JSA Omnibus Vol. 1

JSA: Omnibus, by Geoff Johns #1

by Geoff Johns (Writer), David S. Goyer (Co-Writer), James Robinson

Known for his groundbreaking work on Green Lantern, in 2000 Geoff Johns brought Justice Society of America characters rooted in the Golden Age of comics back to the forefront of comics.  Mixing younger, edgier characters with the elder statesmen of superheroes, Johns created an action-packed series with compelling storylines that are now collected here in the JSA Omnibus Vol. 1.

Collected here are JSA #6-28, JSA Annual #1, JSA Secret Files #2, JLA/JSA Virtue and Vice, JSA Our Worlds at War #1, JLA/JSA Secret Files #1, Secret Origins of Super-Villains 80-page Giant #1, JSA All Stars #1-8.

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

1224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2014

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

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Justice Society of America were the world’s first superhero group, predating the Justice League, Fantastic Four, Avengers, and X-Men, comprised of a variety of costumed WWII-era “mystery men” during the Golden Age of comic books. DC has always attempted to keep them relevant and, after the Crisis on Infinite Earths and Zero Hour, brought them into the modern DC continuity. This omnibus marks the beginning of the long and epic 2000’s run, reestablishing the Society after the Zero Hour crisis with a combination of classic heroes like Wildcat, the Jay Garrick Flash, Alan Scott Green Lantern, and Sandy the Golden Boy, and younger successors of the Golden Age mantles like the new Starman, Black Canary, Atom Smasher, and the new Hawkgirl and Mr. Terrific.



This series is commonly called “JSA by Geoff Johns” but that is not accurate because most of this series is written by James Robinson and David Goyer, along with Johns. There’s a lot of love in the writing for these characters and a focus on honor and legacy. The style and tone of the series is also very classic and nostalgic as well, sometimes heavy on narration and monologuing, and fights with uninteresting villains. Sometimes it didn’t feel cohesive enough for my taste as it feels like the creators are trying to find their footing, but there’s no denying the dedication here. This book even opens with a much-needed miniseries (told in a series of one-shots in the classic DC anthology magazines) introducing the classic JSA in a story that brings them deep into the WWII to fight a supernatural being with a mission to destroy all life. This story really lays a good foundation for what the original mission of the Society is about, before starting with the modern story. But sometimes the book doesn’t feel very exciting, and mostly a series of episodes where our heroes simply fight silly bad guys that want to end the world and then all the fighting comes to a stalemate at the end with the bad guy just running away.

It’s also interesting to see that the more involved Geoff Johns gets in the writing and creative decisions, the better the stories become. So by the time we get to the Thanagar storyline and the return of a major classic character, it all gets pretty good!

One big disappointment is the order mapping and design of the book, so many of the non-main series issues are included here in a terribly incorrect reading order, leading to a sometimes confusing read. Especially all of the material with the JLA at the end, like the JSA/JLA Secret Files one-shot and the Virtue and Vice miniseries should all be read much later. The Our Worlds at War tie-in one-shot makes no sense outside of the bigger DC crossover event and the The All-Stars miniseries should also be read sometime around issue 40 of the main series I think. I don’t know why most of these issues weren’t just included in the second omnibus volume, was it to just pad out this one?

Here are the stories included in this gigantic tome:

[Eastham Erik · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gigantic tome of JSA goodness. It took me awhile to have the guts to pull this behemoth off my shelf and give it a read, but once I did, I was very happy.

Geoff Johns get's the big writing credit for this omnibus, but in truth, he doesn't jump on until about two-thirds into the book.

JSA Vol. 1 starts with a lot of ideas with writers James Robinson & David Goyer. A seasoned comic reader can tell that the beginning of the series isn't well mapped, many issues just trying to figure out what characters they want to keep, bring in, and get rid of. Nonetheless, the end result is some fun base level comic reading.

Even for comic fans, many of the characters are unknown (some being new), and not much time is spent learning the characters as many of the first issues are none stop action. At times I found myself wanting the characters to just sit down and have dinner for a few issues . . . but that's my Image Comics side speaking up and I have to remind myself, this is DC.

