Power Girl: Power Trip by Geoff Johns, Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Amanda Conner

Power Girl: Power Trip

Collection published: 2023
Contents originally published: 2005-10
Acquired and read: August 2023

Writers: Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Geoff Johns, Amanda Conner

Artist: Amanda Conner
Inker: Jimmy Palmiotti

Colorist: Paul Mounts

Letterers: John J. Hill, Rob Leigh

When I reread the "Power Trip" arc of JSA Classified (see item #39 in the long list below), I was reminded of how awful Geoff Johns's writing was... but also what a brilliant artist Amanda Conner was, and what a good fit she was for the buoyant, expressive Power Girl. So I decided to pick up this collection, which contains all twelve issues of her run on Power Girl vol. 2. (Unfortunately, it also includes that terrible JSA Classified story, but I skipped it rather than suffer through it a third time. Note that Geoff Johns gets first billing on the cover for writing just four of the seventeen issues included here, whereas Amanda Conner—the only person to work on all seventeen and the volume's clear star—is down in fourth. Must be nice to be the former president of DC!)

The twelve issues of Power Girl collected here run concurrently with Justice Society of America vol. 3 #29-40 and JSA All-Stars vol. 2 #1-6, taking place during the time when Power Girl is leading the JSA. (When the volume opens, the team seems to be unified still; by the time of the closing arc, it has split up, and Magog has left.) But the story's focus is on the fact that despite what's happening with the Justice Society, Power Girl is no longer frustrated at her lack of a clear origin, and just trying to be herself—whoever that may be. So for the first time in a long while, she's reactivated her civilian identity of Karen Starr, and is using it to build a technology company while she moves out of the JSA brownstone into an apartment of her own. She develops friendships, and builds up her own supporting cast. There's even her cat from her JLI days.

I would not have guessed Wonder Woman was great with cats... except to the extent that she's great at everything, I suppose.
from Wonder Woman vol. 1 #600 (script & art by Amanda Conner)

It's one of those runs that you can't point to a single issue and say "this is an amazing comic book" but where you can point to the whole and say "this is what a superhero comic book should be." It's funny, it's charming, it's goofy, it has a unique personality all its own. Sometimes Power Girl is battling the Ultra-Humanite and his former lover Santana, but sometimes she's stopping alien girls gone wild and a virile alien warlord who wants to repopulate his sterilized planet, sometimes she's helping out a teenage boy by going comic book shopping with him. Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti have admittedly produced some real shit in their time at DC, but this plays to their strengths—or at least to Conner's, who is surely in the Top Ten of superhero comics artists, and consistently elevates any material she is given.

Bring back Vartox.
from Power Girl vol. 2 #12 (script by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, art by Amanda Conner)

In Conner's hands, comedy, action, and emotion all get good play, letting the whole story come alive. Sometimes the main conflict of one of these stories will end halfway through an issue, and the rest will just be about Power Girl chilling with her sidekick/new friend Terra—and it is always a delight. Conner hits the perfect note with PG's physical appearance, giving us a woman who is attractive but not objectified. I mean, Gray and Palmiotti definitely write in gratuitous moments, but they feel natural and part of the story. (Which is not always the case with Power Girl; shortly before writing this review, I read JSA All-Stars #1, where PG's costume gets strategically torn in such a way as to reveal her entire midriff, and where her boobs are always hanging in "attractive" unnatural positions... bleh.)

My favorite Atlee moment, though, is probably the bit where she pretends to be from Australia.
from Power Girl vol. 2 #3 (script by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti, art by Amanda Conner)

Like many great runs, the worst thing about it is that it wasn't longer; I gladly would have read another twelve issues from this team. I felt that the supporting cast at Karen's new company barely got started in what they could do, and I want more Kara and Atlee bonding in New York City. But even though this comic lasted another fifteen issues, Judd Winick took over as writer and it became (to my understanding, anyway) a Brightest Day tie-in; neither the writer nor the change of focus appeals. That said, it did make me interested in picking up PG's newest series... the journey never ends, does it?

This post is forty-seventh in an ever-expanding series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers volume 2 of JSA All-Stars. Previous installments are listed below:

"During the days of World War II, a group of costumed mystery men gathered to form the first and greatest super-hero team of all time: THE JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA! Now, fighting side-by-side with the surviving original members, a new generation of heroes has been born, promising to uphold the legacy their predecessors created--while inspiring today's heroes the world over. The J.S.A. lives again!"

The end of the 1999-2006 JSA ongoing was not the end of the JSA. A few months after that title's cancellation, it was reborn as Justice Society of America (the third comic of that title from DC). Geoff Johns returned as writer to launch the new comic, alongside artists like Ruy José, Fernando Pasarin, Rodney Ramos, and Dew Geraci. The new Justice Society embraced the "legacy" stylings of its predecessor very explicitly; the JSA was reformed in order to find and mentor new heroes, especially new heroes with some kind of Golden Age link. While original-era members like the Flash, Green Lantern, and Wildcat stayed on, as did preexisting legacy members like Stargirl, Power Girl, and Hourman, they were also joined by a mix of preexisting legacy characters that hadn't already been JSA members like Liberty Belle, Damage, and the Starman of the Legion, and totally new legacy characters like a new Mr. America, a new Amazing-Man, Cyclone (carrying on the legacy of the original Red Tornado), and even a guy who is descended from President Franklin D. Roosevelt (not a member of the JSA but arguably its founder).

