Justice Society of America #15 review

Should a secret origin be this underwhelming?

We’re three issues into a reimagining of the Justice Society of America’s beginnings and it’s not very exciting. At all. It’s 1940 and various solo heroes have become aware of Nazi sympathisers operating on the home front. There’s a connection to a company named Starco, and a handful of supervillains are working with the Hitler fans.

This issue, Green Lantern and Jim (The Spectre) Corrigan agree not to work together, much to the consternation of The Flash.

Mind, when Jay does find someone dying to team up, he’s terribly grumpy.

Nothing for it but for Johnny Thunder to produce his Thunderbolt.

Elsewhere in Gotham, new associates Wonder Woman and the Atom face fierce feline femme the Tigress…

… while Hourman and Sandman meet Cyclotron.

I name these villains for you because writer Jeff Lemire can’t be bothered. He also doesn’t tag the guy who stars in a splash presumably-meant-to-be-a-big-reveal.

Is it a time-lost Captain Atom? Colossus visiting from the Marvel Universe? My best guess is Amazing Man from the old All-Star Squadron series, but who knows?

We also get, watching events from the Tower of Fate, a gang of mystical heroes I guess we’re meant to call Justice Society Dark, but I rather hope not. Lemire does drop their names into the script. There’s Dr Fate, Madame Xanadu, Zatara, Blue Beetle and a very grumpy Dr Occult.

Did I miss something? Is Dr Occult no longer human? I thought he was a rufty tufty ‘tec with a magic disc… I don’t think he’s even fused to Rose Psychic at this point. So why so uppity?

This issue feels very much like last issue, though the Hawkman and Hawkgirl scenes of last month are swapped out for the moaning mystics. I’m not impressed by the choppy nature of things, with the heroes no nearer coming together as a unit. Then there’s the blatant plotting-for-the-trade, Lemire makes no concessions to monthly serialisation – when we do get references to previous issues they’re bereft of context.

There’s a nice moment of humour in the appearance of the Thunderbolt, if you squint – the magic words to summon him are ‘Cei-U’, which sounds like ‘say you’. ‘Says you’ doesn’t cut it.

What did I like? It’s fun to see the Tigress as nasty as ever she was, and Cyclotron’s reluctance to be a bad guy is a nice callback to his Eighties appearances. There’s an uncomfortable exchange between Green Lantern Alan Scott and the Spectre that works. And somebody says ‘palooka’.

Overall, though, the script lacks sizzle, and intent. And while Gavin Guidry’s art is generally decent there are some weak spots – colourist Luis Guerrero adds interest via careful tone work but this book really needs an inker. The usually stunning Madame Xanadu is a drab, scowling in panel after panel, and Dr Fate’s traditionally wondrous tower looks as exciting as the interior of a shipping container.

Where Guidry shines is the action sequences, such as Hippolyte and Atom traversing the rooftops, and their subsequent tussle with the Tigress; and Mr Terrific scrapping with Cyclotron.

If we could get Guidry as pumped about the talky bits as he is about the fights, we’d be motoring.

Steve Wands provides the friendly lettering that’s his trademark – love those big ‘O’s; there’s one missing ‘H’ but we all have days like that.

Dave Johnson gives us another portion of his poster cover, it’s my least favourite of the three we’ve had so far, but not bad.

So, not my favourite issue of the current JSA run, it feels like no one’s heart was in it. Editors Marquis Draper, Andrew Marino and Katie Kubert could usefully take a stronger hand with the creative team. Maybe next month.