Much of the story focuses on the new JSA members feeling a need honor the original JSA and the few original members feeling they have to pass to the torch. There's also undertones of the JSA trying to be heroes in the shadow of the JLA, which I truly enjoyed. In the end, the JSA comes out on the other side stronger in confidence with their place in a world filled with heroes. Vol. 2 and 3 are just as massive and I get the feeling that Vol. 1 is simply a prelude to great things to come.

I'm not positive on what issues this omnibus covers, the book itself doesn't tell the reader what issues they are reading and there's no list to be found in the book. I initially thought it was a complete omnibus, but occasionally, events will just happen and it feels like an issue is missing. For example, for much of the book, Sand is the chairman of the JSA, and then suddenly, it's the new Mr. Terrific. As such, there may be some holes, but I haven't put in the effort to determine if that is true.

A highlight of Vol 1 for me was the joint issues where the first half of the issue would be a story with the new character who has taken the mantle of his/her predecessor and the second half of the issue would be a new story taking place in the 30's/40's with the original character; the best IMO being the original Starman FBI Agent.

The overall art is mediocre IMO but there are some stand out issues. My favorite again being Tony Harris in the Starman FBI Agent throwback run off.

The bind of the book is strong. A big concern with these larger omnibus is the weight of the book ripping the bind throughout the read. Not the case here.

[Paganraul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Omnibus was hard to read at the begging but eventually it got better at first i needed to get used the the names even though i watched the Stargirl season 1 it still was a lot of new things to me it’s got emotional and funny parts definitely recommend it to anyone that wants to learn about the first generation of heroes!

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a single massive volume of JSA, I can say it's a thoroughly adequate, mostly enjoyable superhero series, but I don't quite get yet why DC felt like it deserved an omnibus. There isn't anything truly unique about this series yet outside of its opening storyline, which consequently was my favorite of the entire (again, enormous) book.

This kick-off storyline, "The JSA Returns," takes place during World War II, and sees the original Golden Age JSA heroes spread out across the various battlefields around the world in an attempt to defeat a mad god that wants to end all wars by eliminating humanity. Y'know, classic villain stuff. But the execution is exceptional, despite the fact that almost every issue is written by a different writer, and it really feels like an epic storyline set against a backdrop of the world at war.

This sets an unfortunate tone for the rest of the book, though, as everything that follows this storyline is set in the modern day and basically Justice League Lite. It's repetitive and lacking in character development. Tons of Big Bads show up, usually with the singleminded goal of wanting to destroy the JSA itself simply because, I don't know, they're bored? Then a big fight ensues, the JSA wins without facing any real consequences, rinse and repeat. Also, there are multiple story arcs that lead to the JSA being completely outmatched and overpowered, only to have them suddenly all magically just decide not to be outmatched and overpowered anymore, and pull a victory out of their collective ass (yes, they share an ass, it's weird).

One of the biggest flaws with these early (well, not that early, there's like 50 issues in here) stories is their lack of team dynamics. There's very little character development in the first place (you're kind of expected to already be an expert on all these C-Listers), and even beyond this, I don't really know how any team member feels about any other team member. Teammates join and leave at the drop of a hat, often without explanation. It's kind of chaotic and makes it very hard to care about these people. I'd love just, like, two issues where they tell us what any of these people want. Who are they? Why are they heroes? Give papa a taste!

Despite all of these complaints, I'm going to keep going with this series. Geoff Johns only takes over as lead writer toward the very end of this tome, and the character writing almost immediately gets better. I know his run on this series (which really starts in the second unforgivably large volume) was lauded at the time, and put him on everyone's radar as DC's go-to guy, so I'm definitely interested to see how it can evolve. This first book was not super thrilling, though.

[Lucas Savio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Foi uma surpresa negativa quando depois de todos os issues focando em cada personagem não me fez me interessar por nenhum a não ser pelo sentinela ou lanterna Alan mesmo aqui não abordando a sexualidade dele o fato de não me apegar fez eu correr com o omnibus na esperança de que geof jhons me entretenha e realmente os desenhos são lindos mas o roteiro arroz com feijão nada fora do clichê de super heroi então é isso, foi realmente uma surpresa para mim

[Derek Moreland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than the hernia this gave me picking it up, this is a fabulous collection.

