I have mix feelings about this. On one hand, I liked how the team tried to be different and include different characters, not necessarily the most popular ones but on the other hand, some choices were too random and strange. Because of that, the team as a whole seems off and not a team at all. I enjoyed some individual character snippets but for an ensemble title, this was not my cup of tea and this strange dynamic affected my opinion. I think I would have enjoyed it more if there was some kind of structure or reason among the members of the team but as I have mentioned, they all seemed too random.

A disappointment after being pleasantly surprised with the one shots. Batman assembles this team because he wants a more human team, but then has Lobo on the team? An alien who can't be killed ? Really? Then it's supposed to be a team full of people who don't where masks. Well, except for Batman, I guess. Just because you refer to it in the book, doesn't make it any better. Honestly, Batman doesn't belong on this team. He seems superfluous throughout the book. Vixen seems to be handling the same roles he would.

I hate the villains in these books. Were they all philosophy majors? They yammer on and on about whatever nonsense agenda they have whether it be ruling over people because they'll otherwise destroy themselves or life is chaos so lets destroy order just for the hell of it. Having a guy called Lord Havok trying to rule the world to establish order is a major league oxymoron. Having the Extremists make their first appearance since the new 52 reset and not playing up the fact that they are knockoff Marvel villains seems kind of pointless.

I finished this last year (it feels so odd to saort one as I want to get a headstart on this year's reading challenge and have a healthy TBR pile beside me...

I must say the the Justice League comics aren't my favourite. I'm sure you've noticed that I'm far more attracted to Suicide Squad and Batman and Batgirl comics. Although it is nice to see all these characters together - especially with former villains such as [Killer] Frost on the League - I wasn't particularly wowed by this volume. The most interesting part, I found, was the development in Frost's personal story and the possible discovery of a "cure" for her condition.

The plot of Extremists is Lord Havok and his gang - the aptly named Extremists - coming to Earth to create 'peace'. As is often the case, his vision of peace is more like complete control and dominance over the world, which the JLA aren't going to let happen very easily. So the battle begins, while Havok goes around taking countries under his control, starting with Kravia.

The plot isn't bad and there isn't really anything wrong with this book, but it just didn't feel all that exciting or special. 3 stars.

Among the best parts of Steve Orlando's Rebirth Justice League of America Vol. 1: The Extremists are the characters. I'd have never thought I'd see a comic where the 1990s Lobo was mentoring Atom Ryan Choi, but it's here and it works. In the tradition of Batwoman in the Rebirth Detective Comics, it's also refreshing to have another team book where Batman's colleagues, namely Vixen and Black Canary, question his motives and tell him off. This particular kind of Justice League feels particularly relevant and welcome in this day and age.

Batman for his own reasons has brought together a team he has labelled The Justice League of America. He started with a reformed Killer Frost, and then added Black Canary, Vixen, a new Atom, The Ray, and Lobo in their own headquarters off Rhode Island. Their first mission was stopping Lord Havoc and The Extremists from taking over an Eastern European country and spreading their brand of order to the world. Their next task is to free Penn City from the grasp of Aegeus and his armaments company. Plenty of action, plenty of drama, with a bit of character development tossed in. But as Lobo and the reader wonders, "What does Batman think is coming that he needs his own team for?"

ARC from Netgalley.
In the post-Justice League vs. Suicide Squad Rebirth era, Batman has decided to create a new JLA from less savory types who need a second chance. Meet the new Justice League of America: Lobo, Killer Frost, Black Canary, The Atom, Vixen, and The Ray.
Two stories make up this Volume. After building the team, they face off against alien Lord Havok, who brings his group, The Extremists, to overthrow his home country and rule. This leads to a long, drawn out fight that gets a bit tedious but is still relatively good. The second, stemming from the aftermath of the first, has them fighting against Aegeus, a corporation that is giving weapons to the uprising that overthrew Havok.
The star of this book is Lobo, and while I've never been a fan of him, he's alright here.
Overall, not crazy impressed with this book, but it has potential to get much better.
Recommend, with reservations.

This was just really not for me. It wasn't so much one thing, as all the things in small ways. I had a hard time caring about the characters because I didn't feel close to them at all. Almost as if I was just supposed to care because of who they were. As for the story arcs, those were only mediocre and the execution felt lacking. I am a bit of a tough sell as far as the League is concerned anyways, and this one definitely didn't cut it.

'Justice League of America Vol. 1: The Extremists' by Steve Orlando finds Batman putting together another super team, but the book is just kind of a mess.

Batman wants to create a super team that has "normal" superheroes on it and not gods. But the presence of Lobo doesn't seem to make sense to me. Then there are the two story arcs in which super powered beings take over a country or a city and it's up to this newly formed team (at least one of which is new to the superhero business) to sort things out.

