JSA: Darkness Falls

JSA (1999)

by David Goyer-Geoff Johns

edicion 2002, en ingles, prestigio, buen estado

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

Comic

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the last volume of hacking around as a random collection of heroes, the JSA are now an official thing and open up shop…



…but the ribbon is barely cut when a not-quite-right-in-the-head Black Adam decides to smash stuff.



Aside from a punch up, the mathematical solution here: Hourman + Dr. Fate = Some sort of time travel shenanigans/Problem solved.

Next: Who’s your Daddy?

Obsidian, the shadowy son of Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern who changed his name to Sentinel to distinguish himself from DC’s thousands other Green Lanterns, is mad at his daddies (biological and adopted), so he tries to throw some shade on the city of Milwaukee.



Ultimately, this is for not getting him a puppy.



Wildcat, his arm in a cast, and armed with just a towel and his, uh, wits goes up against a D-list Injustice Society, who visit the JSA mansion. Uninvited.



In true superhero fashion, he doesn’t get bum rushed by all the goons at once and is able to take them out one at a time.



What happened to that living tree/wood dude?



Heh!

Then there’s: Double the story line, double the pleasure?

In order to get the world’s attention, Kobra crashes a plane. Atom Smasher’s mom was on that plane. Whoopsie.



The rest of the team battle Extant (formerly Hawk of Hawk and Dove). Extant wants to control all of space and time and become God or something. A noble ambition, if he wasn’t nuts.



Atom Smasher gets some creative justice going for Extant and at the same time saves his mom.



Dawww and I predict that’s going to come back and bite Atom Smasher in his ginormous ass at some point.

Bottom line: With James Robinson gone and Geoff Johns on board, the writing gets a little lighter in tone and the dialogue and pacing a tad smoother. The countdown to Power Girl continues.

Next up in volume three: That winged loser, Hawkman returns.

Hold your applause, kids.

Three and one half of a star rounded up.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread: 01/10/2022

This one was awesome re-read. The primary two stories are "Darkness falls" with Obsidian and it was so awesome and I really liked the way with which the writers explore the family dynamics of Alan and it promises even greater stories in the future and then the stories with Kobra and later Extant were so fun and I love the way the writers explore the villains there and shows how they are challenge to different members of the JSA and finally showing some new members and establishing a roster, that one was awesome and its so naturally done! Also you can see they are setting up Injustice society big time and it will lead to a huge story next!
_______________________________________________________________________

This was quite cool and long and starts with a story about Obsidian coming back and attacking the JLA and darkness and all and is a great Alan story and then Wildcat vs Injustice Society and then the big stuff with King Kobra and the craziness he unleashes and a save the universe from time travelling villain here Extant and it was fun even though it ended hastily. I liked the volume and it just does a great job of doing so many stories and wrapping up plot holes well and serves to usher in the Johns era of JSA and members quitting, setting future villains and great focus on some characters! The artwork is not my favorite but its decent enough!

[Bookwraiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read in 2015.

Volume 1: Justice Be Done threw me deep into DC Comics history with a cast of old school characters. It was a bit overwhelming and underwhelming at times, but this story arc began to change all that.

Here we have a terrific story with quality artwork. There are big fight scenes (A huge free-for-all when Black Adam shows up); there are poignant episodes (Alan Scott has to confront his son Obsidian); and there are some funny moments (Wildcat battling the Injustice Society while wearing only a towel). And while a non-DC historian like me still struggled to get all the names and lore of all these superheroes and villains straight, it was a bit easier to do than in the previous volume.

Naturally, though, there are still some problems with this one. First, there are LOTS of characters who most casual fans have never heard of. Second, the story arc is made up of numerous, interconnected stories that form a larger one, so there is more than a little jumping around between groups or individual characters.

