Geoff Johns is back! I will not hide my enthusiasm at all. In an era where DC Comics has shoved down our throats a parade of YA novelists, university professors, journalists, and TV writers, I am psyched that a legit superhero comic book writer is back at DC Comics! I am excited to read a comic book by a writer who does not actually hate the superhero genre or its fans.
I also love the Justice Society of America. This is a franchise that I have always adored, no matter how much DC Comics has ruined and broken the franchise in the way they have bungled the handling of it ever since the 1980s. So, obviously, I am excited to see the Justice Society of America being reintroduced into DC’s continuity. It is about damn time. Johns should be the perfect choice for this title since Johns has always adored the JSA.
I fully expect Justice Society of America #1 to be a complex read, crammed full of cool continuity details. Johns’s strength has always been his love for DC’s history and his ability to pull off incredible work on DC’s continuity. Let’s go ahead and hit this review!
Words: Geoff Johns
Art: Mikel Janin
Colors: Jordie Bellaire
Synopsis: We begin 31 years from “now” with Bruce mourning his parents’ deaths. We see Selina as Catwoman 13 years from “now.” We see Helena Wayne as a baby one year from “now.” In that scene, someone tells Selina that she cannot tell anyone, including Bruce, about Helena because the Arkhams will want her killed. Selina informs the unknown person that they will help her kill them all, and then Helena will be safe.
We cut to 26 years from “now” and see Helena as the Huntress beating up Falcone and asking him where is Doctor Fate. Falcone won’t answer. Suddenly, Solomon Grundy appears and grabs Falcone, and threatens to eat Falcone.
Falcone tells Huntress everything he knows, but he still does not know about Doctor Fate’s whereabouts. Helena arrived at a location she was supposed to meet Doctor Fate (Khalid Nassour version) and she found Falcone’s crew clearing up a crime scene. The blood belonged to Khalid. (Oh, if Johns is killing off this awful Doctor Fate, then I will be forever indebted to him!)
We learn that Khalid was the last of the legacies of the original JSA that was still active. Helena then meets with Red Lantern (Ruby Sokov). Ruby says she searched Fate’s tower and found nothing. Helena holds out hope that they can still bring Salem the Witch Girl back to their side. We see Catwoman from afar watching Helena and Ruby.
We cut to the new Justice Society of America meeting. The new group consists of Huntress, Power Girl, Gentleman Ghost, Solomon Grundy, Michael Mayne (Harlequin’s son), Cameron Mahkent (son of the first Icicle), Kyle Knight (Son of the second Mist), and Ruby Sokov (daughter of the Red Lantern). Power Girl hates that Helena recruited this group of villains to be JSA members.
We shift to Selina and Helena at Wayne Manor. Selina says that Khalid was probably murdered by one of Helena’s teammates. Selina says that Helena is too trusting and that is what killed her father, Bruce Wayne. Helena goes to the Batcave knowing her mother won’t follow her because it reminds her too much of Bruce.
We shift to two days later when Khalid’s body was found stuffed in a sarcophagus at a museum. (Yes! See ya! What an epic way to kill off this character. This almost rivals the excellent death of Ryan Choi where Deathstroke puts Ryan’s corpse in a matchbox in Titans Villains For Hire #1 during Brightest Day.)
Power Girl is devastated by Khalid’s death. Suddenly, Per Degaton appears on the scene. Power Girl is flooded with Kryptonite in her veins, and Per Degaton shoots her through the chest. Per Degaton manipulated time to expose her to his Kryptonite for weeks instead of seconds. Per Degaton slides Gentleman Ghost backward across his timeline to when he was human, then Per Degaton Shoots and kills Gentlemen Ghost.
Per Megaton manipulates time to do the following: Solomon Grundy rots away in seconds, makes Michael’s scar from his fight with Wildcat open back up and causes him to bleed out and die, Icicle to be frozen and then shattered, Ruby’s body generates her power too quickly causing her to split at the seams and die, and to make the Mist age and die from the same mind-deteriorating disease his grandfather had. (Holy crap! Per Degaton delivers more ass-kicking and devastation in two pages than most villains pull off in an entire career!)
Huntress fires an arrow at Per Degaton who slows down time and easily steps past the error. Per Degaton then ages Huntress into an old woman. Suddenly, Catwoman appears on the scene. Catwoman says Helena needs to save the Justice Society. Not the current one that has just been killed, but the others from before. Catwoman says that Helena needs to find Doctor Fate, and he can explain. Catwoman throws a snow globe to Huntress. Huntress catches the snow globe and a massive flash occurs.
