Justice Society of America vol. 2: Long Live The JSA

by Geoff Johns, Mikel Janín (illustrator)

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

176 pages, Hardcover

Published February 18, 2025

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

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent conclusion to the series. Johns really understands and knows how to write the golden age and classic heroes. Hopefully we will see more from him.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6 stars

[Alek Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointed in how this played out. Everything after Issue 8 was a broad stroke narrative that was just wrapping up what was clearly meant to be a more drawn out and expansive story.

Whatever was supposed to be Red Lanterns story was cut off, along with Witch Girls, and Huntresses Instead the finale with Mordu and the Legion suddenly took over the book and rushed everything to a close. I really hate it when Johns starts a project lately and then cant close the story properly due to scheduling issues. He did it with "Doomsday Clock", "Magic Lands", and now his "JSA".

[Michael J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final issues of this series seem to try to cram in too much, as if a planned series was cut short and Johns was told to wrap it up. But, being as nostalgic as this book is, perhaps Johns had so much planned he just dumped it into the mixing pot. Note: I read this in the individual monthly issues.

So, end result is that while this is enjoyable it fails to go in depth into any of these characters and I don’t empathize with any of them. A great back-story for Helena Wayne (Huntress) then goes under-utilized. A revolving door of artists also didn’t help to give the book any consistency. The solo Janin issues are the most visually pleasing.

ISSUE #8 features more recruitment by Huntress. This time it’s Ruby Solo, the Russian daughter of the Red Lantern with the same fiery powers. Michael Mayne a.k.a. The Harlequin’s Son gets into a fight with the JSA in ISSUE #9 until The Legionnaire steps in and asks to join the JSA. He’s from the future and reveals himself to be Mordru, hoping the JSA can change his future and stop him from destroying the 31st Century.

Further recruitment in ISSUE #10 of The Gentleman Ghost results in the crystal ball being broken, releasing the imprisoned fire demon Surtur. The Legionnaire then kills Hawkman in order to transfer his life force into the Ghost so he can defeat Surtur. Huh? Doesn’t matter because Hawkman is immortal and reincorporated shortly after. Right before the JSA can induct Legionnaire into membership the League of Super-Heroes from the 31st Century shows up to demand his arrest.

A big fight between the two teams occurs in ISSUE #11, and then Doctor Fate (Khalid) shows up after he spent time in the 31st Century (another unexplored storyline) and claims there is a traitor in the JSA. Turns out to be the young female Wildcat, who is possessed by Eclipso, until the combined teams manage to trap him inside the Black Diamond.

ISSUE #12 is “Graduation Day”, a “feel-good” wrap up issue with lots of double-page poster-art. Usually, I appreciate Todd Nauck’s work, but his art is on the cartoonish side here. The series finally wraps up with a spotlight on Stargirl and her happy 25th anniversary. (Shouldn’t that be Starwoman by this point?)

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Джефф Джонс завжди мав особливий талант відроджувати й оновлювати якісь незвичні команди. Знову взявся за «Товариство Справедливості Америки» — команду, яку легко було б залишити на полицях історії коміксів, але яку він неодноразово виводив на перший план DC.

Перший том був своєрідним «прологом», де акценти розставлялися через подорожі у часі й розгалуження альтернативних майбутніх. Ми знайомилися з Гантрес — донькою Бетмена і Жінки-Кішки, яка прагнула врятувати спадок ТСА. Тут було багато епічних задумів: поява «втрачених дітей» (героїв, вирваних із минулих десятиліть), інтриги з лініями часу, натяки на формування молодої версії команди.

Другий том зробив те, чого бракувало першому: він змістив акцент із хронологічних ідей на персонажів. Втрачені діти повертаються у теперішнє, і ми отримуємо емоційні сцени возз’єднання з їхніми рідними — від радості до трагедії, адже вони не можуть повернутися в минуле. Сюжет із Рубі, донькою Червоного Ліхтаря, яка руйнує все на шляху пошуків батька, додає історії драматичності й водночас показує, як навіть найтемніші спадкоємці можуть отримати шанс на краще.

