Justice League 3001 #10 review

Supergirl is angry and taking it out on the lizard creatures she, Fire and Ice have found on the razed planet Bodhi. Fire joins in but Ice counsels caution and compassion - yes, the lizards threw a big rock at the Justice League members, but are they really the enemy? 

The answer comes from an old ally, another survivor from the 21st century. 

Yep, it's G'Nort, once a joke but here older and sadder, and their best source of information as they bid to take the galaxy back from Lady Styx. 

On Takron-Galtos, née Earth, Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Flash confront prison planet governor Sheriff Tariq - is he really on the side of the angels? 

And on the world of Naltor, Lady Styx is ready to unleash Eclipso and his Legion of Death on the beleaguered League. 

Meanwhile, in the back-up strip, unlikely allies Ariel Masters and Lois Lane track down an old member of the latter's Injustice League and find he's taken on a new occupation. 

Blimey. Will he get dressed already and help them in their own attempts to stop Styx?

Justice League 3001 is such fun. Yes, the universe is in a very bad place, with heroes and regular people alike getting murdered right and left by Styx's Scullion android enforcers, but it's what superhero comics should be. There's a clear conflict, complicated characters, moments of high drama balanced with gobbets of mirth and plenty of action. Writers Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis constantly surprise with their plot turns, while Scott Kolins, drawing the front of the book, and Colleen Doran, the back, provide pages of delightful images that sell the threats and bring the emotions. 

Every page offers a treat for the eyes, but I must single out Kolins' depiction of Supergirl unleashed and Doran's sexy Sinestro. 

The illustrations are coloured with pizzazz by Hi-Fi, Rob Leigh letters with quiet craft and the package is sealed with an enticing Kolins/Hi-Fi cover. 

Favourite moments this issue include Ice's reminder of what a Justice League must be, the revelation of who was stalking Paradise Island last issue, the identity of G'Nort's boss and Batgirl proving she's a 31st-century DC Bombshell. Oh, and then there's Ariel's disguise kit...

Unless DC isn't telling us something, this comic is going away with the upcoming Rebirth line relaunch. If that's the case, I'll be grateful the series - and predecessor Justice League 3000 - got this far. It's been a blast of fresh air in an often dour DCU.