We cut to 18 years from “now” to Batman’s funeral. We cut to one year from “now” with Jay Garrick and a young female Flash running. We cut to 1976 with Power Girl and Star-Spangled Kid flying in the air with Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, Wildcat, and Doctor Fate sprawled out on the ground. We cut to 1951 with the Red Lantern (Vladimir Sokov) demanding the return of his daughter.
We shift to 1940 and see an unconscious Huntress on the ground at the JSA’s headquarters. She is back to her normal age again. We see Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt standing and looking at her. Johnny wonders who this mysterious woman is and where she came from. End of issue.
The Good: Damn, it is nice to have Geoff Johns back and writing a DC comic book. After having to suffer through an endless stream of weirdo YA novelists, journalists, and university professors who do not love the superhero genre or even like comic book readers, this is an absolute breath of fresh air. Unlike all those aforementioned writers, Johns actually knows DC Comics’ continuity, and he loves it. Johns gladly dives deeply into DC Comics’ continuity and loves to intelligently use it in his stories. Currently, there is no one else at DC Comics that actually loves the granular details of DC Comics’ continuity and legitimately understands it.
Johns’s greatest skills have been his phenomenal knowledge of DC Comics’ continuity and his unparalleled world-building. The only other comic book writer who displays world-building skills like Johns would be Jonathan Hickman. That is it. That is how phenomenal Johns is at world-building.
To be sure, Justice Society of America #1 offers the reader plenty of excellent world-building. This story is incredibly dense and is chock-full of tiny details for the reader to explore. This is an issue that demands multiple readings. Given the expensive price tag of comic books these days, I appreciate an issue that offers such detail and a dense story that allows me several reads so that I truly feel that I have gotten my money’s worth.
The setting for Justice Society of America #1 is rich and immersive. Johns makes the Justice Society’s world feel massive and storied in a complex history. The scale of the story in Justice Society of America #1 feels large. Johns makes this debut issue feel like a big deal. The reader is presented with a story that has a massive scope that extends across multiple time periods and impacts every single character associated with the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Justice Society of America.
There are numerous examples throughout Justice Society of America #1 where Johns treats the reader to delightful snippets of the JSA’s history. As Helena tumbles toward the beginning of her journey, Johns takes the reader on a fun trip through the Justice Society of America’s history. We see a scene of Earth-2 Batman’s funeral, with all the classic Earth-2 heroes in attendance.
We see a scene with Jay Garrick with a young female in a Flash costume similar to Jay’s costume. I am totally drawing a blank on this character. The only other female speedster I remember in Earth-2 was Jessie Quick.
We see a scene in 1976 with Star-Spangled Kid and Power Girl coming to the rescue of the classic JSA members. This is a brilliant Easter Egg by Johns. 1976 is the year that DC Comics restarted All-Star Comics with issue 58. The newly restarted All-Star Comics in 1976 starred the Justice Society of America, with Star-Spangled Kid and Power Girl as two of its younger members. This is the kind of brilliant eye for detail that Johns pours into his stories.
I have no idea how many current readers would have recognized all the details in each of these scenes. But, these scenes were fun moments designed to put smiles on the faces of long-time readers.
In addition to the time travel scenes, Johns peppers the entire issue with small details and references to various arcane aspects of DC Comics’ history. These moments will not mean much to newer readers, but long-time readers will definitely enjoy all of them.
There is no doubt that Johns appears set to perform some serious continuity work with the Justice Society of America. This is Johns’s happy space. Frankly, there is no other writer who can come close to Johns’ strong continuity work with the DCU. That is certainly something that has been missing with all the YA novelists, university professors, and TV writers that DC Comics has been showing down our throats for the past five years.
Of course, all of this discussion about a story chock-full of details and references to DC continuity and the JSA’s history leads me to the natural question of is Justice Society of America #1 new reader friendly. Or is this issue simply written for long-time readers?
Rest assured, Justice Society of America #1 is extremely new reader friendly. A reader who knows nothing about the JSA can easily pick up this issue and understand what Johns is delivering. Johns makes sure that all the vital and pertinent information needed to understand the JSA’s world and the characters within it are given to the reader in the issue.
