DCU Comic Book Reviews

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #15

Thy Kingdom Come:  The Goodfight

June 2007

Written by Geoff Johns and Alex Ross

Pencils by Dale Eaglesham

Inks by Prentis Rollins

Covers by Alex Ross & Dale Eaglesham

Synopsis

In New York, William Matthews (aka Gog) intends to kill the aberration from another Earth, Superman.  The combined might of the JSA attack Gog in defense.  In the middle of the fight, Gog teleports back to Africa.  Meanwhile, Sandman realizes that the person who attacked is not the real Gog.  The real Gog is in Africa.  And it is not from Earth.  In Africa, Sandman asks Matthews, “what does Gog want.”  Matthews tells the JSA that Gog wants to help.  Gog is the only hope.  Suddenly, the real Gog claims, “blasphemy,” rises and tells the people of Earth he comes in peace.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

The above synopsis is rather short, but, let’s face it, this is not only a continuation of the fight from the previous issue, it also lasts for pretty much the entire page count of this issue.  Under normal circumstances that would be cause for concern, either in terms of the issue lacking substance in the writing or the art, but Johns and Eaglesham still manage to knock it out of the proverbial park.  Johns is such a good writer, and he has such a great handle on the characters, that the fight becomes a showcase for individual members of the team to shine, such as rarely used characters like Obsidian or newer characters like Lance the marine (the one with the odd looking pincher).  And Eaglesham’s art is breathtaking, showing us the chaotic nature of the fight, but still managing to make it clear to the reader what is going on.  With Eaglesham it is not the main action that is the, erm, draw, but rather the details (gotta love Starman saving the animals) he infuses into each and every panel.  The only drawback to the issue is the fact that the fight ultimately resolves nothing as the fake Gog is only defeated by the arrival of the real Gog (and I am still a little flabbergasted that one man can withstand the combined might of the Justice Society, although I guess I am willing to believe the real Gog infused the fake Gog with enough power to help out).  In essence, you can take away nearly 20 pages of this comic and it wouldn’t really matter in terms of understanding the overarching plot.  Luckily, Johns and Eaglesham work is good enough that it is still worth it to check it out.