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)
    

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Crisis!, Part LVI: The World of Flashpoint featuring Superman

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2012 (contents: 2011)
Borrowed from the library
Read July 2016

The World of Flashpoint featuring Superman

Writers: Scott Snyder & Lowell Francis, Rex Ogle, Dan Jurgens, Mike Carlin

Artists: Gene Ha, Eduardo Francisco, Paulo Siqueira, Roland Paris, Dan Jurgens, Rick Leonardi, Ig Guara, Norm Rapmund, Ruy José, Don Ho, Rags Morales, Rick Bryant

Colorists: Art Lyon, Stefani Renee, Nei Ruffino
Letterers: Rob Leigh, Travis Lanham, Carlos M. Mangual, Dave Sharpe

The way The World of Flashpoint slots together continues to be pretty neat. "Project Superman" starts many years back, with a soldier volunteering to undergo a process to have alien DNA grafted into his system-- we eventually find out this DNA comes from Doomsday. The process turns him into a monster called Subject Zero, but he sees everyone else as a monster, in a pretty horrifying dissonance. General Lane gives up on him when Kal-El's rocket crashlands in Metropolis, and the military begins working with "Subject One" instead, not knowing that Project Zero is covertly influencing him. Eventually things go nuts, and young Kal has no idea what to do or who to trust. The story then dovetails into where "Lois Lane and the Resistance" from the Wonder Woman volume ended, as Subject One seeks out Lois, who showed him some of the only affection he's even known. Things go downhill pretty quickly when Subject Zero shows up again, however. It's probably the best story in this volume, a nice dark horror tale, thanks especially to Gene Ha: unlike most stories in these volumes, this one has one artist all the way through, and he's a very good one to boot.

Lois Lane is a badass at any age in any timeline. Also the "Subject One" version of Kal-El is a weird mixture of creepy and cute.
from Flashpoint: Project Superman #2 (plot by Scott Snyder, co-plot & script by Lowell Francis, art by Gene Ha)

Next comes "The World of Flashpoint," which despite its broad title, is as focused as any of the other tales in this volume, with a tale of Traci Thirteen, the young Homo magi. In the usual DC reality she's a sometime Superman ally and Blue Beetle romantic interest. Here, half her family is killed thanks to the Atlantean geo-weapon from last volume, and her dad decides to nuke half the world to save the other half. Traci goes on a quest to stop him, which lets her encounter a number of random players from the world of Flashpoint like Red Tornado, Natasha Irons, Beast Boy, Jason Todd, and best of all, a Zen bartender Guy Gardner. The story itself is pretty so-so, but like many of these World of Flashpoint tales, it's pleasing for how it build the universe. I'll be curious if its events actually play into the main Flashpoint narrative or not.

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Sandman Spin-Offs, Part XX: JSA: Black Reign

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2003-04)
Borrowed from the library
Read September 2012

JSA: Black Reign

Writer: Geoff Johns

Pencillers: Rags Morales, Don Kramer
Inkers: Michael Bair, Keith Champagne

Colorist: John Kalisz
Letterer: Ken Lopez

This is surely stretching the definition of The Sandman spin-off, but here I am. When we last saw Lyta "Fury" Hall, she was deciding to move on with her life-- since her run-in with the Furies in Greece, she seems to have been captured by a Lord of Order named Nabu. Her husband, the former Sandman, now Dr. Fate, Hector Hall has been looking for her, and he finally finds her, trapped inside his own mind (or something I didn't really understand completely). Lyta is my third-favorite Sandman character, and it's great to see her back in action... but we see here lasts for only a moment. Hopefully there's more of her in JSA going forward.

Faster than a DC Bullet, Issue #13: Identity Crisis

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2005 (contents: 2004)
Borrowed from a friend
Read October 2009

Identity Crisis

Writer: Brad Meltzer

Penciller: Rags Morales
Inker: Michael Bair
Colorist: Ken Lopez
Letterer: Alex Sinclair

DC Universe Timeline: Two Years Ago
Real World Timeline: 2005

(Like most comic stories, to be honest, this seems to take place contemporary to its release date. At this point, the Infinite Crisis is rapidly approaching; it's about five months away.)

Brad Meltzer is apparently a famous (or at least best-selling) thriller novelist. He made his comics debut with Green Arrow: The Archer's Quest, which I found fairly good, but there was one real reason I was looking forward to this book: Elongated Man. (Well, sort of.)

Anyone who has the misfortune of discussing comic books with me for a sustained period of time will rapidly learn that one of two ongoings I own a complete run of is Justice League Europe and then proceed to roll their eyes and stop talking to me. But the truth is that JLE introduced me to many of DC's second-string characters... and I love second-string characters, which is probably why Nite Owl is my favorite Watchman. Ralph Dibny, the Elongated Man, has a fairly good run in JLE: he's treated decently by Keith Giffen and his various collaborators, he really comes into his own when Gerard Jones takes over the title; his role in the Red Winter storyline is excellent. (Someday, I'll pick up the miniseries Elongated Man: Europe '92, his only-ever title, which was penned by Jones.) But how can you not love him? He's goofy, he's got a fabulous wife, his nose twitched when he smells a mystery, and he doesn't even bother with that secret identity malarkey.

Which is where the trouble begins. Because, as is probably well known by this point, but I shall warn you that there are some SPOILERS AHEAD, this is the book where Sue Dibny dies. How can this happen? All too easily, unfortunately, as the Dibnys are well known to the public. This is why I was sort of looking forward to the book: I love Ralph and Sue, and I knew that their marriage ending like this would be terrible. But I also knew that if it did, a good writer could make something really good out of it.