Johns’ placing little Easter Eggs throughout Justice Society of America #1 never interferes with the main storyline. None of these small details and nods to DC’s continuity are vital for the story. A new reader can read Justice Society of America #1 and be completely entertained. These moments are simply there as small moments to enhance the storyline for long-time readers.
So, while Justice Society of America #1 does deliver a richer story to older readers, this issue still delivers a fun and compelling reader to new readers, too. I do not think any new reader will be confused. Johns makes sure to clearly introduce all the characters and the setting for the story.
Justice Society of America #1 is a well-plotted and paced issue. Now, I am not surprised at all that this issue is well-plotted. Johns is known for his ability to construct multiple complex plot lines together into a compelling over-arching narrative. Johns is also a writer who never wilts in the face of having to juggle a large cast of characters. This is another feature of Johns that sets him out from his peers.
However, what did surprise me is that Justice Society of America #1 is well-paced. Pacing has often been the Achilles’ heel of many of Johns’ stories since Blackest Night. Johns has been known to burn pages while barely moving the story forward, only to deliver an exciting final scene designed to make the reader forget that not much actually happened in this issue.
That is definitely not the case with Justice Society of America #1. The story moves along at a good pace and with a clear direction in mind. Johns gives the reader plenty of plot progression in this debut issue. There is never a dull moment or a stretch in the story where the reader feels like Johns is wasting time. Every scene in this issue has a purpose.
I dig that Johns wastes no time in presenting the reader with a mystery. Johns is a master at building out mysteries that are enjoyable puzzles for the reader to try to piece together and solve. I like that Johns’s mystery in Justice Society of America is all framed around the “Now” time period. We do not know exactly when “Now” is. The “Now” period could be present-day DCU, or it could be another time period in DC’s history. Instead, Johns gives us multiple reference points to the “Now” period in order for the reader to place it within the context of DC Comics’ continuity.
Our mystery surrounds the deaths or disappearances of the Justice Society of America. It appears that the version of the Justice Society of America that Helena is tasked to save is the version of the JSA that existed just before the original Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1986. We know that Dr. Fate will be involved in this mystery to save the JSA, and that usually means plenty of magic and time travel. This should allow Johns several effective tools to easily alter DC’s continuity.
The use of magic and time travel should also allow Johns to undo the various deaths that we get in Justice Society of America #1. I mean, come on, nobody really thinks that Power Girl is going to stay dead, right? And as much as I would love for the Khalid version of Doctor Fate to stay dead, that probably is not happening either. I would imagine that if the Huntress can save the JSA that existed from before the “Now” and before she was born, then the deaths in this issue will never take place.
Johns delivers plenty of strong character work and dialogue in Justice Society of America #1. Obviously, Helena Wayne is the star of the show. I have no problem at all with Helena Wayne being the character tasked to save the JSA. Helena is a fantastic character. I am thrilled to see that Johns has brought back the Huntress that I knew and loved so much. DC Comics trashed Helena Wayne’s character after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Unfortunately, Helena and much of her Earth-2 characters were completely written out of DC’s continuity in 1986. No disrespect to Helena Rosa Bertinelli who is a great character and scored the number three spot in our list of Top 10 Italian-American superheroes. But, Helena Wayne will always be the Huntress to me.
For newer readers, Helena Wayne was created by Paul Levitz (an icon here at the Comic Book Revolution!), Joe Staton, and Bob Layton. Helena first papered in All-Star Comics #69 and DC Super-Stars #17 on the same day in December 1977. Helena Wayne was the daughter of Earth-2 Batman and Earth-2 Catwoman. Helena operated as the Huntress after Earth-2 Catwoman died. Johns references Earth-2 Batman’s death in this issue. The criminal who received powers and then killed Earth-2 Batman is Bill Jensen. Frederic Vaux, a sorcerer, and servant of the Lords of Chaos, gave Bill Jensen those powers. That event that Johns references in this issue took place in Adventure Comics #463 back in June 1979. Random fun fact, Helena and Earth-2 Dick Grayson were attorneys and both worked at the law firm Cranston and Grayson.
Now, it seems like Johns has introduced some changes to Helena Wayne’s history as he brings her back into DC’s continuity. The Pre-Crisis Helena Wayne became the Huntress right after Earth-2 Catwoman’s death and while her father, Earth-2 Batman was still alive. However, in Justice Society of America #1, Johns has Helena being Huntress after Earth-2 Batman has died but her mother, Catwoman, is still alive. That is a big difference.
