The Justice Society Returns

JSA (1999)

by James Robinson, Russ Heath (Penciller), David S. Goyer

Looking to conjure up a demon to aid them in World War II, a group of Nazi spies accidentally release Stalker, a being of immense power who is obsessed with destroying all life. Quickly mobilizing, the Justice Society of America splits up into small teams in order to thwart the evil missions of the villain's disciples across the globe. But after successfully defeating a crazed, homicidal mob and saving the lives of FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, the JSA are still unable to take down Stalker. Now with their numbers depleted, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Sandman, Starman and the rest of the JSA fight one last battle for the fate of the world.

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

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

James Dale Robinson is a British writer of American comic books and screenplays.

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story that returns the much abused and neglected JSA back to its glory.
There's a big epic book end adventure with a bunch of smaller team up stories in between.
Lots of great team ups, character moments and classic artists come together to tell a great old fashion super hero story with a few 'fixes' of comic history and hints of things to come.

This is how you mix old school and modern story telling and should be required reading if you want to write a super hero epic.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very unique story, but it wasn't at all what I expected it to be.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good replica of Golden Age stories, with bigger and more craftsman-like art, broader and more meaningful stories, yet still that innocent energy of the early days of serial art.

[Eric Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this! Golden Age heroes are written by modern writers, and it works really well as an introduction to the JSA.

Any time you get classic heroes written with modern sensibilities and a respect for the characters, it's something special.
Set during WW II, this shows the JSA at the height of their powers. The plot is set up in a single issue, and then the team is split up into groups of two, which allowed for a ton of small adventures and a closer look at all the team members. I especially loved the Atom/Starman, Flash/Mr. Terrific and Dr. Midnite/Hourman issues.

While Geoff Johns is lauded for his JSA run, you have to hand it to James Robinson and David Goyer for starting him off on the right path.

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another throwback to the late 90's and some comics I bought off the newsstand. With the success of Starman and the launch of Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. the time was right for the JSA to return but before launching the ongoing series this special event revealed an untold tale of the Golden Age, reminding readers of the glory days of the Justice Society while setting the stage for the modern version.

A crack team of some of the best creators in the biz followed the basic format of classic JSA tales where the team would be introduced to a dire threat, split up to tackle smaller chunks, before re-gathering for an exciting finish. The difference here was instead of doing that all in the span of one issue each chapter was given a full issue emblazoned with a title from DC's 1940's output.

I was already a fan of the JSA when this came out and it still thrills me to read it again all these years later.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, old-style tale of the JSA in 1943, fighting Stalker (!?!?). That was unexpected. Loved seeing the Society split into small teams and the one shots named for classic DC anthology mags.

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. (Collect them all!)

From the May 1999 edition with a theme of "DC Rules!":

INTRODUCTION

DC rules! DC rocks!
Marvel fans can chew my socks!

EVENTS WORTHY OF THE NAME

THE KINGDOM #1-2 (DC Comics)
THE KINGDOM: SON OF THE BAT #1 (DC Comics)
THE KINGDOM: NIGHTSTAR #1 (DC Comics)
THE KINGDOM: OFFSPRING #1 (DC Comics)
THE KINGDOM: KID FLASH #1 (DC Comics)
THE KINGDOM: PLANET KRYPTON #1 (DC Comics)
ALL STAR COMICS #1-2 (DC Comics)
ADVENTURE COMICS #1 (DC Comics)
ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #1 (DC Comics)
NATIONAL COMICS #1 (DC Comics)
SENSATION COMICS #1 (DC Comics)
SMASH COMICS #1 (DC Comics)
STAR SPANGLED COMICS #1 (DC Comics)
THRILLING COMICS #1 (DC Comics)

Once a quarter I look forward to DCs newest "Event Week." It's a week when no regular titles are scheduled to ship. To fill the gap, DC has given creators the chance to put out six to ten comics all related to a new concept or a title relaunch. "Tangent Comics," "Girl Frenzy," and "New Year's Evil" have all been fine efforts but the most recent two events have been the best.

