REVIEW: Justice League: Last Ride #4

Justice League: Last Ride #4 is here and I have to say I have really been enjoying this series. So far we have been expertly drip fed information which keeps the reader intrigued and waiting for more, and I can confirm I am one of those readers!

But before we get into the issue itself, let’s take a look at the covers. The standard cover is by Darick Robertson and Diego Rodriguez and is an action packed spectacle! There is so much detail included here and with each look you notice something else. Superman looks furious as he fights off aliens with Green Lantern and it’s safe to say he looks very intimidating. I love the use of colours to show the intensity of his heat vision, it’s really effective.

The variant cover is by Tiago Da Silva and showcases Martian Manhunter zooming through space. It is a stunning piece, I love how the background is blurred to show the sheer speed that Martian Manhunter is travelling and the detail is absolutely phenomenal. From the costume to the skin texture, every detail is thought out and perfectly executed and his vibrant skin just shines against this atmosphere. This is truly an out of this world piece.

Justice League: Last Ride #4 delivers the answers we have all been waiting for in terms of what happened with The League. Though we knew it had something to do with Superman, Batman and Martian Manhunter, this issue really goes into detail on the harrowing events that caused this huge drift between the Justice League and it was a totally understandable dilemma.

A pervious issue alluded to one of Superman’s incredible traits as a weakness and that is the ability and will power to find another way despite the circumstances and explores the fact that Superman cannot be in all places at all times. In this case it causes Superman to get distracted which has a huge impact on the mission at hand, despite the sacrifices that The League and Martian Manhunter are about to make.

I really love how writer Chip Zdarsky has explained what happened through flashbacks and I particularly love the split of the issue, one half covers the past and the other half covers the present and current mission at hand. The fact that we are still being drip fed information from both time points really keeps readers drawn in. Not only that but it really shows the scale of this drift between them, how they dealt with in then and how they are dealing with it now, which I find fascinating.

The second half of the issue, as mentioned covers the current mission and throws yet another spanner in the works as Lobo antagonises Superman and The Flash. Lobo has clearly overheard the past events during this mission and he knows just how to get under Superman’s skin by explaining the similarities in their very different ways. Not only that but he also goes onto explain that he wasn’t actually the one who murdered The New Gods, which is why he is on trial in the first place and Superman and The Flash start to wonder exactly what is going on here. The pair quickly realise they’ve fallen into a trap as two very well known Superman villains emerge, much to the Justice League’s surprise.

Once again I love how we are being drip fed information and when we do get revelations like we have in this issue it really adds a shock factor to readers. This is a really great series which is full of action, excellent writing and really explores the relationships and mental health of the members of the Justice League following the trauma that they’ve experienced.

The artwork is by Miguel Mendonça with colours by Enrica Angiolini and man it is so good! It perfectly matches the tone of the issue and series as a whole and is full of detail. Every atmosphere and location that is explored looks and feels instantly different and that is down the the textures and colours used.

Mendonça is particularly good at capturing the feelings and emotions of each and every member of The Justice League, especially Superman as he really goes through a rollercoaster of emotions in this issue. With each glance you instantly feel exactly what he feels, and that is something that can be really hard to execute in artwork.

Justice League: Last Ride #4 is an action packed issue that really delves into what has caused this drift between The League and expertly explores the effect that it has had on the teams mental health and trust in each other. I cannot wait to see where this series goes from here.

Haven’t picked up Justice League: Last Ride #4 yet? You can get the standard cover by Darick Robertson here (UK), or here (US).

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