The big mystery and hype surrounding "Obsidian Age" has largely been about the roster of the new team, and with this issue, that mystery is revealed. It's hard to screw up a "gathering the team" story, as it's been done so many times in comics that it's pretty much formula by now, and Kelly, Guichet and Propst do a good job of introducing the various characters and making this come off as a momentous occasion. I have some quibbles with some of the choices, which seem odd, but I can't deny that it's an interesting mix, and that Kelly comes closer to hitting the epic feel that the book needs than most of the previous issues of the book have.
With so many heroes in the DC Universe, the question of why there needs to be a Justice League is one that always needs answering, so it was good that Kelly started the book off with a series of disasters to give the team a need to reform. That the disasters are probably tied in to the previous Justice League's disappearance saves Kelly from having to do too much coincidental plotting, and given the way Batman has been built up as a control freak, his backup plan to reform the Justice League comes through as perfectly believable as well.
Not quite so believable are the choices he makes or the way they are recruited, which sometimes comes across as Kelly trying to be cute rather than a logical outcome from Batman's plan. The team is assembled from characters whom Kelly must have found interesting, rather than being made up of a team that Batman would have found useful, which seems a little odd. For instance, when Captain Marvel makes his decision, it seems strange that the program wouldn't select a backup with similar powers, but instead just turns to someone on the same team. I'm also curious about the need to add a new character when there are so many viable characters in limbo, or the decision to add a villain to the roster both from a creative point-of-view and from an internal plot consistency point-of-view.
That said, the group is certainly interesting from a story perspective, and should give readers who have a fondness for some of these second or third stringers a thrill. In addition, Guichet and Propst provide some interesting interpretations of these characters, with a somewhat inky look that meshes well with the other art team but has its own individual strengths. I actually found some of the details on the characters, particularly Green Arrow and Hawkgirl, to live up to the high standards of their regular art teams, and I liked the interpretation of Firestorm as well.
JLA has needed something of a shake-up for a while now, and a new roster (however temporary) is a good one. There's only minimal plot movement in this issue, so it's still hard to judge The Obsidian Age as a story, but the creative team has hooked me more this issue and made me curious to see what happens next. Now it just remains to be seen if Kelly and his other art team can reinvigorate my interest in the big Seven with the other half of this bi-weekly storyline.
