JSA #4 review

Dr Mid-Nite wakes, having been captured by the Injustice Society, and she has a guard. A very large guard.

Beth Chapel, though, has skills. Skills taught her by the likes of Batman, Mr Miracle and (of course) Wildcat. She escapes, and sneaks upon the villains as they plot.

The red-suited Johnny Sorrow has recently been impersonating JSA member Obsidian, who, we find, is also being restrained, though his guard seems most likely to kill with kindness.

Todd does get free, tapping into his shadow powers, and Obsidian finds a third captured JSA member – Jakeem Thunder.

Who’s behind the door? Probably Obsidian’s super-sweet jailer, but who is he really? Likely a super-villain – are there any light-themed Justice Society bad guys? Maybe the illusion expert Harlequin’s Son has gone properly bad?

And why can’t Jakeem call the Thunderbolt? And if this is Obsidian, who’s that Dr Mid-Nite comes across in the Injustice Society’s secret HQ?

Did the hospital scene and subsequent escape take place in Todd’s head, along with Jakeem’s Thunderbolt blip? Given last time we saw Jakeem he was in a comatose state in the JSA’s Brownstone, before Beth confronted Sorrow-as-Obsidian, it’s unlikely it’s the real teen here. So who’s been running the show? Brain Wave, maybe?

Hopefully we’ll find out the answers next time, along with more on the female Kid Eternity who greeted Hawkman at the end of last issue. This month, though, Dr Mid-Nite and Obsidian are the stars of the show, and I rather enjoyed it. I mean, Beth Chapel was created decades ago, but she was killed in the Nineties and only came back to life recently, so she’s not had much time in the spotlight. And contemporary Obsidian is often played as being off his rocker, but here he’s on great form. I wouldn’t want every issue to be like this, JSA being a team book and all, but a split showcase issue every six months would be a great way to showcase lesser-known members. And both heroes, in a sense, live their best lives in the dark.

It’s issue four and we still don’t know the criminals’ full plan, but we get a little more this issue. I’m certainly intrigued, and meanwhile getting lots of entertaining nuggets of character and action. There’s no denying, though, that people who read this story in a collected edition will get the best experience.

Writer Jeff Lemire does a good job distinguishing the voices of Obsidian and Dr Mid-Nite, but he’s still failing to properly introduce characters. Scandal Savage, for instance, has a prominent role here and isn’t identified once… I don’t think the entire Injustice Society has been namechecked once since this new fun began.

Regular artist Diego Olortegui isn’t around this month – maybe he’s doing a JSA Annual (Holy Manifesting, Batman!) – but the art doesn’t suffer. Fill-in fella Joey Vazquez does a cracking job, with fast-moving layouts, attractive heroes and dastardly villains. I especially like Solomon Grundy here, he’s hugely imposing. The colours of Luis Guerro emphasise the mysterious, labyrinthine nature of the baddies’ base, with glowing spaces at the end of every corridor. The font choices of Steve Wands also look great, with sharp use of colouring to help show who’s narrating which pages.

As for Cully Hamner’s cover, the looming Grundy silhouette and stippled starburst around the logo make it.

So, another good instalment – I just wish each JSA was a giant, like the Golden Age All-Star Comics, with a complete story in each issue. Just imagine…