Justice League Incarnate #2 is written by Joshua Willamson & Dennis Culver, illustrated by Andrei Bressan (pages 1-3, 25-28), Kyle Hotz (pages 4-15), and Paul Pelletier & Norm Rampund (pages 16-24, 29-30), colored by Hi-Fi and lettered by Tom Napolitano. It is published by DC Comics. “Worlds Gone Mad!” picks up from the ending of the first issue and divides Justice League into two groups. One group, led by Aquawoman, battles the children of Darkseid and their accumulated forces while Orion presents them with a way to defeat Darkseid that could potentially damage the Multiverse further. Meanwhile, the second group led by President Superman travels to Earth-13, where the supernatural League of Shadows resides.
In a similar vein as Justice League Infinity (and a fitting one, given this team’s origin), this issue of Incarnate features alternate versions of beloved heroes. In Earth-13’s case, the League of Shadows is comprised entirely of more heroic takes on DC’s mystical characters, including John Constantine and Etrigan the Demon. The issue also introduces a new version of a popular character who’s caused controversy among the DC fanbase; I’m not sure how to feel about this character but I trust Williamson and Culver to put their own spin on it.
Williamson and Culver also have fun with the character interactions in various groups. Aquawoman’s group does not get along with Orion at all; especially the Queen of the Seven Seas herself, who chafes at his plans. Meanwhile, on Earth-13, Captain Carrot expresses worries that he might be shoved in a hat and stabbed while Flashpoint Batman encourages President Superman to try and strike up a relationship with Doctor Multiverse. But the best part has to be the surprising friendship between Avery Ho/Flash and Captain Carrot; it’s surprisingly wholesome and I hope that they continue to have more interactions in the future.
Artwise, each artist tackles a different segment depending on where the heroes are located. Hotz, best known for his work on Web of Venom, makes the Earth-13 sequences look appropriately haunting with gnarly trees, corpses half-buried in the Earth, and a collection of monsters including Etrigan, whose mouth is constantly leaking hellfire and is twisted in a hellish sneer. Hi-Fi and Napolitano also lean into the horror elements, as Hi-Fi’s color art shrouds Earth-13 in perpetual shadows and Etrigan’s rhymes are located in word balloons as orange as his skin. Bressan tackles the opening sequence with Aquawoman and her group fighting the forces of Apokolips. This sequence has the feel of a war movie; hordes of Parademons pour into the House of Heroes, with the JL Incarnate members fighting them off. And Pelletier draws a shocking cliffhanger on the last two pages; it made me immediately want to pick up the next issue.
Justice League Incarnate #2 dives deep into the Multiverse, visiting a multitude of worlds and catching up with characters old and new. With the members of Incarnate scattered across the cosmos and unable to stop Darkseid, it remains to be seen if the worlds they’re on contain friends or foes.
Justice League Incarnate #2 is available wherever comics are sold.
Justice League Incarnate #2
TL;DR
Justice League Incarnate #2 dives deep into the Multiverse, visiting a multitude of worlds and catching up with characters old and new. With the members of Incarnate scattered across the cosmos and unable to stop Darkseid, it remains to be seen if the worlds they’re on contain friends or foes.