This seems like a good premise, but it's difficult to tell, and to the extent that I can tell, it didn't work for me under Johns. Geoff Johns writes (or cowrites) most of the series's first twenty-six issues, plus some specials and annuals. One big problem is that there are simply too many characters, and the series never stops adding new ones; it just gets exhausting, and you never get to know any of the new characters because new new ones are constantly being added. I like the idea of mentoring, but we rarely get to see it in action in a meaningful way.

The other problem is that Johns's run is mostly in service of a couple big events after the opening arc, which prevents us from actually seeing the status quo in action. The opening arc (issues #1-4) is typical Geoff Johns, in all the worst ways: not much meaningful character stuff, lots of gratuitous violence, just unpleasant to read. Lots of references to old comics without understanding what actually made those old comics enjoyable to read. I would have very happily found out what, for example, Len Strazewski (writer of volumes 1 and 2 of Justice Society) might have done with such a premise, for example.

Once this comes to an end we plunge into The Lightning Saga (issues #5-6), a crossover with Justice League of America which is pretty bad: basically the JSA and JLA wander around aimlessly for five issues while the Legion of Super-Heroes carries out an overcomplicated plan that they don't explain for any readily apparent reason. We then get a small breather, which contains one of the two good issues of Johns's run, #8, where we see what married couple Liberty Belle and Hourman (their whole romance happened between JSA and this book unless I missed something) get up on a day-to-day basis.

But after this the comic becomes virtually unreadable, as it becomes tied up in a storyline of eighteen issues! No idea is worth taking over a comic book for eighteen issues, and this one certainly isn't. The basic premise is a decent idea: a sequel to Kingdom Come. The book posits that the events of Kingdom Come (which I have read, but evidently did not write up on this blog) came about because they took place in a world with no JSA to mentor the new heroes. The Superman of Kingdom Come arrives on the JSA's Earth and in the JSA's time, and has to watch as what happens on his Earth happens all over again... can the JSA head it off? A cracker of a premise, but it totally falls flat in execution.

There are two main problems. One is that instead of a gradual moral deterioration of heroes, what we mostly get is a big giant being (supposedly a god) being discovered in Africa and walking around doing nice things. There's no sense of threat, and of course he turns out to be bad, and of course he gets stomped down. Using the myth of Gog and Magog tries to make this apocalyptic, but it does not come across as high-stakes at all.

The other is that the JSA divides into two groups over this: ones who support Gog, and ones more skeptical of him. This is repeated from the Black Adam story in JSA, and moreover, Johns repeats one of that story's principal weaknesses: the only characters who support Gog are new characters who are clearly in the wrong. Wow, we have Green Lantern, the Flash, and Stargirl on one side... and the new Wildcat, the new Amazing-Man, Citizen Steel, and Mr. America on the other? Gosh, who could be the group who is in the right? It's all so obvious and dull. Its main saving grace is a one-issue special written and illustrated by Alex Ross about the Kingdom Come Superman; on the other hand, a brief story about Power Girl going to Earth-Two and meeting the pre-Crisis Infinity, Inc. is terrible despite Infinity, Inc. penciller Jerry Ordway on art.

Johns's other good story is a cute Stargirl tale (#26) about her birthday party. If he wrote more stuff like this, and less stuff like Thy Kingdom Come, I would have enjoyed his run a lot more.

Once Johns leaves, the series never settles into a new regular writer for very long. We get runs by Jerry Ordway (#27-28), Bill Willingham and Lilah Sturges (#29-33), Bill Willingham alone (#34-40), James Robinson (#41-43), and Marc Guggenheim (#44-54), taking us right up to Flashpoint and the obliteration of the JSA from DC history. (Well, until whenever they bring it back... they probably already have.) Ordway's story is decent, but for me the only one of these to actually be successful was Willingham's.

In its phase being cowritten with Sturges, it's dragged down by having to set up a very stupid split of the JSA into two different ongoings. This comes right after a story about the JSA almost splitting, so it feels repetitive, and it all seems vaguely misogynist, in that no sooner does the JSA get its first female leader in Power Girl than it falls apart. (Meanwhile, over in JLA, it also got its first female leader in Black Canary, and it also falls apart!) But aside from that (obviously editorially imposed), Willingham's run is quite fun. Good character focus, good jokes, clever storytelling. If only it had lasted longer; I particularly enjoyed his two-part Doctor Fate story, and I liked how he actually made something of the relationship between Green Lantern and Obsidian, which most JSA writers have mangled and/or ignored. Unfortunately, he left the book rather than have to write a JLA crossover... and indeed, James Robinson's JLA/JSA crossover The Dark Things is so uninteresting I can't even be arsed to explain why. (But why does Liberty Belle revert to her Jesse Quick identity?)

