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.

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer #13 (Season 8) – Review

By Drew Goddard (script), Georges Jeanty (pencils), Andy Owens (inks) & Michelle Madsen (colors)

With the big shocking news from last issue finally out of the way, I can say I’m a little more relaxed going into this month. I guess Goddard could have gone the Willow-Tara way or just let it die; there simply is no room for letting it linger on. So, I like how things are being handled.

This issue’s story takes Xander to meet Dracula. Through a weird lecture, Andrew tells the story of how Xander previously went to visit Dracula after Anya died, and spent a couple of months living with him. Buffy gets notification that the vampire who stole the scythe is in Tokyo. She orders all the slayers to prepare for the trip (which seems like a bad idea), leaving the fort unattended. This doesn’t seem like a move that Buffy would do, unless she knows she’s got a really good reason (Goddard better come up with something good).

Dracula, cheated by the Japanese vampires in a poker game, realizes that he’s lost his “secret powers”, so he decides to help Buffy. And the cliffhanger we get is just dreadful. Looks like there’s going to be a slayer massacre. Not good, but at least it’ll be a hell of a challenge for Buffy and company. I’ll be there to read it. (Grade: B+)

-Daniel Yanez

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer #12 (Season 8) – Review

By: Drew Goddard (script), Georges Jeanty (pencils), Andy Owens (inks) & Michelle Madsen (colors)

Just like I read in issue #12, I have to say “that was wow”. Anyone remotely interested in Buffy should know by now what happened to her on this issue. I read an interview with Joss Whedon and he said this issue’s not a huge event in his mind. Damn Joss Whedon’s mind! I really do think what happened came completely out of nowhere.

The story involves a pack of wolves, which turns out are Japanese vampires who can also vanish into fog. These people enter the castle, avoiding detection and defense systems, and steal the scythe from under everyone’s noses. After debating who might have done this, Xander is sent to visit an old nemesis for answers.

Drew Goddard wrote five great episodes for the Buffy’s final TV season. I’m happy to say he hasn’t lost his touch. The characters and sense of humor have all been transferred to comic book form, faithfully. I love the awkward moments Buffy and Satsu face with the men – I couldn’t stop laughing! I just really hope Whedon doesn’t keep writing about Buffy’s “experimentations”. They seem so out of character to me. (Grade: B)

-Daniel Yanez

Buffy The Vampire Slayer #11 (Season 8) – Review

By: Joss Whedon (script), Georges Jeanty (pencils), Andy Owens (inks) & Michelle Madsen (colors)

Since I can’t get my Buffy on TV anymore, this’ll have to do. That said, I’ve fallen in love with Season 8 in comic format. I guess I’m one of the many that will read even a napkin written by Joss Whedon. As usual, he does a great job on this issue.

Buffy takes Satsu (another slayer in training) to fight a vampire’s nest. After Satsu confesses her love for Buffy, Twilight appears out of nowhere and confronts Buffy for the first time. He kicks her butt pretty badly and luckily for her he doesn’t kill her just yet. We get a funny moment when Twilight is about to remove his mask only to scratch his neck. This guy has something to do with Buffy’s past – he knows her traits and her story. I can’t think who he might be.

This stand alone issue gives a glance at what Buffy will have to deal with in the future. This issue is the perfect model on how to write stand alone issues – a mix of action, character development and humor. Writers, please take note. (Grade: B+)

-Daniel Yanez