THE KINGDOM allowed writer Mark Waid to bring the Elseworlds alternate future of the KINGDOM COME limited series that he created with painter Alex Ross into contact with the regular continuity of the DC Universe. Though THE KINGDOM did not have Alex Ross handling the art chores, it did have Hypertime -- the theory of interwoven and diverging timelines which effectively restores the DC Multiverse. With Hypertime, all stories ever told in a DC Comic have happened in continuity. To find a world where Hal Jordan is still Green Lantern, you simply need to find the right branch of time. Those old ridiculous super-ape stories that littered the DC Universe of the Sixties happened, but in a diverging timeline that no longer intersects the timeline of the main DC Universe. So even if particular stories are not official parts of the current timestream, they still happened and are out there somewhere in the flow of time. Sure, it's a bit goofy, but I'll take what I can get.

In addition to Hypertime, THE KINGDOM was gifted by some of Waid's best scripting ever. OFFSPRING, about the son of Plastic Man, was funny, yes, but was also the most touching tale of father and son I've ever read in the realm of comics. Likewise, KID FLASH was a wonderful tale about a daughter coming to terms with her detached and distracted father. PLANET KRYPTON was simply haunting, figuratively and literally. And SON OF THE BAT and NIGHTSTAR were compelling bookends following the separate adventures of a highly romantic pair of star-crossed lovers: the son of Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Talia (villain Ra's Al Ghul's daughter) and the daughter of Nightwing (Dick Grayson) and Starfire (Koriand'r).

Following on the heels of THE KINGDOM was the low-key but well-executed "The Justice Society Returns!" Digging up old lapsed titles from DC's long publishing history, "The Justice Society Returns!" tells a tale of the original superhero group -- the Justice Society -- when it was at its peak near the end of World War II. ALL STAR COMICS #1 and #2 tell the beginning and ending of the tale. Following the traditional format of Justice Society tales wherein the heroes split into teams for separate adventures in the middle chapters of the story, the other seven books feature random team-ups of two or three Justice Society members.

Featuring a who's who of solid DC writers but mainly spearheaded by writers James Robinson and David Goyer of DC's excellent STARMAN series, "The Justice Society Returns!" is a straightforward action/adventure tale. What raises it above average fare, however, is the nostalgia it evokes in the old comics fan. All the little character touches, bittersweet allusions to the fate of various heroes, and various in-jokes may be lost on newbies but I don't care. This story is for me and the dozen other Justice Society fans that are still alive. Oh, all right, the story is good enough that newbies may actually start to figure out why us old fogies are so attached to the heroes of DC's Golden Age.

My favorite aspect of the Justice Society Event is the recurrent theme of the underdog persevering. In almost each title, the most unlikely hero or guest star plays a pivotal role in defeating the supercharged bad guys. I hope Robinson and Goyer bring this same gumption to their revival of the Justice Society in the regular JSA title next month. Selling the Justice Society in today's market is going to be a longshot, but I think these guys have the mettle to pull it off.

Thank you, DC, for make these Events eventful, enjoyable, and eminently readable. I can't wait to see what comes next!

THE KINGDOM - Grade: A-
"The Justice Society Returns!" - Grade: B+

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of a stinker and makes me appreciate how Geoff Johns turned the JSA into such a solid book series. I don't want to spend too much time going on why I didn't like this but here are some of my gripes.

Premise is been there done that - which in itself isn't a negative but this a boring example and not a creative example of "big baddie threatens everything" stall for 10 issues and then resolve it quickly in last issue without much effort.

There are two issues that bookend this tale and frankly - 2 issues was all it deserved. But we also get about 6 adventures of the JSA pairing off into teams fighting minor baddies - but these battles all just end up with them coming back together in the end to fight the real baddie. Now if there had been some interesting character development...okay. But nobody does a good job of that. At least they all have their own personalities (unlike the original 1940 tales where they all had the exact same personality).

Their powers aren't really used in an interesting way to take down the bad guys. I don't feel the team, the interaction, the clever solutions to take down the bad guys.

The art is good but I wish there had been one artist instead of a different on for each issue.