There's some potential in Guggenheim's run, but unfortunately 1) it sees yet another status quo change, with the JSA moving yet again (they previously moved from New York to Happy Harbor in Willingham's run), to Monument Point, a DC suburb, and 2) things start changing a lot, with the members who left during the split returning with no explanation, and a bunch of random new people joining the team, like the Blue Devil. Plus, the story clearly got wrapped up quickly to make way for thew New 52, and it doesn't really follow up on anything set up by Willingham or Robinson. (Also why does the original Liberty Belle suddenly show up?)

And that was it! Then the "New 52" came along, and the new continuity—where Superman the first superhero had debuted five years ago—had no place for the JSA. DC erased one of its most distinctive features. But that's not it for me, I have a few more things to read before I'm finally done with the Justice Society...

This post is forty-fourth in an ever-expanding series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers the Justice Society of America 80-Page Giants. Previous installments are listed below:

The Stories between the Stories: JSA Classified

In 2005, the Justice Society reached a new milestone: two ongoing series at once. JSA Classified lasted thirty-nine issues, from Sept. 2005 to Aug. 2008, which means it overlapped with both JSA (which ended Sept. 2006) and Justice Society of America vol. 3 (which began Feb. 2007).

Those other ongoings were clearly the "main" ones. JSA Classified featured rotating creative teams on shorter stories that focused on one or two or occasionally a couple more JSA members at a time. There are two four-part stories; the rest are usually two- or three-parters, with the occasional one-off. No writer or artist works on more than one storyline, with the exception of Alex Sanchez (who illustrates two stories for a total of five issues) and Jimmy Palmiotti (who inks two stories for a total of eight issues, making him the series's most prolific contributor).

Very little of the series has been collected. Issues #1-4, a Power Girl story by Geoff Johns and Amanda Conner, have been collected a few times; I previously read them in The Sequential Art of Amanda Conner. #5-9 were collected as Honor Among Thieves, the only JSA Classified–branded trade. A couple more issues have been chucked into collections here and there: #21-22, by Walter Simonson, were included in Hawkgirl: Hawkman Returns and #25 and 32-33 were part of JSA Presents Green Lantern. Rather than track down the floppies, I decided to read the whole series on DC Universe Infinite, except I skipped the issues in JSA Presents Green Lantern, since I had just read that trade.

As you might expect for an anthology series, some stories are better than others. I'm not going to go blow by blow, but I will give you some highlights.

When I first read Power Trip (#1-4, by Geoff Johns, Amanda Conner, and Jimmy Palmiotti), I didn't like it; rereading it made it even worse. It's a story focused on continuity with nothing to say about character... except it doesn't even really say anything about continuity, either, as the story is just a series of fakeouts about things that are not Power Girl's origin. Amanda Conner's art is brilliant, though, and it made me decide to incorporate her Power Girl ongoing into this project.

On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised by Honor Among Thieves (#5-7, by Jen Van Meter, Patrick Olliffe, et al.). This is about the Injustice Society planning a heist in JSA headquarters, and I have found most modern takes on the Injustice Society, from Roy Thomas on, gratuitously violent. But Jen Van Meter produces a charming story about underdogs who have to work together to do something that's, well, if not the right thing, not the worst thing either. I liked it a lot, and I'm excited to see that Van Meter returns to some of these characters in a backup she writes for Justice Society vol. 3.

Another villain-focused story did have the problems of gratuitous violence: "The Fall & Rise of Vandal Savage" (#10-13, by Stuart Moore, Paul Gulacy, and Jimmy Palmiotti) just went on and on and on, and had little of interest. Similarly, I didn't like the two Doctor Mid-Nite stories, "Skin Trade" (#19-20, by Scott Beatty, Rags Morales, and Michael Bair) and "Nightfall" (#23-24, by J. T. Krul, Alex Sanchez, and Jack Purcell). Both had lots of squicky stuff. Worse, "Skin Trade" mutilates some minor characters from other series just to prove the situation is serious, one of my least favorite superhero tropes. (On the other hand, it did pick up an interesting loose end from Ultra-Humanite's backstory.)

But when the series is great, it's really great. One thing I didn't like about Geoff Johns's JSA run is that the actual people of the JSA often seemed lost in the way the series lurched from massive event to massive event. Here, we get a lot of nice character-focused stories about the people who make the world's first superhero team also its best. I am not a Scott McDaniel fan, nor a Bane one, so I was pleasantly surprised by "The Venom Connection" (#17-18, by Tony Bedard, Scott McDaniel, and Andy Owens), where Bane comes to Hourman and his son Hourman, seeking help with Venom... which it turns out might be related to the drug that gives them their powers, Miraclo. It's a great focus on the younger Hourman, Rick Tyler, and also Bane himself, with some good (if comic-book-level) discussion of addiction.

