JSA #68 (February, 2005)
"JSA/JSA, Chapter 1: Making History"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Penciller - Don Kramer
Inker - Keith Champagne
Colorist - John Kalisz
Letterer - Ken Lopez
Associate Editor - Stephen Wacker
Editor - Peter Tomasi
Cover Price: $2.50
For the first time in a long time I have what a lotta folks call "nightstand reads". It's not often I get to do any reading where I'm not trying to write, script, or speak about it... and, I suppose at the bottom of it, these "nightstand reads" aren't necessarily "without consequence" either.
Right now I'm reading the America vs. the Justice Society miniseries from 1985... with half-an-eye toward doing something with it a bit later on. It's a highly recommended little mini... and boy howdy, is it dense! I mean, there are footnotes to the footnotes!
In reading that, I recalled a story from JSA that evoked several of the themes from that story, however with a decidedly post-Crisis twist. It's been... almost a decade and a half (yikes) since I last read this, and I was curious how well it aged.
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We open in the wee hours of the morning in Blue Valley, Nebraska where Stargirl has returned home after a long battle with Solomon Grundy. She reflects on her performance as a part of the Justice Society of America before passing out on her bed. We then jump to a quick and dirty retelling of the JSA's "retirement" back in 1951.
The House Un-American Activities Committee presses the heroes to prove that they're "good Americans" by removing their masks. For a response, the get the big "uh-uh". Green Lantern has heard more than enough from the stuffed shirts, and pulls the ol' vanishing act. After the Society vamoosed, one of the politicians smiles, he knows this is all going according to... history?
Back at the Gotham City Brownstone, the Justice Society consider their options. A consensus forms, they still don't wish to unmask... however think it might not be the worst idea to retire none the less... after all, the war is over.
We jump to a week later (in 1951). The newspaper headlines suggest that the Justice Society of America might have ties to the enemy... hmm, they must've gotten a hold of Batman's super-secret diary. Anyhoo, Per Degaton arrives... and is informed that everything is going according to plan... except that "the Hunter" is still on the loose.
Back in the present... it's now morning. Stargirl heads downstairs for some breakfast, and provides any potential new reader with adequate enough backstory on her family. She mentions that her step-father, Pat Dugan was Stripsey, the partner of the original Star-Spangled Kid... and all things considered, she is happy that he (and his son) are now part of her family.
Suddenly... the world goes red, and masked assassins appear. With their first shot, they kill Pat.
Stargirl fires back with her Star-Rod... but it's too late, the assassins have already murdered her mother, step-brother... and little baby sister! The New DC, folks!
Courtney goes like super-nova with the Star-Rod and blows out the side of the house. She pins down an assassin, looking for answers... when she doesn't get any, she kills them all?! She then kneels next to her fallen family... hoping that she'll eventually wake up.
Suddenly, a man arrives... he informs her that time is currently changing, and there is still an opportunity to set things right before it "sticks". Also, the Justice Society never un-retired... so, most of her life to this point never really happened. They hop into his time-sphere.
This fella is, of course, "the Hunter", as in Rip Hunter... Time Master. He informs Courtney that the assassins are a part of a group called the Red Morgue, and they hail from the year 2666. He gives her the skinny on the Time Masters and Linear Men... and mentions that part of their responsibilities is to stop any time travelers from committing "cradle-murders"... which, isn't something I'd necessarily wanna read month after month, but a really cool idea none the less!
He continues, filling her in on how and why the Justice Society will never "re-band" after their retirement... he mentions that they will be found guilty of treason... yeah, they definitely found Batman's super-secret diary, right?
The time-sphere arrives at its destination... the JSA Brownstone back in 1951. There, Courtney is joined by many of the "new generation" of the Justice Society... Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt), Jakeem Thunder, Dr. Mid-Nite, Sand, and... Atom-Smasher. A quick update... Atom-Smasher isn't exactly Courtney's fave fella at the moment... he did just go on a rampage alongside Black Adam. Rip insists that he's necessary for his plans.
Rip then... leaves! He hops back into the time sphere, wishes the Junior Justice League the best... and beats out of dodge. We close out in the shadows... with a woman whispering that she hopes Courtney doesn't mess this up.
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This definitely gave me pangs of America vs. the Justice Society. I can't say for certain that's where this story is headed... it's been quite a while since I sat down with it. Still really dig how it evokes a similar feeling... really paying tribute to an all-but-forgotten story, or perhaps a never-known one to post-Crisis readers... I can honestly say that I didn't know anything of it back in 2005. At the same time, America vs. the Justice Society isn't required reading to appreciate this "JSA/JSA" arc. It's kind of the best of both worlds.