Meltzer turns out to be a very good writer indeed. The first chapter is nothing short of amazing, even when you know what's coming. It jumps back and forth between "Now" as various heroes hear the news about Sue and a countdown to the moment of death as Ralph goes on patrol with a Justice League newbie, telling her about himself... and Sue. The moment where Ralph finds out what happened is devastating, thanks in a large part to Rags Morales's brilliant artwork, which uses Ralph's stretching ability to great emotional effect: when he finds Sue's body, his face contorts in unreal agony. And when the funeral comes, he literally cannot hold himself together. It's tragic to watch: this normally witty, talkative man doesn't know what to say and can't even compose himself. And why would he be able to? He's lost the love of his life. In a medium and genre where death can often be portrayed all too casually, it really drives home what's happened.

The emotional effect is definitely Meltzer's strong point, and the story is replete with gripping, real moments, from small ones like Clark visiting his parents to big ones like Tim Drake dealing with his father learning of his identity as Robin. This latter one initially seems small, but the importance of this relationship to the book grows gradually as it progresses, eventually culminating in a rather intense sequence involving Batman, Robin, and Captain Boomerang, which I found more than gripping. A lot of the book is about family, as you might have guessed from reading this review so far: husbands and wives, fathers and sons, mentors and mentees. It works well.

Of course, it isn't all high emotional drama; we also get attempts to unravel the mystery of who killed Sue Dibny. But, not quite: while most of the Justice League, the Justice Society, and the rest of Earth's heroes round up suspects, a group within the Justice League thinks they know who did it: Doctor Light. This is where a lot of the drama of the book is centered, and it's also home to what's possibly an even more controversial event than the murder of Sue: the rape of Sue. The book reveals that during the JLA's "satellite era" (the 1970s), Dr. Light broke onto the satellite and raped Sue. Whoa. This is followed by still more revelations: a secret cabal within the Justice League (Green Arrow, Hawkman, Zatanna, the Atom, Black Canary, the Flash, and Green Lantern) regularly mind-wiped villains who learned too much about the JLA, and they not only erased Dr. Light's memories, but rewrote his personality to stop it from ever happening again. And then another revelation, possibly not as big, but one with long-term repercussions. I'll keep this one quiet at least. It's a lot to take in, as Meltzer reworks a lot of old continuity and casts it into a considerably distant light. But, I (admittedly someone who's never read any 1970's JLA comics) think it works. There's darkness for darkness's sake, but this is darkness that explores the nuances of what it means to be a hero, and what it means to be the loved one of a hero. There are lines to tread, and the heroes here crossed them: and they knew it. I think at times it doesn't quite work within their established characters (as someone who's been reading a lot of Green Arrow of late, I don't entirely buy his complicity, or the way it would affect his relationship with Hawkman), but it works well enough-- and it certainly works for this story.

Interestingly enough (and as pointed out by Eric Burns in his articles on Identity Crisis, here and here), the rape of Sue turns out to be a red herring, because Dr. Light isn't behind it at all. But we still get an interesting tale of the supervillain community as well, as they band together (for money, of course) to protect Dr. Light, who is naturally enraged once he figures out what happened to him so long ago. I like the stuff with the villain, especially the new Calculator, and now I finally get what was up with Merlyn after my complaining about Green Arrow: Heading into the Light. He's still kinda lame, though. The sequences where all the villains chill out together are good fun. However, Deathstroke the Terminator, the world's dumbest-named and dumbest-costumed supervillain shows up here, somehow managing to incapacitate half of the Justice League in a highly contrived action sequence where they all take turns attacking him for some reason. This dude couldn't take out Gangbuster, much less Green Arrow or the Flash.

Is it all sunshine? No. Maybe my biggest problem is that though I like the eventual revelation of the actual killer (it's twisted, but it makes sense and works well with the themes of the story), it's one of those stories where as soon as the mystery is solved, the killer is revealed by their own self anyway, rendering all the deduction redundant. So what's the point then? And I can take the point about the portrayal of women here: Sue Dibny is pretty much the ultimate victim, but that's ameliorated by this being once chapter in her very long history. And though the portrayal of Jean Loring might also have its problems, there's enough other female characters here to show that it's not as two-dimensional as it's sometimes made out to be. There's also some side stories I don't get: why was Firestorm even in this?

I've already mentioned the art, but it's worth mentioning again: this is one of those rare comics where it wouldn't work half so well with another artist at the controls. This stuff is intense when it needs to be intense, emotional when it needs to be emotional, action-packed when it needs to be action-packed. Quality artwork all around, pencils, inks, and colors alike. (On the other hand, the original series covers are included between chapters here... and they're by can-only-draw-one-body-type-for-each-sex Michael Turner. Thank God they didn't end up on the cover of the collected edition.)
The title of the story is Identity Crisis, but despite that, it's not about protecting secret identities, it's not some story that could only apply to superheroes. It's about personal identities: who we are and what we stand for and what we're willing to do. And most of all, how our identities derive from those around us, lovers, parents, friends, enemies, and spouses alike. Which is why that final panel of Ralph Dibny, like so many others in this book, just hits you in the gut.

Note that this originally appeared on my old LiveJournal and included pictures back then. Sadly, the pictures are lost in the mists of the Internet.