Comic Book Review: Justice League #35

Written By: Len Wein
Art By: Eddy Barrows and Rudy Jose
Cover By: Ed Benes

Plot: The Royal Flush Gang Returns! And the entrance they make into the Las Vegas casino does not disappoint. However, there is more to this than simply robbing a casino of its 25 million dollars. After immobilizing the security guards and generating a force field around the casino, The King of Spades is in contact with a phantom team member who is referred to as “Wild Card.”

Meanwhile the Justice League is down to two members, Vixen and Firestorm. Determined to keep the League alive and kicking, the two answer the casino’s distress call and enlists the help of Dr. Light, Red Tornado and Plastic Man.

Not surprisingly, the Royal Flush Gang is defeated, but escapes the League with no trace. As the League ponders on where the gang might strike next, we switch to a room where we find two very familiar enemies planning the next step to eliminate the Justice League for good.

My Thoughts: I must say, it’s really nice to have Dwayne McDuffie OFF the Justice League title. Having not read a decent Justice League book for almost a year, JLA # #35 made me exhale with relief!

This issue is a good read, well written and drawn. However, I’ve never been a fan of the Royal Flush Gang. They are a silly and corny idea for a super villain team that should never have been concocted in the first place. On the other hand, Wein uses this band of super villains quite intelligently and creatively. He made good use of the “whole deck” and it made for an interesting story.

I was happy to see that Roulette is making a comeback. I have no idea how popular she was with fans, but I personally enjoyed her battling the Justice Society back in the 90’s.

I wonder how much of what Len Wein is doing will roll over into what James Robinson will be doing with the League in the next few months. Vixen is a strong character who I feel needs to continue to stay in the League, as well as Firestorm. I enjoyed the conflicting attitude that Vixen and Firestorm are having in trying to decide what steps to take to bring the League back into full force. This was a good issue overall. But of course, anything would beat what we’ve had with the Justice League title recently.

3.5 out of 5 stars