[Markus Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depois de 8 meses eu finalmente consegui terminar esse busão. Esse está longe, bem longe, de ser meu formato preferido, mas foi o formato que a Panini escolheu pra relançar essa que é a obra-prima do Johns na DC. Mas verdade seja dita, não foi dele a ideia de relançar um título com a equipe mais antiga da editora das lendas. Foi James Robinson, que vinha de um trabalho maravilhoso em Starman quem teve essa missão, junto com o David Goyer. Mas ele só ficou o primeiro arco. A partir do segundo arco o Johns se juntou a equipe e o resto é história. Esse título vinha na esteira do sucesso de JLA, então é justo que o nome original do título seja JSA. O Robinson, e depois o Johns, fazem o que sabem fazer de melhor nos quadrinhos, que é trabalhar com o legado. Alguns dos membros originais da Sociedade, junto com outros membros novos, mas que carregam o manto de outros heróis se juntam pra formar essa equipe. E essa mescla se mostra muito positiva pro título. As histórias são marcantes. O grande destaque pra esse primeiro omnibus é o arco do retorno do Gavião Negro. Esse personagem foi um grande problema cronológico pra DC no pós-crise (e no pré-crise também). O Johns resolveu consertar ele e fez um trabalho muito bom aqui e no título solo do personagem. Além desse arco, tem algumas minis que não lembro de ter saído aqui no Brasil antes, além da excelente Vícios & Virtudes, o encontro com a Liga da Justiça. Mas o ponto negativo são os vários erros encontrados na edição, o que é inadmissível pra uma edição desse preço por uma editora que está há tanto tempo no mercado. E tem também uma coisinha que me deixou incomodado, que é a Panini chamar o Capitão Marvel de Shazam, sendo que nesse ponto ele ainda era conhecido pelo seu nome original. E isso não foi alterado retroativamente, ou seja, tudo aponta pra uma paninice. Apesar disso, a história é maravilhosa e estou ansioso pra ler a segunda parte.

[Nolan Gutenschwager · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 stars. Wow, I absolutely loved this omnibus, and am now a huge fan of the JSA. I enjoyed every part of this start to finish. The early part of the book (the flashback issues and first several of the new ongoing series) are primarily by James Robinson and David Goyer, and then Robinson leaves and Geoff Johns comes in for the remainder, with Goyer still on board. The art, mainly from Stephen Sadowski, is excellent, and usually when a new artist steps in they have a very similar style, so the art is very consistent. I really do not have much to nitpick other than the mapping gets a little weird at the very end, but even then, the stories are so good that I did not care.

This begins with some flashback, WWII era stories with the original JSA. I love that the issues had the throwback names, so All Star Comics, Sensation Comics, etc. The stories usually focus on two members of the JSA but they are all linked to some common villain that is trying to wipe out all humans as a means to eliminate all war. These were great stories and I like the older setting. This did a great job establishing who the original members were and some backstory on them, and very quickly I was invested in the whole team. Throughout the entire book there are just so many characters and somehow most of them get their time to shine and I grow to care about all of them. I think the flashback stories here had Jay Garrick Flash, Alan Scott Green Lantern, Wildcat, Dr. Fate, Starman, Johnny Thunder, the original Atom, Wonder Woman (who is revealed as being Hippolyta, not Diana), Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Sandman, Dr. Occult, Hourman, Dr. Mid-Nite, Star Spangled Kid, the original Mr. Terrific, and maybe some others that I missed! So many characters, and that is part of the charm of this book.

Then the book shifts to the present day with the new ongoing series and this is following the events of Zero Hour. Some original members were just killed, some are still alive, others died outside of Zero Hour, and some are actually retired. But now there is this new age of heroes stepping up and filling some of those shoes. It is a little difficult explaining how some of these original members are still active after all these years but at least the book tries, although some of it I was trying to look up. Alan Scott has some Starheart power he is harnessing that explains a lot, and I think that was applying to some of the others? Regardless, I try not to worry about that too much, because the dynamic between the original members and the new ones is great.

