Justice Society of America #50 – Review

By: Too many to list—check out the review.

The Story: Look out Haggar of Metro City—the Flash is giving you a run for the money in the superhero mayor department.

The Review: This has been a good week for oversized, anniversary issues.  Like Action Comics #900, you get a good chunk of the title’s running events and then a healthy serving of short features a là the “annual” format.  In this case, regular writer Marc Guggenheim takes care of scripting duties for every piece, with a variety of artists to back him up.

“Cornerstone” feels more like a continuation of the DC Universe Legacies series, with its talk of the generational aspect between the Justice Society and Justice League of America.  It’s an old idea, one other writers have played with before, and with much greater deft than Guggenheim, who doesn’t really succeed in giving a new spin to the whole thing.  At least the script gets art treatment from George Pérez (with help from Scott Khoblish), whose style looks dated on most comics now, but really works with retro-stories like this one.

In “Infinitum”, which ties in with the main events on Justice Society, Guggenheim uses a dramatic style of narration to amp up the epic tone of his story, but it just comes off heavy-handed and not a little bit dumb: “The battle rages.  As it always does.  A never-ending battle.  Or so they say.”  Besides, the feature doesn’t tell you much about bald-and-bearded Degaton’s ultimate objectives with merging himself with his parallel Degatons (exactly as weird as it sounds), so it seems like a throwaway tale.  Freddie Williams II’s cartoony style doesn’t exactly help sell the drama Guggenheim’s going for, either.

Justice Society of America #49 – Review

By: Marc Guggenheim (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Mike Atiyeh (colorist)

The Story: What’s better than the JSA?  Double the JSA.

The Review: As the short-lived Heroes demonstrated, a massive cast can be a great thing for a series to have: the mix of personalities and storylines do a lot to grab and sustain your interest.  But cross a certain threshold, and an inflated cast quickly becomes a burden: the difficulty of giving each character enough attention or a sizable role to play easily dilutes the pace and substance of the overall plot, leaving little for you to be invested in.

The return of the JSA All-Stars to the fold will likely do precisely the latter.  You can see the warning signs in this issue’s action sequences alone.  Rather than creating order to how the teamwork use their various abilities in tandem, Guggenheim tosses them almost randomly in Dr. Chaos’ and Scythe’s paths.  With the JSA lacking serious firepower, it feels like the All-Stars had to be brought in to get the job done—it’s not as if they contribute to the story any other way.

With all the action being so aimless, it serves only to distract from the core element of the story arc, which is Guggenheim’s concept of an actual city-society dedicated to justice.  It’s a potentially interesting idea that he’s not even begun to describe or execute in any way, but is still trying to convince you it’s this great idea.  He has characters like Red Beetle saying things like, “What you guys’re doing here, fixing things…that’s holy work,” as if by having it said, it’ll convince you it’s so.

But then there’s a lot of empty talk to this series.  Most of the conversations between the characters are very roundabout, where they’re just hammering the same talking points (Lightning’s comatose state, Green Lantern’s trauma, Mr. Terrific’s degrading intelligence, etc.) to death.  It takes up more than half the issue, and none of it shows character or develops relationships.  Despite their interaction, they all remain a little flat and one-track-minded.

Justice Society of America #48 – Review

By: Marc Guggenheim (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Mike Atiyeh (colorist)

The Story: Dr. Chaos shows exactly how he got his credentials in all-out crazy-making.

The Review: Every now and then you’ll hear DC getting some flak for not providing a handy recap page the way Marvel does for all its titles.  You can’t really deny the usefulness of such a feature, as it allows new readers to jump onboard even in the middle of a story arc.  DC’s usual response is something along the lines of a recap page taking a page away from the story, and if a writer’s strong enough, a recap’s not necessary.  True enough.

In this case, Guggenheim devotes the issue’s opening to recapping an event two issues before.  There are several major problems with this move, the most obvious being he ripped the scene and dialogue straight from Justice Society of America #46.  Second problem: it was weak when it first appeared, so reading it again just seems painful.  Third: instead of using one page to sum up the event, he has now used three—and with the dropped page count, that’s three too many.

And if you notice these flaws right off, that puts you in a discouraged frame of mind from the very start—truly unfortunate, as the rest of the issue requires a lot of forgiveness.  The pace of this story has become unearthly, stretching the limits of decompression technique.  Thanks to the time captions Guggenheim inserts to mark scene-jumps, you can easily deduce that over three issues, only forty-five minutes have passed.

Of course, as 24 demonstrates, decompression isn’t so bad as long as you fill the time with enough interest to keep the tension high.  But considering most of the story has been Dr. Chaos further reducing an already ruined city to rubble and a rematch between the team and Scythe—a villain they literally just defeated in the last story arc—you can’t really call such stuff interesting.