I like Batman with a team of Outsiders, so I had hopes for this one, but it just didn't work for me. The team is a weird hybrid that all seem to suddenly be fine working together. The back to back dictator stories seemed like political fodder (and why do the normal humans just bow down and accept these tyrants?). The art and color is overkill to the point of being blah. When it was all over, I just didn't care about any of it.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and I was invested in the story. I'm excited to read the other volumes!

Since the original Justice League cheesed off Batman, which isn’t that hard to do, Batman assembles a new team, starting with two hot babes, Black Canary and Killer Frost. Then he adds Lobo, the Atom’s teaching assistant, and The Ray, not to be confused with some guy named Ray. But wait, there’s always room for another hot babe on the team, so he rounds it out with Vixen.

The idea is that the world needs a team of heroes who aren’t gods (are there gods in the original JLA? I suppose Wonder Woman comes close, but the rest seem reasonably mortal). A couple of times we’re told that instead of gods, the world needs a team of humans, so that humans will realize that they too can be heroes … except that Lobo isn’t human and everyone but Batman has a superpower, so I’m not seeing much difference in concept between the old JLA and this new JLA. Sorry Batman, just sayin’.

Anyway, their first threat is an invasion of angry aliens from Angor, led by Havoc, who think that freedom causes nothing but trouble and intends to take it away from humans. They end up taking over a country in Eastern Europe called Kravia which might just be a good place for angry aliens to stay, but meddlesome Batman wants to start a war by disrespecting Kravia’s new government. I sort of liked that story (I see it as an allegory of democracies that produce authoritarian rulers) although I never quite bought the motivation of the angry aliens, which has something to do with the destruction of a home planet that is a lot like Kravia.

The rest of the story is downhill. An extended fight scene across multiple cities is notable for how much the heroes and villains talk when they should be fighting. “Let me tell you my life story while you try to kill me.” The chatting goes on way too long and does little to advance the story.

By the end of the story, Batman has Captain America’s shield -- well maybe not, but he should probably be paying royalties to Captain America -- and all the chatting eventually winds down. Which is good, because fights scenes should not be as ghastly dull as these.

Verdict: hung jury. I like Lobo, primarily because he isn’t sanctimonious like the rest of the new League members. The political story is good, but the execution is way too wordy. The art is decent in the early going, but like the story, it degenerates -- in fact, it becomes atrocious -- in later issues. If there is a point to this new JLA, I was unable to fathom it.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The lamest of baddies come along, and Batman's pseudo-team struggle against each other and their new status enough to pad the fight out for four whole issues of patheticness, after which things barely improve. This isn't a Rebirth, this is a book from people who don't know DC one spit. For their information, the only character who can justifiably say to baddies "You don't know Earth. I do. Work with me not fight and I'll help you" or whatever is Superman. Not Batman. The bleeding heart, sacrificial, better-do-something-as-I've-been-told-there's-a-mahoosive-arc-coming-along-and-it'll-be-my-fault character we have here doesn't deserve the name. The troubalert is stoopid, Kravikoras and all her neighbours an insult to anyone who knows the world beyond the USA shores. The only redeeming feature in the art is that Black Canary looks a lot better than she does in Green Arrow at the moment. Yup, I can be that positive about this dreadful mess.

This Rebirth version of JLA is just OK. The plot isn't all that exciting and an entire issue was wasted on getting the team together. Plus, the premise that Batman is bringing together heroes that "normal" people will relate to and be inspired by? How does that make sense when every member except him has special powers and one member is even an alien?! But I will say that Lobo is the best part of the book.

Batman's starting his own squad! Tired of working alongside aliens and gods in the Justice League, he's decided to create a team of humans to inspire the people of earth to be their best. This new team will be easily differentiated from the Justice League by its completely different moniker, the Justice League of America. Batman summarizes his brilliant idea by saying, "I've started something new. A different team. Mortal. Not gods." And then he recruits Lobo, an alien whose regenerative powers make him essentially immortal. Right off the bat, there's something really wrong with this premise. The justification for putting out another JLA book alongside Justice League doesn't pass the sniff test.

Okay, but assume you don't care whether there's a realistic reason for Batman to put together "the Outsiders Lite," you just like good DC team books and mediocre-or-better storytelling. Well, then this book still isn't for you! The first arc finds the JLA fighting a team of super-powered beings (loosely based on Marvel characters) from the planet "Angor" (hard to parse the symbolism in that name) who plan to save Earth from certain destruction caused by humans with too much freedom. They start by taking over an eastern European country and imposing order on its populace. The second arc deals with a villain who prefers chaos over the order in the world. Basically, we're looking at the thinnest of thin political allegories in both arcs. That's fine if the work is good, but this book puts the message above the story, which is ill-conceived and poorly executed.

