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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still the best super-team story going..., May 31, 2008
I can't believe that advance word hasn't leaked out to everyone yet (and the cover on the trade is spoiler enough), but, just in case: SPOILERS follow!!
Geoff Johns really isn't messing around; typically, dude has had large ideas concerning the Justice Society of America, and he trots out some more here. For one thing, the JSA team roster continues to expand as yet more characters are introduced. As a reader, I'd be normally worried about the deluge of team members, except that Johns has time and again proven that he has a gift for dense ensemble storytelling. JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: THY KINGDOM COME (Part One) collects issues #7-12 of the new ongoing monthly series and is another excellent read, the centerpiece of which is the arrival of the Kingdom Come Superman.
The first two issues here are basically spotlight stories. #7 focuses on Nate Heywood and his unwilling debut as Citizen Steel. Nate has never wanted to assume the mantle of Commander Steel, preferring to make his mark as an athlete - that is, until his football career-ending injury. Now, Nate, whose run-in with Reichsmark of the Fourth Reich has left him with a body composed of organic steel, finds himself able to again walk, but with a loss of physical sensation and haphazard control of his sizably increased mass. Dr. Mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific contrive a steel alloyed costume to help Nate gain a measure of control over his sudden super-strength, although Nate initially isn't too enthused with the look of the thing.
The next issue showcases Liberty Belle, and how she finally comes to terms with the powers passed on to her from her parents. Issue #9 starts out as a "day in the life" sort of episode as the Society hangs out with the New York Fire Departmment and the father-and-son Wildcats engage in a friendly exhibition bout for charity. Note the cool 2-paged splash of the JSA racing with the NYFD towards a crisis, the end result of which would usher in the Superman from the alternate Kingdom Come universe ("The Earth where the super-human society ran wild!)".
This older version of Superman seems so much more imposing than this world's Man of Steel, and more world-weary. He simply reeks of battle-tested experience and heartwrenching loss. He also has a severe emotional impact on Karen (Power Girl), who had just gone thru losing her last tie with her own universe, her cousin Kal-L, whom the Kingdom Come Supes closely resembles. Most of the JSA and the Justice League are understandibly wary, considering the hellacious events in Infinite Crisis, and Johns manages to do a job keeping this elder Kryptonian enigmatic and jaded, although not so jaded that he's lost all hope. He senses that, with this Justice Society having remained active and involved, perhaps the bleak future which devastated his own world might not befall this particular universe. Anyway, he has no choice but to stick around.
Further reading would unveil a shadowy killer, the Heartbreak Slayer, who is gruesomely murdering metahuman criminals who have passed themselves off as demi-gods. This rash of serial killing not only serves to debut the second new Mr. America but to also introduce the next major JSA story arc (see Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come Part II).
Other stuff that happens? The JSA's Legacy Files continue to supply new names for recruitment, including the offspring of Black Lightning and the descendants of Amazing-Man and even of FDR, who founded the JSA back in the day. An encounter with the new and virtually unhittable Judomaster, who'd run afoul of the police, leads the JSA to assume custody of her. There's also a welcome sighting of Jakeem and the thunderbolt, and their priceless reactions to the new members ("Who the -- are you?!").
In the JSA/JLA team-up (Justice League of America Vol. 2: The Lightning Saga), Power Girl became the Justice Society chairwoman. Here, she gets a chance to exercise her leadership skills, and while she doesn't strike me as dynamic, she does a passable job. Meanwhile, after the hectic Lightning Saga, this world's Superman drops in at the Sunshine Sanitarium to have a chat with his old friend, the amiable but unbalanced Starman. And, since it's Wednesday in the sanitarium cafeteria, the two get to catch up over Sloppy Joes. Starman, in Geoff Johns' hands, is a great loopy character and consistently provides the funny. I wish, though, that Maxine Hunkel had gotten more camera time.
Admittedly, for whatever reason (maybe co-penciller Fernando Pasarin?), the interior artwork isn't as tight as in Justice Society of America Vol. 1: The Next Age, although Dale Eaglesham is still mostly solid. However, at times, I noticed a cartoony style seeping into the artwork, which I don't believe is suitable for the JSA's look. Too, the Kingdom Come sequences strike a discordant note, as Alex Ross's smooth watercolors clash with the rougher pencil & ink work; the contrast is too huge. As a gimmick, I don't think this one worked too well as it tends to make one pine for even more of Ross's extraordinary paintings instead of enjoying Eaglesham's efforts - 's what happened to me, anyway. Ross's covers, by the way, persist in being spectacular.