Читати цей цей комікс було досить захопливо. З одного боку, він дарує багато сильних моментів.
Але з іншого боку, через затримки (вихід серії розтягнувся майже на два роки) й прогалини в сюжеті (чи то в моїх знаннях) історія читалася уривчасто. А фінал виглядає пришвидшеним з надмірною кількістю сплеш-сторінок (подвійних розворотів).

Це не бездоганна, але важлива серія для Джеффа Джонса. Вона дарує емоційні моменти і стає щирим прощанням автора з командою, яку він зробив актуальною для XXI століття. Так, серія могла бути більш зосередженою й послідовною, та попри всі недоліки вона залишається любовним листом до Товариства Справедливості Америки. І читати було приємно і цікаво.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't really think the first volume needed a sequel, but here we are. It's not terrible, though it's certainly just as ancient-continuity-heavy as the first time around.

To wit, Huntress (in our time) demands that the JSA recruit villains because (in her time) they'll have joined the JSA (and maybe averted disaster or something, it's unclear). So, much of the book is about recruiting goofy villains the team even though it already has approximately 8,000 members, including all of Stargirl's lost sidekicks. On top of this, Doctor Fate is doing something with the 31st century folks and the Legionnaire (Murdu???). Confusion!

At least the art is terrific and Geoff John's simple storytelling style keeps things moving right along even as they make almost no sense. I dunno! Wouldn't recommend to anyone but the deepest fans, but again: wasn't terrible.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was so fun and way better than the first volume and like if the first volume was time travelling and trying to weave together an epic story this one is much more personal and takes it time trying to recruit different people like villains that Huntress had in her JSA team in the future because she believes in their redemption and I love it.

Its amazing how we see the team come together from the thing with Solomon Grundy and the Stargirl and the other lost children coming back and its emotional seeing their reunion and heartbreak for some as they can never go back to their previous time and Johns writes those scene really well like the reunion of Judy with her father Jay and then there's the thing with Ruby Sokov, Red Lantern's daughter and the thing with her vs Alan and how even he saves her and sort of redeems her is awesome and how its done is so good.

It builds upto how Mordru also returns albeit in a different way and I love how its connected to the previous Johns run on JSA clearly referencing the "Princes of darkness storyline" and the way this guy wants to change and then the LEGION showing up and their battle and then you find out who the villain is aka ECLIPSO and I love that twist and while reading it you will feel like the thing is being rushed and that it was meant to be a story arc.. you will get a feeling like that but the thing is Johns was ending his DC career for the moment and focusing on GHOST MACHINE, his imprint at Image and thats cool and still despite the fast pacing it works really well and you get some amazing art there and some good moments for the characters and resolution to a lot of stuff that he had been building.

The last issue is perhaps one of the greatest ones as you see it from Courtney's POV and you see her graduation and all the big JSA moments from her eyes and its awesome and its one splash page after the another referencing all the big JSA stories she was a part in and this run and more and its an amazing ending to Johns JSA and his time at DC and a great tribute to his sister an I LOVED IT. The art is just so good and its a standout.

Its a love letter to DC's first family and team and what Johns achieved making them an A-Level team is awesome and the way he explores characters and how them all coming together makes them better is awesome. Definitely read it and its a fitting end to Johns time at DC!

[Tony Laplume · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it’s easy to point to James Robinson’s Starman, or Mark Waid’s Flash as the runs that gave the modern era the idea of legacy, but…there’s Geoff Johns’ Stargirl, folks, not the idea of passing on a legacy, but the generational idea of it, which Johns nailed in a way no one else has. Jack Knight was Ted Knight’s son, sure, and Barry Allen was Wally West’s surrogate father, but Courtney Whitmore stumbled into becoming Stargirl, and had to contend with a legacy she had no clue about, forging her superhero identity out of whole cloth. When Johns realized it was definitively time to move on from DC, he circled back to the JSA, and began that journey with Courtney, and ends it with her. I could think of no better way to do it.