Overall, this volume reminded me of why I enjoyed this series so much back in the day. It was exciting, filled with weird science, fantastical magic, and bizarro adventures. And while all that was going on, these young and old heroes accepted it all with a casual bravery and growing camaraderie that made me excited every month to get my hands on the next issue.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is some complex storytelling going on here, pulling out obscure fragments of DC's rich 70 year history. Those who know their DC history will love this book while those who don't will often feel lost. Obsidian and Mr. Bones from Infinity Inc. both make appearances and Extant returns who killed off three JSA members back in Zero Hour. The Extant story was a bit weak but has a a killer finish. I really enjoyed the return of Black Adam. The new Mr. Terrific and Dr. Midnite are both great characters. The issue with Wildcat in a bath towel staving off the new Injustice Society gets a gold star. It's fantastic.

[Artemy · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a train wreck.

I'll try to be fair and say that the first half of the book was quite decent and I had an okay time with it. It's a standard Geoff Johns action flick — a lot of punching and explosions, zero character depth, but the story was surprisingly solid and the end result was entertaining. I was almost ready to say that yes, this is a fine Geoff Johns comic, and now I understand why everyone thinks that his JSA is great.

But then the second half of the book happened, and I don't know what the hell that was. I'm tempted to give this volume 1 star just for the sheer amount of pseudo-scientific bullshit Johns is dumping on his readers in those last four or so issues, because if this is not torture, I don't know what is. My patience gave up on the second to last issue and I angrily deleted the rest of the book from my tablet. I mean, who wants to read shit like this for a hundred straight pages?!











And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I swear, EVERY page of those last several issues was filled with this kind of nonsense. I don't know what the story was except that about half of the team definitely died (possibly in the future), though I'm sure they come back unscathed by the end of the volume because there's no way any of this matters. It's a goddamn time travel/parallel world story, and nothing says 'bad superhero comics' like Geoff Johns trying to appear smart and playing with those concepts. Forget it, dude! You're no Grant Morrison.

And even if that particular arc hasn’t been this bad, I still don't get the appeal of JSA as a team. It's a bunch of nobodies with powers similar or identical to DC's big guns, and I understand that historically they might have been there first, but so what if they're not remotely interesting? There's about twenty characters on that team, and none of them have a lick of personality or some solid backstory going on. This book literally could have starred any other set of characters and it wouldn't make any difference. I guess to those already familiar with this team this might be a fun read, but I didn't know shit about any of them before ever reading JSA, and I still don't know shit about them after finishing volume 2. If there's one thing I learned about Geoff Johns after reading so many of his comics, it's that the guy absolutely can't write distinctive characters or develop them in any meaningful way. His go-to personality is always "angry mopey dude", be it Aquaman, Green Lantern or Batman (with one notable exception being his surprisingly decent Superman), and JSA is a whole team of those angry mopey dudes. What a novel idea. Gosh, maybe it's not okay that almost every time I finish a Geoff Johns book I want to never ever read anything he's ever written again?

Okay, rant over. This book is shit. Moving on.

[Molly™☺ · Rating 3 out of 5]

One where there is a lot going on, especially in relation to DC lore, which may make this somewhat inaccessible for casual fans. There are a lot of plot devices used here, from magic to science to time travel, and most seem to require long exposition dialogue boxes to truly follow. Whilst this method of story-telling is nothing new within the comic sphere, the engagement with the story is somewhat tarnished by bloated commentary and descriptions. However, when this lands, it really hits well, and it is a shame to have such a two sided experience with this colourful cast of characters.

[William Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

DC Comics weren't really my thing growing up. Aside from Batman, I 'made mine Marvel'. I would read Green Lantern and Aquaman sporadically, and until I was in my teens, didn't follow any of the series with much passion (all the Batman books being the exception). So my 8 year old self didn't fool around with much outside of the X books and the Avengers and Spider-Man.

I blame that on the art. I mean, when I got into comics, extremely young, Marvel had the best art bar none. Guys like Silvestri and McFarlane and Lee and Byrne and Adams. Back then, as an aspiring young artist, that meant the world to me. Looking back on it, most of that art dazzled me then, and falls extremely flat now. But that's how I got hooked on Marvel. I even followed most of those guys' books into the Image shitshow, but not for long.

