JSA, Vol. 7: Princes of Darkness

JSA (1999)

by Geoff Johns (Writer), David S. Goyer (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Artist)

The original superhero team-up, Justice Society of America is Earth's mightiest squad of defenders whose dynamic ranks include Powergirl, Dr. Mid-Nite, Mr. Terrific, Dr. Fate and star of TV's Justice League - Hawkgirl! When Obsidian, the darkness-controlling son of Green Lantern, teams up with the mind-twisting Eclipso and hyper-powerful wizard Mordru, the Justice Society face their greatest threat to date...as the villains' combined power forces the moon from its orbit, plunging Earth into a permanent total eclipse! Now, with Earth's citizens rapidly being converted into cannon fodder for the villains' armies, it will take an incredible array of superheroes to stop them...if they can!

Collecting: JSA 46-55

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

Geoff Johns originally hails from Detroit, Michigan. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in Media Arts and Film. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1990s in search of work within the film industry. Through perseverance, Geoff ended up as the assistant to Richard Donner, working on Conspiracy Theory and Lethal Weapon 4. During that time, he also began his comics career writing Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. and JSA (co-written with David S. Goyer) for DC Comics. He worked with Richard Donner for four years, leaving the company to pursue writing full-time.

His first comics assignments led to a critically acclaimed five-year run on the The Flash. Since then, he has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comics writers today, working on such titles including a highly successful re-imagining of Green Lantern, Action Comics (co-written with Richard Donner), Teen Titans, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka and Mark Waid. Geoff received the Wizard Fan Award for Breakout Talent of 2002 and Writer of the Year for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 as well as the CBG Writer of the Year 2003 thru 2005, 2007 and CBG Best Comic Book Series for JSA 2001 thru 2005. Geoff also developed BLADE: THE SERIES with David S. Goyer, as well as penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of SMALLVILLE. He also served as staff writer for the fourth season of ROBOT CHICKEN.

Geoff recently became a New York Times Bestselling author with the graphic novel Superman: Brainiac with art by Gary Frank.

Reviews

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was really good and like one of the top stories in this series!

Johns really uses his time to show how grave the threat of Obsidian, Eclipso and especially Mordru becomes and how JSA fights against them and like he gives each character in the team their big moment and I love what he does with Dr Fate aka Hector hall here and kinda made him one of my faves here and similarly for others too and shows how faced with a grave threat as this also, how JSA fights against them and then wins or do they? And a great moment for Alan and his family, that panel towards the end of the story was my fav!

Also I loved that mini-story with Crimson avenger and like showcasing Wildcat and showing how capable he is too and like really giving him his big moments and then those 2 issues of Thanksgiving with JLA and then Christmas eve with Ma Hunkel were some of my faves ugh I love it, those are the issues that make you love reading comics and those characters at large and it did that job here really well! I loved it and the art by Don Kramer was just too good ugh!

I can't say enough good things about this volume, its one of those stuff that really takes these characters and puts them in a tough situation as comics should do and by the end of it as a reader you will appreciate it more so yeah a must recommend from my side!

[Edward Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the JSA because it's the old-time and B/C level superheroes fighting villains that seem to be below the level of the majority of the supes people know like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. Some of the ones you know from DC legends such as the original Green Lantern and Flash are here plus a smattering of the lesser-known (to the uninitiated readers) folks like Dr. Fate, Wildcat, and Power Girl. We do get to see of the known CW Network's DC Universe people like Hawk Girl and Mr. Terrific, but they are very limited in the main storyline.

When Eclipso, Mordru, and the corrupted son of the Green Lantern (Obsidian) get together to enact a neverending eclipse over the world, it is up to the JLA to stop them! Wait, the Justice League is off-planet? Doom Patrol? No? Teen Titans? Damn it! Oh well, let's pull the old-timers out of the pocket and have them save the planet one more time. A tale of loss, sorrow, and redemption follows (standard comic book tropes included) with the good guys winning the day in the end (did you expect a spoiler warning for that?)

This also includes the hilarious short tale where some hapless "Z" level crooks break into the JSA's headquarters during Thanksgiving dinner only to find that ALL of the good guys are there to eat their turkey and pie.

[16rajabw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is a good book

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much of this collection is about balance - within the characters and the story - and that gets mirrored with the structure of the narrative as well - kind of. This kicks off with an epic arc of evil; Mordru, Obsidian & Eclipso all back at the same time, and the JSA split, and the classic "most powerful members down" but with payoffs on a dozen threads from the previous six collections. Once that ends, we get a schism within the league that started in the last collection and a resolution to the Kobra pot that's been on boil. Goyer officially leaves the title here, and after a brief interlude with the Crimson Avenger and some truly odd behavior from Alan Scott, the delicious schmaltz that is Geoff Johns hits hard with a pair of Thanksgiving and Xmas stories that are tear-jerkingly optimistic and harken back to much simpler times in the JSA and the DCU. You have to read a lot to get here, but this payoff is worth it, and the stuff to come seems pretty good, too.

[Colin Parfitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. A lot happens in this book. Sadly, a lot of it is chaotic nonsense.