So throughout the book we get introduced to the new heroes. There is Sand, who is actually an original member (Sandy, was the sidekick to Wesley Dodds Sandman), but he was in suspended animation for a long time so he is still pretty young. Then there is Stargirl, Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt), Atom Smasher (godson I think to the original Atom), a new Starman (I think the son to the original), Black Canary (daughter to the original), and I am sure some others I am leaving out. A new Dr. Fate takes over from Kent Nelson, so this one is Hector Hall, who is the son of Hawman and Hawkgirl. We get introduced to a new Hawkgirl, this one being Kendra Saunders. She has a lot of development, as basically the original Hawkgirl Shiera Hall's spirit is now in her? The book definitely acknowledges how convoluted her backstory is. Shiera's memories start appearing for Kendra and she struggles to come to terms that she is no longer Kendra basically. Eventually Hawkman comes back, where once again they acknowledge the mess that is his backstory, trying to combine the old archaeologist background with the Thanagarian space cop one. There's now a new Dr. Mid-Nite, whose life was saved by the original I think. There's also a new Hourman, who is some future android that has the memories of the original Hourman.

It is a little hard to recall everything from this book because there are so many characters and a number of storylines. There's a good story with the JSA going against Obsidian, who is Alan Scott's son and has some darkness powers. Alan Scott goes by Sentinel now, and there are several times throughout the book where they acknowledge that he is super powerful. I like that Alan is flawed and he has this strained relationship with his kids. Then there is quite a bit of time devoted to Johnny Sorrow and the Injustice Society. Sorrow seems to be the most recurring villain and is pretty neat, when he removes his mask and you look at him it is devastating. There is then the Hawkman returns arc where they go and retrieve Hawkman. He has all his memories with Shiera but she only has some so there is some conflict there, he can't just treat her like he normally would.

After these main arcs is when the mapping gets a little weird and it is clearly jumping ahead in time because some characters are gone or there are some new ones we haven't been introduced to. For instance, Mr. Terrific seems to be leading the JSA now when it had been Sand. There is now a new Hourman that is not the android. Regardless, these stories were great. There is an Our Worlds At War crossover that although I had no context for, it was fun. Then there is the JLA / JSA Virtue and Vice crossover and that is so much fun. Love seeing the two teams interact, and how the JLA in a lot of ways looks up to the JSA. Then we get the JSA All Stars stories, which was a fun format. It would be a modern day story with a JSA member trying to overcome something that weighs on their mind and then a story with their golden age counterpart. This tied into the story where the original JSA members were captured and only the new, legacy heroes remained. And with this story, and it might have been elsewhere too, we get appearances from the Spectre! I love seeing the Spectre appear. He is so mysterious and every time he shows up it just feels important and that something is going down.

This book is just awesome. So much going on and a lot to keep track of. So many little things add up that enhance this. For instance, Extant appears early on, so it was good to see he was not one and done after Zero Hour. The JSA builds their new HQ where Wesley Dodds used to live, and it just seems like such a cool HQ. It doubles as a museum, and the team is all about their history and legacy. I absolutely love the shots of the team sitting at the table, just like the classic cover from their first appearance. This story introduces so many characters, some from the past and some from the present, and explains who they all are. The team always has this theme of legacy. The original members have to wrestle with why they still do this, and the new members struggle with living up to the legacy of their original counterparts. Just an absolutely incredible book.

