Welcome back to the Society Pages, a column that looks back at the ‘modern’ history of the Justice Society of America. The main thrust of this column is to look at “JSA” and “Justice Society of America,” two ongoing series, written for most of their runs by Geoff Johns.
We’re taking a detour over to “Hourman,” the series starring the android introduced in “DC One Million,” who shows up quite a bit in “JSA” and, of course, is named for/descended from an original JSAer, Rex Tyler.
Hourman #1-10Cover by Scott McDaniel
Written by Tom Peyer
Penciled by Rags Morales
Inked by Dave Meikis, Andrew Hennessey, and Mark Probst
Colored by John Kalisz and Gloria Vasquez
Lettered by Kurt Hathaway“THROUGH THE HOURGLASS.” Hourman, frustrated by his ignorance, pairs up with Snapper Carr to learn how to be both human and a superhero.
Although Hourman is a cornerstone JSA member, I almost considered leaving this series off the Society Pages list, as it spins out of “JLA,” and has Snapper Carr, the JLA’s ‘mascot’ in a supporting role. Despite the pedigree, this felt a bit like when Cyborg joined the Justice League; it was a passing of the torch from one generation to the next.
But boy am I glad I read these issues, because this book is fantastic.
First of all, the series reminded me of “Starman” which, if you’ve been reading my ramblings for long enough, you’ll know is my favorite comic book of all time. It didn’t just recall “Starman” due to being about a legacy character from the JSA, but because the series quite effectively builds up a world around the titular character that becomes increasingly important and complex as the series goes on. In the first ten issues, we don’t just spend a lot of time with Hourman (Tyler) and his side-kick/the narrator for the series, Snapper Carr, but we also get to know a handful of other characters that are established quickly, and with relatively full personalities.
Most prominent of these new characters is Bethany Lee, Snapper’s ex-wife who remains a close friend to him. From the first time we meet her, you see her heart and her joie de vivre, and understand why Snapper would fall in love with her, and why it wouldn’t work out. She almost instantly appears attracted to Hourman, though we never hear her really say why, which sort of makes her a little weird to read, as it appears she just has a thing for androids. Which could be a fun character trait! But without going into any motivation whatsoever, it’s hard to get a sense of what she sees in Tyler.
This isn’t helped by Rags Morales drawing her in some extremely skimpy clothes, and often accenting certain prominent features of her anatomy. Morales is an amazing artist, and this is the only real blemish on these ten issues, visually. He is able to be a chameleon in these issues, effectively copping a more simple, old fashioned story for the issue focused on Rex Tyler, or ramping up the sci-fi for scenes set on the Timeship. Morales does a phenomenal job wringing emotion out of the face of an android as well, and giving Hourman a real visual sense, even when his appearance changes a few times throughout.
Morales and Peyer do something else that is almost unheard of in modern comics, which is do an event tie-in, make it relevant to the ongoing series, and let the tie-in effect the ongoing series afterwards. The “Day of Judgment” tie-in introduces a demon that Snapper helps defect from hell, and the demon, named Torture, becomes a part of the gang that hangs out at the coffee shop. It’s maybe a little silly, but it allows the series to feel set in the ‘real’ DCU, since the book is changed by the event, instead of just snuffed off.
This era of DC was really marked by the books feeling like a shared universe, but with very distinct neighborhoods that the books lived in. This book is set in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, a frequent DC locale, but great lengths are taken to giving the setting a tone of its own, so that it feels different than Blue Valley, or Fawcett City, or Opal. These enclaves within the DC Universe are almost totally gone at this point, with only Gotham and Metropolis having any sort of real tone to them.
Continued belowBut the thing that ties this series into the Justice Society is Hourman’s complicated relationship with Rex Tyler’s family. Tyler, killed in “Zero Hour,” left behind a sick son and a grieving wife. Hourman was modeled after Rex in the 853rd century, and then by taking Rex’s last Miraclo pill, he gets to experience Rex’s whole life in an hour. After that, Hourman has Rex’s full memory and emotional history inside of him, which puts him in an odd position with his family. He develops a kind friendship with Wendi, Rex’s widow, even if the relationship can get a little contentious at times, often due to Hourman’s cold personality.
Rick, Rex’s son, has been suffering from Leukemia as a result of his Miraclo addiction, and Hourman tries to cure him. However, a scan reveals that it is a mystery ailment that isn’t even curable in the 853rd century. To save Rick’s life, he deposits him in the ‘Timepoint,’ a spot where time stands still, existing in a loop from November 1963 in Dallas, moments after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. This place is a truly frustrating and morose place to be but Rick’s disease cannot progress from there.
But the most effective part of this event, which can be seen as simultaneously hopeful and cruel, is that Hourman chooses to rehabilitate Rex’s greatest villain, Dr. Togg, and he puts him in a lab on his Timeship to work to find a cure for Rick’s disease. This is such a different take on typical comics law and order, and shows surprising creativity and empathy from an android, which is a great descriptor for the series as a whole.
I can’t wait to finish up the series in 2 weeks.
But next week, we return to “JSA!” See you then!