So when I got a bit older, teen years and whatnot, I still read all of the Marvel books for the characters I loved, but got really into DC once Morrison started writing Justice League, and I fell into the darker Vertigo stuff for Ennis.

Anyway...

I guess really I just never cared about the JSA because I didn't know any of the characters growing up, and I always looked at them like the bush-league JLA. I guess I needed some time to grow up and into it, because I really love this book. That, I'm certain, has to do with the writing. Now that I'm older, I'm not as concerned with the art as I am with the script. And now that we are in a new Golden Age of comics (much the same as with current brilliant television series') I'm at a point where I feel spoiled for all the brilliant writing floating around out there. So when I try to go back to a time like this, around '99-2000 or so, I try to put things in perspective.

Here we have a revamping and re-forming of the Justice Society, and mostly these fest two volumes are a series of growing pains. It's mostly a 15 issue introduction to the team and a hodge podge of villains old and new. I feel like most any writer would struggle with this team dynamic and both Goyer and John's do. There just isn't enough screen time for some of the more minor characters like the Star-Spangled Kid. However, they try valiantly to use most everyone to the best of their abilities- but what we get is mostly a series of actions without much human drama. I guess that works for Morrison in his JLA, but here it doesn't. Here, we need more of a Wolfman/Perez Titans style of scripting. We need it to be more human, more interaction between the characters, and less aggressive with the action. Because these fools are just fighting nonstop the entire time. There is zero downtime and zero drama, which would've added so much to a book like this.

Art chores are handled well enough. Nothing spectacular here, but serviceable.

Writing: B
Art: B

[Jason Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story, even a bit dark at points. I wasn't quite expecting that. Not sure what I was expecting, though, to be honest. I started reading this series mainly to learn more about Stargirl, but I have quickly grown to appreciate most of the cast. They seem to come and go rather quickly, though, but I can't help but appreciate what each one brings to the table.

[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

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains JSA 6-15

We see Geoff Johns take James Robinson’s place as cowriter with David Goyer in this volume. It includes the Darkness Falls storyline, a story of temptation by evil, corruption, sins of the past, and, once again, legacy and parenthood.
It also includes one of my favorite single issue comic stories, Wild Hunt, in which Wildcat single-handedly staves off an invasion of JSA headquarters by the Injustice Society.
Then the JSA takes on Kobra and his cult; this storyline is essential to the eventual development of Atom Smasher, as it features the death of his mother and the extents he will go to prevent that.
Finally, Metron appears for a time travel adventure full of paradoxes and far-reaching consequences for the team.
This volume never stops moving at a near breakneck pace, building on the characters of its heroes as it goes, and throwing dozens of ideas at the readers without dropping the ball on any of them. A lot of the mythology that the remainder of the series will build on starts here, and it’s a damn fine collection of comics.

[Brad]

The JSA exists mainly to bring up weird old bits of DC continuity, and make them sensible, fun, threatening, or interesting. In a time when most trade paperbacks hold six issues, it only makes sense that this JSA book holds 9. This book references comics from the golden age of the 40s to the Zero Hour days of the 90s, and with aplomb.
The best story in the book is probably a single-issue story about Wildcat fighting an Injustice Society that breaks into the JSA headquarters. It’s great to see the non-powered JSA member punch out people who can fly and move the earth. The story at the end that ties all the issues together finds the JSA fighting Extant, the villain from Zero Hour. It’s a bit confusing (Stephen Sadowski has to draw a lot of swirling lines to represent the time stream), but a nice way to refute the crossover that sought to kill the JSA.
Other good moments:
-I like how Sadowski draws Atom Smasher when he yells—his mask can barely contain his mouth.
-Mr. Terrific really is a terrific character. Same with Doctor Mid-Nite.
-This version of Kobra is way better than the version in Greg Rucka’s Checkmate
Problems:
-I really don’t get Hourman at all
-Black Canary’s costume is at the time is bad. I mean, a lot of it isn’t even black.
-Who the heck is Mr. Bones?
-Why did Starman leave?
-I was impressed with Sadowski’s art, except that he can’t draw Metron (of the New Gods) at all.

