JSA: All-Stars
June 14, 2004 | Trades
JSA: All-Stars
Geoff Johns, David Goyer, Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale, Phil Winslade, Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Howard Chaykin, Darwyn Cooke, Dave Ross
DC Comics
$22.95/$14.95 US (Paperback)
*** (out of five)
The newest incarnation of the JSA is the most ambiguous collection of super-heroes in recent comics’ history.
The team appeals to a fan of the classics, as it contains four members who were in the original 1940s Justice Society Of America: Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and Wildcat. It also makes a play for a more modern audience with young heroes, like Dr. Mid-Nite, Hawkgirl, Hourman, Star-Spangled Kid, Dr. Fate and Mr. Terrific — characters whose skills and origins are based upon an original 1940s character of the same name.
With JSA: All-Stars, writers Geoff Johns (Teen Titans, Flash) and David Goyer (Starman) examine the legacies of the progenitors of the new crop of heroes. Helping Johns and Goyer are a top-notch lineup of artists and writers, including Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween, Hulk: Gray), Phil Winslade (Howard The Duck), Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets), Howard Chaykin (American Flagg), and a pair of Canadian talents, Dave Ross and Darwyn Cooke.
Each new-generation hero gets a story that tells us a little more about his or her history, who they are or why they became a defender of good, while their predecessors get the same.
Getting to know a little bit more about these newer characters is the payoff in this book, and will be especially important to readers of the JSA monthly title. However, readers could feel a little cheated that with all this amassed talent the stories aren’t longer. A six-page Loeb and Sale piece on Hawkman just isn’t enough.
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