Out of all the books and stories, this reminds me of Justice League United. A story with many heroes, mostly unpopular ones, gives them a "Justice League" title, and sends them on their way... for a short time. It's not uncommon, Marvel is doing the same thing with the Secret Warriors right now. Even DC Comics TV is doing this with Legends of Tomorrow! Not a bad thing, just an observation... BUT this one has Batman!!! This story and team, however weird and ragtag, works pretty well. While the bad guys weren't recognizable, the story has potential if it continues. The characters are well represented, with Lobo and Batman being the best. (duh) The art was also good, and was solid throughout the volume. So all and all, I liked it a lot. But it's a mixed pro and con to have Batman in it. Yes, Batman has the best moments in the book, but it also means this could be a case where it couldn't hold up without him.

I love that Lobo is getting more page time! I can't wait to read the next volume. Rebirth has been by far the best cycle of the comics so far.

I liked this . With Lobo and Klller Frost added To the mix this is not your typical Justice League . . The story is exciting and with other heroes such as Vixen and Black Canary gives an interesting spin to well known concept.

It shouldn't have worked. It really shouldn't have worked. And yet for the most part it did.

It's yet another team, this time the JLA, not to be confused with just the JL. It's put together by Batman. He starts with the former Killer Frost, now Frost, and then he also gets Black Canary, Lobo, the New Atom, a guy called Ray on board, and Vixen to sorta kindaish lead the team too.

They're supposed to be the team with no masks. Not the 'gods' like Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, as Batman calls them, but the more human heroes (or trying to be heroes). And I think it really does work as that sort of team.

And then they go up against Havok and his team, all of which are more like the Justice League than the Justice League of America, and that was an interesting look at power vs. freedom.

I look forward to more of this, especially Frost, and whatever's going on with Blue Jay (yay Blue Jay!)

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment.

Intentional or not, the writers seem to be communicating a clear message in these two plot lines. One that is a social and political commentary.

Leadership that offers salvation through fear and oppression is not real leadership.

The people who are oppressed are the real heroes as they claim their voices and take back their city or country. The heroes stand up like Ray did to voice the concern, and then find a way. The heroes are empowered by superheroes to resist the oppression.

The themes continue. Batman offers himself in place of his teammates. The team has to learn what it means to trust one another. Lobo has a death and resurrection moment with Ray’s help, hopefully alluding to something unexpected from Lobo in coming storylines.

Overall, this is a solid graphic novel with a lot worth pondering.

Read more at http://jasoncstanley.com/comic-review-justice-league-america-vol-1-extremists/

This one's not a bad start to the new series. It has some awkward pacing, but Orlando's clearly trying to do something different. The story has more than just “bad guys trying redeem themselves,” instead using the cast to look at different sorts of issues. It's not just punch-ups for a few issues before introducing a new baddie.

As an idea-driven story, it bogs down just a little. The Extremists aren't compelling enough to carry the arc, or at least they aren't presented as such in these issues. Backstories for each of these characters would have helped (or maybe we're supposed to know them?). The set-up is in place for something like the Elite, but it would have helped to flesh out some of these people just a bit.

The Aegeus storyline moves at a quicker pace, but still lacks a villain with a real draw. Orlando's working his way to something in this series. If he can make the stories dynamic enough to let his thinking breathe, it could be memorable, but it's not there now.

On the upside, the character work with Killer Frost continues to be intriguing, and that's probably the main draw of the book right now.

Batman decides that humans need a human version of the Justice League to inspire them, so he gets Killer Frost, Vixen, the Atom, Ray, Black Canary and Lobo to form this Justice League of America (not that I understand how Lobo would ever be considered human but I am not complaining). This team are forced to work together when they hardly know each other, which makes for interesting fight sequences and conversation.

What makes the Justice League of America unlike most team-ups if both Lobo and Killer Frost. They both bring a spontaneity to the team, which otherwise would most likely be a boring team-up of heroes that play by the book. Killer Frost is trying overcome the Killer part; but everyone is focused only on that and are not willing to look past it. As for Lobo, well he gives the team an edge that they greatly benefit from, not to mention forcing members of the team into making decisions that they never thought that they would have to make.

My only complaint is that the art is all over the place, literally. I was constantly struggling to focus on what was going on as my eyes were just unable to settle on the page. Whilst this works in some comics favours as the storyline calls for this, it just does not work when their are so many characters that require attention. I feel like the art style was made for Lobo, then they decided that they needed to add in the other characters as they were part of the team. It did not feel like each individual was properly showcased in how they deserved. I was constantly looking for Lobo and what crazy antic he was up to.

Worth the read, but do not go into this expecting it to be like the majority of comics that you have read this year.