|
JSA #68
"JSA/JSA" Part 1
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Don Kramer
Ink: Keith Champagne
Colors: John Kalisz
Publisher: DC Comics
3.50 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by John L. Daniels Jr.
|
|
The year is 1951 and the government has accused the original JSA members of conspiring with their enemies and enemies of the United States, despite their acts of heroism over the years. The evil Degaton has masterminded a plan to kill the JSA members' families so that the present day JSA members will not exist to defeat him in his dastardly plan. This is the first of a five part series that will have the JSA of old and the current JSA combining forces to defeat Degaton.
In the present day, Stargirl is just returning from a mission and reminisces about the qualities and pitfalls of being a super heroine. The scene shifts to 1951 as a senate committee is concerned about the secrecy of the JSA members wearing masks, and also that they might be enemies of the USA. (This was the era of McCarthyism, a period when many high-profile Americans were accused of such things.) The JSA members refused to remove their masks when the committee demanded. Green Lantern, frustrated by the proceedings, whisked the group back to the JSA's Gotham City headquarters. The ensuing JSA meeting was grim; they discussed and decided the inevitable, the disbanding and unmasking of the Justice Society of America. All the while Degaton has resurfaced with his most deadly plan to date, and we get a sense of his sinister hate for the JSA.
Geoff Johns (writer) spoon feeds us into a whirlwind experience where Stargirl realizes the importance of family (Stripesy, the original side-kick to The Star-Spangled Kid, happens to be Stargirl's stepfather), and how she cannot see herself in any other homey atmosphere. Readers are then caught off guard with the brutal slayings of Stargirl's family. The events that unfold next are unimaginable to Stargirl: a figure appears from nowhere and gives her an ultimatum, come with him or Stargirl would never exist at all.
We find out Stargirl's rescuer is Rip Hunter (DC Comics 1950's hero icon), a master of time. Rip Hunter tells Stargirl that with his help they will have to gather the current JSA members and help convince the JSA members of the past to put their masks back on and reunite to defeat Degaton. The consequence of failure: the JSA descendants of today would never exist.
This is a well-crafted story as only Johns can write. Johns brings the reader into the ordinary experiences of a hero, and reels your emotions back to what a superhero's life really is about: sacrifice, making difficult and demanding choices, and having the courage of what's right in your soul.
The artwork by Don Kramer is okay, but the pencils (which remind me of the style of the artist Wally Wood) lack expression. Keith Champagne's inks were very dark, playing off of Kramer's pencils. The panels of the killings of Stargirl's family were the most dramatic of the comic book. The panels set up the reader visually and emotionally for the surprises of this series. John Kalisz's coloring is outstanding; he captured all the tones of the past and all the complexities of the characters' costumes and their nuances, like the flair of energy coming from Green Lantern's ring.
Overall this is the start of an outstanding five-part series. The story is sure to fan out and explore in more detail Stargirl's revenge on Degaton for the death of her family. So readers if it's the original JSA or the current JSA, the villain Degaton has the JSA united in a fight to defeat him once and for all. The outstanding Alex Ross draws the covers for issues 68 and 69.
—CCdC— Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
|
