Justice League #19

Writer: Geoff Johns Artist: Joe Prado, Ivan Reis Publisher: DC Comics Release Date: April 17, 2013 Cover Price: $3.99 Critic Reviews: 25 User Reviews: 19
7.6Critic Rating
7.9User Rating

Who is the one person dangerous enough to use Kryptonite against Superman?

  • 10
    Comic Booked - Jeff Hill Apr 19, 2013

    Whoo-boy. All of this action, great art, and some pretty stellar dialogue, and we get a bonus feature that finally seems to be finding its footing. Gary Frank's art is always excellent, but it always seemed a little jarring when it sort of snuck out of nowhere and interrupted previous stories. But with Superman and Wonder Woman operating off the radar in Kahndaq (Black Adam's home), it finally seems like the backups are building toward something bigger. All of this, with the effects of both Death of the Family and Requiem still having Batman reeling and the impending Trinity War have me thinking that Johns is planning something even more epic than we've seen before. Which is awesome, because the first big crossover event since the launch of the New 52 is something that I have been waiting for since its creation. Keep up the great work, Mr. Johns! Read Full Review

  • 10
    Comic Book Nuts - Jef Mendoza Apr 20, 2013

    Geoff Johns writes a well thought-out issue featuring some of the new members of the Justice League (namely The Atom and Firestorm) as well as the other members (minus the Green Lantern). It opens up with a villain who looks like the main character from Wanted and is full of mystery and intrigue. Superman and Wonder Woman's dating secret is out and they all will see the repercussions from it. Wonder Woman also starts turning heel (evil, you could say). Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Chuck's Comic Of The Day - Chuck Apr 19, 2013

    Heck, even these "setup" issues are fun. Recommended! Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Read Comic Books - Derek Baker Apr 17, 2013

    Justice League #19 has the road to Trinity War firing on all cylinders. This is a thrilling issue that should have fans excited for whats to come. When Geoff Johns is good, hes on fire. Lets hope it keeps up. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    Comic Book Revolution - Kevin Apr 24, 2013

    Justice League #19 does a good job setting the stage for this new arc that will see Despero as the principle antagonist. The addition of Superman and Wonder Woman's relationship beginning to cause problems for the Justice League and Batman's contingency plans being revealed kept things moving forward at a solid pace. At the same time this issue makes the last issue feel like a time waster since Justice League #19 was another talking head issue that is more about set-up than big event action. This isn't a deal breaker, since Ivan Reis awesome artwork maintains the titles big event feel, but it does get in the way of Justice League separating itself from the mountain of team books currently available. Read Full Review

  • 9.0
    ComicBuzz - Robert O'Doherty Apr 18, 2013

    Billy and Co. are trying to find the Rock of Eternity, so Batson can give his powers back, but its not possible as told my Francesca (Im not a 100% sure who this chick is). This ghostly woman who appears in an iPad shows Billy the origin of Black Adam. Adam was chosen as a boy just like Billy, but something drove him to the dark side of magic. Im excited for the next issue, but I hate waiting a month for a tad bit more. Give Shazam his own book, dammit! Read Full Review

  • 8.9
    IGN - Joshua Yehl Apr 17, 2013

    Those events in the imaginary war-torn Middle Eastern country of Kahndaq subtly tie into yet another slam-dunk Shazam chapter. Justice League has had its ups and downs, but Shazam has consistently been an engrossing, magical, and often times humorous story drawn by the ever-impressive Gary Frank. Johns authentically writes Billy as a child who shies away from the burden of responsibility -- and with good reason, have you seen Black Adam? -- and also one whose rash rush to solve his problem can only be explained by youthful exuberance. Read Full Review

  • 8.4
    Forces Of Geek - Atlee Greene Apr 22, 2013

    It was entertaining from cover-to-cover and worth every penny spent. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    PopMatters - Steven Romano Apr 21, 2013

    Justice League is solidifying itself as the superhero title that acts as the voice of the 21st century, using the drama of its heroes as a vehicle for the uncertainties we are regularly subjected to today. Gone are the halcyon days of infallible, god-like heroes, as the genre takes a more familiar, realistic approach in its storytelling. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    One Quest - Chris Cobb Apr 19, 2013

    This actually has me interested to see where they're going with it, enough to keep reading even! I guess with Geoff Johns leaving Green Lantern, I have somewhere else to turn. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Comic Vine - Tony 'G-Man' Guerrero Apr 17, 2013

    In the beginning I was super-excited for this title in the beginning with the team of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. The series has had some ups and downs but we are definitely back on track. Johns is setting up some big things in recent issues and you can feel the intensity building. Johns continues developing the characters in their presence on the team and touching on more personal matters with the members adds life to them and the book. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Crave Online - Andy Hunsaker Apr 19, 2013

    Overall, Justice League #19 isn't particularly exciting, but it does set the stage for some potentially interesting developments. We'll have to wait and see if they actually develop. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Henchman-4-Hire - Sean Ian Mills Apr 20, 2013

