Or - “He Ducked Back Down The Alley With Some Roly Poly Little Bat-Faced Girl…”

For roughly eleven hundred years now,  Justice Society of America has been foreshadowing something wicked that may this way come.  This issue, finally, we get past the preliminary “Ooooh, scary stuff, kids” and delve into the meat of the tale…  But, is it Prime Rib, or that weird rubbery blue stuff you get out of airport sammich machines?  And speaking of meat and meat by-products, why is Black Adam roasting that cadaver?  Answers after the clicky!

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Or - “Hell, Man… I Only Have So Much Free Time!”

There seems to be a thing out there called “Real Life.”  It’s composed mostly of things to annoy you and drain your wallet of cash, but sometimes it also feeds on your free time.  One of the joys of this gig is getting to share the wondrous things that happen in comics and split the burdens of that which is terrible, which means I usually bite off more than I can chew in terms of comics that I’d like to review.  Since this has happened yet again, it’s time to play catch-up (because mustard stains the carpet.)

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Or - “Gog, Gog, Gog…  Does Anybody Remember When These Guys Fought Crime?”

I am trying very hard to give JSA the benefit of the doubt with this storyline, but no matter how good a book has been in the past (and Johns’ & Eaglesham’s JSA has been quite good) there comes a point where you wonder exactly what the upshot of a given storyline is going to be.  We’ve been dealing with the fallout of Kingdom Come Superman for almost six months now, and as much as I appreciate having a version of Clark Kent among the DCU’s elder statesmen again, there’s just been more suspense and setup than the delicate framework of the story can really support… 

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One of the headlines seen during 52 was Power Girl missing. Well, we’ve found her, courtesy of Geoff Johns and the Justice Society of America Annual #1.

Welcome to Earth-2!

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Or - “This Is The Plot That Never Ends… It Just Goes On And On My Friend…”

On the one hand, even the worst issue of JSA to date has been above and beyond a lot of the drek that litters the comic book shelves each month…  On the other hand, the streamlining of the ‘Kingdom Come’ Superman into the mainstream DCU has left a lot of the things that I usually love about JSA (the group interaction, quirky characterization and interpersonal bits) if not at a standstill, at least relegated to the background.  Still, this issue promises the introduction of Alex Ross’ Superman to his regular DCU counterpart, so it’s at least gonna be interesting to see how that goes…

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Or - “I Thought The Legion Had A Lot Of Characters…”

I gotta tell ya, it’s good to see Ving Rhames getting work… I haven’t seen him in anything since the remake of ‘Dawn of the Dead.’ This issue of Justice Society of America is part four of the apparenly endless ”Thy Kingdom Come” storyline, and I gotta tell ya: I admit to having a lower tolerance for Alex Ross than most, but I have to wonder if even his most hardcore fans are onboard for this one. Kingdom Come is a fine story, but if it suffered anywhere, it was in its’ desire to throw as many legacy characters into the plot as possible with limited character development. With no less than five new members this issue, another familiar face returning and a roster that already has 18 members, is JSA giving us too much of a good thing?

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Or - “In Which I Take A Position That’s Probably Indefensible To Anyone But Me.”

Is that not an awesome shot? But I digress… I’ve long become accustomed to holding minority opinions in the world of comic books. I’ve never felt that Wolverine’s feral samurai act was all that compelling. I’ve never thought that Batman was the real person and Bruce Wayne just the mask. The only time I liked Moon Knight was during the much-maligned ‘Egyptian-weapons-joined-the-West-Coast-Avengers’ period of his title. And I’d much rather read a goofy Bob Haney issue of Brave & The Bold than anything featuring Youngblood. Some say this makes me a ‘hater,’ others opine that it just makes me old, but either way, my most annoying and controversial view (apparently, given the amount of comment it engenders) is my creeping dislike for the work of Alex Ross. Any assessment of comic art has to have more than a little subjectivity in it (people hate Gil Kane and Jack Kirby, f’rinstance, and that’s their right) but I just can’t muster any great love for Alex, and it’s affecting my enjoyment of this book… To see the whys and wherefores, click the link.

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Or - “An Interesting Take On The Law…”

There’s a certain suspension of disbelief that comes with reading superhero comics… The plain fact is that the behaviors engaged in by even the noblest of superheroes is technically illegal. One of the great mysteries of Batman is how he manages to skip back and forth in the good graces of law enforcement while simultaneously dealing repeated beatings to Gotham’s criminal elements, speeding through the night with no lights on his Batmobile, and taking minors into hails of bullets. Even the stalwarts of the JSA run into this problem from time to time, and this issue has an interesting take on the matter…

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Or - “How Citizen Steel Got His Groove Back.”