Guggenheim does offer a few good lines (Wildcat: “Sonofa—”  Dr. Chaos: “Yes.  How’d you know?”) and moments, but for every one of those, there’s a cringe-worthy scene like Mr. Terrific’s dumbing down.  Now, I’m sure it’s not intended this way, but the idea of making Michael illiterate—it’s just slightly racist, or at least an unfortunate coincidental reflection of a pervasive, negative, racial stereotype.  Is that politically correct enough?

Justice Society of America #47 – Review

By: Marc Guggenheim (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Mike Ativeh (colorist)

The Story: Green Lantern in space!  Dr. Fate wrestles for Lightning’s soul!  Mr. Terrific experiences Flowers for Algernon firsthand!

The Review: When DC announced that it’d be holding the price line at $2.99 at the cost of cutting some pages from its titles, there was certainly a mix of emotions.  The jubilance over the savings was marred by the concern that each issue would have less substance to be engaging.  So far, most titles have taken the impact pretty easily, some even improving from the compression.  Others, however, have suffered from being forced to squeeze their stories into the more limited space.

Among the suffering seems to be Marc Guggenheim’s Justice Society of America.  This issue sees the team split up across literally cosmic distances, each with their own particular conflict to handle.  On the one hand, this sets things up so there’s no short supply of storylines filling up the pages.  On the other hand, with less page-time devoted to each, you’re left unsatisfied by all of them.  There’s just a strong sense that crucial parts of each plotline have been sacrificed at some point to fit them all in.

So instead of showing what’s going on, Guggenheim has to tell it to you instead.  Take Dr. Fate and Lightning in the spirit realm.  You don’t get to see how they get there; Jay Garrick catches Dr. Midnight up to speed and then Fate himself gives a thoroughly unsatisfying explanation of his work (“I took a few shortcuts, acted on instinct mostly.  I sort of…pushed things along…”).  And once all that talk is done, you get cut away to the next storyline, leaving you to wonder what the point of it all is.

Then you have Mr. Terrific’s supposedly degrading intelligence.  Instead of seeing symptoms of his dire situation, you get treated to two solid pages of Dr. Chaos’ obnoxious, know-it-all gloating.  Without actually seeing real signs of Mr. Terrific losing his smarts, the emotional impact of it is lost, making you feel as if he’s in no real danger.  But the worst handling has to be Alan Scott’s sudden jump into space.  Not only does it come out of nowhere, but it gets exactly one page to vaguely hint at the reason why it happens (the Starheart is in trouble—or something).

Justice Society of America #46 – Review

By: Marc Guggenheim (writer), Mike Norton (artist), Mike Atiyeh (colorist)

The Story: The disorder in Monument Point spirals further out of control as the Justice Society tries to contain the aftermath of Scythe’s attack.  With the mayor’s life at stake, the team’s great social experiment seems already on the verge of collapse.

The Review: One of the trademarks that most endears the Justice Society of America to readers is the sense of family among all the legacy heroes.  This team takes pride in its history and ideals.  Their battles do less to show off their formidability as fighters and more to display their teamwork and heroic values.  For those reasons, even with the Justice League as the premier team in the DCU, the Justice Society gets treated with the most reverence.

The current fragmented state of the team comes across as very uncomfortable and a little artificial.  There was some practical value to splitting up the ever-inflating cast into two titles, but ultimately the move damaged both.  With most of the older heroes staying on in Justice Society, and the younger, newer ones moving on to JSA All-Stars, the sense of legacy degraded.  What you ended up with was a team of antiquated old-fogeys and another of next-gen wannabes.

That’s also why the current storyline, of the Justice Society’s attempt to rebuild a ruined city into an actual society based on patriotism, just doesn’t sell.  It’s essentially a team led by old white men (with the exception of token black guy Mr. Terrific) trying to return some good ol’ American values to urban sprawl.  By itself, this story has a lot of doubtful ambitions.

Had Marc Guggenheim generated some debate or at least information on how this “society” is going to work, the issue would have been used well.  He instead glosses over these logistics in favor of re-emphasizing the strife currently plaguing even the longtime friends and partners on the team.  This gives them the most unflattering characterizations, from Alan Scott’s bitter ramblings on his paralysis, to Jay Garrick’s prickly, even crusty attitude (“This is France after WWII,” he says in reference to the disorder around the devastated city).  And now there are no younger heroes to offer some freshness to these grim outlooks—certainly not after the end of the issue.