I often feel like Wildcat gets a bit flanderized: ooh, he talks funny and he gives Power Girl crap and he drinks beer. So again, I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up enjoying all three of JSA Classified's Wildcat stories: "Fight Game" (#26-27, by Frank Tieri, Jerome Moore, et al.), "Forward through the Past" (#35-37, by B. Clay Moore and Ramon Perez), and "Body and Soul" (#38-39, by Mike W. Barr and Shawn Martinbrough). Each story does a good job focusing on his history, and tying into his interest in wrestling without making it contrived. He uproots a gambling ring, takes on criminals using his old gyms in Gotham, and stops people from stealing the mental patterns of retired wrestlers. Each story is solid, but I particularly enjoyed "Forward through the Past," which has some great character-focused writing and, especially, great art. I don't know that I've ever really registered either B. Clay Moore or Ramon Perez before, but I will look out for more by them. Their depiction of the relationship between Wildcat and Catwoman intrigued me, so now I plan to circle back and read a couple stories about that as well.

The only other stories I found particularly bad were the Justice League Detroit one, "Double or Nothing" (#14-16, by Steve Englehart, Tom Derenick, et al.), and the Mr. Terrific one, "Mr. Horrific" (#29-31, by Arvid Nelson and Alex Sanchez). The former was confusing and poorly explained—and also I'm totally over stories where villains force heroes to fight each other for gambling purposes. Maybe I'll like it more when I reread it in the Justice League Detroit omnibus? But I kind of doubt it. "Mr. Horrific" was just awful: nonsensical leaps in the writing, ugly impenetrable artwork.

Beyond that, you have a number of solid, enjoyable stories. If I have an overall complaint, it's that I wish we'd seen more JSA members. Some more focus on the younger members would have been good; Stargirl's only story was the terrible "Double or Nothing," and Jakeem Thunder just gets a one-parter (#28, by Fabian Nicieza and Steve Uy). Or, it would be nice to open the series up some more so it's not so focused on the present-day JSA: give me a good Atom story, or a good World War II–era one, or whatever.

But on the whole I liked it a lot, more than I expected. I kind of though it was a series to burn off bad fill-ins by mediocre creative teams, but it was nothing like that at all. To be honest, I wish the regular JSA series had been more like this: nothing overdramatic, just good character-focused stories drawing on these people's long histories.

This post is thirty-ninth in a series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers JSA: Ragnarok. Previous installments are listed below:

1. All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever (1976-79)
2. The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)
3. All-Star Squadron (1981-87)
4. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)
5. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)
6. Showcase Presents... Power Girl (1978)
7. America vs. the Justice Society (1985)
8. Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt (1985)
9. Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 7 (1983-85)
10. Infinity, Inc. #11-53 (1985-88) [reading order]
11. Last Days of the Justice Society of America (1986-88)
12. All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant (1999)
13. Steel, the Indestructible Man (1978)
14. Superman vs. Wonder Woman: An Untold Epic of World War Two (1977)
• Wonder Woman: Earth-Two (1977-78)
15. Secret Origins of the Golden Age (1986-89)
16. The Young All-Stars (1987-89)
17. Gladiator (1930) ["Man-God!" (1976)]
    
18. The Crimson Avenger: The Dark Cross Conspiracy (1981-88)
19. The Immortal Doctor Fate (1940-82)
20. Justice Society of America: The Demise of Justice (1951-91)
21. Armageddon: Inferno (1992)
22. Justice Society of America vol. 2 (1992-93)
23. The Adventures of Alan Scott--Green Lantern (1992-93)
24. Damage (1994-96)
25. The Justice Society Returns! (1999-2001)
26. Chase (1998-2002)
27. Stargirl by Geoff Johns (1999-2003)
28. The Sandman Presents: The Furies (2002)
29. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book One (1999-2000)
30. Wonder Woman: The 18th Letter: A Love Story (2000)
31. Two Thousand (2000)
32. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Two (1999-2003)
33. Golden Age Secret Files & Origins (2001)
34. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Three (1999-2003)
35. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Four (2002-03)
36. JSA Presents Green Lantern (2002-08)
37. JSA #46-87 (2003-06)
38. JSA: Strange Adventures (2004-05)
    

“During the days of World War II, a group of costumed mystery men gathered together to form the first and greatest super-hero team of all time. Now, fighting alongside the surviving original members, a new generation of heroes has been born.... Today, the JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA lives again!”

DC's JSA by Geoff Johns collections stalled out after four volumes, going up to issue #45. But JSA ran for another forty-two issues beyond that. I ended up deciding the best way to read issues #46-87 (May 2003–Sept. 2006) was through DC's digital comic service, DC Universe Infinite, where for a monthly fee you can access a vast collection of back issues. It doesn't have a Kindle app, but it worked perfectly fine in the browser on my tablet. Some of this run I had read before; specifically, I had read #56-67 and 76-81 as part of my Sandman spin-offs project, as those issues had significant developments for Lyta Hall, mother of the second Dream.

