DCU Comic Book Reviews

JUSTICE SOCIETY of AMERICA #26

Black Adam Ruined My Birthday!

June 2009

Written by Geoff Johns

Pencils by Dale Eaglesham

Inks by Nathan Massengill

Covers by Alex Ross

Synopsis

After school, Courtney Whitmore (aka Stargirl) complains how Black Adam ruined her birthday.  When she gets home, she walks into a surprise birthday party, courtesy of the Justice Society of America.  Afterwards, Courtney goes to the dentist to have her braces removed; unfortunately, she is told she will have to wear them another year.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I absolutely loved this issue, from the opening moments with Stargirl complaining about Black Adam to Starman breaking the fourth wall and waving goodbye to everybody.  And everything in between.  This was such a wonderful comic book.  It is funny and serious with slapstick scenes that’ll make you laugh out loud (Starman’s gifts, buying ice cream) and touching moments that pull at the heartstrings (the “teacher” picture).  It is the obligatory “down time” issue between big storyarcs, but I can’t recall any one of them being this good.  Johns infuses these characters with personalities and they come alive on the page.  You can almost feel the love and friendship these characters feel for each other, a sure sign that Johns knows how to write these characters.  Just brilliant, brilliant stuff. 

A big part of the brilliance of this issue is Eaglesham’s detailed, nuanced pencils.  Each panel is rich with small little details.  It is easy to spend time just pouring through the pages to see what he has added.  He is a fantastic artist and this is easily the best thing he has ever done for this title.  There are no action or super heroics; just characters talking and interacting with each other.  To do it right, the artist needs to be able to draw distinct characters that can “act” on the page.  And Eaglesham does exactly that; the characters come alive on the page.  The characters not only look different from each other (a problem some of the big name artists tend to fall into) and they look the age that they should (Jay looks older and Courtney looks like a teenager), but the characters are expressive and emotive, not only in the faces but also in the body language as they appear on the page.  For instance, I loved the big two-page spread when Courtney’s is surprised with her step brother just sitting there, obviously not happy.  Eaglesham is able to get across exactly what he was feeling without Johns having to force in dialogue. 

Besides wrapping up Johns’ lengthy run on JSA and on this title as well, Johns takes the time to find some closure with Stargirl.  She was the first character (I think) that Johns wrote for DC and he was the one who brought her onto the team.  Johns finds the right ending, showing how much she has grown over the years and how much she has helped others (especially helped with the flashback with Jakeem).  I even liked the fact that Johns pulled off the great tease with the braces; I thought that Johns might do it, as way to signify she had grown up, but found it refreshing the braces remained.  They are such an important part to her character it would be shame to lose them. 

I do find it interesting that Courtney’s friend from school, Mary, knows so much about Courtney and her role in the Justice Society of America.  I never really thought about it, but Stargirl doesn’t wear a mask.  I don’t think she has a secret identity.  But it felt weird to have Courtney talk about Black Adam and Atom Smasher so freely with her friend. 

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