At any rate, with that history lesson over, I am thrilled that Johns selected Helena to be our main character for this story and the hero tasked with the mission of saving the Justice Society of America. Helena is a cool character that is both kick-ass and, at the same time, vulnerable. Helena carries a scar in her heart over her father’s death. Helena has the typical daughter’s frustrations when dealing with a strong mother in Catwoman. Helena also serves as the conscience for the newly assembled JSA. Helena also suffers from feelings of self-doubt, as she questions if she is doing the right thing with the people she has assembled for this new JSA.
All of this helps to make Helena seem human and relatable to the reader. Johns can give us a cool heroine that we do not often get these days. Helena is a good example of how you can make a character kick-ass but not a boring archetype or a perfect character with no flaws.
All the supporting characters in Justice Society of America #1 are written beautifully. Johns does an excellent job writing Earth-2 Catwoman’s character. Selina exudes the classic confidence of a skilled older heroine. However, Johns also blesses Selina with those classic mom traits in the scenes where Selina interacts with Helena. I like the older, mature mom version of Selina that Johns delivers in this issue. And Selina’s appearance at the end of the issue? Loved it! Selina never hesitates to take on a villain, who is clearly more powerful and going to kill her, to save her daughter. This is exactly how a good mother would operate.
I like Johns’s Power Girl. While Kara may not get tons of panel time, the bit that we do get is vintage Power Girl. It makes sense that Kara would be the one character more angry and pugnacious given the circumstances of this story. Johns captures Power Girl’s temper and passion rather well. I love Power Girl’s character whenever she is written by a writer who fully understands her character. Johns is definitely one of those writers.
I like the villainous members of this newly constructed Justice Society of America. Johns does an excellent job introducing all of these characters to new readers. However, it is long-time readers that will enjoy seeing these characters a bit more than newer readers.
Johns gives us the Cameron Mahkent version of Icicle, Cameron first appeared in Infinity, Inc. #34 and was created by Roy Thomas, Dan Thomas, and Todd McFarlane. As a longtime Infinite, Inc. fan, it was fun to see this character once again.
Johns also gives us the Kyle Knight version of the Mist. Kyle is the son of the original Mist’s daughter, Nash. Kyle has a rather dark backstory. Nash drugged Jack Knight, the second Starman, and then raped him and became pregnant with Kyle Knight. When Nash was The Mist, she was notorious for killing Amazing Man (Will Everett, III version), Crimson Fox, and the Blue Devil.
Of course, what is really exciting is that Johns also delivers two brand-new characters that he has woven into DC’s continuity, The first is Ruby Sokov as the Red Lantern. Ruby is the daughter of Vladimir Sokov who was the original Red Lantern. Vladimir was Russia’s first superhero. What is fascinating is that Johns has created a brand-new character in the Red Lantern and then retroactively inserted him into DC’s continuity. Therefore, Red Lantern is now the original Red Lantern and first appeared in the Golden Age as Alan Scott’s main adversary. I love this new addition to DC’s continuity.
I also dig that Johns is adding new continuity to DC’s Golden Age. It is an unusual move to insert a brand-new character into the Golden Age of DC Comics. This is precisely the type of skilled continuity work that I expect from Johns. This addition of the Red Lantern simply serves to make the DCU history even more fascinating. Johns is clearly having fun by using the Time Masters as a literary tool to “return” DC heroes who were removed from the main continuity. It is a fun way to add new characters into DC’s past.
Michael Mayne is another new character that Johns is weaving into DC’s continuity. Michael is the son of the original Harlequin. The original Harlequin was Molly Mayne, and she first appeared in All-American Comics #89 in 1947 and was created by the iconic Robert Kanigher and Irwin Hasen. The original Harlequin was a long-time adversary of Alan Scott.
I think Michael is a cool character. I like that Johns reaches back into DC’s history and revives the mantle of a great character like Molly Mayne. Even though we saw Michael die in this issue, I have a feeling that Johns will be reincarnating him along with many of the other characters who died in this issue.
All the characters in this new Justice League had well-written external voices. Johns constructs quality dialogue throughout the issue. All the good character work and dialogue leads to some excellent chemistry between all of these JSA members. There is plenty of genuine friction between this odd collection of characters.