I think there are clearly two big influences on this run of JSA, which is mostly, but not entirely, written by Geoff Johns. (David Goyer departs after five issues; Keith Champagne writes some fill-ins around the time of Infinite Crisis; the series is closed out in a five-issue arc by Paul Levitz.) The first is Paul Levitz's All-Star Comics, which was the first ongoing run to do the thing Johns does here (as signalled in the first-page blurb I've used in my post title): mix original JSA heroes with a new generation. Levitz's series co-starred WWII-era JSA members like Wildcat and Green Lantern with descendants and legatees like Huntress and Power Girl. Johns very much takes that approach; Jay Garrick co-exists with Jakeem Thunder. The other influence is Roy Thomas's Infinity, Inc. That comic wasn't a JSA one, but focused on the JSA's legacy. Thomas's comic evolved the status quo of many JSA characters, giving them children and marriages and new life developments. Put both of these approaches together and, I would argue, you have the major influences on Geoff Johns's approach to JSA.

JSA even features a variety of one-time Infinc stars: Al "Nuklon" Rothstein is now the JSA's Atom-Smasher. Rick Tyler, son of the original Hourman, is one of three different Hourmen to serve during this run. Alan Scott's daughter Jade puts in a few appearances, his son Obsidian does so as well. Hector "Silver Scarab" Hall is the new Doctor Fate, and his wife Lyta "Fury" Hall is brought out of the Vertigo universe. Northwind and Brainwave Jr. show up, as well, and though Yolanda "Wildcat" Martinez is dead, her cousin is a recurring character. Power Girl wasn't a big Infinc player outside of its opening arc, but she's here too. The Star-Spangled Kid is dead, but of course JSA member Stargirl inherits his legacy, and his sidekick. Basically the only Infinity, Inc. members to not show up or influence JSA are Helena "Huntress" Wayne, who was eradicated from continuity, and Beth "Doctor Midnight" Chapel, who was dead (and is never even mentioned because she was replaced by a white man).

But if you are an Infinity, Inc. fan there is little to enjoy in the callbacks. Of the original Infinity, Inc. members, Atom-Smasher, Obsidian, Northwind, and Brainwave all become villains during JSA. So does Wildcat's cousin. One or two could be interesting, but when it happens to four-or-five of them, it begins to feel repetitive and obnoxious. Part of the joy of superhero comic universes is to see characters you like again and again... but it brings me no joy for Northwind to be reduced to a snarling animal without any dialogue and turn evil for no readily apparent reason. (And let's not linger on the optics of this happening to a character coded as Native American.) Same goes for Obsidian, for Brainwave, for Atom-Smasher. I liked these characters in Infinity, Inc.; my reward for that is to see Brainwave assaulting people. Rick Tyler is killed off so his father can be brought back. Hector and Lyta do okay, at least.

As an undergraduate, I read a little bit of—or, to be honest, maybe just about—the "anxiety of influence" in a class on performativity in Victorian drama. That was twenty years ago, so I cannot claim to be au fait with the ideas of Harold Bloom. But I seem to recall that the later writer is anxious about the influence of the earlier writer, and thus in many cases seeks to destroy or undermine him. Does Geoff Johns destroy Roy Thomas's characters as a way of attempting to eradicate Roy Thomas's influence on him? I don't know enough about Bloom to say... but it was a pretty obnoxious pattern to see play out in this title again and again.

When JSA isn't involved in multi-part storylines about mass murder, which is unfortunately most of the time, it's a pretty good comic book. I usually liked the done-in-ones the best; there's a fun Thanksgiving issue, and a great Christmas issue about the JSA protecting Santa Claus. There's a nice Stargirl story about what she's up to during Infinite Crisis. But I found much of this run an unappealing slog, with little of the sense of fun or brightness or character that makes me enjoy a superhero comic. The basic premise here is good—a multigenerational superhero team where the characters can evolve and change—but little about the execution was ever enjoyable.

This post is thirty-seventh in a series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers JSA: Strange Adventures. Previous installments are listed below:

1. All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever (1976-79)
2. The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)
3. All-Star Squadron (1981-87)
4. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)
5. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)
6. Showcase Presents... Power Girl (1978)
7. America vs. the Justice Society (1985)
8. Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt (1985)
9. Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 7 (1983-85)
10. Infinity, Inc. #11-53 (1985-88) [reading order]
11. Last Days of the Justice Society of America (1986-88)
12. All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant (1999)
13. Steel, the Indestructible Man (1978)
14. Superman vs. Wonder Woman: An Untold Epic of World War Two (1977)
• Wonder Woman: Earth-Two (1977-78)
15. Secret Origins of the Golden Age (1986-89)
16. The Young All-Stars (1987-89)
17. Gladiator (1930) ["Man-God!" (1976)]
    
18. The Crimson Avenger: The Dark Cross Conspiracy (1981-88)
19. The Immortal Doctor Fate (1940-82)
20. Justice Society of America: The Demise of Justice (1951-91)
21. Armageddon: Inferno (1992)
22. Justice Society of America vol. 2 (1992-93)
23. The Adventures of Alan Scott--Green Lantern (1992-93)
24. Damage (1994-96)
25. The Justice Society Returns! (1999-2001)
26. Chase (1998-2002)
27. Stargirl by Geoff Johns (1999-2003)
28. The Sandman Presents: The Furies (2002)
29. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book One (1999-2000)
30. Wonder Woman: The 18th Letter: A Love Story (2000)
31. Two Thousand (2000)
32. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Two (1999-2003)
33. Golden Age Secret Files & Origins (2001)
34. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Three (1999-2003)
35. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Four (2002-03)
36. JSA Presents Green Lantern (2002-08)
    

JSA, Book Four by Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Leonard Kirk, Keith Champagne, et al.

JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Four

Collection published: 2020
Contents published: 2002-03
Read: July 2022

Writers: Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer

Pencillers: Leonard Kirk, Peter Snejbjerg, Keith Giffen, Stephen Sadowski, Patrick Gleason

Inkers: Keith Champagne, Peter Snejbjerg, Al Milgrom, Andrew Pepoy, Christian Alamy
Colorist: John Kalisz

Letterer: Ken Lopez

The fourth (and final) volume of JSA by Geoff Johns finally catches events up to what was collected back in book two; in that book, Captain Marvel and the Rick Tyler Hourman were members of the team, and we finally see them join here! If you're making a definitive series of collections, I feel like you could make a much better effort at getting the order right.

Collecting issues aside, the series finally hit its groove for me in this collection. I've struggled with it up until now, but I enjoyed most every storyline in this volume. It opens with "Stealing Thunder," where the Ultra-Humanite has put his brain into Johnny Thunder's body in order to access the power of the Thunderbolt. First there's a pretty decent character-focused prologue (which nicely wrongfoots you about what has happened to Johnny), and the story itself does a good job of focusing on the personalities of individual JSA members. It jumps ahead several months, to when the Earth is an Ultra-Humanite-controlled dystopia, and a small group of heroes remains free of his control. So we follow the members of this group, and it's all handled pretty well. We even get an issue that focuses on former Injustice Society member Icicle, a villain who's immune to the Ultra-Humanite's control and becomes an uneasy ally of the JSA. It's nice to see Rick Tyler (formerly of Infinity, Inc.) again, and the thing about him being able to spend one last hour with his dad, the original Hourman, is pretty neat.

I appreciate all the Infinc callbacks, of course... especially since I actually forgot about this one!
from JSA #34 (art by Leonard Kirk & Keith Champagne)

After this, we get some character-focused one-offs. A Father's Day story parallels Rick meeting with his father, and Jakeem Thunder trying to track down his. I enjoyed this one. Then there's a story about a villain lusting after Power Girl, and it's as bad as all Geoff Johns–penned Power Girl stories. But then there's a decent story about an old Dr. Mid-Nite villain getting his grandson to commit crimes, and the JSA working together to stop him.

Don't trust him!
from JSA #32 (art by Peter Snejbjerg)

Finally, there's a multi-part story about time travel. Some characters go back to the 1940s and meet the original Mr. Terrific; this I really liked, especially the way Mr. Terrific immediately cottoned on to what was happening. Some other characters end up in Ancient Egypt with the original Hawkman and Black Adam, and this I found much less interesting. It does seem like the series is moving back in the direction of having Hawkgirl hook up with Hawkman, which I find profoundly dull and kind of creepy. The stuff about Black Adam's tortured past I don't really care for, because I know it goes pretty unpleasant places in stories like World War III.

Poor Johnny Thunder... or maybe not?
from JSA #36 (art by Leonard Kirk & Keith Champagne)

Also the Hector-Hall-looking-for-Lyta subplot continues to be dead dull. It's a succession of plot beats, not a story about characters.

Ouch.
from JSA #38 (art by Stephen Sadowski & Andrew Pepoy)

But overall, this is an effective team comic at this point. It helps that Leonard Kirk is an absolutely solid artist. Not "flashy," but good personality and good storytelling and good action, the exact kind of artist a nuts-and-bolts team title like this needs. I've liked him ever since his Captain Britain and MI13 days for Marvel. The real shame is that this series of collections ended with this volume; even though DC did collect all of JSA and Justice Society of America vol. 3 in a set of three JSA by Geoff Johns Omnibuses, their "re-cutting" of the run as a series of trade paperbacks ended here, only partway through the contents of what had been JSA by Geoff Johns Omnibus, Volume Two. So having read issues #1-45 of this series via Hoopla, I am going to need to track down #46-87 some other way! (Also it seems clearly criminal that this series was called JSA by Geoff Johns when in the end, David Goyer wrote as many of the collected issues as Johns did... if not more!)

