One of my favorite issues of "Justice League: Generation Lost" up until now was issue #6, where Captain Atom got bounced several hundred years into the future and discovered just what was at stake if Max Lord wasn't stopped. Clearly it was one of Winick's favorite too, as we get another jump into the future -- but this time it's only a little over a century ahead, and we start to see some of the gaps between that 24th century and now getting filled in.

Winick is careful to do more than just fill in facts with this issue, though; there's still a lot of drama as he teams up with the newest Justice League on an important mission to destroy one of Max's bases. It's a lot of fun watching them go on the strike, in part because Winick has the opportunity to create a whole new group of legacy heroes mixed in with a few long-lived present day characters. I've also appreciated the undercurrent of Captain Atom fearing he's losing his humanity that we've seen in "Justice League: Generation Lost." It both fits in with everything the poor character has been through over the past few years, and also gives him a potential time limit to try and make things right before it's all over for his soul.

It also helps that Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan are back in the rotation this issue; they're my favorite of the three art teams on the title, easily. Lopresti provides an attractive, smooth line to his characters, and I like the designs that he comes up with for them as well. From Batman's big clunky armor to the malleable new Plastic Man, everyone has a distinct look and feel that keeps them from just feeling like shock troops. Even Captain Atom looks good here; I appreciate that something as simple as his hair actually looking like hair (while still being metallic) is pulled off here, rather than just some strange growth on the top of his head.

Best of all, I'm appreciating the pattern that Winick has set up for "Justice League: Generation Lost." For every issue or two that advances the main plot, the twice-a-month schedule it allows him the room for a side story, like Ice's revised origin two issues ago. It's a fun diversion, and we know that in two weeks we're going to plunge back into the thick of things. "Justice League: Generation Lost" is the little series that good; plugging away issue after issue, and getting stronger with each new installment. Isn't that how all series should progress?