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains JSA 46-55

Consists of the long Princes of Darkness arc and a few single issue stories dealing with the fallout, plus Thanksgiving and Christmas stories. Princes of Darkness, in which Mordru makes his big power play with the help of Eclipso and Obsidian, is one of the highlights of the JSA series. Epic super hero action taking place across the world, dimensions, and time, with the team functioning as something greater than the sum of its parts. And the whole series has remarkably consistent art, but this is one of the best looking volumes.
Plus, throughout these issues, we see the ongoing saga of Black Adam unfolding. He is quite possibly my favorite character for Geoff Johns to write, truly morally ambiguous in a way that defies most comics.
For any other series, a story like Princes of Darkness would be the kind of climax a writer ends a run with, but this is really only the half way point on the run, and there is still lots of high quality, epic adventures ahead.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first half of this trade, which climaxes with JSA #50 (David Goyer's last issues as co-writer), the team faces off against Mordru (this JSA's first villain), Eclipso (the Spectre's nemesis), and Obsidian (Sentinel/Green Lantern's son). I really like this version of the evil spirit Eclipso--JSA's former archivist Rick Montez hates the spirit, yet struggles to harness its power.
Like most JSA stories, there are lots of great character moments. Here it's Sentinel's relationship with his kids (Obsidian and Jade) the nascent romance between Shazam and Stargirl, all the Dr. Fates getting together for a barbecue (in Hector Hall's head). Sand seems to needlessly disappear, but otherwise the story wraps up nicely with Mordru's demise, and the other two villains' change of heart.
The second half of the book is a combination of set up for the next volume ( Black Reign), a bloody and confusing Crimson Avenger story, and two nice holiday stories, including a JSA-JLA Thanksgiving story that the artists must have dreaded.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This issue had an overarching storyline and several really great standalone issues. Read it for the standalone issues.

Princes of Darkness retreads Obsidian going bad/insane once more. Mordru and Eclipso return to justify how Todd yet again goes bad with no one noticing. Done before and better then. The only bright points were the gathering of the Freedom Fighters and the Seven Soldiers of Victory in the climactic battle, Wildcat wearing hard-light armor and kicking tail better than ever, and Jesse Chambers (Quick) being brought back into the fold.

The standalone stories include the Crimson Avenger trying to execute Wildcat for framing a very guilty man for the one crime he did not commit, a JSA/JLA Thanksgiving, and a Christmas story with Ma Hunkle returning to the JSA after decades in witness protection. All three are incredibly well written and drawn.

Find it! Buy it! Read it!

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable book, but I'm pretty muddled now after reading a few of them out of order. Writing a review of this one a couple of weeks after I read it is quite tricky. I had to look at the description on Goodreads to remind me that Eclipso, Obsidian and Mordru are the three princes of darkness in question.

But what I am sure of is that I'm already looking forward to re-reading the series in order, and that the superheroes in this book are some of the most well-rounded, rich and interesting in the DC universe.

I rather wish that Oliver Queen, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan had been given their own group title in which to grow old gracefully, instead of being shoehorned back into their old titles.

[James Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gets lots of points from me for using three of my favorite villains- Mordru, Obsidian and Eclipso. I woulda liked it better if Eclipso had his 90s revamp look instead of his kinda goofy 60s Silver-Age look, but I definitely like the twist of a heroic version. And also glad to see a happy ending for Obsidian, finally.

Terrific battles and resolutions galore, wrapping up the Doctor Fate plot, bringing Dove back in action, and more. Black Adam's new mission makes him chilling, but somehow not offensive- really, some of these nasties had it coming for a long time. (Surprised some of this- like Adam ripping Kobra's heart out in plain view- made it past the Comics Code.)

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit I am a sucker for the JSA/freedom Fighters/All-Star Squadron ( hey DC if you ever do a reprint of the old Jerry Conway All-Star Squadron books I'm first in line) so I come into this with a bit of a bias. From start to finish I think it's a great book, I notice that Goodreads lists this book as Geoff Johns even though David Goyer also wrote on this (and is credited in the book). The extra holiday stories at the end are like the bonus reel. Light and fun.

[Z.S. Diamanti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The JSA fights a triple threat in Eclipso, Obsidian, and Mordru (the Princes of Darkness). This story arc was fantastically written and Leonard Kirk's art did not disappoint. It was hard hitting action from the get go with a few special holiday treats at the end. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to all superhero fans.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main “Princes of Darkness” arc is great big-picture Goyers & Johns with many enemies and friends alike [7/10]. The shorts that finish the book off are generally good, with the Crimson Avenger story being particularly strong [8/10] and the Thanksgiving story being a bit weak [6/10].

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the golden age superheroes from DC and the new JSA brings these original heroes back into the modern age along with their legacy namesakes. Well above average art and plot keep these 70 year old comic characters interesting and entertaining. Very recommended

[Koen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, really liked the chapter with Mordru&Co, even the ones about Crimson Avenger.. But what was up with those holiday extras? :S what's next.. Valentine issue?? :D Must be me of course..
But all in all a very decent read!

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of battle, lots of between-villian plot development (almost too much, for a normally monthly serial), but ultimately kind of... flat.
Better review to follow.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this collection. It had the JSA versus Mordru, Obsidian,and Eclipso and led in to the Black Vengeance collection. Geoff Johns' JSA trades are as always stupendous

[Jdetrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most amazing, huge battles the JSA has ever had, followed by some wonderful character building issues and one of the most emotional. Amazing.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good work.
Good story work, good artwork.
The Crimson Avenger was a treat. [Is she still out there in the current DC Universe?]
The Original Red Tornado story was perfect.

[READERS RETREAT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Story, I still enjoy this story after rereading it