Or as they were actually read in trades, volumes 1 and 2. Let’s hop in our time machines and set a course for The Future!

Justice League 3000
Writers: Keith Giffen (plots or plotz) & J.M. DeMatteis (words)
Art: Howard Porter, Raymund Bermudez, Wayne Faucher, Chris Batista, LeBeau Underwood
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Sal Cipriano, Travis Lanham, Taylor Esposito, Rob Leigh

First of all, I’d like to thank Mart Gray from the awesome Too Dangerous For A Girl, who made me decide to take the plunge on this book, if you’ve never stopped by his blog, please do so by clicking here.

The concept of Justice League 3000 is at first glance pretty simple, in the future, to combat an evil that has basically conquered the galaxy, the greatest heroes of the past have been reborn. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, cloned and reunited to do what they do best, save the day.

The only problem is, these aren’t the characters they were engineered to be. Wonder Woman is a bloodthirsty warrior, with none of the compassion that Diana should have. Superman is arrogant, boastful, and has a habit of referring to himself in the third-person. Add to it the fact that they don’t have all of their memories, or quite the same powers as the originals, and you have a team that bears only a superficial resemblance to the Justice League.

While having Giffen and DeMatteis on the book, one may expect some of the classic Bwa-Ha-Ha League, it’s not nearly as light as you may think. There is humor though, there are running jokes, and funny relationships between characters. There are also quite a few genuinely shocking moments, including betrayals, and character deaths, that I legitimately did not see coming.

Without getting too deep into spoiler territory, things are not what they are presented as. They are clones. Of a sort. When they learn the truth of their creation it gives a new weight to their rebirth, a human cost
to carry with them. The Flash has an especially rough time, as does Green Lantern, who… Well, ends up a smaller character than we’re used to. Firestorm shows up, as well as a future version of the Injustice League. A team that includes Bane, Mirror Master, Zeus, Sinestro, and Lois Lane?! We also get a glimpse at Etrigan and Ice.
The best of the characters to show up in this far off future, who even though I knew were showing up, were the one and only (well, two and only) Blue Beetle and Booster Gold! Not future clones, not in a flashback, but Beetle and Booster!

I’m not a huge fan of New52 DC, the future setting, the concept, and the creative team set this book outside enough that it can be enjoyed without all of the other baggage. It’s a fun, self-contained, story, and while it’s off on in its own corner of the DCU, it is also able to do something that DC was once known for, a sense of history and legacy. You don’t need to be reading a bunch of other books to enjoy this one. This is a superhero book done right. I loved it.

I should also send some praise over to Howard Porter, I’ve only read a bit of his Justice League run with Grant Morrison, and to be honest wasn’t a huge fan of his art at the time. His art really has grown by leaps and bounds and it was perfect for this book. Shout out too to Hi-Fi, he or she or they do a great job on the colors in the book.
Kris enjoyed this book.

-Kris