OK. Saying that Johns is the master of manipulating DC continuity in service of a story is a bit like a new Fantastic Four writer proposing Dr. Doom plotline followed by a huge Galactus story with an emphasis that this is a family not just a team—it’s been done. So let’s just take it as a given that John’s is able to synthesize a series of contradictory fantasies into some semblance of a narrative that features surprisingly compelling dramatic elements. That’s what John’s does, and, like Wolverine, he’s simply the best at it.

What is more interesting, and what is brought to the forefront in this particular series, is Johns’ radical rejection of the modern practice of story decompression. This is not universal to all of Johns’ work (Green Lantern, Rebirth stands out as a clear exception); however, of all the super star writers working at the Big Two these days, John’s stands out as the most willing to provide voluminous amounts of plot and beats in the least amount of space. On some level you can’t blame the guy: he appears to have committed to renewing the entire DCU for a new generation, and there just aren’t that many panels to work with.

However, in the Legion of Three Worlds it should be noted that Johns’ usual ability to wedge copious amounts of both character and violence into his scripts fails the overall intention of the story. In fact, instead of an actual developing plot, Legion provides the reader with a series of expertly drawn moments each of which seems only tangentially related to the next. It comes off as the equivalent of twittering Moby Dick, and it just doesn’t work. Being a legion fan, I greatly appreciate the effort involved in taking on all these characters; but it seems that this corner of the DCU would have been better served by John’s focusing a small group of individuals with representatives from each world rather than all of them. That said, Perez’s art is typically baroquely beautiful, and I continue to be enthralled by Johns old school, and thus now unique, style.