Reading through the issue feels like a visit to an elderly, cantankerous great-uncle.  You sort of just sit patiently through his repetitive tirades on how the world is going to ruin and how things were like back in his day, then you say goodbye with pointed politeness.  With the exception of some melodramatic twists at the end, nothing in the story really moves forward, and even the twists leave you feeling unaffected and dispassionate.  Mostly it’s just characters saying the same things about what’s already happened over and over.  Taken individually, each scene plays credibly, but there’s no unifying thread throughout, nor any sense that the story is heading someplace bigger.

Justice Society of America #39 – Review

by Bill Willingham (writer), Jesus Merino (art)

The Story: Mr. Terrific and his band of imprisoned heroes make a daring attempt to stop the Darkness Engine…

What’s Good: Of all the JSA characters, Willingham has by far the best handle of Mr. Terrific.  Thus, the fact that this issue is heavily narrated by him is definitely a strength.  Hearing Mr. Terrific outline his tactics, strategy, and team composition is pretty cool and adds a sense of desperation.

Also, I’m really glad that most of this issue was spent in action sequences, what with the entire book’s focusing on the execution of the heroes’ big escape plan.  It makes the book feel a lot more fluid and organic, steering clear of the stilted dialogue and empty depression that this arc has often been rife with.  The action keeps the book rolling and makes it far more palatable, if only because it’s a breezier read.  Essentially, it’s harder to screw up.  That said, there is fun to be had here:  Green Arrow’s last stand, Slade Wilson’s heroic self-sacrifice, Superman’s commandeering a battle suit are all fairly cool highlights.

Justice Society of America #38 – Review

By: Bill Willingham (writer), Jesus Merino (artist), Jesse Delperdang (inker), Allen Passalaqua (colorist)

The Story: The Fatherland, Part 3: Willingham peels back more of how the American Reich happened via the Darkness Engine that has depowered America’s heroes and villains. In the meantime, Willingham is pursuing his caper plot, with the surviving, depowered heroes getting ready to make their move. Their plan is going to cost a lot of lives, though.

What’s Good: I love stories of heroes having to fix a world gone crazy. A classic of this genre is The Days of Future Past. This story feels a lot like that (concentration camps, high-tech weaponry, persecution, etc). The heaviest hitters in the DCU can’t hit anymore or are dead. It is cool to watch others up step to the plate. Mr. Terrific’s central role in this thread is an awesome example of stepping up. Willingham also has a narrative style that is very forgiving to the new reader, so even though this is part 3 of the arc, the story is very accessible. And he keeps the tension up, with things getting worse and worse for the heroes. And because this is a caper plot, you know that, no matter what, this plan isn’t going to survive contact with the enemy.

Action Comics #888 – Review

By Greg Rucka and Eric Trautmann (writers), and Pere Perez (artists), Javier Mena (colorist) and Travis Lanham (letterer)

The Story: Flamebird continues the fight against false Rao, alone since Nightwing is incapacitated. Luckily the cavalry arrives in the form of the JSA and Wonder Woman to even the odds.

What’s Good: I love the way Rucka delves into Kryptonian mythology; and then allows it to play out again before our eyes. It gives the whole arc a very Joseph Campbell Hero With A Thousand Faces vibe that I really, really like. Flamebird and Nightwing continue to be two of my favorite characters (although I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to the return of Superman in the book too.) Not only do Flamebird and Nightwing have interesting histories, Rucka does a great job of characterizing them here. Flamebird takes center stage as she did in the last issue, but Nightwing isn’t short-shifted by any means—and if the cliffhanger is any indication, he’ll be coming back strong for #889.

Perez does quite well on art. The scenes in the Phantom Zone are just awesome. The very creative panel layouts look very J.H. Williams-esque, which is about the highest compliment I could give. The biggest problem is that it feels very inconsistent. It has moments that it reaches great heights, and on the very next page will slip into “just okay” (although, it’s worth noting that the art is never bad.)

There is a backup feature, and its serviceable enough. Captain Atom has never been one of my favorite characters, but this kept me entertained in spite of that. The writing was decent, if clichéd in places, and the artwork was quite enjoyable. It didn’t add a whole lot of value to the book for me personally, but I think someone who likes the character more would get much more out of it.

Justice Society of America #37 – Review

by Bill Willingham (writer), Jesus Merino (pencils), Jesse Delperdang (inks), Allen Passalaqua (colors), and Rob Leigh (letters)

The Story: Mr. Terrific tells the story of how the JSA tried to rally against the Fourth Reich while he, and some big name allies, plot a jailbreak.

What’s Good: It’s already pretty clear that Mr. Terrific is probably Willingham’s favourite character on the JSA and so it should be no surprise that Willingham also has the best handle on the character’s voice and how to write him in general.

