JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: THE RELAUNCH

      In the current comic scene dominated by Infinite Crisis and Civil Wars, DC Comics quietly re-launched one of the oldest team books in comics’ history this week, the Justice Society of America. Sporting a great Alex Ross cover but a $3.99 price tag, some readers might be tempted to pass it by. But believe me, it’s worth it and could be the best comic of the last few months. Unlike past number ones from DC Comics, this does not come with multiple covers rather only one. Although, there is a one in ten variant by series artist Dale Eaglesham.

Above: Panel from Justice Society of America #1 where the DC Big Three reveal their feelings on the World's First Super-team.

     Written by DC superstar writer Geoff Johns, the first issue of the JSA has two themes that run parallel and then intersect towards the end of the book. The first theme is assembling a team that Wonder Woman says will be a moral compass for the rest of the DC Universe and the three surviving original members of the original JSA, Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Flash (Jay Garrick), and Wildcat begin to choose members. Most of which have some connection to the Golden Age heroes of yesteryear.
     The second theme is a mystery of sorts. Something or someone is killing family members of Trey Thompson, Mr. America and he's trying to solve it. While this may not be someone that most of you are familiar with, the original Mr. America was one of the many WWII characters that DC has create over the years either in the pages of All-Star Comics starring the Justice Society or the All-Star Squadron, a DC title from the 1980s. Writer James Robinson made him a central part in the “JSA: Golden Age” mini-series of the 1990s but obscurity has been his name as of late. Taking obscure characters and doing something with them is a hallmark of Geoff Johns and readers familar with his work tend to appriciate this. The two themes of the first issue of Justice Society of America come crashing together (literally) at the end of the first issue and without revealing too much, it is a heck of a cliffhanger!
     One of the problems that many comic readers site with the JSA has always been the membership. Modern comic readers are so inundated with claw-popping, gun-carrying vigilante types, that heroes that were recognizable to their grandfathers or even their fathers are somehow foreign to them. What I’m talking about here is simple: Who were our heroes’ heroes? The JSA taught the heroes of our age what heroes are supposed to be. And they still have a few lessons yet to teach. (Maybe even some Remedial classes for claw-popping, gun-carrying vigilante types that decide they know better than Congress over at Marvel)

Above: Scene from Batman #611 where a young Bruce Wayne spots one of Gotham's earleir heroes, the Golden Age Green Lantern.

     In my opinion, being a hero isn’t about bringing the justice to the bad guys but rather about bringing the bad guys to justice. Saying that the JSA is a moral compass is an understatement. The JSA is a bridge between the Golden Age of comics with those Golden Age morals to our modern age with our modern morals which seem to put an emphisis on extreme vigilantism.
     As I stated before with my review of Superman Confidential, many new series tend to suffer from being new and tend to drag for the first few issues. JSA has gotten off to much better start than the new JLA series which now has three issues under its belt. Sporting 48 pages, you get the maximum bang for your buck and even get a glimpse into the future with a four-panel preview page at the end of the first issue of events to come. I proudly recommend this latest effort from DC.

Justice Soceity of America #1
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Dale Eaglesham
48 pages…$3.99
1/10 Varaint Cover...$12.00
ON SALE NOW!