[OmniBen · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Zero spoiler review) 2.75/5
I've always been wary of team books, and with good reason. The usual superhero tropes seemed to be spinal tapped up to 11 when collecting any number of these costumed crusaders together and unfortunately, JSA omnibus volume one is no exception.
To start with the positives, because there aren't too many, the art was consistently strong throughout the book, despite the frequent artist changes across its 1200+ page run. An even bigger feather in the cap of this collection though, is despite the revolving door of artists, you couldn't really tell, unless you devoted considerable time to the minutest details. Whether this was down to editorial selecting similar artists across the run, or a small group of inkers doing their darndest to keep it all looking uniform, it was a rare highlight amongst some pretty piss poor storytelling.
And onto the piss poor storytelling. I've lamented enough on here that a certain type of superhero story, or narrative method has never been, nor will never be to my liking. Unfortunately, the further I delve into Geoff Johns' work, it looks like he embodies this storytelling. A fact that will no doubt prevent me from enjoying his vast body of work, and make a number of those unread omni's I have on my shelf soon searching for another home.
What you get here is almost all action, with little to no set-up, character development or quiet reflection in between arcs. At one point, after dispatching a poorly introduced and utilised cosmic threat at the end of one issue, four pages into the next, another generic cosmic villain had appeared, and they start beating the shit out of each other again. This was repeated ad-nauseum throughout the book, and I was well and truly over it long before the end. James Robinson and the other author did a much better job before John's came along, even if the golden age story arc wasn't really my cup of tea. But as soon as John's gets on the book, the storytelling drops off a cliff, and the mindless punching commences. I understand there will be a number of people for whom mindless action is like a clarion call to their ears, lamenting even a moment spent on such unnecessary things like plot, characterisation or proper pacing, but I am certainly not one of them. Not only that, but I couldn't even tell half the characters from each other half the time. That, and the lineup changed with almost every issue, without adequate explanation as to how and why. It was boring, bog standard superhero fare for the most part. Maybe John's should read Claremont's run on Uncanny X-men to see how a long running team book is done right, because this sure ain't it.
You would have been looking at two stars if it wasn't for the last hundred plus pages where the nonsense all but stopped, and we got shorter one shots, looking at individual characters. These were infinitely more interesting and enjoyable than anything that came before it, and the only reason I'm not currently considering selling the series. Whenever I get round to reading book two, it better not be more of the same. 2.75/5


OmniBen.

[Paul Cocker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grabbed JSA Omnibus Volume 1 because I’ve always had a soft spot for the Golden Age heroes. I remembered how much I loved JSA: The Golden Age by James Robinson and Paul Smith — that Elseworlds series about 1950s McCarthyism and aging superheroes. I figured JSA might offer something similar: a tribute to the past, or maybe a modern look at how old-school ideals hold up in today’s world. Either way, that idea hooked me.

This omnibus collects a ton of material: JSA #1–25, JLA/JSA: Virtue and Vice, JSA All-Stars #1–8, a few Secret Files specials, and the Justice Society Returns crossover with Golden Age-flavored one-shots. It’s over 1200 pages of comics — basically the relaunch of the JSA for a new generation, with a core theme of legacy running through the whole thing.

JSA started under James Robinson and David Goyer, two writers with a clear love for the Golden Age. By issue #6, Geoff Johns stepped in as a key voice, teaming with Goyer for a stretch that helped maintain a smooth transition in plot and storytelling. Johns quickly set the tone, making these classic heroes feel vital again — not by darkening them, but by sharpening their legacy. Veterans like Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, and Wildcat stood tall, guiding a new generation that included Stargirl, Atom Smasher, and a brand-new Hourman.

The stories blend classic superhero action with character-driven plots: murders of Golden Age heroes, the rebirth of Hawkman, the rise of new villains like Johnny Sorrow. There's even a big crossover with the JLA in Virtue and Vice that's a real highlight. It's a reminder that, for all the newer teams like the Titans and Outsiders, this was the team that started it all.

The art throughout is solid and suits the late '90s/early 2000s vibe perfectly. Stephen Sadowski handles the bulk of the work early on, with contributions from Rags Morales, Darwyn Cooke, and others. It has that "clean superhero" look that feels just slightly retro without being dated.

If you love the idea of generational storytelling — honoring the past while passing the torch to the future — this series nails it. It’s not just nostalgia for the sake of it. It’s about what these characters mean and how those ideas can evolve without losing their heart.

I’m only partway through this omnibus so far, but I already know I’ll be picking up Volumes 2 and 3. JSA Omnibus Volume 1 is a love letter to superhero tradition — full of action, heart, and respect for the heroes who started it all.

[Clay Bartel · Rating 4 out of 5]

At over 1200 pages and some 60ish issues this is by far the largest Omnibus I've ever read.

My motivation for reading the JSA was largely an interest and curiosity I'd develop from reading tiny appearances by the character Hourman in other books I owned. Also Power Girl rolls with the JSA and I'm a big fan of hers.

Unfortunately PG doesn't make much of a showing, at least not here in Volume 1.