He continues to be well-written and I really do enjoy having him as the lead character.  Willingham does a great job with Terrific’s dialogue; he’s snarky but genuine and you really do root for him.  Indeed, the fact that he’s a know-it-all and calls it like he sees it only adds to the appeal of the character.  Indeed, Terrific’s dynamic with his “memoir writer” was also quite well-done, achieving a good back and forth with a dash of hopelessness.

I’ve always loved Mr. Terrific and seeing him in more or less solo hero position and in a leader position over Superman and Batman, revealed to be two of his fellow inmates, is all kinds of awesome.  I found these prison scenes to be by far the most engaging and creative parts of the book.  The planned jailbreak had me intrigued, while the dialogue and the means the former superheroes are forced to employ to enact their plans really spelled out the brutality of the Fourth Reich’s world.  These portions said a great deal about the dystopic world Willingham is working with here and the sense of horror and desperation is tangible.

JSA All-Stars #2 – Review

By: Matthew Sturges (writer), Freddie Williams II (art), Richard & Tanya Horie (colorists)

The Story: Constellations, Part One: After last issue’s ambush and the kidnapping of Stargirl by a love-smitten Johnny Sorrow, the JSA All-Stars are in full action mode. The problem is, the guy paid to take Stargirl is double-crossing Johnny Sorrow, who’s got the Injustice League on his side. A full-on meta gang-war is not conducive to a rescue mission.

What’s Good: The writing impressed me. Power Girl’s narrative run through most of the book and with a few exceptions at the beginning, her voice was engaging. I think Sturges managed to put a lot of character into all the characters, actually. Power Girl’s admission that she likes to hit people was funny, as was her race against a bullet. Stargirl’s “Time to cowboy up and bust out of here” reeks of personality. And the new A.I. for the ranch (sounds funny saying it, doesn’t it?), Roxy, stole the show when she was on. Check out her first lines. I also think the story idea of a super-villain being in creepy love with a 16-year old super heroine was a good angle to try. It creates a weird stalker dynamic and a lot of motivation for Johnny Sorrow to continue to be an implacable enemy to the JSA All-Stars.

Blackest Night: JSA #1 – Review

By: James Robinson (writer), Eddy Barrows & Marcos Marz (art), Julio Ferreira, Luciana Del Negro & Ruy Jose (inks), Rod Reis (colors)

The Story: The original (and dead) Sandman, Dr. Midnight and Mr. Terrific get their memories uploaded into Black Lanterns. In the meantime, the JSA are fighting a tide of black lanterns in New York. The struggle is not only physical, but emotional. At S.T.A.R. labs, today’s Mr. Terrific is trying to figure out what makes the black lanterns tick by studying the now-inactive Kal-L and Psycho-Pirate black lanterns from the Blackest Night: Superman mini. Mr. Terrific summons a few of his light-producing teammates, but it looks like the black lanterns aren’t going to give Terrific the time he needs to figure it out.

What’s Good: Two things hit me right away when I opened this book. First, the art by Barrows and Marz, and second Robinson’s writing. It’s not normal that I would be stopped at the door like that, but both elements were really impressive.
After some of Robinson’s misses (check out WCBR’s reviews on JLA #40 and JLA: Cry for Justice #5), I was expecting less, but right away, he dove into four parallel story threads on the first page. Robinson controls the mood well in all three threads, by saying less, rather than more. The confusion the dead heroes would feel at being uploaded is clear, but he rightly leaves the subtle storytelling for his art team. The fourth thread runs along the bottom of each page, with different JSA members, but from the perspectives of the black lanterns they are fighting. Once we get to the big donnybrook, Robinson switches to Jesse Quick’s voice, which feels different – she’s at the edge of panic and there’s no mistaking it, even if there were no pictures. In my books, Robinson is out of the dog house.

I’ve seen Barrows’ art in Blackest Night Superman and Green Lantern, but I’ve never seen him with the level of subtlety he brought to this issue. The difference could be that he’s got Marz with him, or it could also be the influence of Del Negro. Barrows and Marz have a great command of the basic communication of storytelling, whether we’re looking at flashbacks, or monster splash-page fights. But where this art team really impressed me was on the close-ups. Check out the texture of the fist on the bottom of page 1 and of Sandman black lantern’s skin on the splash page. Or see the tendrils of reforming zombie on page 10. But the best piece of detail work is on Wildcat’s face when he apologizes to Power Girl. Barrows and Marz perfectly nailed the expression of pure regret. Reis delivers his typical quality work on colors, especially with the emotional spectrum of the black lanterns.