I really dig Johns' Stargirl. She's far less "yass" a character than I fear she would be if she was introduced nowadays. Here, she's a girl who's learning as she goes. She makes mistakes, and learns from them. We don't seem to have the patience for that sort of development anymore. Hell, if you show a certain kind of character to have any kind of weakness at all, the creators are all but chased off social media with digital pitchforks.
Even in her internal monologue she mentions how she might've started her "heroes journey" for the wrong reasons, but has come to learn just what it means for her to be a hero. I really dig that. Also, her kinda running down and analyzing the "Junior Justice Society" report card was a sort of "awareness" we don't really get any more.
I really like the idea of their being a "second generation" of the Justice Society. It's a concept that can't really be pulled off on many other teams. I mean, there are New Mutants to X-Men... but, they're sort of their own thing. These two generations of JSAers fill the same roster. The juniors learn from the elders... and the whole dynamic feels more like a huge family rather than an organization. I'm not sure if I worded that properly... just one of those "write by feel" moments.
There's one problem... if you could call it that... that I have with this issue (and era of DC Comics), it's the hyper-violence. I mean, we get it... the Red Morgue are bad dudes. I don't necessarily need to see them snap a dog's neck and shoot an infant in her highchair to prove it. I hate pinning all of this sort of thing on Didio's arrival... but there is a certain amount of observers logic in that. Many of the books got a fair amount "darker" with his arrival... perhaps just another sign of DC Comics being a bit "behind the times". This darkness and (relative) gore would be right at home in 1995. By 2005, it's both excessive and a bit embarrassing.
Overall... had a great time with this issue, and I bet most fans of DC Comics would too! This bugger is available digitally. Also, if you're so inclined, America vs. the Justice Society is too!
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JSA #54 (January, 2004)
"Virtue, Vice & Pumpkin Pie"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Pencils - Don Kramer
Inks - Keith Champagne
Colors - John Kalisz
Separations - Heroic Age
Letters - Jared K. Fletcher
Associate Editor - Stephen Wacker
Editor - Peter Tomasi
Cover Price: $2.50
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today is my absolute favorite day of the year. Every year I meticulously plan how the day will go... what food I will prepare... how and when I'm going to prepare it... then, the morning of... go into panic mode and just hope to make it out the other end. Sounds like a horrible time, but damned if I don't love it!
As such, I've always had a soft spot for Thanksgiving themed... anything, really. Television shows, comics... whatever. When I think of some of my happiest times reading (and buying) comics, this time of year always plays a role.
I've told the story of the odd jobs I took on when I was endeavoring to afford the Death of Superman and X-Cutioner's Song storylines... which occurred right around Thanksgiving. A wonderful childhood memory that I (obviously) still think about to this day.
Before I get into today's spoilery synopsis, I wanted to at least mention another favorite Thanksgiving issue... Uncanny X-Men #308 in which Cyclops and Jean Grey take a stroll around Xavier's as the X-Men go about their Thanksgiving festivities... there's a football game that ends in a pile of raked leaves... just so much fun... so much family. The X-Men had been put through... well, many wringers that year... so this was a great bit of "quiet reflection". The issue ends with Scott and Jean finally deciding to tie-the-knot. It's an issue that affected me in my youth, and continues to even today. Maybe one of these days I'll actually start up that From Claremont to Claremont X-Men blog/cast I've been threatening so that I can talk about those stories.
Anyhoo... let's get down to dinner with the JLA and JSA. Again, Happy Thanksgiving one and all... and be ready for tomorrow's three-hundredth daily post!
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It's a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Justice Society's Manhattan brownstone. We open with Mr. Terrific welcoming Batman inside and escorting him down a hallway. On this holiday, the Justice League and Justice Society are dining together... which Batman finds troubling. He thinks it's dangerous to have both teams under one roof as it paints a pretty big target on the location. Terrific all "relaaaaax man" because they've got enough heavy-hitters to keep things going smoothly.
In the main meeting hall, members of both teams, past and present have assembled to celebrate the holiday. We check in on Wonder Woman as she is lecturing some members on the true meaning of Thanksgiving... ya know, like that one member of your family who sits there with a scowl on their face while the rest of the family enjoys each other's company? From off-panel, we hear a voice proclaiming her to be "full a' crap!"
