World Famous Comics: Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1
Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1
By: Geoff Johns, Alex Ross Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 160 Publication Date: April 02, 2008 Release Date: April 29, 2008
Product Description: The worlds first super-team is renewed by a new generation of heroes, promising to uphold the legacy of their predecessors and inspire other heroes across the world. This second volume, written by Geoff Johns, the acclaimed writer of INFINITE CRISIS, focuses on the individual members of the team.Nathan Heywood, the grandson of Commander Steel, awakens to find himself transformed into the teams newest member, Citizen Steel.All American powerhouse Liberty Belle races to stop the Justice Society's troubled young recruit, Damage, from making the worst mistake of his life.Plus, the secrets of 52 begin to reveal themselves to the Justice Society.
It begins here! This volume is a little mis-named by DC and is probably why there's a perception by some that the "Thy Kingdom Come" storyline drags on too long. The truth is that, although the "Kingdom Come Superman" does manage to show up in this volume, the actual TKC storyline doesn't really get going until volume 2. Others have covered the plots of the volume so I won't repeat it, but I think it might have been a smarter, and more accurate move on DC's part, to have called this volume "Strange Visitor" rather than TKC part 1.
Nevertheless, it's a beautiful volume full of dense, and complex stories with multiple characters. Johns' strength as a writer is that he makes characters distinct with just a few lines of dialogue. Due to the large cast, few characters get lots of face time but Johns manages to make each one distinct and likeable at the same time. The characters interactions can be whimsical, like Superman's interaction with Starman at a sanitariam, funny, painful, such as Superman's interaction with Power Girl, inspiring or intense, such as when the villain Gog confronts the JSA. Johns is also a master at complex, multilayered plotting, and events unfold over multiple issues that plant seeds for future issues, but have pay-offs all their own. In that way, Johns bucks the trend of modern comic storytelling, particularly the type at Marvel in recent years, where stories never have pay-offs in the actual pages or series where they begin.
There's a tendency by critics to knock the fill-in artist just because the fill-in is the fill-in. Fernando Pasarin does an excellent job pencilling in his issues here, as does Dale Eaglesham. Eaglesham in paticular has become quite adept at handling scenes with mutiple characters all in one panel. He appears to do it effortlessly, though in a very few strange instances, his pencilling fluctuates between tight realism and exaggerated expressionism. Thankfully, this is far and away the exception rather than the rule.
Both he and Pasarin though make an almost too successful attempt at differentiating between the KC Superman and the one from "this" world. Beside the obvious differences in the darker blue costume of the KC Superman and the different S shield, our Superman is younger, more ripped, leaner, and more chiselled in the face, but in some cases a very different looking fellow, which I think is odd. From Alex Ross' notes I can see that this was intentional and the differences, facially, are meant to be a few and subtle, but part of what makes this story compelling is that the events happening here should ideally be an indication of a possible future for our Superman. Having the characters look too different, actually just underscores that what happens in KC won't occur on this world, because they really are two different universes. I've always thought it was a good idea at least to tease the possibility that the KC future was a possible future for this Superman, and that the KC Superman was really just an older, more battle weary version of the current Man of Steel. The differences between the two characters are sometimes so strong as to undermine that. To be clear, I think both Ross and Johns intend to strongly imply that the events of the KC world could be the future of our Superman's world, but I wish they hadn't made the characters too distict in some places.
All in all though, this is a minor distraction. As the second collection from this relaunched Justice Society of America, it's a satisfying collection of strong stories, showcasing Geoff Johns skill at characterization and why the reborn DC universe is a more interesting place, now that parallel worlds are back on the menu for creative people working there. If you're a JSA or a Kingdom Come fan, it's a must own, and if you're looking for just a great epic read, you should buy this.
AMAZING ARTWORK.. but i hate Days of Our Lives i'm sorry.. it most assuredly deserves more stars for the artwork.. and obvious talent that went into JSA.. but it is such a soap opera... and the entire thy kingdom come trilogy is almost offensively anti-climactic. Geoff Johns is one of my fav. comic authors.. so i read the whole thing.. you see more of Power Girl's cleavage then you do any action or anything happen at all.. half the JSA are dating each other.. it's boring.. i'd watch Passions if i wanted sex, lies and parallel dimensions.. Gog is decapitated by Kingdom Come's Superman.. but since it's a comic book he doesn't die.. and they return Gog to his rightful place in the 4d or something.. but of course not before Gog can take back all he's given.. meaning nothing changes.. the end.. that's the whole trilogy summed up for you.. sorry.. but JSA is for girls.. or worse.. stay-at-home moms.. i will admit that the superman one shot included in vol 3.. is awesome.. it's relative to Kingdom Come.. like a sequel should be.. and it even had me a little misty eyed.. see what did i tell you.. a soap opera.. heheh
How to write comics, part 1000 My entire life, I praised Marvel comics well above DC ones. And I still do. But, by all means, Geoff Johns really makes it hard for me to do so.
