JSA #60

April 12, 2004

Quick Rating: Excellent
Title: Redemption Lost Part One

An old evil returns, a Spectre wrestles with his own demons, and all heroes tackle matters of faith.

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Don Kramer & Tom Mandrake
Inks: Keith Champagne & Tom Mandrake
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver
Publisher: DC Comics

Geoff Johns jumps into some surprisingly weighty issues in this issue. Dr. Mid-Nite, Mr. Terrific and even the staunchly scienfitic Atom (who seems to be a part-time member of the JSA considering how often he’s popped up here lately) all wind up talking rather openly about prayer, religion, faith and redemption. Dr. Mid-Nite is struggling to solve the murder of one of his many operatives while Terrific and the Atom search the timestream for the lost Hourman. It’s a strong story that doesn’t shy away from very frank discussions of religion, and it is to Johns credit that he discusses all sides of the debate without maligning characters who believe in the Church or chilling those who don’t. It is, simply put, a story that is very respectful of different philosophies, and that’s something that is sadly rare.

That said, it’s still a superhero comic and we still get plenty of action. The first Hourman seems to be throwing himself back into the superhero game to keep from having to think of his time-lost and possibly dying son or the wife that believes he is already dead. The Spectre, for his part, is in real trouble, something that isn’t easy to do with a character that powerful, and it is his story that propels this first issue of a new story arc.

Kramer and Champagne do a very good job on the artwork. In some of his earlier issues, Kramer’s work was kind of sketchy and struggled to fit the characters. He seems to have overcome those hurtles. A big plus in the art side, however, is the three-page prologue featuring the original Spectre and Mr. Terrific, drawn by Tom Mandrake, perhaps the best Spectre artist ever. When I saw the green ghoul’s entrance on page two, I had to flip ahead to the credits to make sure it was him. It was a welcome surprise and made this issue even more fun.

It isn’t easy to weigh action and spandex with discussions of God and the afterlife, but Geoff Johns does it beautifully. Month in and month out, this is the best superhero comic book on the stands. This month is no exception.

Rating: 10/10

Hawkman (2002 Series) #23

January 1, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title:Black Reign Part Two

The Justice Society visits Hawkman in St. Roch for his birthday, unaware of the violent actions their former teammates are taking in the middle east.

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Rags Morales
Inks: Michael Bair
Colors: John Kalisz
Letters: Bill Oakley
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: John Watson
Publisher: DC Comics

The JSA/Hawkman crossover continues, and the only people likely to be disappointed are Hawkman fans. This is a fantastic issue, but the title character is barely in it – this would have been a stronger issue if DC had printed this as JSA #56 and that issue as Hawkman #23 – granted, Hawkman isn’t in that issue either, but neither is anyone else in the JSA, and it would serve as a stronger prologue.

This criticism is only valid for people who read only Hawkman and not both titles, however – people reading both, or even people who only read JSA and are only getting this issue for the crossover, will have nothing but praise. The team goes down to the city of St. Roch (a veiled New Orleans clone) during a time of “celebration” (it’s Mardi Gras, folks). Johns uses this setting to give us a peek into the personalities of many of the characters — Wildcat loves it, Green Lantern is uncomfortable and Dr. Mid-Nite tries to help people who may not have realized they needed help. There’s a great subplot with Hourman talking to his late father, the first Hourman (via a device that will allow him one hour total to speak to his father in a time-pocket before he dies). We also get very good scenes with Power Girl, Stargirl, Captain Marvel and the Flash. Even Hawkman gets a good scene – the only problem is that, in his title, his moment doesn’t come until the very end. Oh, but what a moment it is.

Rags Morales is a fantastic artist, and he gets a lot of great scenes in this book – including Hawkman’s brief battle with a nameless old man trying to make himself into a supervillain and an absolutely fantastic last page. It’s a terrible shame that Morales will be leaving this title soon, and one can only hope DC has an artist with half his talent lined up to take his place.

I’m deducting one point from the overall score because I feel this book may let down Hawkman fans – but fans of both titles, like myself, should add a point and not hesitate to pick it up. It’s great superhero storytelling.

Rating: 7/10

JSA #54

November 9, 2003

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Virtue, Vice and Pumkpin Pie

The Justice Society and Justice League again try to enjoy a Thanksgiving without incident. It wouldn’t be much of a story if they succeeded, would it?

Writer: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Don Kramer
Inks: Keith Champagne
Colors: John Kalisz
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino
Publisher: DC Comics

In a sort-of-sequel to last year’s JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice graphic novel (which is not required reading for this issue), the two superhero teams, along with several members of their extended families, again come together in the hopes of a peaceful Thanksgiving dinner. Johns takes a real chance in this issue, splicing scenes of straight comedy in with scenes of real character development and progression of several subplots. It makes for a highly entertaining read. Some scenes, such as the interaction between Impulse and Jakeem Thunder (this issue clearly takes place before the current Teen Titans series, which is a little odd since Johns writes both books, but that’s a minor quibble) are laugh out loud funny. Some, like Stargirl’s reaction to the seating arrangements, make you smack your forehead in exasperation.

