapping up recently when it comes to this series, and it needs to change.