The only bad part of this volume is that, well, it ends, leaving you wanting more. Great characters, master ability to juggle a LOT of plot points across without losing focus, while seeding future themes into the background.
Great art, compelling story, really touching moments. The realization of Superman that giving up is never a good option - in 1 page - is brilliant.
One Foot In The Past, One In The Future I've always enjoyed JSA, mostly because Geoff Johns has made a point to keep one foot in the past with the title while keeping the other foot firmly planted in the future.
With the Justice Society of America re-launch, the team has a new mission statement of making sure the world has better heroes, and so they are first tracking down legacy heroes and training them to deserve the mantle they've assumed.
Thy Kingdom Come is particularly fascinating because it reintroduces Superman from Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come series. In expert juxtaposition, Johns makes a point that while the Earth-2 Superman thought Earth-1's heroes weren't heroic enough, the Kingdom Come Superman finds Earth-1's (New Earth's) heroes inspiring and invigorating. Any writer will tell you that good writing means making use of unusual perspectives, and Johns does just this with KC Superman.
Furthermore, I love the KC Superman because he has an edge to him. He's damaged goods. After all, he watched his world's heroes demean and destroy themselves and did nothing until the (relatively) very end. He wants a fresh start as well, a chance at redemption, and that makes him very compelling.
But among such heavy themes and dangerous adventures, Johns also brings about quite a bit of joyfulness. Boxing matches between Wildcat and his son, fundraising at the local firehouse, and ski trips are just part of what makes this team such a delight to follow.
Johns also mixes established, semi-established, and brand new characters in this book and gives each a chance to shine in an appealing and engaging manner. To have characters over half-a-century old such as Flash and Green Lantern interacting with brand new legacy characters such as Wildcat II, Cyclone, and Citizen Steel brings an unpredictability that is missing in several other DC titles. Throw in semi-established characters using familiar names like Hourman, Liberty Belle, and Starman, and you've got something exciting, amusing, and captivating.
For me, Justice Society of America continues to be a must-read and I really look forward to where the title is heading with its heavy referencing to Kingdom Come and multiple-subplots.
~Scott William Foley, author of The Imagination's Provocation: Volume II: A Collection of Short Stories
The Final Straw This is it. I can't take it anymore. I have been purchasing the Justice Society books for years now and have been a fan for more than a quarter of a century but this is the last JSA book I will buy until the quality improves significantly. 'Thy Kingdom Come' is an absolute mess. My biggest issue is the claim that this book is a sequel to "Kingdom Come". That would be a total lie. Thy Kingdom Come version of Superman ends up traveling to Earth 1 thanks to an overly convenient localized black hole. It doesn't even make sense since Superman's disappearance contradicts events from Kingdom Come. To market it as a sequel to one of the all time great DC comic stories is a rip-off.
There are so many characters coming and going that it's impossible to keep track. As if the JSA's roster wasn't bloated enough they add at least four more unnecessary members. One new hero, the grandson of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, naturally has super powers just like everyone with even the slightest tangential tie to original Justice Society. He's currently serving in the Middle East and wait `till you hear this backstory. He was on a mission to protect an Iraqi museum from looters (this truly is another universe) when one of the artifacts burned a brand into his arm and now he can project energy bolts using some ridiculous hunk of metal he holds in his hand.
The other three new members include a female Judomaster, the grandson of Amazing Man and (Good Lord) Citizen Steel. So here is Citizen Steel's story and it's a doosy. The original WW II Commander Steel had a body composed of steel thanks to war injuries so naturally the JSA fates will bestow upon his progeny steel related powers. In the previous book a villain named Reichsmark disgorged a vomit of molten metal onto Nate Heywood causing horrible burning and... oh right, no actually it makes him super strong and impervious to damage. Yeah, that's just kinda the way things work here. Nate is unable to reign in his awesome new strength so the geniuses at the JSA decide to cover his body in molten metal thus dampening his power by forcing him to resist the metal envelope with every movement. Not only does his metal cover appear totally lifelike it is forged as an exact duplicate of the costume Commander Steel wore. Having never served in the military Nate takes on the identity Citizen Steel. It hurt me to write that.
But the award for the dumbest new hero goes to Mr. America. The new Mr. America is literally a guy who knew the old Mr. America and decides to take on the role after Mr. America is killed. Is this all it takes to become a superhero. Just throw on a mask and suddenly you can become an exceptional fighter with amazing athleticism. This is insulting to the intelligence of the reader and diminishes comic book heroes.
In the end it doesn't matter because the JSA cycles through characters faster than a stack of tissues during flu season. The comic would improve if they would dump the horrible Cyclone, the badly misused Starman and that Werecat son of Wildcat. This reboot needs a reboot.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
