Science's Less Accurate Grandmother: Chase by J. H. Williams III, Dan Curtis Johnson, et al.

27 June 2022

Chase by J. H. Williams III, Dan Curtis Johnson, et al.

Chase

Collection published: 2011
Contents originally published: 1998-2002
Acquired: February 2022
Read: March 2022

Plotter/Penciller: J. H. Williams III

Writers: Dan Curtis Johnson, Doug Moench
Inks: Mick Gray, John Beatty & Shawn C. Martinbrough
Artists: Kelley Jones, Bob Hall, Charlie Adlard, Eric Canete, Rick Burchett, Yanick Paquette, Eduardo Barreto & Greg Scott

Colors: Gregory White & Lee Loughridge

Of the four collections I'm reading before starting JSA, this one's connection is the most tangential. Indeed, as far as I know it doesn't connect forward to JSA at all; rather, it connects back to Infinity, Inc. But more on that later; first let me discuss the book on its own term.

Chase is about Cameron Chase, a former P.I., now an agent of the DEO, a federal agency with jurisdiction over matters relating to superheroes. It's easy to see that this comes out of the same cultural moment that also brought us Alias and, later, Manhunter. All three series focused on women who work in law enforcement (broadly defined), largely without superpowers (sort of), with an emphasis on what it is to be ordinary and powerless in a world of power. (Gotham Central is not too far off this, either.) Chase has a live-in boyfriend, a sister who loves superheros, and a sort-of ex-partner; we eventually learn that her father had a brief superhero career that ended in his death. She herself doesn't trust those with powers.

Williams and Johnson are pretty fond of the lots-of-text-next-to-silent-image technique, and it works well given the subject matter and focus of the series.
from Chase #1 (script by Dan Curtis Johnson, art by J. H. Williams III & Mick Gray)

It's a good storytelling engine, and gives us a set of engaging tales: Chase goes to Ohio to investigate a teenage boy with pyrokinesis; Chase goes to South America to escort the Suicide Squad; Chase is assigned to watch over a Teen Titans publicity event that goes horribly wrong when the Clock King attacks; Chase goes to Gotham to see if the DEO can figure out who Batman really is. J. H. Williams III is always a solid artist with great layouts but also good storytelling and character, and that definitely comes through here; he co-plots with scripter Dan Curtis Johnson as well. Other than the Suicide Squad story (I didn't buy that such a new agent would be assigned such a difficult task solo), these are good stories, with an interesting angle of superheroes and an interesting main character. My favorite was surely the one where she tries to figure out who Batman is, which had some good twists, and a neat use of Alan Scott; I also really liked the pyrokinetic one, which really captured the "ground-level" Alias vibe. (The series is never quite that downbeat again, though, which is probably for the best.)

I felt like this subplot didn't go much of anywhere in the end, for example.
from Chase #6 (plot & script by Dan Curtis Johnson, plot & pencils by J. H. Williams III, inks by Mick Gray)

Its main downfall is that it just didn't last long. There were just nine regular issues of Chase; three of these were flashbacks, so there were only six in the ongoing narrative, plus the prequel story in Batman #550. So you can very obviously tell that Williams and Johnson are gearing up a long run with lots of threads... and it just doesn't happen. If this had lasted twenty-eight issues like Alias did, it would be a classic, I suspect; as it is, it has to be one of those things people call "a cult favorite."

Pretty nice dress on a government salary.
from Chase #8 (co-plot & script by Dan Curtis Johnson, co-plot & pencils by J. H. Williams III, inks by Mick Gray)

This collection also chucks in Chase #1,000,000 (about the DEO in the 853rd century) and a number of small Chase appearances from various DC "Secret Files" issues. These are okay, but of course mostly focused on doing things like foreshadowing about Gorilla Grodd. Weirdly Chase is barely in DCU Villains Secret Files #1, which is included... and has a footnote telling us to see DCU Heroes Secret Files #1 for more Chase... which is not included!

Like, this is just not explained or clarified!
from DCU Villains Secret Files & Origins #1 (plot by D. Curtis Johnson & J. H. Williams III, script by D. Curtis Johnson, art by Eric Canete & Shawn Martinbrough)

Anyway, though I've long been curious about Chase, I picked it up now for one reason: Mister/Director Bones. In Manhunter, Bones was a director in the DEO, a mid-level bureaucrat addicted to cigarettes... and with transparent skin and muscles and a cyanide touch. Then, I read Infinity, Inc., where he was a young supervillain who eventually made good. How did he go from the one to the other? The answer was, ostensibly, in Chase. Chase is indeed the series where Bones first appears as DEO director, his first appearance in a decade since Infinity, Inc. #53. But it's actually not really addressed in Chase because he's mostly a background figure here, just appearing in four issues, none of which delve into who he is. (If you know, you know—there's some Infinc nods in his office—but nothing in the text would tell you he's a reformed supervillain.) It doesn't really get spelled out until JSA Secret Files #2, three years after the series was cancelled! So is there a comic out there that actually delves into this transition? I will have to keep searching...

Why did he stop speaking in rhyme, anyway?
from Chase #6 (plot & script by Dan Curtis Johnson, plot & pencils by J. H. Williams III, inks by Mick Gray)

This post is twenty-sixth in a series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers Stargirl by Geoff Johns. Previous installments are listed below:

All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever (1976-79)

The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)

All-Star Squadron (1981-87)

Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)

Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)

Showcase Presents... Power Girl (1978)

America vs. the Justice Society (1985)

Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt (1985)

Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 7 (1983-85)

Infinity, Inc. #11-53 (1985-88) [reading order]

Last Days of the Justice Society of America (1986-88)

All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant (1999)