JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Two
Collection published: 2018 Contents published: 1999-2003 Read: June 2022 |
Colorists: John Kalisz, Tom McCraw
This volume of JSA by Geoff Johns (where every story is co-written by David Goyer, but I guess he doesn't rate) collects two story arcs from the main JSA comic and also the graphic novel JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice and then some other stuff. What I am realizing is that I don't really care for Johns's approach to this book. First we have the seemingly obligatory storyline about a new Injustice Society, which like a lot of Geoff Johns stuff, is full of seemingly gratuitous violence in order to prove the situation is serious: he invents a whole Chicago superteam just to torture and brutally murder them, there's an evil Flash who runs through kids so fast they explode. It's just like... it's juvenile, and I don't read superhero comics to read about kids being murdered. I found it very hard to care.
The second big storyline is about a trip to Thanagar to resurrect Hawkman. I did really like Hawkworld, but Johns ignores any of its interesting complexities in favor of a melodramatic sub-Darkseid villain and a subplot about how a teenage girl just needs to give in and be romanced by an eighty-year-old man for the good of the universe.
This book isn't totally unlikeable. In between those two storylines, there's a decent done-in-one that gives us some much-needed character focus, and actually the Our Worlds at War tie-in issue was pretty good too. And I also enjoyed the Secret Files & Origins issue that leads into Virtue and Vice, as well as the early parts of Virtue and Vice itself. When Johns (and Goyer) want to write these characters hanging out and talking about things, they do a decent job... but it seems they rarely do. If you compare this to the characterful and deft way that Len Strazewski wrote the last JSA ongoing, this just doesn't compare; I have very little sense of these people as, well, people. Like I said, Virtue and Vice starts good, but it soon becomes Yet Another Apocalyptic Battle with huge masses of people dying violently... which I am sure will promptly never be mentioned again. I also don't care much for stories where heroes are mind-controlled to be evil, especially if they promptly become stupid.
I have never cared for Johns's take on Power Girl. from JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice (script by David S. Goyer & Geoff Johns, art by Carlos Pacheco & Jesus Merino) |
Some other thoughts: I think Secret Files & Origins and Virtue and Vice are included out of sequence; suddenly Mr. Terrific is JSA chair, and Stargirl is living in Metropolis, and Captain Marvel is a member, and there's a new Hourman who I don't think is the new Hourman from the previous book. None of these things have happened in the actual JSA series yet. It amused me that suddenly Green Arrow is alive again, so he has to contend with the fact that Black Canary has moved on romantically since his death. Virtue and Vice had some good President Luthor stuff. The way the heroes swap places with the statues in the Rock of Eternity is pretty neat.
- 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)
- Steel, the Indestructible Man (1978)
- Superman vs. Wonder Woman: An Untold Epic of World War Two (1977)
- Wonder Woman: Earth-Two (1977-78)
- Secret Origins of the Golden Age (1986-89)
- The Young All-Stars (1987-89)
- Gladiator (1930) ["Man-God!" (1976)]
- The Crimson Avenger: The Dark Cross Conspiracy (1981-88)
- The Immortal Doctor Fate (1940-82)
- Justice Society of America: The Demise of Justice (1951-91)
- Armageddon: Inferno (1992)
- Justice Society of America vol. 2 (1992-93)
- The Adventures of Alan Scott--Green Lantern (1992-93)
- Damage (1994-96)
- The Justice Society Returns! (1999-2001)
- Chase (1998-2002)
- Stargirl by Geoff Johns (1999-2003)
- The Sandman Presents: The Furies (2002)
- JSA by Geoff Johns, Book One (1999-2000)
- Wonder Woman: The 18th Letter: A Love Story (2000)
- Two Thousand (2000)
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