This post is thirty-fifth in a series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers JSA Presents Green Lantern. Previous installments are listed below:

1. All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever (1976-79)
2. The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)
3. All-Star Squadron (1981-87)
4. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)
5. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)
6. Showcase Presents... Power Girl (1978)
7. America vs. the Justice Society (1985)
8. Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt (1985)
9. Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 7 (1983-85)
10. Infinity, Inc. #11-53 (1985-88) [reading order]
11. Last Days of the Justice Society of America (1986-88)
12. All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant (1999)
13. Steel, the Indestructible Man (1978)
14. Superman vs. Wonder Woman: An Untold Epic of World War Two (1977)
• Wonder Woman: Earth-Two (1977-78)
15. Secret Origins of the Golden Age (1986-89)
16. The Young All-Stars (1987-89)
17. Gladiator (1930) ["Man-God!" (1976)]
    
18. The Crimson Avenger: The Dark Cross Conspiracy (1981-88)
19. The Immortal Doctor Fate (1940-82)
20. Justice Society of America: The Demise of Justice (1951-91)
21. Armageddon: Inferno (1992)
22. Justice Society of America vol. 2 (1992-93)
23. The Adventures of Alan Scott--Green Lantern (1992-93)
24. Damage (1994-96)
25. The Justice Society Returns! (1999-2001)
26. Chase (1998-2002)
27. Stargirl by Geoff Johns (1999-2003)
28. The Sandman Presents: The Furies (2002)
29. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book One (1999-2000)
30. Wonder Woman: The 18th Letter: A Love Story (2000)
31. Two Thousand (2000)
32. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Two (1999-2003)
33. Golden Age Secret Files & Origins (2001)
34. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Three (1999-2003)
    

JSA, Book Three: The Power of Legacy! by Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Stephen Sadowski, Rags Morales, Peter Snejbjerg, et al.

JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Three

Collection published: 2019
Contents published: 1999-2003
Read: July 2022

Writers: Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Michael Chabon, Dan Curtis Johnson, James Robinson, J. H. Williams III, Brian Azzarello, Howard Chaykin, Darwyn Cooke, Jeph Loeb, Ron Marz

Pencillers: Stephen Sadowski, Rags Morales, Peter Snejbjerg, Sal Velluto, Buzz, Javier Saltares, Adam DeKraker, Barry Kitson, Michael Lark, Mike McKone, Dave Ross, Phil Winslade, Uriel Caton, Derec Aucoin, Rick Burchett, Tony Harris, Howard Chaykin, Darwyn Cooke, Eduardo Risso, Tim Sale, Chris Weston

Inkers: Bob Almond, Michael Bair, Peter Snejbjerg, Wade Von Grawbadger, Jim Royal, Ray Kryssing, Keith Champagne, Wayne Faucher, Barry Kitson, Michael Lark, Prentis Rollins, Phil Winslade, Anibal Rodriguez, Christian Alamy, Dave Meikis, Derec Aucoin, Rick Burchett, Howard Chaykin, Darwyn Cooke, Eduardo Risso, Tim Sale, Chris Weston
Colorists: John Kalisz, Tom McCraw, Carla Feeny, Mark Chiarello, Tony Harris

Letterers: Ken Lopez, Kurt Hathaway, Michael Lark, Patricia Prentice, Richard Starkings, Darwyn Cooke, Janice Chiang

I complained when reading book two of this series that it seemed like the stories were being collected out of order; book three (called The Power of Legacy! on the cover but subtitle-free on the title page) makes that particularly clear, with later issues collected here introducing things that had already happened in book two, like the transfer of the JSA chairship to Mr. Terrific. But anyway: let's take this part by part as it's presented.

Women, amirite?
from JSA All Stars vol. 1 #2 (script by Jeph Loeb, art by Tim Sale)

The book begins with JSA All Stars vol. 1, an eight-issue miniseries about the various "legacy" characters in the JSA, those who are successors to older heroes: Hawkgirl, Dr. Fate, Stargirl, Hourman, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Mr. Terrific. The middle six issues all follow the same format. First, there's a sixteen-page story about the modern hero written by Geoff Johns and David Goyer, usually delving into character points for them, like Hourman's addiction (this is the Rick Tyler version from Infinity, Inc.) or Stargirl's relationship with her biological father. Then, there's a six-page story about their Golden Age predecessor, written and drawn by high-profile guest artists, like Howard Chaykin, James Robinson and Tony Harris, or Darwyn Cooke. Overall, I enjoyed these; the present-day stories actually give us some solid character work, especially for characters who haven't really had much meaningful focus in the present-day stories, like Hourman, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Mr. Terrific. The flashback stories are good fun stuff: if you take a great writer and artist (or writer/artist) and tell them to do what they want in a six-page Golden Age adventure, they will deliver.

Learning that the new Dr. Mid-Nite also did a residency with the original makes me wonder even more what happened to Beth Chapel. Ah, well, gotta replace those black legacy characters with white ones.
from JSA All Stars vol. 1 #6 (story by David S. Goyer & Geoff Johns, script by Geoff Johns, art by Stephen Sadowski & Wade Von Grawbadger)

The only thing I didn't like was the frame, which I have a sneaking suspicion was added after the middle six issues were completed, because of it how it contorts to not be mentioned in them. A villain turns up, but disguises himself as the Spectre and tells the characters to take time off to think about their histories but also that they shouldn't think about the events of the frame. It's pretty pointless, to be honest, and the six issues would have stood up on their own just fine. But overall, JSA All Stars is my favorite thing I've read thus far in this title... though technically, it's not part of it!