Why it's Wildcat! And today he is playing the role of "drunk uncle". He meanders over to the ladies and starts reading Diana the riot act... even comparing her to her (post-Crisis) mother, Hippolyta... who was a JSA founder... because post-Crisis Diana would be too young for... ehhh, let's just roll with it. Power Girl does not take kindly to Wildcat's behavior... and so, hurls him out through an open window.
Where as luck would have it, Superman and Captain Marvel happen to be flying by! Didn't even have to lose 1 of his 9 lives here!
Inside we see a meeting between Impulse and Jakeem Thunder where the maturely and philosophically discuss the merits of the educational system. Really quite a cute scene.
Batman and Superman share a special moment in which they discuss the things they are thankful for... or not.
Ya see, Batman is still worried about potential threats... cuz, ya know... he's Batman. There are no days off for the caped crusader. He is informed that Dr. Mid-Nite had volunteered to perform monitor duty... so there's nothing to worry about. What's great is that Dr. Mid-Nite is blind, and yet he is looking into a wall of monitors. Anyhoo... Black Canary enters the monitor room to chat with Mid-Nite. Evidently, they had a sorta kinda "thing"... at least Mid-Nite thinks so. Dinah has a brief moment of profundity... and they decide to keep it "casual"... Friendzone, Population: Dr. Mid-Nite.
In the kitchen, Hourman is dazzling some of the Society wives with his cooking acumen. In walk Jesse Quick and her mother Liberty Belle... and they are also rather taken with our man Rick.
Outside the kitchen... Hawkman and the Atom decide to team up and take on the hefty threat of sharing a turkey leg. Well, not if Ollie has anything to say about it. Before ya know it... we're back to the classic Green Arrow/Hawkman pull-apart.
Batman attempts to intervene... he's still on edge about a potential threat. He urges Hourman to use his prophetic vision to check out the future... but Rick tells him his powers don't quite work like that. Before Batman can start crawling the walls, the dinner bell gets rung.
In the dining hall we get a cute scene where Star-Spangled Kid (Stargirl, these days) is upset that she's been shunted off to the "kid's table"... I mean, the fact that there even is a kid's table is beyond great. She nudges Captain Marvel and tells him he oughta be there too, but gets the ol' ixnay from Billy.
And so, it's dinner time. Jay Garrick does the toast, and the members of both teams raise their glasses. Gotta assume Superman is drinking a juice of some sort, right? Before they can take their first bite, however... we get some trouble.
It's the Warlock of Ys (hey, we know him) and Kulak the Sorcerer... and they're ready to... uh, well... uh oh.
About a half hour later... all's well at the Brownstone... well, except for the fact that Thanksgiving dinner has been ruined. Lucky for the heroes, the local pizza place is both open and willing to deliver.
We wrap up this absolutely amazing issue with the standard DC Comics moral... always listen to Batman. Wonk wonk wonkkkk...
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I'm not sure "love" is a strong enough word for how I feel about this issue. It's just a perfect storm of so many things that I dig. Great characterization, a celebration of continuity and legacy... and Thanksgiving!
Geoff Johns on JSA was pure magic... just candy. He's got these characters down so well. Everything said sounds natural, everything done feels organic. Even though this was, ostensibly, a gimme issue, ongoing plot lines were still addressed. One plot line was the, I guess, sorta-kinda "thing" between Black Canary and Dr. Mid-Nite. This is not something I remember at all from this era. Either my memory is shot, or this just wasn't all that big a deal. I still like that it gets a mention though, making this issue feel truly like "another day" in the lives of the JSA.
We get a ton of cute character moments here... Batman being uncomfortable and paranoid the entire time... Wildcat playing "drunk uncle"... Ollie and Carter being, well, Ollie and Carter... Captain Marvel not being seated at the "kid's table"... hell, the fact that there was a kid's table. Just too much fun!
We even get a fight scene... well, sorta when dinner gets interrupted by a pair of intergalactic geeks. Yet another wonderfully fun scene in this amazing issue. The looks on... well, all of the faces... priceless!
Speaking of how faces looked, Don Kramer's art here is excellent... everybody and everything looks amazing. Definitely a "homesick" inducing artist. Really makes me miss this era in the DC Universe.
This books gets one of my highest recommendations. An absolute celebration of the post-Crisis DC Universe, that I feel fans of any era would benefit from checking out. As luck would have it, DC Digital has this one up.
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