With apologies to boss-man Stephen, of course… The story of Nathan Heywood took a backseat in the first several issues of JSA, and was sidetracked entirely by “The Lightning Saga,” but now that things have returned to (relative) normalcy, the grandson of Commander Steel is entering the spotlight. After the tragic ends of his grand-pop and cousin, (both of whom were killed in acton in their red, white, and blue battle gear) the loss of his leg due to medical incompetence, and the massacre at his family reunion, Nathan has had more than enough tragedy in his life, and deserves a shot at the big time. Given the… how can I put this? …phallocentric issues regarding the Alex Ross cover, I wonder if the story inside might get ignored. I truly hope not,because it’s a well-done and touching issue, one of the best JSA’s yet.

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Or - “We Were All Wrong…”

Back in the day, DC had a crossover called Armageddon 2001, wherein one of the heroes of the DCU was revealed to be ready to turn into a totalitarian super-dictator within a few years. Throughout the crossover, all signs pointed to Captain Atom as being the one to turn, but legend has it that the reveal was leaked on the then-nascent internet, and DC changed their minds. Changing the super-secret plot point made the entire series make even less sense than before, and surprised people in a bad way. This issue also throws us a curve, but I suspect that this time, the false leads were intentional… Who lives, who dies, and who gets a great big hug? Read on…

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Many of you were probably wondering where your edition of Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13, which was originally scheduled to arrive last week (June 6) disappeared to… um…you are reading the series, right?

DC Comics let us know the issue will ship next week (June 20), along with Justice League of America #10, and Countdown #45. JLA #10 concludes the lightning saga, and with Flash being the man that rides the lightning, along with the promo poster that shows a fallen “Flash” (presumably Bart Allen), could we be seeing the return of Barry Allen?

Don’t forget to take the poll! And let’s see what DC/JLA/Flash/LoSH has in store for us all. I’m still leaning toward Kal-L simply because of this page from JSA #1.

What do you think?

Playing the DC Odds:

Barry Allen - 10:1
Wally West - 25:1
Kal-L - 50:1
Earth-2 Lois Lane - 100:1
Ferro Lad - 10000:1
Blue Beetle - 1000000:1
Blok - 100000000:1

Death of a New God

Last week readers got a few clues into the mystery of Jimmy Olsen, Mary Batson stumbled upon a repowered Black Adam, Stinky made the other Monitors angry, and Karate Kid continued to hang out in a JLA cell. So what becomes of our key characters this week?

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If you haven’t received your weekly shipment of goodness, and you haven’t read Matthew’s review of JSA #6, then you are missing out on a key moment in Legion of Super-Hero history. Now if you have read JSA #6, but are wondering if the tale Superman tells everyone of the resurrection of Lighting Lad really happened, Major Spoilers brings you a then and now look at the tale in question.

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Or - “The Lightning Rods Are Important… They MEAN Something.”

The return of the annual JLA/JSA team-up is an interesting card to have played this early in the run of the two books, for several reasons. Primarily, neither team has really established their status quo at this point, making it obvious that certain important moments have to have taken place off-screen. Secondly, they’ve resurrected the old Len Wein/Cary Bates tradition of adding a THIRD team to the proceedings, which takess the focus off the two teams who JUST GOT TOGETHER. And most confusingly, that third team is the Legion of Super-Heroes, but a different version of the Legion than is currently being printed in EITHER of the two extant Legion comics (though, honestly, those books feature two entirely different Legions as well.) By all accounts, this crossover shouldn’t make a lick of sense…

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Or - “Despite The Peek-a-boo Costume, Dawnstar Is Not A Stripper!”

I’m always appalled at the apparent adoration for the artwork of Aicahael Aurner… Uh, I mean, Michael Turner. The cover of this issue has a very-malnourished looking Hawkman holding his mace in an incredibly phallic manner, while Red Arrow (Ugh.) positions one of his, you should pardon the expression, shafts to try and compete, but looks disappointed not to measure up, while Dawnstar hovers overhead, leaning forward to apparently make it easier for them tuck her tips into her cleavage. Luckily, she found some of Jimmy Olsen’s Elastic Lad serum, allowing her to thrust her gazongas forward and to the right, while her torso makes a 3/4 turn backward, leaving her hips cocked strongly to the left, with her wings somehow at full extension. The positives? Well, it’s not as horrible as the Pencil-Necked Karate Kid last issue, and it frankly makes the interiors by Ed Benes look like Norman freaking Rockwell… but does the story hold up its end of the bargain?

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