Justice Society Of America #32 – Review

by Matthew Sturges and Bill Willingham (writers), Jesus Merino (art), Allen Passalaqua (color), Rachel Gluckstern (assistant editor), Mike Carlin (editor)

The Story: The Bad Seed, Part 4: Power Girl, the Flash and Mr. America struggle to find out who killed Mr. Terrific. In the meantime, Dr. Midnight discovers that the Green Lantern has been using his ring to keep Mr. Terrific’s body in stasis, so that he is preserved in the condition of only moments after death. This is because Dr. Fate is going to see if magic can do what medicine could not. And then the villains close in…

What’s Good: Merino does some great work in this issue, from the beads of sweat on Green Lantern, to the multiple images of the Flash, to the Flash’s wrinkly face, and the pleading expression on the suspected murderer. The action sequences are dynamic and clear, and the emotions are clearly running high, even without the dialogue.

Sturges and Willingham continue their massive (I counted 34 heroes and villains in this issue, although 1 is dead, 2 are probationary recruits, and 3 of them are dogs) mystery saga. There’s only one issue left in the Bad Seed arc, so they are pulling the plot threads tighter. By the end of this book, the tension is wound incredibly tight. By next issue, this arc has to tell us who hired the 15 villains, why they didn’t want Star Girl harmed, who really killed Mr. Terrific, whether Mr. Terrific actually qualifies for a death certificate, and what happens to fracture the team in two. That’s a whole lot of story to be sitting on the edge of your seat for.

What’s Not So Good: Bits of dialogue sounded a bit off to me. The villains especially have some lines that could have been improved or dispensed with. Some of the JSA’s arguing seems to be serving the story more than the characters who are speaking, and King Chimera’s bit of upper class diction, while giving him a new sound in the beginning, is in danger of making him a caricature. But, this dialogue complaint is a small mark against an otherwise solid book.

Conclusion: Sturges, Willingham and Merino have me on the edge of my seat, and I can’t wait for the answers to all the questions they’ve put on the table.

Grade: C+

-DS Arsenault

 

Magog #1 – Review

By Keith Giffen (writer), Howard Porter (artist), John Dell (inks)

The Story: A quick 1-page summary of Magog’s origin opens the book, but segues into a gruesome splash page that opens the book with a bang in Sudan. Magog is tracking illicit meta-tech that’s being used for nefarious ends. A mystery is in play. When he calls for Green Lantern (Alan Scott), he appears quick enough that Magog realizes he’s being kept on a pretty short leash by the JSA. Roots of a fracture begin appear…

What’s Good: Giffen, a long-time comic veteran, starts big with Magog in Sudan and keeps the tension rising. Some readers who don’t know much about Sudan might consider some of the gory images a bit over the top. The fact that some of this stuff is really happening in Sudan gave this opening sequence an added resonance.

Giffen also opened an interesting pandora’s box. Magog editorializes about how superheroes do not involve themselves in foreign situations. The logical inconsistency is as old as superheroes themselves. If you had the power of Superman, why not go stop the holocaust? Sudan is a very clear, modern example of a genocide no superhero is taking on, except Magog. Cool theme. I look forward to seeing where Giffen takes it, because he posed the question, but certainly didn’t answer it.

What’s Not So Good: Magog as a character is not very original or interesting. He’s just the Wolverine, Rambo, Punisher (take your pick) cliche, just in a different set of tights. He’s a lethal, sardonic, grim avenger we’ve all seen before. This isn’t Giffen’s fault, but he’s stuck with Magog now, so he’s going to have to figure out soon what makes him worth watching instead of any of the other clones out there. There are signs that Giffen is moving that way, but it will take time to see if the promise pays off.

In the exposition, we need to understand that Magog is brutal, but the level of violence he delivers in this issue is well into the gratuitous. Many stories have shown brutality without having to resort to slasher imagery. It unfortunately detracts from the quality of the book when something more subtle might have made a better point.

On the art, I’m not sold. It does an adequate job, but the faces and poses were a bit still and even generic (check out the panel with Green Lantern and Magog in the hotel room – they look like twins). Also, the skin tones in Africa bugged me. What on Earth was going on? The severed limbs clearly had caucasian skin, despite the fact that on the next page, the victims are clearly African. The skin tones of the brutal oppressors were also white, but with vaguely Asiatic features. That didn’t make a lot of sense, considering the Janjaweed of Sudan are also black. Given the courage Giffen had in locating the opening scene in the brutality of Sudan, I was disappointed that the art team held back on showing it more realistically.

Conclusion: I wasn’t wowed by this book and I can’t recommend it.

