Justice League done in a manga style? Yes, please!
A young boy from Japan comes to Gotham City looking for his missing parents, and becomes the unwitting victim of a devious plot involving the Joker. Only Batman and the Justice League can solve the mysteries of the boy's missing parents, and the enigmatic power leaking from magical ley lines around the globe.

I enjoyed reading this manga of the Justice League!
However, I didn't like some of the characters. Batman has never been my favorite, and I HATE the Joker. I can't even look at his ugly face. But I liked the story and the other characters. I would enjoy reading it more if it focused more on Superman, who is a favorite superhero of mine.

The artwork is wonderful and full of interesting angles! The black and white panels do a good job of keeping things clear, but some of the action scenes were too busy for the eye to make sense of what was happening in each panel. I mostly skipped over the fight scenes.

The plot kept me interested, and I especially loved the mystery of the missing parents, because it was heart-wrenching and emotional. I would like to read the rest of the volumes to find out what happens with those magical ley lines too.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Batman and the Justice League Vol 1 has Batman, Superman, the Joker and Lex Luthor set in a Japanese manga-style plot.

A young Japanese man, Rui, goes to Gotham City to find his missing parents. His cab driver, in a VW bug (?), warns him of the city’s high crime rate and drops him off at the edge of the city. When beset with corrupt police, Rui uses his ninja-like skills to defend himself but refuses to kill. Batman rescues him. Commissioner Gordon tells Rui to leave town but he refuses. Run-ins with DC heroes and villains ensue.

Merging my two favorite graphic novel styles—manga and comics—was great fun! It took me a minute to realize that the book reads front to back (like comics) but each page reads right to left (like manga). In addition, the plot was altered slightly because it was originally written for a Japanese audience. The Joker’s new sidekick is a Japanese goddess/demon called Akurou. Using a Japanese hero, Rui, is brilliant. The fish out of water outsider viewpoint works well to emphasize new points of the Batman and Justice League’s story. The artwork also merges manga-style for Rui but only manga-style hair for the American characters though they all look much younger than they are usually portrayed in the comics.

The merging of the two styles makes Batman and the Justice League Vol 1 a great choice for both manga and comics readers. I loved it! 5 stars!

Thanks to DC Comics and NetGalley for an advance copy.

This was a great blend of old comic and manga style! The artwork was really good with crisp lines and easy flow.
Rui is a Japanese boy who's come to Gotham in search of his parents who've disappeared a year ago. As expected the "Gotham welcome" was received and in comes Batman! The Joker and Lex have joined forces for some nefarious deed involving leylines.
Looking forward to reading future installments!

A Japanese boy travels to Gotham City to search for his parents who disappeared after an explosion. He immediately encounters The Batman who is investigating the Joker who is manipulating dangerous forces tied to the Earth. Every so often there are comics that try to bridge the gap between Western superhero comics and manga with varying degrees of success. Batman and the Justice League doesn't work for the most part. Teshirogi is trying to apply a Batman story to the shonen formula but it does not mesh that well. Thus, what we get is a series of episodic chapters tied together by a thread of evil forces threatening the Earth's ley lines. Batman gets top billing because this is a Batman story with a brief cameo by Superman and a mention of the Justice League. Setting the story after the death of Jason Todd allows for some brooding by Batman by it does not make the story too interesting. The plot does not hide the fact that this is a battle manga and for a battle manga the artwork surrounding the battles isn't very dynamic and most of the time you cannot tell what any of the characters are doing during the battles. Why waste your money on this book when books like One Punch Man and My Hero Academia does this type of story so much better.

Thanks to Net Galley and DC Comics for the ARC. Honestly, this is just what DC comics needs. There are so many books that are just a bit too dark to hand to a 12 year old any more. Yes, this book has danger. Yes, the Joker blows people up. Yes, someone dies, but because of Teshirogi's artwork, the threat is a bit less overwhelming. The narrator is a boy called Rui, who also takes the edge off. He literally gets in the middle of a super villain fight. He is a great hero for a great book. I wish I had this in color. That would really have made for something spectacular. Still, this is great and when I hit the cliffhanger, I was genuinely bugged that I had to wait. Hurry it up. I need to see Batman vs Orm. Bring it on.