[Robert Noll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geoff Johns is one of the best in the business and did some amazing stories in the Green Lantern universe. However, the JSA has too many characters (they only thinned the herd at the end), and the JSA is the "B-team." Johns' knack for complex, serialized storytelling is evident and he makes the most out a hand full of low cards. Full disclosure: I foolishly bought this book thinking it was the "JLA."

[roberto ortiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

En estos números la JSA se enfrenta a Black Adam, Obsidian, la Injustice Society, Kobra y Extant, salvando en casi todas las oportunidades a la Tierra, o a la realidad en sí misma. David Goyer junto con Geoff Johns despliegan historias con vértigo, divertidas y no se si es por estar leyéndolas de manera virtual que no las puedo soltar hasta saber como termina.
Sodowski, Buzz (muy buen dibujo) complementan narrando los viajes del grupo, el desarrollo de personajes está pero al ser tantos se va dejando conocer en cuentagotas sobrepasado por la acción.
La mejor época para leer grupos en DC, la JLA de Morrison y esta JSA de Goyer-Johns, quiero mas.

[Garrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series begins to hit its stride - again, taking into account this was a cutting edge and exciting way of bringing back the old and merging it with the new 20 years ago, in the wake of what was then the latest and greatest DCU timeline-fixing event. We have the intro of the new Dr. Mid-Nite here, Kobra, Black Adam, Obsidian and Extant (with Metron) coming out of the wake of Zero Hour still, some cool Atom Smasher and Wildcat moments, and the team beginning to become the insanely popular version that would come.

[Jack Cheng]

good character and concepts, clearly a monthly mainstream book writtenon deadline

[Bud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and the characters come alive and are so life like. Very well written with great artwork.

[Tyler Marsolais · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! It felt like a great cartoon!

[jess ⋆. ̊ · Rating 3 out of 5]

im not sure i like what that little "Al never mentioned it to me or the kids after that" line is implying but so many cute jsa team moments especially with courtney my daughter :>

[Kevin Findley · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this second volume, the JSA is trying to find its feet, forging three generations of heroes into a single team. It contained issues 6-15.

The first story, a single issue, brings back Black Adam into the DCU and sets up for his eventual membership on the team. It also explores Hawkgirl's background which ties her back into the reincarnation aspect of the Hawks. I'm still not a fan of that, as I felt Kendra should have stayed her own person.

The first storyline is the volume title, Darkness Falls. Here, Obsidian is corrupted by the influence of Ian Karkull. This is my least favorite of the tales, but it did introduce us to the new Doctor Mid-Nite, who has not been seen since his Matt Wagner penned mini-series from a few years earlier. The ending is not uplifting to say the least, but it sets up for a better story in a few years.

The next single episode I would give seven stars if it were possible. As noted elsewhere, Ted Grant is my favorite of the JSA and possibly in the entire DCU. He's got no powers, but still handles the entire Injustice Society with more intelligence than he is usually given credit for and puts the beatdown on multiple villains before Johnny Sorrow teleports everyone away. As a sidenote, we find out that he has a love of bad girls which includes Catwoman and the original Huntress. Gotta love this guy!

Next up is Kobra! The villain best known (up to this point) for a five-issue series in the 70s has returned and now leads a terrorist organization that would give SMERSH a run for its money. Just as the JSA is about to start tracking him down, the original Star-Spangled Kid shows up from the great beyond. Time Shenanigans are about to begin thanks to Extant! So in grand super-team fashion, the JSA splits up to deal with both missions.

Meanwhile, we discover that Atom-Smasher's mom was killed by Kobra and so most of the team heads to his hideout on Blackhawk Island. He is quickly brought down with assistance from Starman and Mr. Terrific, but that is almost a sidenote when it is discovered that the JSA has been a pawn of the Feds on this mission. This sets up a dozen or more plotlines that get dealt with over the next few years. The new Mr. Terrific, not seen since his debut in the pages of The Spectre, also joins the team with this issue. This guy is my favorite after Wildcat.

In case anyone hasn't noticed yet, Goyer and Johns came to play in this part of the DCU sandbox for a long time!

