“Dear Justice League” Is Fun for All Ages

One of the entries in DC Comics’ new middle grade imprint, DC Zoom, is Dear Justice League. With art by Gustavo Duarte and story by Michael Northrop, Dear Justice League offers a rare look at the lives of some of DC’s most famous heroes.

Dear Justice League is an adorable introduction to the members of the Justice League, featuring a series of nine separate yet interconnected stories wherein they answer emails (or letters) from children. Each hero pictured on the cover (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Cyborg, and Hawkgirl) gets his or her own story, concluding with a joint story.

Northrop has constructed a variety of simple, funny, and heart-warming stories that children and adults will be able to enjoy. Drawing on his experience as a writer for Sports Illustrated Kids, Northrop has shown that each hero is, fundamentally, human, and therefore flawed. Superman texts while flying and ends up causing a butterfly effect of problems. Aquaman is self-conscious about the fact that he may or may not smell like fish. Flash is deliciously petty to a pair of young bullies. There is a lesson to be learned from each one.

There is also quite a bit of humor, not only from the text (like Batman’s insistence on labeling everything he uses as a “bat-whatever”) but also in the art particularly in the background. (Northrop said at the BEA press conference that his favorite joke in the book was the name of the butcher shop, which was all Duarte). Speaking of the art, I’m a big fan of the style. It’s cute but not overly cutesy, and it goes a long way to making the heroes all look friendly. I have no doubt that any version of the Justice League would happily answer fan mail from children, but these versions look like they’d especially love the chance.

Dear Justice League is the perfect way to introduce your kids to superheroes, or even just a way to share the experience of reading comics with your kids (or kids in your lives). That said, as a 37-year-old single woman with absolutely no children, this book was also enjoyable for me on its own merits.

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Dear Justice League by Michael Northrop and illustrated by Gustavo Duarte is published by DC Zoom and is currently available wherever books are sold.

**I was provided a review copy by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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