Grade: C-

-DS Arsenault

FanExpo 2009 Recap

Last weekend, I attended Fan Expo 2009 in Toronto, Canada, a convention featuring science fiction, comics, anime, horror, and games. I paid the most attention to the comics stream (obviously) and attended panels by five publishers and sat in on two sessions by Len Wein (creator of Wolverine, some of the New X-Men, Swamp Thing, etc). Here’s what I pulled out of it, straight to you, hot off the presses.

Aspen MLT Inc

Frank Mastromauro, Peter Steigerwald, Joe Benitez, Micah Gunnall, Mark Roslan, Alex Konat, Dave Wohl and Marcus To did the A to Z of Aspen comics. It’s hard to believe that Fathom is ten years old and finishing its third arc, and that it’s got a movie deal. Soulfire, Aspen’s other flagship book, is five years old. Aspen has lots of other great titles on the go, including Dellec, Shrugged and especially Executive Assistant Iris. Part of this year’s business strategy will be to do more trades so that fans can easily catch up on their books as new story arcs come out. Executive Assistant Iris also seems to be laying the groundwork for other executive assistant books and stories that would really round out that milieu.

Marvel Digital panel

Joe Quesada showed off the Spider-Woman and Astonishing X-Men motion comics. This was the first time I’d seen either one, and I was impressed, but not sold of the medium. I asked a question about the business model, and they’re using access to motion comics through iTunes sales as a platform to reach new audiences. Smart idea, I hope it works. My only question here is, since when did Jessica Drew get a British accent? Maybe I missed something in Secret Invasion.

DC Universe Editorial Presentation

Dan Didio and a big DC contingent talked shop for an hour and answered questions from all comers. One of the most interesting things I found about this was the focus that DC is doing on each of its eight cornerstone franchises. The franchises are obviously Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, the Flash and Wonder Woman, as well as the three team franchises: the JLA, the JSA and the Titans. One question that came up was “Where’s the love for Aquaman?” Didio diplomatically and rightly pointed out that Aquaman was never really that popular (same with Hawkman). Sure, they both have fans, but they don’t have the same draw as the flagship characters. Neither has the same sort of unambiguous, iconic image in the public’s eye that someone like Batman does. And, with a cast of characters as large as DC has, it makes sense to focus on a few flagship brands, make them really good, so that you can do more stuff with the people and characters and situations around them. I think it’s a great decision and I was pleased to hear that Wonder Woman was part of the lovin’ too.

Cup o’ Joe

Joe Quesada took us on a review of the Marvel universe, but mostly answered questions. One of the most important things for me, personally, was hearing the news about Marvel’s submission policy for people who want to write for Marvel. That was why I went to the con, and I was pleased that I was able to talk to C.B. Cebulski afterwards to get more details. In the session, I asked Joe a question about the Immortal Iron Fist, and how I thought it was a really quality book, but since it didn’t hold the readers in numbers to justify keeping it around, what could they have done differently creatively? There were also plans for Danny Rand after the current Immortal Weapons miniseries. They called it a cooling off period to build up anticipation. I hope it works. IIF was a brilliant series. Someone else asked a question about Dr. Strange, and I was glad to hear that Marvel had plans for him as well.

BOOM! Studios

BOOM! Studios really gave the impression of being dynamic and on the go. They’re hitting new markets, acquiring licenses left and right, looking at new distribution systems, and putting out quality books. Very impressive… They rightly pointed out the sales successes of Irredeemable and Unknown, and especially the artists that they were able to pull in who wanted a chance to work with Mark Waid. Everyone should be keeping an eye on BOOM!

Justice Society of America #30 – Review

by Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges (writers), Jesus Merino (art), Allen Passalaqua (colors), and Rob Leigh (letters)

The Story: The JSA fight back, getting a little extra help from a new member, before returning to the Brownstone to discover the wounded Mr. Terrific.  Meanwhile, cracks are beginning to develop in the team that may reach their boiling point sooner rather than later.

What’s Good: I certainly felt that this issue got better as it went along. The last scene, an argument possibly turning into a brawl between Magog and Wildcat, was miles above the rest of the book. The dialogue was solid and Willingham and Sturges had a good grip on the voices of both these characters. This scene is by far the best written in the entire book, as entertaining infighting over age and tactics reaches its boiling point.

Also, as you can probably tell by the issue’s cover, this month sees the entry of Dr. Fate into the JSA. The central issue here is that this is a new and significantly less powerful/experienced version of the hero, and it really is handled very, very well. At first I felt that Fate’s menacing dialogue felt a little stilted, but apparently this was cleverly intentional, as the new Dr. Fate was essentially putting on an act and bluffing to seem more powerful than he was. Already, this younger Fate is a worried but likable character, and it’s rather fun seeing a hero like Dr. Fate suddenly being taken under the wing of the JSA as a student of sorts.