Hourman was fun as are characters like Doctor Mid-nite, The Spectre, Stargirl, Sandman, and Sentinel--who I distinctly remember reading for the first time in The Final Night because he comments that he has a weakness to wood. This is used as a major factor throughout JSA stories... now why rock in the form of Kryptonite is acceptable as Superman's weakness but wood as Sentinel's weakness struck me as funny, I dunno, after all Dracula is only killed by a wooden stake, and I never thought that as odd.

Okay so this huge volume starts with issues labelled as JSA Return issues, and while the concept should be really cool, it amounts to a bunch of single story freak of the week type issues low on story and heavy on punching, along with art stylized from the 40s. So not a great start.

A big chunk of the book focuses on a villian named Sorrow.

The last quarter of the Omnibus gets more interesting when a villian named Legacy captures some of the JSA and challenges the rest to revisit past pains. Which leads to each character visiting their pasts traumas, the Spectre opens each of these stories up.

There was also a story with a team up of the JSA and the JL.

My biggest complaint is that things feel disjointed and that this would have really benefitted from more planning and arcs for the characters. Like a main story that we follow from beginning to end and some smaller ones, with each issue building towards these major plot points...

Of course some of that happens but over all not enough for thought put forth.

Having said all that and dispite some flaws the JSA are fun to read and made me immediately wanna see if I could find JSA Omnibus Volume 2 ... unfortunately so far I've only found one copy and it's nearly $300 CAD. Not good value at all.

So my hunt is on to continue this JSA journey.

I'd rate the first half around a 3 and the last quarter a 5... so I'll give this book a 4 star rating!

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5

Man, I was pretty excited to read this omnibus for a while and it didn't live up to the hype. Maybe it gets better in the new two omnis, but I need some time with other books before I get to them.
I heard great things about this run and while there are elements I enjoyed, it didn't hit the mark I was expecting.
It's hard to go into team books because you have to commit to a book where the writer handles so many different characters and sometimes they nail it (like The Authority by Ellis), but often it feels like a mess. This book swayed more towards the mess, in my opinion.
I'm one of the few that did seem to enjoy some of the (very) small character development throughout the book, but damn did it need more of it. Often, you had the JSA go into one huge battle that could end the world, to another. Everything always felt like "Kill or Be Killed" and it took away quiet moments we could've had with some truly badass characters. Also, how many times do we need to be reminded that the JSA inspires people? Like come on now.

The props that I will give have to do with the art, the first dozen issues were good, and the JSA has some sick heroes that this book helps you find out about. Sand, Dr. Fate, Wildcat, and Dr. Midnite, and Hourman were my favorites to read about.
Is this book terrible? I don't think so, but I'd make sure your expectations aren't too high when picking this up if you are looking for something other than battle after battle comics.

[Shannon Schmelzle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It kills me that I can't give this more than three stars. The problem wasn't the content, per say, but whomever mapped out this collection. JSA 1-25 remain a pretty solid read and a lot of fun. But then we've got a JLA/JSA crossover that clearly takes place far into the future. The fun of the series is mixed with a lot of confusion. Suddenly there is a different leader. There are a bunch of new team members, one of which I think we might have thought was dead at this time. It's really annoying. Then they finish it off with an 8 Part, JSA: All Stars mini, which, for my money, is the worst thing in this whole book. It's just a dud of a story.

So 2/3rds of this books is pretty darn great, then it gets confusing, then it gets not that good. They should have mixed this stuff into the second omnibus and I think it would have been a better reading experience. As it stands, it starts with a bang and ends with a real whimper.

[Joe Scotting · Rating 3 out of 5]

JSA is a fun modernisation and continuation of the pioneering capes from WW2.

it does a great job introducing the crew both old and new and has some fun, creative villains and action. I especially enjoyed how they handled the Black Adam fight by using everyone's unique abilities in one issue.

While the action is inventive and character interactions fun, I found the art rather uninspired and character moments of having 1940s heroes interact with an early 2000s world. It would have been interesting to explore a culture clash there.

Additionally, it could've done with more of an embrace of its golden age roots. It never quite becomes a campy romp, and it doesn't quite become a dark, gritty modern rendition either. It becomes a strange hybrid.

