Justice League Canada concludes

Justice League United #4 came out yesterday, closing the fledgling book's initial Justice League Canada storyline.

I was originally excited about the book when it was announced as Justice League Canada last year, less so when the name was changed to JLU and the JLC handle was shifted over to the first story arc.  Now the team won't even carry that name going forward so I think we can pretty much set it aside altogether.

Yes, of course it would.

I can't say I hated the book entirely.  Not at all.  In fact, if the expectation of a Canadian team had not been set well before its release, I'd probably be pretty happy with it.

But as I read it, I can't help but notice how little Canadian content there actually is and it irritates the hell out of me.  I'm reading Amazing X-Men right now for the Alpha Flight appearance and even that team has Canadians Northstar and Wolverine among its lineup, so as many Canucks as the JLU includes.

There may be third but without giving too much away to those who have yet to read #4, the story makes it sound like we'll either get her OR Adam Strange.

Admittedly, Alanna Strange could be quite cool.  And of course, there's also our new, much-celebrated Canadian rookie in Equinox...

...who was by and large non-existent throughout the entire story.  In issue four, she appeared in a little more than three pages, which sadly is pretty much her recent average.  Mind you, she does finally get a spotlight in issue #5, due in October, including (main) cover treatment. Her previous cover starring moment was in a variant.

This issue (#5) spotlights the newest member of the team: Equinox of the Moose Cree First Nation! As a rite of passage, Equinox must take down a mystical beast that’s terrorizing her people!

Speaking of covers and the likely disappearance of the JLC name, I won't complain if we lose the so-called Justice League Canada variants.  I made no effort to acquire them because in my opinion, they're weak.  All right, they changed the logo to read "Canada" but so what?  It's otherwise just the same cover with a different background colour, and often not even including the very few Canadian characters in the book.  Big damn deal.

On the flip side, I admit to getting a huge kick from this variant:

It's fun, it's entirely different from the original, it includes a little Canadiana...And it figures, it was done by Montreal's Karl Kerschl.

So what can we look forward to from this team?  Well, September's issue is a tie-in to Future's End, a story which speculates as to the DC Universe's status five years from now.

In the concluding chapter of the epic story that began in this month’s JUSTICE LEAGUE: FUTURES END #1, the armies of Mars rise against the unsuspecting population of Earth – and only the combined might of the Justice League and the Legion of Super-Heroes can stand against them!

Oh, look!  Alanna Strange disappears!  Just like nearly every Canadian aspect from this title!

That's followed by #5 in October, described above, along with an annual.

The Infinitus Saga begins as the Legion of Super-Heroes arrive with the shocking news that the 31st century has been destroyed! Now it’s up to the Justice League United to save the future!

The November solicitations should be available soon, and we'll see what that brings but at the moment I don't know if I'll continue with this book, at least on a regular monthly basis, beyond #5.  I've enjoyed the portrayal of Martian Manhunter and Stargirl but the characters that I buy the book for have too little of a presence for me to bother.

I'd be all over an Adam/Alanna Strange book though...