BY JONATHAN EDWARDS
Something happened after I read this book. I was comparing it to the previous two JLA Rebirth one-shots, and something occurred to me. The thing I liked most about Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1 was the structure, as it served as a microcosm of Ryan Choi's experiences with Ray Palmer and The Atom. For Justice League of America: Vixen Rebirth #1, it was the color and how it was used to distinguish, but also link, her past and present. And then, there's this one: Justice League of America: The Ray Rebirth #1. As far as I know, this marks Ray Terrill's first appearance in the main DC continuity since 2011. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti did write a four-issue limited series titled The Ray a few months after The New 52 began. However, that introduced a new character, Lucien Gates, taking up the mantle. Although, it doesn't look like anything was really done with The Ray after that. Lucien apparently showed up as a supporting character a few times, but that's about it. That is, until now. The reemergence of Ray as The Ray seems to coincide with the announced Freedom Fighters: The Ray animated series, set to appear on CW Seed later this year. Because, like the version of the character starring in that series, Ray Terrill is now gay.

I wouldn't be surprised if some people called Justice League of America: The Ray Rebirth #1 the most "political", or even "controversial", of the one-shots, at least of those released so far. Now, I'm not referring to those who I'm sure will be upset that a character, who at one time dated Black Canary, is gay. In fact, I don't intend to talk about that perceived change, as I feel there's a lot to unpack there, and it technically didn't even start with this book. What I am talking about is how Steve Orlando took Ray's origin, from "Night Boy" to becoming The Ray, and made it also work as an analogy for LGBTQ acceptance and representation. Anyone who has any hang-ups about those themes are more than likely going to bitch about "politics in their comic books". Of course, as one of the owners of my LCS pointed out, comics have pretty much always been political. People only complain when they don't agree.

Jumping back to the beginning of the review, realizing what Orlando has done with The Ray is what made that aforementioned "something" occur to me. The one-shots leading up to the main Justice League of America: Rebirth #1 are not just introducing/reintroducing us to some of the characters that will make up the JLA. They're establishing who these characters are in the post-Rebirth universe, and the way in which each book is constructed is entirely relative to them. It's something I somewhat picked up on with The Atom's book ("microcosm" was not an accidental choice of descriptions for the structure). And even though I wrote it in my review, I didn't fully realize the significance of "heritage linked by color" to Vixen until I reflected on her book while thinking about The Ray's.

To potentially give you whiplash from switching topics so quickly, this book's art is solid. To my surprise, the artist in question is Stephen Byrne, who also worked on Justice League/Power Rangers. I reviewed that book last week, and I did not like it. One thing in particular that I criticized was the frequently bland backgrounds. It was like seeing recognizable characters walking around in a handful of differently colored voids, sometimes with nebulous details. The lighting also made everything feel way too homogeneous and uninteresting at times, which is something I forgot to mention. Here, all of those problems are gone. I mean, there's no extreme level of detail going on or anything, but it actually looks like everyone's in defined locations. Plus, the color, while done similar in theory, is executed much more effectively. The blues used to depict Ray's light-free house work really well.

I'll be honest, I'm sold on Orlando's JLA one-shots. Are they the type of comic that'll change your life? No, I don't think so. However, the way in which they've been rooted so firmly in their title characters is something I respect. It'll be interesting to see if Orlando applies that same idea to the main book. And if he does, how will he adapt it to fit a team of seven? At this point, I really do see these less as one-shots and more as a series, so I think my previous recommendations stand for all of them now. Should you pick it up? If you're a fan of DC or the characters, go for it, especially if you intended to read Justice League of America.

Hmmm… Partly I'm not sure about this as it's a background piece to a character I have no knowledge of, so I have no idea of his real powers, narrative history or what to expect from him, and of how representative these pages are. Partly I'm not sure as this is so wishy-washy liberal at times I felt like the alleged baddy here (who's about the lamest character in DC history, and looks like Captain Haddock). I probably needed this one-shot to be able to follow him in the Rebirth JLA, but I can't say from this I'm too excited about it.