[Andrew Seaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying this: This is not Geoff Johns' run on JSA. And I mean two things by this.

1. This is David Goyer's run on JSA. Geoff started co-plotting with him in the last quarter or so, right around the JSA/JLA Secret Origins issue, maybe a handful prior.
2. This isn't a JSA run, it's more of a ramp-up to a JSA run that begins after the conclusion of this book.

And none of that matters because my gosh is it a fun ride. With what felt like strong allusions to several aspects of Watchmen, this book is all about legacy: Taking the banner of a super hero team from decades ago and translating it to modern day. Just as Alan Moore took obscure and long-shelved Charlton characters to deconstruct superhero comics, Goyer along with James Robinson took characters like the Star Spangled Kid and Sandman and wrote modern iterations about them.

Basically, think Minutemen --> Crimebusters.

I likely won't continue into volumes 2 or 3, but if you love comic legacies, tons of action and countless team-ups, you'll love this.

[Peter Van Der Raaij · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a large omnibus, with well over 1000 pages. So it is a long read and has many storylines in it, The first storyline is really the lead up to Geoff John’s run, with issues focusing on different heroes and leading to the reformation of the JSA. There are a mix of new, younger, legacy heroes and old timers. For me the book really starts to get good with John’s stuff.

the last story in the book revolves around a villain called Legacy. The first and last issues, focusing on the fight with Legacy were not super but really just a setup to allow several issues focusing on the legacy heroes and a bit of their backstory. They were good stories, the Legacy villain not so much.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first arc collected here, mostly written by James Robinson and David Goyer and collected elsewhere as Justice Be Done, is fantastic. Highly recommended, especially to Golden Age fans.

The rest of the book is extremely Meh. Characterisation is extremely thin. Characters come and go for the slightest of reasons. There's almost no connective tissue between storylines.

The art is mostly very good, but overall I can't recommend the book.

[Will McClintock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoying Geoff Johns run on the JSA. Really glad I read a lot of this before watching the Black Adam movie. It’s nice getting an idea of the characters before seeing them on the big screen. Can’t wait to read the 2nd omnibus sometime. Super fun read. Can’t wait to read more. Love almost anything Johns puts out.

[Batusi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seamlessly blends legacy and modern characters, injecting charm into the familiar superhero narrative.

The stories weave together iconic heroes across generations to face a variety of threats.

While it never reaches the pinnacle of comic greatness, the volume maintains a consistent level of entertainment making it a worthwhile read for fans of superhero sagas.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was wonderful to revisit this series in its first omnibus. Great storytelling, reinventions of classic characters and careful bringing together the last and present of comic books into one series. A stellar series.

[Scott Waldie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorite pure superhero titles.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genial, me ha encantado como va poco a poco cogiendo el rollo legado y jugando con el hasta hacer un juego de metacomic en el último arco. Deseando coger el. Siguiente.

[Gabriel Kalb · Rating 3 out of 5]

gostei, bem leve e tranquilo de ler. bom pra desligar o cerebro.
destaque é o inicio do james robinson e a parte final mto legal tb, de resto é o OK de super heroi q eu gosto.

[Chase Siegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off slow but the second half was great. Slight fall off on the last ~200 pages

[Rj Veit · Rating 5 out of 5]

The past month or so I've been trying to read more DC. I've always been a big marvel fan and never delved all that much into the other side. I've been reading some really good stories so far, but this book I feel is special. Not only does this book have things that I've always liked about DC, but it also showed me new ones. This to me is what makes DC comics unique, some of the things in this book are DC's heart in a sense. I see the love put in this book as with others John's works and it makes me care and fall in love with these stories+characters. I leave this book asking questions and wanting to know more about the characters introduced, which is what I always look for. This delves me deeper into my unfamiliar waters. I have such a interest to learn more about all these guys. So anybody looking for their next book, doesn't matter what preference of publisher or anything other restrictions they limit themselves by this book should be read by all. Also Mathew Tyler the time ship everyday all day!!!!!!!!!!!

[Matthew Noe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is as perfect as a comic book run can get.

[Thomas Maluck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at No Flying, No Tights: http://noflyingnotights.com/2015/03/0...