Have you ever wanted to see what it’d be like to blend our modern comics with manga? Well, wonder no longer. Batman and the Justice League is a blend between our favorite superhero team and well, manga. It isn’t a perfect blend between the two, with a heavier leaning into the manga world than the comic one, but it’s still pretty interesting to see.
I have to admit that while the whole comic/manga combination idea had never actually occurred to me before, it actually has a lot of potential. It could open the series up to new plots, characters, tropes, cities, and so much more.
Batman and the Justice League is forty percent comics, and sixty percent manga. At least that is how it felt to me. It used the setting of Gotham, as well as many of the established Batman and Justice League characters, but beyond that it was pure manga.
For this tale they’ve gone and created a new character. This sort of makes sense, since none of the Justice League would really lend to the character builds, backgrounds, or characteristics that are preferred in manga. The new character is young, determined, talented, and on the search for his missing parents. Naturally, his parents went missing in Gotham. That last part in particular sounds very fitting, doesn’t it?
I don’t know how long it’s been since I read a Batman/Justice League series from the perspective of a new character. It was refreshing, in many ways. Sure, I did find the character to be a little too special snowflake like (the number of other characters focused on him, his fighting abilities, his lineage, and how he’s naturally already wrapped up and the focus of a major plot) but I could easily overlook it if I wanted to, so it’s not too bad all things considered.
As for the plot itself, well that I go back and forth on. I can actually see the Joker and Lex Luthor working together. To my knowledge this has actually happened before, so it’s not terribly alarming. It’s their grand plan I’m conflicted about. I can see the Joker being insane enough to try something like this, but Lex Luthor is literally a genius…so I’m having trouble buying it. Sorry, but I just am.
I don’t even know what to say about what’s going on with the new character’s parents. I actually think they’re the weakest link to the plot. What they are that is, not that they went missing. That part was actually completely believable, considering it’s Gotham and all.
So far we’ve only seen two of the Justice League characters in this series, Batman, and Superman. Here Batman gets significantly more screen time, so to speak. Though with Lex Luthor being involved it’s only a matter of time before Superman shows up and starts trying to help out.
I’ll admit that I didn’t like this volume as much as I was hoping too…yet I think I’ll be reading the future volumes as they come out. I’m curious to see where this goes. If it keeps upping in scale it could become too much…but if it finds a way to balance itself out it still has all the potential I was talking about earlier. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

Batman & The Justice League Vol.. 1, by Shiori Teshirogi, is a manga graphic novel starring Batman, Superman, the Joker, Lex Luthor, and Rui, a Japanese boy in search of his parents who disappeared in Gotham City under mysterious circumstances. He encounters dangerous situations and is helped by the Justice League members.
I found this to be an interesting story to move into the world of Manga, and introducing a Japanese character was a great way to do it. The reader should also understand that this book also reads like a Manga book, unlike a typical graphic novel.
I found the story engaging, the characters filled with passion, and the artwork spot on. The story is fast paced and engaging and should satisfy readers who enjoy the Justice League stories and Manga comics. Recommended.

Interesting story. Can't wait for vol. 2. Great artwork except Superman's Head to body ratio could use some work. He's still cute though. Like the new character of Rui. New take on Jason Todd's death. Great work. Love manga, love comics, awesome combo!

When it comes to experimentation in the DC Universe, especially with Japanese-related genre crossovers, there are multiple instances that can be pointed out or recognized in recent memory. For example, just this year, DC fans were able to enjoy the original animated film Batman Ninja, which was a gleefully flamboyant story that took all of its ludicrous edges and created a slick experience with it. Now for avid comic book readers, the seemingly equivalent to Batman Ninja has been released, the first volume in the manga series Batman & the Justice League. However, despite some clever illustrations and artistic designs and the sheer novelty of having iconic superheroes being portrayed in such a stellar fashion, the graphic novel is overall a shallow experience, hollowed by weak characterization, confusing formatting, and an abrupt ending that left me as a reader neither excited for what the book actually provides in its story and what it hints at in further volumes.
When it actually comes to the titular subject of the series, I was confused by how singular and non-inclusive it seemed. The title Batman & the Justice League sounded less like a crossover event for the comic book ages and more like a standard affair where the Caped Crusader would have to partner with the Justice League as a separate entity. And judging by the content available in this first volume, it is hard to argue why that title choice was made. Meaning that there is very little use of any member of the Justice League outside of Batman. The one character who receives the most amount of spotlight is none other than the Man of Steel, but his inclusion is only limited to a few pages at best. It’s certainly a bold move on writer Shiori Teshirogi’s part, as he attempts to highlight brand-new characters he brings into the story including the young Japanese boy Rui who is on a frantic search to find his missing parents. This plot thread is unfortunately a mixed affair. It may have some clever ideas and the artistic design may be excellent. But it is all overshadowed by the blatantly annoying writing that illustrates it as some of the worst dialogue in recent memory for comic books. The dialogue often feels clunky and is never natural, much less instinctive as in other iconic DC graphic novels like Frank Millar’s The Dark Knight Returns. It causes the issue of the lack of usage of the Justice League members to be even more apparent as this plot thread takes up most of the entire length of the 188-page read. I will repeat that this decision is a bold one on the writer’s part and could have led to a refreshing form of storytelling for comic books, but instead feels more like a failed attempt at a brilliant concept.
In addition to the actual storytelling, the overall conclusion is far from ideal for any form of artistic medium. It is simply inexcusable for how poorly designed and executed this conclusion is. Leaving the reader on a sour note that neither causes intrigue for further volumes or excites the reader with what occurred in this book. While most authors should strive for both qualities in their conclusions, but having at least one of these aspects is better than having none at all. At least with the abrupt ending of Batman Vol. 7 there was some intrigue on a more compelling further volume. With how the first volume of this ambitious manga series wraps up, I feel no motivation or excitement to continue the series at all, a detrimental flaw from the writing.
But where this graphic novel makes up for its blatant shortcomings is in its artistic design. Like 2018’s riveting Batman Ninja, most of the art style seen in this entry is both novel and nostalgic. As a longtime DC fan, it was refreshing to see how new, foreign eyes treated such a wide array of characters and worlds. Even though the Justice League isn’t utilized to their full potential, their individual character models is compelling to say the least. They will most likely be the incentive for returning to future volumes as the novelty of seeing Ocean Master in such a unique light was so empowering for a graphic novel this year. Each frame feels like an expertly crafted painting that features stunningly accurate manga art. On the other hand, it is also nostalgic to its core as it plays mostly on its aspect that it is so faithful to other manga works. If a reader were to be placed in a scenario where they would have to decipher between this novel and other manga, they would most likely be stumped.
But where the artwork slightly falls apart is in its formatting. The dialogue bubbles are often placed in some incredibly ludicrous areas where it caused multiple moments where I had to examine and unscramble what the writer was trying to express. It’s an unnecessary hassle and probably can be avoided by any longtime manga fan, but as a newcomer to the genre it was jarring to say the least.
As a whole, this first volume in Batman & the Justice League is fascinating in both its artwork and sheer novelty. It poses some of the most ambitious experimentation from DC in months, ever since the release of Batman Ninja. But it has some critical flaws that cannot be overlooked by any fan. The storytelling is jagged, misleading, and even painful at times with some truly terrible dialogue sequences. The formatting is confusing to say the least for newcomers to manga and the ending is so abrupt as to where it provokes no excitement but instead causes frustration within the entire experience. Avid DC fans won’t hesitate to pick up this volume just for the novelty alone, but they should be aware about the critical storytelling issues that are within every page.