This isn't "bad" necessarily - I just found it boring. Nothing new or interesting. and that is sad because I do love the JSA and know they have a lot of good stories in them.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Las series o miniseries que refieren a la Justice Society desde 1985 suelen tratarlos como héroes de museo; personajes cuya época murió con los primeros años cincuenta y desde entonces reaparecen para revelar otra historia no contada en alguna miniserie o bien hacer un último sacrificio por la humanidad en el crossover del año. Suerte que entremedio surjan trabajos como este de James Robinson, quien logra inyectar dinamismo e interés a un trabajo donde la estructura aventurera clásica o su ambientación en la Segunda Guerra Mundial no la hace ni tediosa ni nostálgica. Incluso desliza cuestionamientos al proceder aliado y perfila las reales vulnerabilidades de los justicieros tras sus máscaras; raro decirlo, pero a la Justice Society (como a varios de sus contemporáneos ficticios) le aguardaba su etapa más creativa mucho después que su tiempo terminó.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the JSA, I don't know what it is that makes me love them so much but I think part of it is the simplicity of the era and the fact that most of them are just men in costumes, well trained men maybe but they are just normal men with no superpowers.
This adventure is one that mimics the Golden Age era and the way that stories were written. The team is all together and discovers an enemy, they then have to split up into smaller groups for whatever reason but then they all come back together at the end to defeat the big bad.
What a fun ride it is to, a different artist does each chapter but the story is so well written that you cannot help but enjoy it.
Top quality superhero action!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s annoying when the villain’s costume is different from one book/chapter to the next because they can’t get the same artist for two issues of a comic. But that is a pet peeve of mine.
Glad to see the JSA return, but even more glad that the series that followed this was much better. This was a really long drawn out book, but it still managed to spend very little time on developing any of the characters.

[Rizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to the WWII-era adventures of the JSA. It's a throwback in every way, yet it has a very modern sense of stakes and character depth. I can't believe David Goyer was involved in this, to be honest. Broken clocks, I suppose.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is decent enough, but with the exception of the first and last issues, the stories (with the team-ups) are formulaic and the villains are generic. I much prefer the ongoing JSA series that followed, which takes place in the modern day rather than the past.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This. This is what I've been waiting for... a story that brings the Old with the New...such a great story... don't want to spoil it for you:
just get the book and read it~!

[Index Purga]

Creo que también se editó en castellano.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

For lovers of the JSA only. Weak story otherwise with average at best artwork.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the Big Bad is the resurrection of a D-List Sword & Sorcery character what made this work was the efforts by the writers, including overseers James Robinson and David Goyer, to add some characterization to DCs 1940s created characters. Just like most popular media back then characterization was a second thought if that. The breakout character is Terry Sloan, aka Mr. Terrific. Through the observations of others we find out what makes Terry terrific, both as a man and as a hero. Meanwhile it is a bit of fun to see and ending to the little remembered Stalker who's sword & sorcery series lasted all of three issues.

[Jack Haringa · Rating 5 out of 5]

And THAT, boys and girls, is how you write a team comic with legacy characters bearing 50+ years of continuity baggage. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Goyer and Robinson add depth and texture to classic characters, thereby making them fresh and relevant without betraying their core personalities. The World War II setting allows the writers to weave real history into their tale, and they use it to illuminate both issues of the war and the personalities of their characters. Dresden, the Manhattan Project, the campaign in North Africa, all are treated not as mere background to the adventures of costumed heroes but as essential to them and to us.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Goyer and a host of talented helpers bring the Justice Society back with a vengeance. The story was predictably hokey but its fun. While the villain and his machinations were ridiculous, the ideas and dialogue were fun to see. The art varied between phenomenal and average but was mostly good. The Dave Johnson covers were amazing. Overall, the book over long and repetitive but still fun.

[Russell Sadowski]

Really love this book, seems to contain the flavor of the golden age heroes and the 1970's All Star Squadron. So many heroes and some characters I never heard before and other heroes of the Golden Age, even like the nod the Seven Soldiers of Victory. Missed Black Canary. This book ties into many plot lines that had appeared nicely. Highly recommend.

[Erik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough story if you like these characters. The Robinson/Johns ongoing series had much better character work though. This does a pretty good job of feeling like a Golden Age story but also comes off overly long and repetitive in doing so.

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge Justice Society fan (my favorite DCU team) and I think this book does a great job of introducing the characters and putting the reader inside the heads of many of the team. It's mildly uneven, because of the different writers and artists, but it's never bad and quite often very good.

[Frank Taranto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story with only so-so art. I always enjoy reading about these more minor characters in the early DC Universe.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The predecessors of the Justice League of America (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, etc.) is reinvented mixing some old and some new members.

[Devero · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decisamente inferiore a molte altre avventure della JSA, si lascia comunque leggere ma, alla fine, resta poca cosa.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I wanted from a comic.
Fun read. Cool retro covers.
Nice story work.
And the team-ups are fun.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sprawling JSA in WW2 story...

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the better JSA runs and the mantle changes.