What it boils down to is that JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: THY KINGDOM COME (Part One) is an engrossing read. Many props to Geoff Johns, who narrates absorbing multiple story threads like it's the easiest thing to do. Dude also excels in lending relevance to his characters. As written by Johns, you can see why the Justice Society is so looked up to by the other heroes in DC. Yes, this is in part your granddaddy's comic book. And that's what makes it so good.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
It begins here!, May 30, 2009
This volume is a little mis-named by DC and is probably why there's a perception by some that the "Thy Kingdom Come" storyline drags on too long. The truth is that, although the "Kingdom Come Superman" does manage to show up in this volume, the actual TKC storyline doesn't really get going until volume 2. Others have covered the plots of the volume so I won't repeat it, but I think it might have been a smarter, and more accurate move on DC's part, to have called this volume "Strange Visitor" rather than TKC part 1.
Nevertheless, it's a beautiful volume full of dense, and complex stories with multiple characters. Johns' strength as a writer is that he makes characters distinct with just a few lines of dialogue. Due to the large cast, few characters get lots of face time but Johns manages to make each one distinct and likeable at the same time. The characters interactions can be whimsical, like Superman's interaction with Starman at a sanitariam, funny, painful, such as Superman's interaction with Power Girl, inspiring or intense, such as when the villain Gog confronts the JSA. Johns is also a master at complex, multilayered plotting, and events unfold over multiple issues that plant seeds for future issues, but have pay-offs all their own. In that way, Johns bucks the trend of modern comic storytelling, particularly the type at Marvel in recent years, where stories never have pay-offs in the actual pages or series where they begin.
There's a tendency by critics to knock the fill-in artist just because the fill-in is the fill-in. Fernando Pasarin does an excellent job pencilling in his issues here, as does Dale Eaglesham. Eaglesham in paticular has become quite adept at handling scenes with mutiple characters all in one panel. He appears to do it effortlessly, though in a very few strange instances, his pencilling fluctuates between tight realism and exaggerated expressionism. Thankfully, this is far and away the exception rather than the rule.
Both he and Pasarin though make an almost too successful attempt at differentiating between the KC Superman and the one from "this" world. Beside the obvious differences in the darker blue costume of the KC Superman and the different S shield, our Superman is younger, more ripped, leaner, and more chiselled in the face, but in some cases a very different looking fellow, which I think is odd. From Alex Ross' notes I can see that this was intentional and the differences, facially, are meant to be a few and subtle, but part of what makes this story compelling is that the events happening here should ideally be an indication of a possible future for our Superman. Having the characters look too different, actually just underscores that what happens in KC won't occur on this world, because they really are two different universes. I've always thought it was a good idea at least to tease the possibility that the KC future was a possible future for this Superman, and that the KC Superman was really just an older, more battle weary version of the current Man of Steel. The differences between the two characters are sometimes so strong as to undermine that. To be clear, I think both Ross and Johns intend to strongly imply that the events of the KC world could be the future of our Superman's world, but I wish they hadn't made the characters too distict in some places.
All in all though, this is a minor distraction. As the second collection from this relaunched Justice Society of America, it's a satisfying collection of strong stories, showcasing Geoff Johns skill at characterization and why the reborn DC universe is a more interesting place, now that parallel worlds are back on the menu for creative people working there. If you're a JSA or a Kingdom Come fan, it's a must own, and if you're looking for just a great epic read, you should buy this.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One Foot In The Past, One In The Future, October 11, 2008
I've always enjoyed JSA, mostly because Geoff Johns has made a point to keep one foot in the past with the title while keeping the other foot firmly planted in the future.
With the Justice Society of America re-launch, the team has a new mission statement of making sure the world has better heroes, and so they are first tracking down legacy heroes and training them to deserve the mantle they've assumed.
Thy Kingdom Come is particularly fascinating because it reintroduces Superman from Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come series. In expert juxtaposition, Johns makes a point that while the Earth-2 Superman thought Earth-1's heroes weren't heroic enough, the Kingdom Come Superman finds Earth-1's (New Earth's) heroes inspiring and invigorating. Any writer will tell you that good writing means making use of unusual perspectives, and Johns does just this with KC Superman.
Furthermore, I love the KC Superman because he has an edge to him. He's damaged goods. After all, he watched his world's heroes demean and destroy themselves and did nothing until the (relatively) very end. He wants a fresh start as well, a chance at redemption, and that makes him very compelling.
But among such heavy themes and dangerous adventures, Johns also brings about quite a bit of joyfulness. Boxing matches between Wildcat and his son, fundraising at the local firehouse, and ski trips are just part of what makes this team such a delight to follow.
Johns also mixes established, semi-established, and brand new characters in this book and gives each a chance to shine in an appealing and engaging manner. To have characters over half-a-century old such as Flash and Green Lantern interacting with brand new legacy characters such as Wildcat II, Cyclone, and Citizen Steel brings an unpredictability that is missing in several other DC titles. Throw in semi-established characters using familiar names like Hourman, Liberty Belle, and Starman, and you've got something exciting, amusing, and captivating.
For me, Justice Society of America continues to be a must-read and I really look forward to where the title is heading with its heavy referencing to Kingdom Come and multiple-subplots.
~Scott William Foley, author of The Imagination's Provocation: Volume II: A Collection of Short Stories
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