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Justice League Odyssey #4 Review- Decompression is Killing Comics

Joshua Williamson (Author) • Philippe Briones (Pencils)

Jeromy Cox (Colorist) • Stjepan Sejic (Cover Artist)

Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson (Variant Cover)

DC Comics (Publisher)

When DC comics split the Justice League into three titles (Justice League, Justice League Odyssey, Justice League Dark) I was pumped. I added all three titles to my pull list. I got back into comics in 2015 and hadn't found a team book that worked for me. The best of the bunch was Justice League Dark but one of the nagging issues with all three titles was the decompressed storytelling. This hits JL Odyssey particularly hard because I'm not familiar with most of the team and they are in a location I know even less about.

Decompressed storytelling only worked in books that are manned by top tier writers who are great at pacing. Decompressed books also need to be affordable or readers will either wait for the trade or drop out of the title entirely or begin pirating. This is where I am with this series and I think this will be my last review for this title.

Justice League Odyssey has a couple of pages of excitement but the plot still moves at a snail's pace. The Stjepan Sejic cover is great and does the job of selling the book. Its also worth pointing out that the events portrayed on the cover happen in the comic, sorta. Philippe and Jeromy do it a fine job with the art direction. The backgrounds really stood out to me this time around. I've read comics recently where backgrounds were a complete afterthought so its nice to see artists that give a damn.

The story picks up with Cyborg and Azrael discovering that they are also being worshipped as gods. Some of the populace do not believe and force them into a fight. The battle is the best scene of the book, but the fight ends too quickly. Elsewhere the rest of the team investigate the plot. The issue also touches base with Darkseid and his plot.

The issue works on its own but if you've been reading since issue #1 it feels like nothing has really happened to progress the story. This works when the book has a lower price point, but at $3.99 an issue the book doesn't feel worth the money or my time.

There are some pretty pics and the plot may eventually come together but I'm not gonna keep throwing money at the series hoping that it eventually comes together.

#JusticeLeague #JusticeLeagueOdyssey #JoshuaWilliamson #PhilippeBriones #JeromyCox #DCComics #Cyborg #Azrael

Rating 7/10

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