I often find Dr. Fate thaumababble tedious, but I would have read the hell out of a Darwyn Cooke Fate ongoing.
from JSA All Stars vol. 1 #3 (script & art by Darwyn Cooke)

Then come three stories about a character named Nemesis, two from JSA Annual #1 and JSA Secret Files & Origins #2. She's raised by the Council (the same organization responsible for some of DC's various Manhunters), and I felt like a lot of time was spent on her for reasons that weren't clear to me. But maybe this will come in during book four more? The Ultra-Humanite seems to be part of the Council storyline, and he's in book four. (There are some other stories from that Secret Files issue, too; one I already read in the Chase collection, and the other is to foreshadow an upcoming storyline.)

I will never care about Sand, especially his self-doubt, but this was a neat moment.
from JSA Secret Files & Origins #2 (story by Geoff Johns & David S. Goyer, script by Geoff Johns, art by Javier Saltares & Ray Kryssing)

After this, we finally get back to the main JSA series. First we have one of those standalone stories where nothing in particular is going on and we check in on various character that team books like to do—and that I like them to do. After the icky stuff in book two where everyone was expecting teenage Hawkgirl to hook up with octagenarian Hawkman because it was her "destiny," this volume thankfully pushes back against that, with her telling everyone she's going to do what she wants to do. I hope the series sticks to this, and that it's not a set-up for her coming around and getting together with Hawkman anyway. We also have some interrogation of the idea that Black Adam can be part of the team; I liked that Captain Marvel turned up, though was Atom Smasher (then called Nuklon) this hot-headed back in Infinc? Thankfully Sand, the team's most boring nonentity of a character, finally steps down as team leader.

My favorite part of this is that like two panels later, Captain Marvel goes on to use the word "legit." Such grace!
from JSA #27 (script by Geoff Johns, art by Rags Morales & Michael Bair)

This book also introduces Alex, a new character who was a cousin to Yolanda Montez, the Wildcat of Infinity, Inc. He was inspired by her JSA enthusiasm, and now he manages the JSA museum in the JSA's HQ. Fun idea... but he never actually appeared in Infinc! Didn't Yolanda have a younger brother? Why not use him? 

This lady's power is to always pose like a man is watching her.
from JSA #28 (script by Geoff Johns, art by Stephen Sadowski and Christian Alamy & Dave Meikis)

Lastly, we have a storyline where villains kidnap a number of JSA members and force them to fight each other as part of a gambling operation. This I thought was pretty good, probably the best actual storyline thus far, with lots of good moments of characterization, something sorely lacking from the series up to this point. I've been complaining about Geoff Johns, but this is actually the first story not co-written with David Goyer, so maybe it's him who's the problem. My favorite issue here was one where Stargirl and Jakeem Thunder (modern-day inheritor of Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt) are the only two heroes left in HQ during the events of the Joker: Last Laugh crossover and have to protect New York City from a Joker-venom infected Solomon Grundy. Just two principal characters gives the characterization and the action time to shine, aided by some excellent moody art from Peter Snejbjerg. There's also a decent story about the JSA working with Batman. So... after three 400-page books things are finally looking up?

Finally!
from JSA #31 (script by Geoff Johns, art by Peter Snejbjerg)

The last story in the collection is "History 101," which the back cover proudly declares has never before been reprinted... but in fact it was already reprinted in The Justice Society Returns! way back in 2003! There are also lots of profiles and such from various issues of Secret Files & Origins, which is nice to have if you like that kind of thing; I did enjoy the diagram of JSA HQ.

This post is thirty-fourth in a series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Four. Previous installments are listed below:

1. All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever (1976-79)
2. The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)
3. All-Star Squadron (1981-87)
4. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)
5. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)
6. Showcase Presents... Power Girl (1978)
7. America vs. the Justice Society (1985)
8. Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt (1985)
9. Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 7 (1983-85)
10. Infinity, Inc. #11-53 (1985-88) [reading order]
11. Last Days of the Justice Society of America (1986-88)
12. All-Star Comics 80-Page Giant (1999)
13. Steel, the Indestructible Man (1978)
14. Superman vs. Wonder Woman: An Untold Epic of World War Two (1977)
• Wonder Woman: Earth-Two (1977-78)
15. Secret Origins of the Golden Age (1986-89)
16. The Young All-Stars (1987-89)
17. Gladiator (1930) ["Man-God!" (1976)]
    
18. The Crimson Avenger: The Dark Cross Conspiracy (1981-88)
19. The Immortal Doctor Fate (1940-82)
20. Justice Society of America: The Demise of Justice (1951-91)
21. Armageddon: Inferno (1992)
22. Justice Society of America vol. 2 (1992-93)
23. The Adventures of Alan Scott--Green Lantern (1992-93)
24. Damage (1994-96)
25. The Justice Society Returns! (1999-2001)
26. Chase (1998-2002)
27. Stargirl by Geoff Johns (1999-2003)
28. The Sandman Presents: The Furies (2002)
29. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book One (1999-2000)
30. Wonder Woman: The 18th Letter: A Love Story (2000)
31. Two Thousand (2000)
32. JSA by Geoff Johns, Book Two (1999-2003)
33. Golden Age Secret Files & Origins (2001)