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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Or - “I’m Going To Tell You From Memory Who These People Are… Just Because I Can.”

Left to right, starting with the back row: Tasmia Mallor, Shadow Lass of Talok VII. Jacques Foccart, Invisible Kid II of Earth. Brek Bannin, Polar Boy of Tharr. Dawnstar (her real name) of Starhaven. Blok (likewise) of Dryad. Chuck Taine, Bouncing Boy of Earth. Luornu Durgo, Triplicate Girl/Duo Damsel of Cargg (also spelled Carggg). Andrew Nolan, Ferro Lad of Earth. Tenzil Kem, Matter-Eater Lad of Bismoll (the capital city is Pepto, you do the math.) Projectra, Sensor Girl of Orando. Back over on the left, we have Gim Allon, Colossal Boy of Mars. On his shoulder, Salu Digby, Shrinking Violet of Imsk. Ayla Ranzz, Light Lass of Winath. Thom Kallor, Star Boy of Xanthu. Nura Nal, Dream Girl of Naltor. Lyle Norg, Invisible Kid I of Earth. Drake Burroughs, Wildfire of Earth. Brin Londo, Timber Wolf of Zoon (also spelled Zuun.) Mysa Nal, The White Witch of Naltor. Querl Dox, Brainiac 5 of Colu. Jan Arrah, Element Lad of Trom. Reep Daggle, Chameleon Boy of Durla. Val Armorr, Karate Kid of Earth. Lar Gand, Mon-El of Daxam. Rok Krinn, Cosmic Boy of Braal. Garth Ranzz, Lightning Lad of Winath. Imra Ardeen, Saturn Girl of Titan. Dirk Morgna, Sun Boy of Earth. Jo Nah, Ultra Boy of Rimbor. Tinya Wazzo, Phantom Girl of Bgztl. And finally, Drake Burroughs, Wildfire of Earth. I may be a giant dork, but dammit, I’m a consistent and thorough giant dork.

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Or - “Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting… IN THE FUTURE!!!”

The launches of Justice League and Justice Society have been interesting contrasts, with JLA taking the looong way around to a story that didn’t really do much for me, and JSA starting with a bang, and running breakneck through their opening arc. The real contrast seems to be in terms of story structure, with the League telling us a lot but showing very little and the Society somewhat doing the opposite. Both teams have had strange interactions with time-lost members of a third superteam, the Legion of Superheroes, and their stories are about to converge. Apropos of nothing, aren’t the teams’ respective leaders attractive?

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Or - “Y’know, I Loved Kingdom Come As Much As The Next Guy But, C’MON!”

With this issue of JSA, it’s official… It IS just me. I’ve had long, involved conversations with the folks at work (including both my fellow counter monkeys, as well as several customers) and to a man, nobody but me is bothered by the amount of Alex Ross in the issues of JSA thus far. They DO agree with me that his covers are less attractive than the variants by interior artist Dale Eaglesham, but aren’t bothered by the obvious thumbprints of Mr. Ross all over the costume designs of Starman, Liberty Belle, Cyclone and Damage, no one is bugged by the incessant use of Kingdom Come characters, situations, and archetypes, and nobody else thinks Geoff Johns writes better without “creative consulting.” So, with one last blurb up top, I hereby table my whining as regards Alexander, and settle into the new JSA dynamic. This is the end of the first arc, so it oughtta be a doozy (with mebbe a fistfight or two). How does it stack up?

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Or - “A Book You Can’t Judge By It’s Cover…”

Okay, I’ll say it. The Alex Ross covers for Justice Society have been bad. Really bad. And this month’s is creepy beyond creepy, with Maxine Hunkel looking remarkably like a young Olympia Dukakis, holding down her dress like Marilyn Monroe (showing a pretty adult amount of leg, hip, thigh and an apparent lack of supportive undergarments), with her hair floating up in the air. And while I understand that Alex Ross=Ratings, making the Dale Eaglesham covers (which have all been superior compositions, actually REPRESENTING what’s inside the issue, an archaic notion, I know) the hard-to-get variants is a bizarre and questionable decision. Having the cover artist bear no resemblance to the artist inside is an old, infuriating comic industry trick, and when Eaglesham is a pretty spiffy artist in his own right, it seems somehow insulting to him. Anyways, issue #3 is here, and the mysterious malefactor is about to tip his hand… let’s see how the JSA kids deal.

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I love a week when I have so many sneak peeks coming in that I can do bonus editions from each of the companies. This week DC Comics is on the Good List by dropping off previews for Batman #663, Justice Society of America #3, Tales of the Unexpected #5, and Y: The Last Man.

Damn that’s a lot of previews.

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DC Comics has announced Justice Society of America #2 is sold out and going back to press for all the fans of the new series. The issue has been going gangbusters, kicking off with the shocking announcement of WWIII and, more recently, unmasking Starman. Justice Society of America #2 will be in stores February 21 with a pencils-only variant cover by Dale Eaglesham.

“The overwhelming response from the fans has only added to our own tremendous excitement at being part of this great project,” says Eaglesham. “We’re creating a new JSA movement. We’re committed to building something huge and unique, and it’s gratifying to see that the fans love it as much as we do.”

via DC Comics

Or - “Turns Out He IS Who We Thought He Was!”

It’s a fact of life (especially in comics) that every experience is new for someone. No matter how many times *I* may have seen a particular plot twist, there’s always somebody who’ll find it to be the most daring and amazing story of all time. Which is why the big reveal in the latest JSA, though no surprise, really worked for me. This newest JSA incarnation debuted with a big splash, a dash of Alex Ross, and some promising new creations… Can they keep up the quality?

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Or - “All The Justice You Love, Now With 47% More Alex Ross!”

I find that I annoy people in the comics world when I state some of my beliefs and preferences. I don’t care for Wolverine. I think Batman is as valid as a smiling-squared-jawed-father-figure driving a bubble-topped land yacht as he is a grim avenger of the night. I don’t have any idea what is so compelling about the gang-wars and separatist agendas of the X-Men titles. And I just have no use for Alex Ross any more. Oh, sure, there was a day when I fell slack-jawed at the sight of his (admittedly still gorgeous) art, but being a wonderful artist does not make you the arbiter of all that is right and good in the comic book industry. And no matter how beautiful your art is, eventually, SOMEONE is going to ask you to contribute something to the story. So, given that the JSA wasn’t broken, can the second most overrated man in comics fix it?

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DC Comics has sent us a sneak peek at Justice Society of America #1, which is scheduled to be in stores this week.

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