At the end of the Kobra storyline, Metron of the New Gods crashes Hourman's Time Ship on the roof of JSA HQ. Extant has beaten the team sent to deal with him and is about to rewrite reality. They win, of course, but the fallout causes several team members to leave. Others depart as well, some due to individual series ending and others just because the writers wanted to bring in more characters for even wilder storylines.

One final note, Jay Garrick gets to hand Metron his ego on a silver platter. One of the funniest moments I have ever read in over 50 years of collecting comics.

FIND IT! BUY IT! READ IT! NOW!

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 1 out of 5]

Had I read the previous JSA volume, JSA Vol. 1: Justice Be Done, before buying this one, I probably would have passed it by. As it was, I picked them both up from Half-Price Books, which should have given me something of a clue as to how much their previous owner enjoyed them. In my review of Justice Be Done, I laid the blame mostly on James Robinson, whose name is conspicuously absent from this volume, so I have to revise myself and look to David Goyer as the writer who created this mess.

And a right mess it is. Having just saved the universe from one of Dr. Fate's enemies, this time the big baddie is an Hourman arch-nemesis called Kobra who can be anywhere at anytime, and is looking to add omniscience and omnipotence to his omnipresence. In a way, the previous volume led to this, because with comics, as with soap operas, the next thing has to be bigger and badder than the last. All the same problems that existed in that volume are here in spades: characters that walk-on and -off with alacrity, instant accomodation to psyche-splitting events, references to characters and events that only the most scholarly of super-junkies could be assumed to remember.

The only redeeming value to this is the ending, where Goyer lets slip a little bit of revenge fantasy that is less typical of superhero stories. As one character says to the revenge-meister, "You may live to regret that," and that promise is the only reason why I'd be interested in the slightest in continuing to follow this series.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly the writing is a bit hokey in places and there's some rushed character development here and there, but seeing the weirder and more obscure nooks and cranies of the DC universe is a lot of fun, and the repoire between the team members does ultimately feel earned by the end. Tying in the events with earlier established continuity is a good choice and one I know pays off with what comes to be subtler and better storytelling in the future, still like any good team book Johns and Goyer know to give each character a moment to shine and be useful, which is pretty imporatant and all too often authors of these things work too hard to favor their personal character faves. In particular Alan Scott/Sentinal/Green Lantern, Doc Mid-Nite, Wildcat, and Mr. Terrific get some solid intros and moments of awesome. if anybody happens to wonder the ultimate fate of Extant from Zero Hour, this book answers that question and features a nice tribute to OG Mid-Nite, Atom, and Hourman. It may not be groundbreaking stuff but its well above par for your standard comic of the period and as stated very much ties in the idea of relationship and legacy that remains a theme and continues to be improved upon in the series. I even noticed a couple ideas thatve been borrowed by some tv shows subsequently to greater and lesser effect.

[Amber DiTullio · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is my wont, I was perusing the graphic novel shelves at my local library when I came across this one. I've been randomly working my way through various DC characters and right now, I'm enjoying quite a bit of the JSA.

I'm not sure where in the continuity this particular volume falls. But, like much of my reading, I've found that I don't much care. It's still a very enjoyable read that expands my knowledge of several more of my favorite characters.

This particular volume has two fairly distinct stories: Obsidian's fall into madness, followed by the fate of the universe being held in the JSA's hands. The two stories were linked through Al Rothstein, or Atom Smasher. And it is a wonderful set of stories.

The artwork was, as always, wonderful. And the writing was also top notch. I loved exploring the character of Atom Smasher and finding out more about Star Spangled Kid. Seeing the pain in Alan Scott (formerly Green Lantern, now going by Sentinel) was heartbreaking. And the resolution found at the end to deal with an almost omniscient character was pure brilliance. It was one of the better JSA stories that I've read.