Of course, my favorite scenes in terms of dialogue, character work, and chemistry, are the scenes between Helena and Selina. This mother-daughter duo seems so genuine. Johns does an incredible job with these two characters, as their scenes generate the most compelling chemistry in this issue.
Of course, every epic story needs a strong villain. And, to be sure, Johns delivers one hell of a strong villain. The big bad for this story is none other than Per Degaton himself! Hell, yeah! Per Degaton is a fantastic JSA villain. Per Degaton first appeared in All-Star Comics #35 in 1947 and was created by John Broome and Irwin Hasen. This was so cool. I absolutely geeked out once Per Degaton burst onto the scene in the final scene of this issue.
I cannot think of another JSA villain that I would want Johns to use in the opening story of a new JSA title. This is an excellent choice. What is interesting is that it appears that Johns has given Per Degaton a serious power upgrade. Per Degaton has always had limited Time Vision that allows him to know what will happen in the near future. This power allows Per Degaton to exist out of phase with normal time, which makes him intangible. This is definitely not the level of time manipulation that Per Degaton has in this current issue. Personally, I am fine with a serious power upgrade for this longtime Per Degaton baddie.
Another reason that I like Per Degaton as Johns’s choice for the villain in this story is that Per Degaton is well-versed in the DCU’s time stream and continuity. In the past, Per Degaton has shown that he is aware of changes to the time stream and has been one of the few characters outside of Psycho Pirate who remembers the events before the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. Therefore, this makes Per Degaton the perfect villain for a story like this present one, where Johns will be playing with the time stream and DC’s continuity in an attempt to reestablish the JSA in the DCU.
Of course, now that we have finished discussing the villain for Justice Society of America #1, this is the perfect point to transition to the action in this issue. Because, wow, we get plenty of action! Much of it was provided by Per Degaton himself!
I appreciate that Johns opens Justice Society of America #1 with some action, as we get to see Huntress and Solomon Grundy slap around Falcone. It is always good to get the reader’s attention with some action at the start. Of course, most of the action comes in the big seven-page fight scene with Per Degaton. This scene is so badass. I love how Per Degaton takes down all the JSA members with ruthless efficiency and ease. Personally, I loved every panel of Per Degaton brutally mowing down all the JSA members.
This is undoubtedly how you get a villain over with the reader. Johns understands that the villain must be introduced as an almost impossible force to stop. This will make our heroes’ struggle to defeat the villain so much more satisfying and enjoyable.
Another useful aspect of Johns debuting Per Degaton in such a strong fashion is that it helps to get his character over with new readers. Long-time readers already know what a massive threat Per Degaton is to our heroes. However, new readers will probably have no clue at all who Per Degaton even is. Johns allowing Per Degaton to go beat-mode through the heroes definitely sends the message to new readers that this is one unstoppable bad guy that deserves the reader’s attention.
Johns ends Justice Society of America #1 with an excellent hook ending. We end with Helena back in 1940 with our classic JSA in their heyday. I totally geeked out seeing Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt! I have always loved these two characters. I am so excited to see what Johns has in store for us next.
All right, we have talked enough about Johns’ writing. Let’s give some love to Mikel Janin’s artwork. Justice Society of America #1 is a good-looking issue. Janin draws the dialogue-heavy scenes just as well as he does the action-heavy scenes. Janin delivers some great facial expressions, which help to inject plenty of emotion into the story. In particular, Power Girl’s expressive face is always well drawn.
Janin varies up the page layouts in this issue, so there is never a repetitive look to the issue. The panel layouts are creative and dynamic. I like that there are some pages with traditional rectangular panels, while other pages have interesting curved panels or negative spaces where the characters break out of the panel lines. One particularly well-drawn scene is in the opening scene when Grundy grabs Falcone from Huntress. We see the point of view switch from right side up to upside down as Solomon Grundy holds Falcone upside down.
All in all, Justice Society of America #1 is a dynamic-looking issue. Oh, and it should be noted that Janin wisely gives Power Girl her boob window. In an era dominated by neo-puritanical views, I say bravo, good sir. Bravo.
The Bad: Johns’ decision to center Justice Society of America #1 around Helena Wayne is an unusual decision. I know why Johns took this approach, but it comes with some downfalls. First, readers are purchasing Justice Society of America #1 to get…the Justice Society of America. That absolutely does not happen in this issue. That is going to disappoint some readers.