The action scenes are also fun and explosive in the way you’d expect from a JSA comic. Plus there’s a lot of Stargirl love going on here.  The issue of the bad guys refusing to target her, even at their own expense, is certainly intriguing.

Jesus Merino meanwhile continues to do an admirable job.  Continuing to make order from chaos with an old school vibe, Merino also draws a nice Power Girl and Dr. Fate. There’s also one particularly outstanding splash of the Flash.

What’s Not So Good: Willingham and Sturges are still finding their feet and so some of the dialogue feels a little awkward.  Magog in particular is cringe-inducingly bad, with the forced pseudo-military language feeling ridiculous to the point of self-satire. Interestingly, Magog is written perfectly in the final scene with Wildcat, yet in everything prior, he’s terribly written. It’s as though the writing team was learning on the job.

Also, there are some rather sloppy bits of storytelling here. As an example, all of the downed JSA members, save two, suddenly and inexplicably recovering at the same time, with perfect timing, was just ludicrous. We literally go from the heroes lying on the ground, to an image of all them posing and looking perfectly healthy  in the space of one page.

Also, one can’t help but criticize the lack of imagination behind this whole “every member of the enemy team is designed to counter a specific JSA member” schtick.  It’s been done a million times, and sure enough, we get the no-brainer solution, which is for the heroes to switch enemies.  It’s just way too obvious as it’s been done many times enough for you to know.

Conclusion: Not a bad issue, but there’s still some growing pains and lazy storytelling.

Grade: C+

-Alex Evans

The Flash: Rebirth #4 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Ethan Van Sciver (art), Brian Miller (colors), and Rob Leigh (letters)

The Story: Barry Allen’s true relationship with the Speed Force is revealed, as the battle with Professor Zoom begins.

What’s Good: It’s no secret that Rebirth has been a bit tepid at times, and often I find the best thing I have to say about an issue being that is when “it’s finally picking up.” Well, finally, greatness arrives.  This is bar none the best issue of the series thus far.  It’s hard to believe I’m saying this about an issue of Flash: Rebirth, but this month’s book is so fast paced and exhilarating, both action and development-wise, that it borders on being disorienting.

The book is great, largely thanks to Professor Zoom, who finally gives the book the focus, direction, and central conflict that’s needed. More than ever, Johns positions Zoom as the perfect foil and nemesis to Barry, giving Allen and the series a definite point.  Johns does a great job of writing Zoom as well; the Professor is crazy, egotistical and obsessive. He’s a great character to read and Johns, with a little retconning, has made Zoom the direct opposite of Barry, making for an epic contest and a fist-pumping ending.

I also found myself surprised by how much I enjoyed the relationship between Barry and Max Mercury this month. There are a couple of really touching, emotional lines and it’s great to see their bond highlighted.  It’s a two-way street; Max encourages Barry, and Barry in turn, gives Max hope.

This book also finally succeeds in giving a great sense of family unity. Where in past issues I felt the story diluted by having too many Flashes, it works perfectly this month, adding a certain tone of fellowship, loyalty, and most of all, dynasty.

Van Sciver’s dedication to detail goes hand-in-hand with an even greater level of mayhem. He does a solid job of depicting the blurred Flash-combat, which remains completely comprehensible at all times.  Thanks in no small part to colorist Brian Miller, the scenes within the Speed Force also look absolutely fantastic.  Despite the chaos of being in a crimson hurricane, Van Sciver again manages to make it completely clear and understandable.

What’s Not So Good: How do you feel about retconning?  This is a heavilly retconning issue.  Even indifferent as I am to it, the rewriting/revelation of Allen’s relationship to the Speed Force is a pretty big pill to swallow, as it essentially makes him God of the Speed Force. That said, it’s obvious that this’ll make for some incredible stories in the future, particularly due to the diametrical opposition it creates with Zoom.

Also, given that this is a Speed Force-heavy issue, some of the dialogue comes with the expected pseudo-science babble. Expect to find yourself re-reading a few bubbles.

Conclusion: Hell yeah!  THIS is what I signed up for with Flash: Rebirth.  A great issue that totally rewards you for sticking around, as long as you don’t mind the change of what’s been established in the Flash folklore.

Grade: A-

-Alex Evans

Justice Society of America #29 – Review

by Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges (writers), Jesus Merino (art), Allen Passalaqua (colors), and Rob Leigh (letters)

The Story: The Flash finds a mysterious black egg and it’s up to Mr. Terrific to figure out what it is.  Meanwhile, two new members are introduced to the team, and  a massive battle erupts, and there’s a betrayal in the brownstone.

