DCU Comic Book Reviews

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #1

The New Age, Chapter 1

February 2007

Written by Geoff Johns

Pencils by Dale Eaglesham

Inks by Art Thibert

Covers by Alex Ross & Dale Eaglesham

Synopsis

Three months after World War III, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman believe the world needs the Justice Society of America and they want to do what they can to help.  Alan Scott (aka Green Lantern) has an idea.  The JSA gathers information on heroes with links to the past for the team’s recruitment drive.  Wildcat is not that interested.   In Virginia, Mr. America investigates the murder of a woman and her sons; his own family.  Later, Mr. America gets a call from his brother that gets cut off.  When he arrives at his brother’s apartment, he finds him killed, poisoned by Catalyst.  Meanwhile, among the new recruits to the JSA are Damage, Ma Hunkel’s daughter Maxine, and the new Starman.  In Boston, Mr. America waits to learn the identity of the person who hired Catalyst to kill his family.  In Battery Park, New York, the new members of the JSA get ready for orientation.  Before the orientation can begin, a battered and bloody Mr. America falls through the roof and into the room.  Elsewhere, Green Lantern and Flash force Wildcat to go and look at somebody new.  Wildcat is told he is looking at his son.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

“Take care of yourselves...and ignore the rutabaga!”

This first issue was a blast to read from the beginning to the end.  There is nothing in this issue that made me cringe, or bored me, or made me want to skip.  It was all gold.  I could go on and on and gush about everything that I liked (and I may very well do it), but it is sufficient to simple say that Johns and Eaglesham knocked the ball over the fence and out of the park on this one. 

This issue introduced (or reintroduced) four new characters to the JSA.  The first was Damage, the son of Al Pratt (aka the original Atom).  He has taken on a new costume, similar to the one worn by his father and by his good friend Atom Smasher.  What I loved about him is the caustic, cynical attitude that he carries around with him regarding being a super hero.  The second was Maxine Hunkel, who will be known as the Red Tornado, just like her mother.  Her scenes put a smile to my face; I loved her fanboyish reaction to seeing Power Girl and Mr. Terrific combined with her acceptance and longwinded speech was a joy to read.  The third was the new Starman, who is still a mystery and could easily be one of the previous versions or a brand new version.  Either way, it doesn’t matter to me because I freakin’ loved every panel he was in.  Sloppy Joes?  His non-sequiturs and strange outbursts were just hilarious.  And his references to 52, either blatant or oblique (a few mentions of “when” imply the missing time) suggest that perhaps there is a connection to the series in some way. 

Finally, there is Terry Thompson (aka Mr. America).  The original version from back in the 40s was Tex Thompson.  To me, it seems as if Mr. America was created just to be killed off (even before the final scene), but we will have to wait and see.  I some how doubt Johns would dig up an obscure character just to kill him. 

On Page 13, behind Damage’s head the ad is for a business called, I believe, Wacker and it is going out of business with a 52% off sale.  This would be a reference to Steve Wacker, the former editor of the series 52 as well as the original editor of Justice Society of America who left both titles (and DC). 

Finally, there is the final page revealing coming attractions.  If I had to guess, the first panel on the far left would be part of the JSA/JLA team-up that was announced recently.  We see Sandman, Batman, and either Obsidian or Starman.  I am not sure who is standing just behind Batman’s right shoulder.  The next panel would suggest a connection between Starman and the Legion of Super Heroes (Dawnstar?).  Is this the “she” that Starman refers to in this issue.  The third panel is intriguing for its depiction of the Earth-2 Superman potentially coming back to life.  Zombie?  And I’m not sure what the Alex Ross drawing of Kingdom Come’s Superman is supposed to refer to.

Comic Connection

The injury to Damage that Rebel refers to occurred in Infinite Crisis, issue #1 during an attack on the Freedom Fights by the Secret Society of Super Villains.

The opening page and the reference to World War III alludes to events that occur in the series 52, specifically towards the end.  For those that care about such things, I am guessing the first page occurs at the end of 52 while the One Year Later events in JSA, issues #83 to #87, occur before the “three months later” tag on page two. 

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