Some are just really good – Dr. Mid-Nite’s confrontation with Black Canary, the obvious attraction between Hourman and Jesse Quick… the big plus this title has over its sister book, JLA, is that Johns is the sole custodian of most of these characters, and therefore has much more freedom to develop them as characters, delve into their personal lives, and tell really great stories. Even with that particular handcuff on him, this book makes me wish DC would give him a crack at the regular JLA title.

Kramer’s artwork is good, but seeing the artwork of the original Virtue and Vice team of Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino on the cover makes you wish they could have done the whole book. Their work on Arrowsmith these days is spectacular, and they really should be full-time on a major title.

Holiday-themed comics always run the risk of becoming too schmaltzy. This one doesn’t. It just tells a good, sweet and solid superhero comedy.

Rating: 8/10

DC: The New Frontier #1

January 18, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Our Fighting Forces

In the 1950s, the DC Universe begins to change.

Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke
Letters: Dave Stewart
Editor: Mark Chiarello
Cover Art: Darwyn Cooke
Publisher: DC Comics

This is not an easy comic book to categorize. It’s been suggested that it’s a thematic sequel to James Robinson’s The Golden Age. It’s called a new beginning for the DCU. The only thing I can say for sure is that it’s a few interesting Silver Age stories set in the DCU, and we’ve yet to see how they link together.

In the first chapter, the group of American warriors called the Losers (the original group, not the ones running around the Vertigo imprint), are sent to rescue Rick Flagg, commander of the first Suicide Squad, from an island populated with dinosaurs. Chapter two reveals the final fate of the golden age heroes, focusing mainly on Hourman, and chapter three focuses on a young Korean War fighter pilot named Hal Jordan.

Cooke, both in writing and artwork, displays a real love for the silver age characters and style. Jack Kirby would be proud of how it looks, and the climax of chapter one is absolutely spellbinding. I can honestly say it’s the best Losers story I’ve ever read.

The problem is that the book seems disjointed. You get the sense that everything you’re reading is supposed to come together, to link, to mean something, but it doesn’t. Cooke is a good enough storyteller that it will almost certainly come together in future issues, but that does weaken this debut. As so many comic books these days go, it will probably read much better in a collected edition.

The other problem is the Cold War setting. Cooke uses it well, but the parallels to McCarthyism have been done and done and done again, and if he doesn’t find a new way to tell the story, this entire series runs a very high risk of being clichéd and boring.

Still, I love old-school superheroes, and Cooke has tapped into one of my favorite eras of the DC Universe, so I’m pre-inclined to be forgiving of bumps in the road. He uses the pre-Green Lantern Hal Jordan well, has a great scene with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, and as I said, the climax to chapter one was fantastic. This is a title that, when all is said and done, could go either way – it may be another classic, or it may be another footnote. Let’s hope for the former.

Rating: 7/10

JSA #59

March 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Time and Time and Time Again

Degaton joins the Justice Society on a time-bouncing trip through their lives.

Writer: Geoff Johns
Art: Sean Philips
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Ethan Van Sciver and John Kalisz
Publisher: DC Comics

After three issues of messing around with Hawkman, JSA is back with a fantastic done-in-one issue that progresses the storylines of nearly every member of the team and sets up a lot of things for the future.

Degaton, a time-traveling villain the older members of the JSA have faced in the past, returns to torment the various heroes over the course of one day, teasing them with horrific descriptions of their futures and, in some cases, their past. Everything gets covered in this issue — Flash confronts Captain Marvel over his relationship with Stargirl, Dr. Fate makes an important decision due to the return of his wife, and Hourman desperately searches for a way to pierce the timestream himself to rescue his son, who traded places with the old man after being critically injured in the “Black Reign” storyline.

The things Degaton says are chilling – while he most certainly can’t be considered an unbiased, legitimate source of information, if the things he hints at are even partially true then Geoff Johns has some incredible storylines in the works over the next few years (and there is enough packed into this issue to last a few years). The last scene is particularly heartrending, and I for one hope that it doesn’t end that particular storyline, because it’s been a favorite of mine.

One thing that isn’t at the top of the game in this issue, however, is the artwork. It’s surprising to say this about a book where all the pencils and inks are done by the same person, but it’s wildly uneven here. It looks as though Sean Philips was inked by a half-dozen other people – some scenes look like clips of a Bruce Timm animated series, others resemble Sal Buscema’s art, and some are just kind of sketchy and rough. It gives the reader the impression that the issue was done rather quickly, and doesn’t serve it well.

The art isn’t terrible, though, and a fantastic story makes this a must-read issue for any JSA fan – and if you haven’t been reading this book, this is the issue to come on board. The future, as they say, is now.

Rating: 9/10