What’s Good: Willingham and Sturges obviously have something of a handle on the retro-quirkness of the JSA, and they seem to be having the time of their lives writing this book.  From Cyclone embarrassing herself, to mysterious mind control, to a super brawl involving thirty odd characters, this book is a blast.

That brawl is the centre of the book, and it seems that rather than being overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters in the JSA, Willingham and Sturges add even more characters, embracing the mayhem that results.  It’s total chaos, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun.

That said, the use of the Flash as as narrator speaking in the past tense is a smart move, as it does create some sense of order or control over the book, tying things together and providing something of a framing structure.  It also serves to further deepen the mystery.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cliffhanger ending as well.  It’s a solid and effective twist due to Willingham and Sturges pulling the trigger on a betrayal far quicker than might be expected.  The “mind controlled” betrayer also gives off a really neat oldschool/pulp vibe in truly cheesy fashion.

Jesus Merino serves to be a great fit on art and turns in a workmanlike effort.  He furthers the retro feel of the JSA, but I pity him for the sheer number of characters he’s being forced to draw on every page.  Somehow, Merino’s drawings maintain the same high level of quality throughout the book, never cutting corners ( I especially like how he emphasized all the characters’ different body types).

What’s Not So Good: Willingham and Sturges realize that there are far too many characters in the JSA and rather than try to negotiate this, they gleefully divine in and make it even more chaotic.  As a result, if you’re looking for deep, individual character moments, you’re not going to get that.  Furthermore, there’s a good chance that your favourite character doesn’t get off more than a single line of dialogue.

I suppose that making “pure fun” the sole goal of a comic book is something of a double edged sword; while JSA #29 is certainly entertaining and action-packed, it’s also not even remotely close to being deep or complex stuff, content to please on a totally superficial level.  The plot is similarly simple stuff (all of the JSA’s villains team up in a well-planned ambush) that I can only hope will show more nuance than this issue suggests.  It’s just a bit hard to believe that the team can be in any true danger from what seems like a” by the numbers” badguy team-up.

The biggest difficulty though is that Willingham and Sturges aren’t yet fully comfortable with the characters.  Some of the voices sound a bit off and it’s strange that the leaders of the team don’t actually seem to be leading when the JSA heads into battle, with Power Girl and Magog being afterthoughts.

Conclusion: Despite it’s simplicity and some minor growing pains, it’s a fun book.  Geoff Johns fans need not panic.

Grade: B –

-Alex Evans

The Justice Society of America # 27 – Review

By Jerry Ordway (writer and artist), Bob Wiacek (colorist)

The Story: Atom Smasher is wallowing in his sorrows in a bar when he’s called out by Stargirl, and told how Obsidian has gone weird, and has taken Green Lantern, Wildcat, the Flash, and Liberty Bell hostage. They then head to the mansion, and as it turns out Obsidian is just trying to protect the hostages, but people don’t believe or trust him yet. There’s talk of ghosts and then outside, something jumps into Stargirl through her Cosmic Rod and possesses her. Then, things get much worse.

What’s Good: Ordway’s classic art is always a treat. He knows what the JSA is supposed to look like and it shows. His characters, even relaxed, look dynamic, but not artificially so. Ordway has also always been really good at texturing and shading with very fine lines. From the smallest details of each character’s costume, to the splash page of the Spectre, Orday’s art doesn’t disappoint.

What’s Not So Good: It’s sad to say, but I’ve always liked Ordway as an artist, but never as a writer. The plot was pretty convoluted and hard to follow. It seemed like it was edging towards the old “idiot plot” where most of the problems of the story would have been solved if the characters had just calmed down, talked to each other and worked together.

The individuality of the characters also never came into focus for me (something the best writers can do). I couldn’t figure out why they were so angry, argumentative and sarcastic. Yes, conflict between characters can create a dynamic scene, but if you don’t do it right, it comes off as contrived.

Furthermore, the villain’s dialogue was really cheesy. It’s a pretty basic rule that villains do not perceive themselves as villains, but this surprise villain dropped some ridiculous lines about not being able to put aside his anger or thirst for vengeance. It didn’t get any better when he said “…allow me some theatrics, won’t you?” No. Sorry. Readers won’t. Whenever a writer can’t maintain the suspension of belief, or can’t deliver something that we can imagine might be real if the laws of the world were different, then the reader puts down the book.

Conclusion: Strong art, but weak writing. I wish I could recommend this book, but I can’t. If this is what the next five or six issues are going to be like, I might think about dropping JSA from my list.

Grade: C-

-DS Arsenault