[Mariano Hortal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Segundo volumen del que supuso el renacimiento de la JSA y la verdad es que la cosa tampoco remontaba en demasía. Este volumen incluía una primera parte con la lucha contra el hijo de Sentinel y tiene un deus ex machina muy sencillito como resolución. LA saga mal no está, pero le falta tensión.
Lo del fill in con Wildcat cargándose a toda la Injustice Society es de patio de colegio. Una tontería a la mayor gloria del boxeador que va cargándose uno a uno con artificios de lo más tonto. Es inverosímil, pero tiene su puntillo.
Lo mejor del volumen es la segunda parte, dos amenazas, dos divisiones del equipo, una de ellas en el tiempo y el espacio viajando en el barco temporal de Hourman. Esta sí mantiene la esencia superheroica y los cliffhangers están más logrados. Espero que siga por ahí.
Interesante, la aparición de dos nuevos protagonistas, Mr Terrific y Doctor Midnite. Aportarán mucho en el futuro sobre todo cuando desaparezca el rancio Goyer de los guiones.
Sadowski, como de costumbre, es buen dibujante... pero no le acabo de ver para este tipo de aventuras.

[Heath Lowrance · Rating 4 out of 5]

In reviewing the previous volume of this series, I mentioned that one of the JSA's strengths was it's strong sense of legacy. This second volume proves that strength was also the title's weakness-- I have a pretty good grasp on DC's long history, but there were a couple of points where I honestly had no idea what was going on. Goyer and Johns throw characters and histories at the reader like fast balls, and I couldn't catch all of them, unfortunately.

That's the only negative here, though. JSA continues to be a refreshingly exciting and unpretentious read, full of huge comic book ideas. Weird fringe-y science, sweeping fantasy, bizarre situations the characters accept as just being part of their odd four-color world. I'm really growing to love these characters and their easy comaraderie. Wildcat, in particular, stands out for me. The single issue in which he deals with the new Injustice Society on his own was probably my favorite chapter.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a daunting task if you are not a big DC Comics historian. It can be overwhelming. If you can power through that, there is a really terrific story with fantastic art. Readers who already know their DC history would love this I would assume. The drawbacks, of course, are the vast amount of characters and villains to keep track of. The stories in the trade are a few smaller storylines that come together to form one collection. My biggest beef with this isn't on the creative side. There are a ton of typos and no page breaks to let you know a particular story or issue is over. It isn't put together well but the overall enjoyment level of it is high.

[Drew Perron · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's weird. I read this back in the early-mid '00s and thought it was incredible - playing with legacy characters in a fascinating way while telling epic stories and juggling a big and diverse cast. But I come back to it now, and it just seems mediocre, with villains who are cliched, really interesting ideas done in a boring way (a universe rebooted to run on chaotic principles is just... Earth but with people in armor constantly fighting), and flat moral dilemmas. It's interesting how perspective changes things - and especially how, when you've seen an idea done really well, you can't go back to something that couldn't make the grade.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Black Adam story that kicks things off is a nice little action fest [7/10]. The Darkness Falls story that follows is equally nice, but a bit too decompressed [6/10]. The one-issue Wildcat issue is just a big fight, but a fun one that nicely shows off the character [7/10]. Things really get rolling with the Kobra/Extant stories. The Kobra one is quite good [7.5/10] and the Extant story that finishes off the volume tops it both in its sheer audacity and its emotional content for Al and for Coutney [8/10].

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is nice and the story was better than the book that came before. It's all part of the chess pieces coming together, I guess. Neat to see rising star Marcos Martin drawing this book, but I was surprised some obvious errors got published like the wrong arm or fist of Green Lantern (er, Sentinel, sorry) was highlighted with flame even though the Green Lantern ring was on the other hand.

[Nicholas Grugin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an ok trade. Obsidian goes kinda mad with power, his father Alan Scott stops him..and that's pretty much it. The other story in this book deals with Extant and the Worlogog and the JSA trying to defeat Hank Hall from trying to do what Parallax wanted to do in Zero Hour.

It's not a bad read but not a trade I am keeping

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Green Lantern's son, Obsiadian, has been seduced by the dark side and threatens drown New York city and everyone in it, in darkness, unless the JSA can stop him.
Big, city wide fight with lots of action. Good stuff.