I was a late bloomer in many ways, but especially in regards to my appreciation for the Justice Society of America. As a child of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, the JSA wasn’t exactly the super team du jour, and explaining Earth 2 to a 7 year old is a little dicey. So it wasn’t until I was much older, after the seemingly perpetual “high school break” that many of us take from reading comics, that I first was reading stories about the Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, Ted Grant, and the rest of the original super team.
The first book I read about the JSA was the collected “The Justice Society Returns,” which was an event from 1999 where various Golden Age books were revived for one issue (or, in the case of “All-Star Comics,” two issues), each featuring a team up of some of the original Justice Society Members. These books were written by some of the best DC had to offer: James Robinson and David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns, Chuck Dixon, Tom Peyer, Mark Waid and Ron Marz, with art by Peter Snedjbjerg, Michael Lark, William Rosado, Eduardo Barreto, Aaron Lopresti, Scott Benefiel, Steve Sadowski, Chris Heston, and Russ Heath, Jr. The books told the story of Stalker, a creature that’s simple goal was to end all life on Earth. Stalker, after an initial defeat at the hands of the JSA, sent out seven disciples around the world, and the JSA pair up to fight them, before coming together to fight Stalker again.
This structure helps to spotlight some of the characters that haven’t gotten too much play since the Golden Age: Hourman, Johnny Thunder, Dr. Mid-Nite, Star-Spangled Kid. It also does the old “Brave and the Bold” trick of letting non-logical pairings team up.
The main story was co-written by Robinson and Goyer, and one of the nice things they do is instantly pull all the magic-based members off the table this – no Dr. Fate, no Spectre. This needs to be a fairer fight to be worth reading, and so suddenly the team is not as powerful as they would like. The JSA is also well-represented by heroes without traditional powers, or with powers that make them less gods among men than their younger compatriots in the Justice League. Wildcat is a good fighter, Atom is a short, tough sonofabitch, Dr. Mid-Nite can see in the dark, Hourman is only powerful for, you guessed it, an hour at a time.
Because of their lack of Superman skills, they need to be a part of a team in order to play with the big boy villains. Sure, there’s also Wonder Woman and Hawkman and Green Lantern, but the average JSAer needs to be a team player more than a superstar, and because of that, there is a real familial bond between the team members, even when they’re simply paired off.
My personal favorite of these was the Starman/Atom issue from “Adventure Comics” #1. The Atom is all brawn, Starman is all brains, and yet there is a respect between them that feels real and not in a “I bet Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne have a lot in common” sort of real. When the Atom (supposedly) sacrifices his life for the common good, we see these men and women as more soldiers than gods – doing the most good for the people they’re entrusted to protect.
Each writer handles their characters with ease and grace, and the art is across the board great. From Mister Terrific’s obsession with fairness almost driving him mad, to Johnny Thunder’s desire versus his ability, we see a humanity to each of these heroes that most mainstream comics just don’t match. Whether or not you’re a JSA fan, this is a great book to have on your shelf, and works as a great companion piece to the recently relaunched “Earth 2.”
