The Justice League died, and the new Justice League is… not great

Dark Crisis is DC’s 2022 crossover event all about what happens after the Justice League dies. Its first issue has a tight focus on Jon Kent, who’s already stepped into his father’s big red boots as Superman and naturally sees it as his responsibility to recruit a new Justice League to inspire, protect, and comfort the world in a time of grief and uncertainty.

It’s just that his picks are… well, let’s go through them. Supergirl, Jon’s cousin once removed who’d certainly hear about it at the next reunion if she hadn’t said yes; a Blue Beetle; Doctor Light, making her mandatory appearance in an event comic and absolutely nowhere else; Killer Frost, who, while reformed, still has a pesky ol’ uncontrollable hunger for the heat of human bodies; Booster Gold; the other Blue Beetle; FRANKENSTEIN; Aqualad, Jon’s closest gay friend; Robin, Jon’s closest straight friend; and the Very littleReformed Harley Quinn.

If this is how you found out that Frankenstein’s monster is a recurring DC Comics superhero, I’m sorry. He is called Frankenstein and he’s a secret agent for paranormal stuff (I think. I’m not looking it up).

Is there anything else happening inside our favourite comics’ pages? We’ll tell you. Welcome to Monday Funnies, Polygon’s weekly list of the books that our comics editor enjoyed this past week. It’s part society pages of superhero lives, part reading recommendations, part “look at this cool art.” There may be some spoilers. It may not provide enough context. There will still be some great comics. You can also read the previous edition if you haven’t seen it yet.

Image: Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere/DC Comics

In the words of Sam Wilson, Black Adam is out of line, but he’s right — this is not the Justice League that will make the world feel like it’s in good hands when its greatest heroes have fallen and villains are running amok. But it’s a great character beat for Jon, who’s got all of his dad’s optimism and faith in people, but none of his experience in public relations.

Photo by Christine Larsen/Boom Studios

I loved Christine Larsen’s Orcs, a classic “what if it was from the henchmen’s point of view” story, but with an uncommon commitment. OrcsThe humor in this miniseries is, naturally, funny. However, the comedy is also meant to be a combination of earnest slice of life and adventure. I’m really glad Larsen is back with a new miniseries in the setting, this time with these crow-people at the fore. These crow-people are my favourite.

Image: G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara/DC Comics

Writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Marcio Takara’s Poison IvyA cocktail of AnnihilationVisuals HannibalI find intrusive thoughts a bit creepy. If the rest of the miniseries continues the same, I think it’ll be an Ivy story for the ages.

Image: Torunn Grønbekk, Michael Dowling/DC Comics

Jane Foster & The Mighty ThorJust in time for Jane Foster Comics to be available on shelves, this comic is now available Thor: Love & Thunder hits. The comic I hoped for the longest. A cameo from Jane’s unionized pegasus, Mr. Horse.

Image by Kevin Conroy/J. Bone/DC Comics

Take one comic home this week DC Pride 2022 #1. The standout story here is the only piece of non-fiction: A memoir of struggling as a gay actor in the ’80s and early ’90s from the voice of Batman himself, Kevin Conroy.

Storytime: Picture me, waiting to start an interview at the DC Comics booth, hearing a weirdly familiar laugh on the other side of a dividing screen and wondering which buddy of mine was doing photos over there — and then realizing, with a jolt, that it was familiar because it sounded Similar to Batman. I asked the reasons as I sat at my table. ActuallyConroy, a queer comics author, was there interviewing him. Conroy crossed the line to get a seat on his own for interviews and began a conversation. I didn’t dare interrupt, and I didn’t want to. I could have lived in that bubble of a moment — a queer professional creator, a queer reporter, and the queer industry legend who’d inspired both of us — for hours.