JSA Vol. 3: Year One

by Jeff Lemire, Gavin Guidry (Illustrator)

“Their many imperfections are what will bind them together. They don’t see it yet, but none of them are alone. Soon they will be drawn together by tragedy. And from that will emerge a great force. An alliance of men and women unlike any history has ever seen.” Travel back to 1940 and the formation of the world’s first super-team as writer Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth, Absolute Flash) and artist Gavin Guidry (The Flash, Superman ’78:The Metal Curtain) explore the first days of the Justice Society of America! Collects JSA #13-18.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics

144 pages, Paperback

Published August 11, 2026

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[Tim]

A bit uneven, but that does mean there are some high points. Animosity was rampant at the beginning for the JSA, apparently, but we all knew where it was going to end. Overall, it was fine.

[Chris Lemmerman]

Did we need another JSA origin? I don't think we did. I think that's what mars this third arc of Jeff Lemire's JSA - it feels unnecessary. If he had something exciting to add to the formation of the team, then perhaps I'd have something more to say, but this is a fairly by the numbers way of bringing the team together to face off against some familiar faces.

After the first twelve issues were so good, I had high hopes moving forward, but with this arc being almost entirely told in flashbacks and the revelation that the next arc is the last one, I'm disappointed. There's nothing wrong with this, but it feels very much like page space we could have used for other things for this team.

[Ian]

Masterfully done. Jeff Lemire writes a picture perfect retelling of the formation of the JSA in the ‘40s. Seeing all these classic heroes come together in their element is incredibly satisfying. Gavin Guidry’s art is a great match for the tone.

[Dave]

Holy crap was this fun. The JSA is one of my favorite super teams and it was a blast revisiting their origin. The art was crisp and clean, the character voices were great, and the story had a ton of momentum. I would love a series of 1940s set JSA adventures.

[Ross]

Hey! Look!
It's the 85th retelling of the JSA origin...

Nothing new. No bold spin on a classic story. I guess when you're around this long, your audience changes every 2 or 3 years (or you have nothing original to say)

[Frankie]

Great Scott! A group of mystery men team up to face the evils of 1940s fascism!! A bit disassembled to start, characterizations can be lacking but oh boy gee wiz it's the 1940s!!