Justice League of America: The Ray Rebirth Review #1

Writer:
 Steve Orlando
Artist:
 Stephen Byrne
Colorist:
 Stephen Byrne
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics

A review by Nico Sprezzatura.

justice league of america: the ray rebirthThere’s a new Justice League of America coming, and Justice League of America: The Ray Rebirth #1 is the third in a series of four one-shots reintroducing some of its prominent (if slightly unknown) members. January has already seen the “rebirths” of Ryan Choi’s Atom and Vixen, while Killer Frost will be “reborn” next week; today, readers meet Ray Terrill: a superhero otherwise known as The Ray.

If you aren’t familiar with The Ray, don’t worry, neither was I. Created by Jack C. Harris and Joe Quesada in 1992, Ray Terrill can absorb and process light, which he uses to fly, release destructive bursts, or transform into a being of pure energy. He’s comparable to Marvel’s Monica Rambeau. A former member of the Freedom Fighters, 2017 promises to be a big year for the character; in addition to his inclusion on Rebirth’s JLA, he’ll also headlining an animated series set in CW’s Arrowverse that could see him make the jump to live-action down the line, much like Vixen herself did last year.

With all that said, is Ray Terrill’s reintroduction to the DCU any good? Putting it bluntly, yep!

Growing up a sickly boy allergic to light (both natural and artificial) under his overbearing mother’s watchful eye, little Ray Terrill could’ve had a better go of things in his early live. After accidentally killing his father with those aforementioned light powers and almost dooming his childhood friend with the same fate, Ray lived as a recluse in his home for years, longing for human connection.

Flash forward a decade or so, and Ray finally works up the courage to see the world outside his house, which doesn’t exactly work out well for him, at least initially. After saving a familiar face from an act of terrorism, Ray decides it’s time for him to step out of the shadows and become The Ray.

Written by Midnighter’s Steve Orlando (who’ll also be penning JLA), this one-shot gives us a full picture of who Ray Terrill is, and who he wants to be in only twenty-odd pages. Compressed storytelling is deceivingly hard to do, even when handling an origin story like this one, but Orlando manages to establish Ray as an interesting, compelling character in the short space given. I actually want to go back and read some of Ray’s earlier adventures as a result, which speaks to the quality of Orlando’s characterization of a superhero I only have tangential knowledge of.

The art here is similarly fantastic. Stephen Byrne, whose illustrations were recently seen in Green Arrow, is an absolute delight. His renderings are bright and lively, reminiscent of a cartoon, which makes sense considering his experience in animation. Superheroes need to be eye-popping and aesthetically interesting, and Byrne’s design for The Ray helps to make him standout. He’s very much akin to Marvel’s Sunspot, dressed in a black/yellow palette with eerie blackness covering his skin aside from the eyes and mouth.

Another thing worth mentioning is the degree of The Ray’s “rebirth”. Namely, his newly-established sexuality. While traditionally portrayed as a heterosexual man, this interpretation of The Ray is gay, re-developed by two queer men themselves. The change in characterization is justified both textually and meta-textually.

Because of Ray’s early circumstances, trapped in his home from sunlight, he’s essentially closeted from the world as a normal person and someone who identifies as gay. Because he can’t leave his house, he doesn’t get to meet other guys he could potentially strike a romantic connection with; double whammy, right? It’s an interesting creative decision that’s justified by the character’s backstory.

There’s also the matter of representation, which is obviously important. In superhero comics especially we don’t see many queer superheroes get a massive push like this, so any instance (such as this one) is a major victory. Moreover, the fact that it’s two queer men who get to help deliver said representation is another victory in of itself.

Orlando, particularly, has been a major boom for queer male creators working at the Big Two, thanks to his lauded Midnighter run and present handling of Supergirl in her ongoing Rebirth title. As a gay-identifying male who would like to write comics for Marvel and DC someday myself, it’s satisfying to see someone of my ilk succeeding in a field (and genre) I’m interested in.

The Verdict
Buy it! All of Rebirth’s JLA one-shots this month have been well worth checking out, and Justice League of America: The Ray Rebirth #1 might actually be my favorite of the set thus far. Even setting identity politics aside, it’s just a quality comic book, delivered by a pair of (queer, mind you) rising talents in the industry. Featuring a little-known character who could afford to gain a few fans along the way, we don’t get many victories like this in mainstream superhero comics. Any chance we get to support diversity (of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc) is one you should take!