Instead, what Johns gives readers is a solo spotlight issue on Helena that you would normally see stuck in between two larger story arcs on an ongoing title that has been published for a while. So, if this was Justice Society of America #7 that was serving as a bridge from one big story arc to a new big story arc, then it would make total sense. However, debuting the new Justice Society of America title with this type of issue is sure to put off some readers who just want the JSA that they know and love.
Johns also does his typical mowing down of minor characters. Johns has been known to do this ever since Infinite Crisis and going forward. This can be off-putting to some readers, who view this body count as unnecessary and simply designed to “shock” the reader. Other readers may view this technique as devaluing death in a medium that already has a problem with the meaning of death. Johns killing off so many characters in his stories like Infinite Crisis or Blackest Night became like Kenny’s death in South Park: a stale gag that does not interest anyone anymore.
Personally, I had no issue with killing off all the characters in this issue. The fact is that nobody cares about the Khalid version of Doctor Fate. He was a sales failure that was never popular. The other characters that were killed off in this issue were also a bunch of minor characters that do not have any following at all. The only big-name popular character that dies in this issue is Power Girl.
Normally, I would be pissed at Johns for killing off Power Girl. But, I think Johns makes it abundantly clear to the reader that these deaths are temporary. Johns shows the reader that this story will involve Helena going back in time to save the JSA and if she is successful then these deaths will never happen.
Another potential problem with Johns’s story is that he appears to be heading toward bringing back the Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths JSA. This is a version of the JSA that we have not seen since 1986. I am uncertain if this is the version that readers want back. I am unsure if enough fans will recognize or care about these characters. The fact is that the Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths JSA was full of random characters from Infinity, Inc. that were not popular even in the 1980s. That is why DC Comics had no concern about retconning them out of existence in 1986.
There is a good chance that the vast majority of readers are going to want the classic JSA that they know and love back. We will have to see how Johns can balance the desire for the more popular classic JSA members with the less popular characters from Infinity, Inc.
Lastly, even though Johns does succeed in making Justice Society of America #1 new reader friendly. There is no doubt that this story might confuse or overwhelm new readers at certain points. There are a ton of old characters and obscure characters in this issue. There are also characters that are the third or fourth person to assume a particular mantle. This is a huge problem with DC Comics having way too many generations of legacy characters. This can be a huge turn-off to some readers.
I only have one complaint with Janin’s artwork and Jordie Bellaire’s colors. I am confused about Helena Wayne’s appearance. Helena’s mom is Catwoman who has blond hair with green eyes and is white. Helena’s dad is Batman who has black hair with blue eyes and is white. Yet, Helena is drawn with very dark brown eyes and brown skin. Is it possible Janin and Bellaire thought the Huntress in this issue was Helena Rosa Bertinelli? Because that would make more sense. But, based on her two parents, Helena Wayne should be a white lady with black hair and either blue or green eyes. Maybe this new Helena Wayne is adopted? That is the only explanation that I can come up with for her appearance.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall: Justice Society of America #1 is an excellent read. Geoff Johns returns at a time when DC Comics desperately needs him the most. DC Comics has no real superhero comic book writers left. And it shows starkly in the types of stories that we are getting and the poor sales numbers that DC Comics is getting.
Justice Society of America #1 is an issue that is new reader friendly but still has enough details placed into it as a gift to long-time readers. I appreciate that Johns made this an issue that is accessible to all readers. This issue offers a splendid balance of action and dialogue-heavy scenes. This issue should appeal to a wide range of readers.
There is no doubt that Johns has something special in store for the readers with Justice Society of America. This is a franchise that Johns loves dearly, and it shows. I fully expect Justice Society of America to be an issue that will offer the reader a dense and complex read every month that is chock-full of world-building and continuity work.
If you are looking for a superhero comic that focuses only on entertainment and no social or political commentary, then this is the comic for you. If you are looking for a real superhero comic that is not ashamed of the genre, then this is for you. If you are a reader who loves complex reads that dives deep into DC’s continuity, then this is definitely the title for you.
I believe that any comic book reader who is simply a fan of the DCU will enjoy what Johns is doing for the Justice Society of America.
To comment on this article and other Comic Book Revolution content, visit our Facebook page, our Twitter feed, and our Instagram feed. Also, catch up with all of Rokk’s other musings about comics, anime, TV shows, movies and more over on over on Twitter and Instagram.