Score: 4.5 out of 10

Batman and Japanese Manga? Yes, please. A young Japanese boy comes to Gotham City to find his parents whom are presumed dead. He meets the bad guys and fights them off. Then Batman and the Justice League step in. Loved the Justice League with Batman.. The graphics rock and I loved the story.I received this book from Net Galley and DC Entertainment for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.

Oh my gosh! My two guilty pleasures roped into one; how could I not resist. This was good; I can't wait to see what happens next. I am pretty sure others will be hooked on this just like I am.

I really didn't care for this. I was hoping that a manga version of the DC universe would be a lot of fun, but instead it just felt really weird, with ideas that felt very incompatible with DC. For example, the story is still set in the US, but it feels like everything is strangely bent around the viewpoint character, a Japanese young man who (of course) has crazy ninja abilities. Every American character suddenly (and without any explanation) knows a great deal about Japanese culture as soon as the character is around and immediately begins to use all of the honorifics of Japan.
The story was also really offputting because it relied on some crazy conspiracy theory type stuff (lay lines) as the basis of the story that everybody is accepting without question.
The art was also very offputting. I usually enjoy many manga art styles, but I didn't care for pretty much any of the character design. The heroes were at least okay, but Joker was just terrible.
So, I'd say this should be a hard pass for pretty much any DC fans. You're not going to get anything fun or especially fresh. This is going to sell copies on novelty alone.

I really wanted to like this title. The story was okay, but didn't grab me. Character designs were mostly good, The Joker seemed hastily designed, and did not come across well in the artist's style. Despite Wonder Woman being featured on the cover, she did not make much of an appearance in this volume.

This was a great manga adaptation of the Justice League. The story is engaging and original, it focuses on a young boy named Rui, who travels from Japan to Gotham City to find his parents. Little does he realize that search efforts put him right in the path of Batman and the Justice League. Great first volume, the reader will be anxious to find out how the story unfolds in future volumes.

Batman done as a Japanese manga? Fun.

The art is good (not groundbreaking, but solid). The characters are all distinctly drawn..I don't love the character design for the Joker, but that's a personal preference. Batman is always drawn very Epic-ly. Reminds me of All-Might from My Hero Academia. The plot moves pretty fast, especially for a manga, and its a little more...manga-y than Batman normally is (Japanese goddesses, ley lines).

It does not require any background Batman knowledge beyond possibly normal popular culture knowledge; characters are explained as they go along, though previous character knowledge (like who Jason is) helps add depth, since this takes place post-Jason death, and its mentioned a few times. Also, the main character, Ryo, seems to be a Japanese version of Tim Drake. He has a similar disposition, rich parents, plus ninja background.

From a librarian standpoint, this is a good bridge book between manga and American comics; if you're trying to get kids who read manga to try out Batman, this is an excellent gateway to do that. I would recommend it to just about any teen collection that has a decent manga reader population. It's not going to change any lives, but it's a fun addition.

The storyline has fairly common plot elements (kid searching for probably-dead parents, encounters with bad guys, etc.) but with a few twists to make it interesting. The pace is good--page-turning without sacrificing detail. I like the art--an energetic, lightning-like manga style that's well suited to the comic. Also, familiar characters look like themselves while being true to the artist's style.