JSA: the Golden Age

by James A. Robinson, Paul Smith (Illustrator)

Critically acclaimed author James Robinson's book THE GOLDEN AGE is printed in a new edition!

Presenting the thought-provoking alternate comic book-history tale of the Justice Society of America in a new edition. The JSA, the heroes of WWII, find themselves face to face with a new kind of oppression in "McCarthy Era" America!

Some of the greatest heroes of the 1940s, including the original Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman and Starman, among others, return in this epic tale. The story follows their postwar adventures as they battle evil in a world they fear may no longer need them. And as their importance wanes, a new hero, Dynaman, rallies the nation behind a fascist agenda... Collects THE GOLDEN AGE #1-4.

Genres: Comics

200 pages, Paperback

Published July 2, 2024

About the author

James A. Robinson (born 1960) is a British economist and political scientist.

He is David Florence Professor of Government at Harvard University and a faculty associate at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He studied economics at the London School of Economics, the University of Warwick and Yale University. He previously taught in the Department of Economics at the University of Melbourne, the University of Southern California and before moving to Harvard was a Professor in the Departments of Economics and Political Science at the University of California at Berkeley. His main research interests are in comparative economic and political development with a focus on the long-run with a particular interest in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. He is currently conducting research in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Haiti and in Colombia where he has taught for many years during the summer at the University of the Andes in Bogotá.

Reviews

[Richard Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Elseworlds story that would go on to inform the ongoing JSA series James Robinson helped launch a couple years later. But unlike that wonderful ongoing series, this one suffers from a post-Watchmen, post-DKR “comics must be grim to be taken seriously” syndrome. So instead of being an homage to the idealistic Golden Age, it feels more concerned with showing us that the Golden Age was just as gritty and violent as any other era. That tendency bugs me. So while this was an okay story, I certainly can’t say I love it.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the story but it was hard keeping up with the characters because they weren't distinctive enough in their looks. Smith is a great artist but it was still difficult just to remember everyone.

The Hitler thing was a bit much.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kiedy znajomy, który normalnie nie pożycza komukolwiek swoich ulubionych pozycji z prywatnego zbioru, z szelmowskim uśmieszkiem zaproponował mi "użyczenie" tego tytułu, z adnotacją: "że mogę się nie śpieszyć z oddaniem" tak już przeczuwałem, iż coś może być nie tak...

Choć komiks ma tylko dwieście stron, to już dawno nie męczyłem się z tak małym formatem. Przegadany, przekombinowany, bo widać że Robinson próbował stylizować się na "Strażników" Moore'a. Częściowo mu wyszło, bo taki swoisty vibe tu jest, jednak nic poza tym.

Najfajniej z tej ferajny wypada Green Lantern, wraz z oldskulowym pierścieniem. Atom, Robotman Hawkman czy Starman to smaczki, które pozostają w sferze ciekawostek. Zamysł na zagrożenie z "wewnątrz" był niezły, ale wyszło to wtórnie. A początek był niezły. II wojna światowa i konieczność odnalezienia swojego miejsca bez krycia swojej tożsamości.

Nawet w kulminacyjnym momencie walk jest jak na lekarstwo, są słabe i wtórne. Zaskoczyć może jednak obecność "fuhrera", to trzeba przyznać, że wyszło nieźle. "Złota era" to próba stworzenia tytułu, który dołączy do grona klasyków gatunku, ale gubi po drodze z byt wiele, aby w pełni na to zasłużyć. Dla wytrwałych.

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goddam, why is this not talked about more? This is an incredible story and I am a sucker for reinterpretations of wartime golden-age superheroes in a more modern setting. I find them incredibly interesting examinations of what it means to be a hero after such dire times and adjust what the role now means in the hope of a better tomorrow. And seeing how all these characters adjust to their post-war lives is fascinating and seeing this range of responses from addiction to their hero persona to self-loathing to this sense of complete and utter loss is presented so well. It has to juggle so many characters to do this and yet it does a fascinating job with all of them. And how it deals with the rise of fascism in America whilst at times blunt is still incredibly interesting and how these totalitarians try to take back the figure of the superhero is really interesting. In terms of superhero examinations, this is on par if not better than Watchmen again why is this not talked about more?
The only critique I have is the ending feels a little bit rushed I would have liked a bit longer to explore some of characters more. But that really is a minor complaint compared to everything that is outstanding in this book. 9/10

[Valerio Pastore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Va detto: se volete apprezzare al meglio questo splendido albo, dovete farvi un corso accelerato di Golden Age, dovete conoscere in modo sufficiente quell'epoca d'oro del fumetto supereroistico per potere cogliere riferimenti, easter eggs, capire caratterizzazioni, scelte dei personaggi...
Quindi, sì, questa opera a metà tra il fumetto ed il romanzo illustrato non è affatto facile, ma documentarsi un po' prima intrattiene quanto leggere il lavoro compiuto.
Occhio, quanto appena detto non è indispensabile, TGA si regge benissimo sui suoi piedi, ma un po' di cultura in più male non fa.
Se volete provarci, ecco il link ad un sito che riesce a mettere insieme un grande talento di ricerca ed un pizzico di umorismo
https://comicsarcheology.com/

[Jim Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #29 of 2023: A revisionist story of DC’s Golden Age heroes that manages to (mostly) add to the mythology of the classic characters. James Robinson handles these characters so well, and Paul Smith’s art is bright and beautiful. The story suffers at times from too many characters, and I found myself wanting more of certain Golden Age heroes (Jay Garrick’s the Flash, Dr. Fate, for example). But this is an enjoyable “alternate universe” story that captures the nostalgia of the Golden Age.

[Sohrab Rezvan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read any JSA books before, so this book was not friendly to the uninitiated. Some characters were certainly recognizable, but the story was hard to follow at times because of the lack of context. I also found some of the page flows to be confusing. Decent story arc overall.

[Mariano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente, un clásico que debería tenerse más en cuenta.