    This is a fun, entertaining comic that does a good job of setting the new storyline"mostly. There's some secret ninja sneaking into the Batcave, with the narratively helpful ability to leave no clues whatsoever. And I've always liked the idea that Batman has secret plans to use against the Justice League. I have some faith in Johns to put a new spin on that classic story. I also liked Superman and Wonder Woman sneaking into Khandaq. But as I've ranted about before, there seems to be two different Justice Leagues going on. One exists in Geoff Johns' mind, where he knows how all of these characters impact one another, and he knows how the presence of the Justice League is felt in this new continuity. Then there's the one we see, where we have very little understanding of either of those things. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Imagination Centre - John McCubbin Sep 4, 2013

    This was a brilliant issue, and although the series is still not quite as good as it was during Throne of Atlantis, it's still very exciting, and interesting, and the way the series is going in the build up to Trinity War is fantastic. I also loved the mysteriousness of the issue, and the Shazam! back-up story continues to be an amazing addition, and one of the best things about the series. Although last issue was disappointing I'd highly recommend this one as the series is back to it's average level of quality, and this issue itself was amazing. Read Full Review

  • 8.0
    Weekly Comic Book Review - Minhquan Nguyen Apr 18, 2013

    The issue exposes a little too much of Johns' flaws as a writer, and there's a well-worn quality to the plot, but it's engaging despite all that, and it's bolstered by strong art. Read Full Review

  • 7.5
    Batman-News - Andrew Asberry Apr 17, 2013

    This is a comic worth picking up I think. The twist at the end of the last issue is hardly addressed so in a way this feels like a fresh new start and a good jumping on point for new readers. Great art, cool action, and as this arc chugs along in coming months it looks like we're going to have a pretty formidable bad guy. It's not as impressive as the Throne of Atlantis saga, but it's entertaining enough. Read Full Review

  • 7.0
    ComicBuzz - Graeme O'Brien Jun 28, 2013

    Although not exactly a relevant issue to the grand scheme of things, this first half of a two-part story adequately gives us all a WTF reaction, so in that sense it did its job. Throw in a great backup story and you have a solid issue on your hands. Read Full Review

  • 7.0
    AIPT - David Apr 17, 2013

    The art in both stories is done as you'd expect when it comes to a publisher's flagship book. Ivan Reis composes the pages nicely, especially considering how much is going on in the story. Gary Frank draws the backup once again and even when most of the story takes place in darkness under the glow of an iPad it's tense and clear. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    Comics Bulletin - Danny Djeljosevic May 21, 2013

    There's still a lot of dumb stuff in this book -- the hokey briefcases with the superheroes' symbols on them, Atom coming out of a laptop screen as a weak modernization of the old guy's "coming out of the phone" trick, but it's well illustrated and there's enough density in the book that it doesn't feel like a waste. Talk about damning with faint praise. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    Comic Book Resources - Greg McElhatton Apr 17, 2013

    "Justice League" #19 ultimately lands smack in the middle on the good-to-bad scale. We've seen a lot of this before, but there are nice moments even as it begins to play out again. The art is good, but could use a little punching up in places. And ultimately, it's the back-up feature that ends up winning the day. Hopefully next month's issue will have less set-up and more forward movement, but for now it's a good enough opening chapter. Read Full Review

  • 6.0
    Nerds On The Rocks - Earl Apr 17, 2013

    I keep using the word disjointed and that's what I'm going with for the recap. It feels like you are getting fed tiny bits of stories which can prove to be interesting in the grand scheme of things, but don't really help when reading this issue. It sets up some potentially cool and potentially rehashed storylines so leaving it in the middle because a lot of how this reads will depend on future issues. Read Full Review

  • 5.5
    Culture Mass - Brian Martin Apr 23, 2013

    Justice League #19 is a good looking, entertaining, and competently written comic, but it's impossible to shake the "been there, done that" feeling while reading it. Read Full Review

  • 5.5
    Multiversity Comics - Brian Salvatore Apr 18, 2013

    Overall, this issue is a reminder that the New 52 is a bizarre hodgepodge of old ideas, new ideas, decisions made to appeal to new readers, diversity attempts, good work and bad work. For every slow moving “Shazam” piece, there is a sloppy bit of storytelling wedged next to a necklace from a 20-year old comic on a female version of a traditionally male character and a classic villain being reintroduced. “Justice League” is supposed to be the flagship book of DC's line, and with its inconsistency, it certainly earns the title. Here's to hoping Trinity War can set the book straight. Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    ScienceFiction.com - Jason Motes Apr 20, 2013

    This issue wasn't the worst comic I've ever read. I may be reacting too harshly. It's been a rough week. But, it's absolutely, with no prejudice, lazy. And that's the real crime, considering the formidable talent behind it. At least it's pretty. (Oh and apparently Shazam will factor in at some point.) Read Full Review

  • 5.0
    Newsarama - Aaron Duran Apr 18, 2013

    They say there are no new stories, but I would have enjoyed Justice League #19 more had I not been able to name two within six pages. Intentional or not, Geoff Johns is pulling deep from Mark Waid as I felt the influence of both Kingdom Come and Tower of Babel throughout this entire issue. Read Full Review

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