Long Live touches on the struggles of all the lost sidekick heroes, and…you can see how much more Johns had to explore, and that he intended to, then he reached the curveball, and realized his perfect ending was staring him in the face. By this point Johns was no longer the golden boy who helped steer the future of DC repeatedly. It didn’t really matter. Whether this project was envisioned as a farewell, doesn’t matter. In the final analysis, it’s yet another reminder that few writers ever loved DC’s mythos quite the way he does, and spent so much time and energy crafting love letters and looking for ways to expand it. After a quarter century, his legacy is undeniable.

Farewell. For now.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The read dates are off for this series that I read as digital floppies. There are two reasons why this series did not get a 4 star review despite how well it started out.

The last issue fell so flat is resembled the Coyote after an anvil had been dropped on it in the old cartoon.

It took two years for this series to get finished. If I had know that in advance I would have waited for the trades which would have made following the story and the reading experience better. I'd argue that no creative staff should take that long, and points to the publisher for wanting to let the original team start and finish instead of replacing them.

Despite the above I do wish Johns and DC had not come to a parting of the ways. I'll admit to being surprised that I've really enjoyed his creator owned work of late, an area, where I previously found him lacking. He laid a lot of groundwork for where both new and old characters would have gone.

The basic premise is a version of Huntress (Batman/Catwoman's daughter) thought lost to time is alive and trying to save JSA versions past, present and future. That part of the story is average. The work on characters such as Red Lantern, was for me fun.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geoff Johns brings his JSA run to a close (again), on a hopeful note that does what the JSA does best - look to the past and the future in a way that makes everything more valuable.

The kid sidekicks from Stargirl: The Lost Children fold nicely into the fray, while Huntress's future story comes to a satisfying (if a little rushed) conclusion. It's clear Johns had more to say here, but with his time now focused on Ghost Machine and DC wanting to make the JSA even more prominent again, it's time for him to close the door for now. Then again, I don't think Johns will ever be done with these characters in truth - the love he has for them always shines through, and I know he'll be back eventually.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. This reads like Geoff Johns had a 50-issue run planned and then was told he had to wrap it all up in 2 issues to coincide with the All-In initiative launching. The tension between Salem and Dr. Fate? Resolved for no reason. The big reveal of a secret evil and its subsequent destruction? All takes place in a 5-page span. Huntress’s displacement in time? Addressed as an afterthought. This sort of truncated nonsense is the result of poor planning and editorial shifts. What a waste of money and time. Do not bother with this garbage. Boooooooooooo!

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

See my review of the first volume of this book...
THIS?
This feels tacked on. If this was a surprise jump from DC, that would explain so much. A little more lore is given to the OG Green Lantern and Red Lantern history, but it's yet to be resolved. This volume, I'd say, revolves around Stargirl and closing the chapter of 'Lost Children' and her high school graduation.

Johns says goodbye to a character he piggybacked into the DCEU and drops the mic on his way out of DC.

[John Rudd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admittedly, I am a Johns fan, and he writes classic characters so well. while the book as a whole feels too fast, some of the better parts have time to linger. recruiting the ex-villians is given enough time to work. Finally, the Stargirl anniversary issue is great. What a good way to have the character speak to all the years with her. - 3.0 a good comics comic

[Sarospice · Rating 1 out of 5]

This ends with a #12 that is so pathetic. The non story ran out five issues ago by basically throwing every character from the JSA and the LEGION and all these annoying kid sidekicks to fight... Who knows what. It's such a mess.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last issue is like two pages of script and a bunch of splash pages. Kinda left a sour taste in my life. Stargirl gives a valedictorian speech and that’s it.

Felt like Johns wrapped it up in 11 issues but was contracted for one more and churned that out.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s messy but fun.

[Odo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.0

[Rodrigo Aram]

Muchos personajes. necesario tener una enciclopedia. momento brutal de Blackcat que desaparece al final. Que es el eclipse?

[Jack T · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 great 3 issues then johns just left and had to wrap.it up

[Andy Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something happened here were the story was not allowed to finish.
Are they just ignoring Bendis' Legion?

[Jesus Saldivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This JSA run is one of the biggest surprises of my reading list this year, i’m sold on this team!