JSA #55

Jay Allen, Alan Scott, Ted Grant & Carter Hall make an annual Christmas Eve trip to visit an old friend. It's Ma Hunkel; formerly known as the original Red Tornado!

This is was perfect. From the hilarious Norman Rockwell inspired front cover. To the banter between old friends. The perfect facial expressions of Grant when he's caught being less than his usual gruff demeanor. And then just how everything wrapped up. I'm telling you this issue had no flaws.

I love Geoff Johns (The Flash). I think the guy could write the phone book and I'd be in line for the next volume. Leonard Kirk's (Agents of Atlas) artwork was very clean and evokes so much emotion. Together, these two make a very good argument as being the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby of the early 2000s.

If you are a collector of Christmas themed comics and you don't have this book in your collection- add it to your wish list! You shall not be disappointed!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

JSA Classified #33

I completely forgot that I needed to read this one. 

I read the previous issue during my 2021 selection of Thanksgiving reads. But despite the cliffhanger, I held off on completing this until it was December because the cover to this issue promised a Christmas themed tale. In reality, I should have just read this right after issue #32 as 90% of the story occurs just as Solomon Grundy and then Vandal Savage have totally disrupted a Thanksgiving Day parade. 

The whole debacle was another of Vandal Savage's attempts to become even more omnipotent. See, the Alan Scott Green Lantern ring is powered by something called The Starheart. By getting Alan to use his ring against Solomon Grundy, Vandal Savage was somehow leeching The Starheart of it's powers. Somehow, this gem personified the spirit of Scott's deceased daughter Jade. And in a bizarre tug-of-war of wills, Jade flip-flops from agent of evil under Vandal Savage and beacon of light when influenced by Green Lantern.

It's all a very interesting tag-team match-up that the WWE should one day explore. 

I don't really understand everything Vandal Savage was trying to do and I really have no clue how he was pulling it off. That was about the only aspect of this issue that I didn't enjoy. Things on Turkey Day don't end so happily for Alan Scott. But when we flash forward to Christmas, it does perk up a bit. 

A good holiday read that one should experience closer to Thanksgiving than by December 25th.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

JSA #54

Day 9 of my Thanksgiving reads is an all-time holiday classic! 

The JSA has invited the members of the JLA to their headquarters for Thanksgiving dinner. It's a humorous mix of characters from both teams as they wait for the turkey to roast and the potatoes to mash. Only Batman is on edge as he feels that having all these superheroes under one roof is a recipe for disaster should a super villain decide to launch an attack.

A fantastic story written by Geoff Johns (Blackest Night) with amazing art by Don Kramer (Wonder Woman). I know it's probably not in fashion to say this, but Don Kramer's artwork of female heroes such as Wonder Woman and Power Girl is simply stunning cheesecake. It's very alluring. Though I will admit, the artist does try to draw the ladies in what could be considered extra-wide thongs.

A great read that was worth the wait. A must have for fans of holiday themed comic books.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

JSA Classified #32

Thanksgiving reads, Day 4. 

It's Turkey Day and members of the JSA have agreed to host a float for the yearly parade. But when a mysterious pink dust falls upon the parade goers, the heroes go on high alert. They go from threat level yellow to screaming fireball red when JSA arch-enemy Solomon Grundy suddenly appears on the scene. 

He wasn't scheduled to attend! Was he?

The backstory of this issue involves the Alan Scott Green Lantern. This time of year brings up the painful loss of his daughter- the Infinity Inc. heavy hitter, Jade. 

I mention this plot because it ties into the cliffhanger. Normally, I would be upset to have a issue end on a cliffhanger. Especially if I'm not able to read the next issue. But when I bought this book in anticipation for my T-Day readings, I saw that #33 was Christmas themed. I took a leap of faith on this since I knew at some point I was going want the yule tide book as well. It paid off!

But what do I do now? I don't read Christmas stories until it turns December 1st. That's only 10 days away...  Maybe as a special treat I'll read this as a sort of Black Friday reward for myself.

A very good story that made me feel like I was at the Macy's parade or something. But just how old are the Society members? They fought in World War II. This issue was published in 2003. How the heck are 3 elderly heroes probably in their 70s or 80s fighting like they are in peak physical condition? Guess I'll need to research that puzzle as it's the only thing that really kept me from connecting with this great holiday issue.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #39

The Mystery Gang travel back in time to help the Justice Society of America!

When a time capsule from World War II is unearthed, it unleashes a trio of demons. Doctor Fate needs the detectives to help recapture the entities and sends them back to the 1940s. 

Being that this was a story set in during the second World War, I liked seeing some of the classic JSA characters. But I feel like Sholly Fisch could have done more. Why didn't we see Sgt. Rock and the men of Easy Company? Where were the Blackhawks? The Kid Commandoes? We do get a cool cameo. But there were a lot of characters that could have been added. Maybe we'll see the war heroes popping up in the future!?

Scooby-Doo versus the Nazis and demons!? DC has really upped it's game for an all-ages comic book. Another reason that I love this series so very much.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Power Girl: Power Trips

   For a brief period of time, Power Girl was treated as the IT Girl of DC Comics. I never really got into her mostly based on her appearance. With her Amazonian physique and huge assets, I tried to steer away from her stuff thinking it was mostly a sex comic.

  Then about 3 years ago, something changed. I had just finished up my collection of the Giffen and DeMatteis run of Justice League titles from the 80s and 90s. Being one to hate cliff hangers, I waited until I had these runs complete before I read them. Power Girl, who takes up residence at one time or another in most of these titles, was a dark horse character that I came to love due to her scrappy work ethic and the mystery of her true origin and place of birth. Plus, she’s was/is/ and then maybe wasn’t after all the Earth-2 version of Supergirl. Well, that in my book made her not so bad.

As I read more books starring Kara Zor-L, I became even more of a fan of hers. From her earliest appearances in the 1970s reboot of the Justice Society in All-Star Comics to finding her missing family in Infinite Crisis, Power Girl cemented all of the hype that surrounded her almost a decade ago.

Two titles that boosted Power Girl to a temporary super-star status were JSA and her own self-titled series. Power Trips is a treasury that collects two stories from this era. The first 4 issues is from JSA: Classified, a series devoted to unpublished mini-series starring some of the members of the JSA. In this storyline, the Psycho Pirate seeks to make Power Girl release the truth behind her jumbled origin. I liked this story because it really did help correct some of the mess behind just Power Girl was. After the Crisis, we’d been told that Power Girl was really the granddaughter of the Atlantean wizard Arion, a Legionnaire sent to the past for a mission but stricken with amnesia, and the real cousin of Superman. But Psycho Pirate, who never lost track of what the multi-verse was like before Crisis on Infinite Earths, knows the truth about Kara and will manipulate time and space to help her see the light.

I liked this story, but there are too many open ended plots that never get resolved. At the end of chapter 4, we learn that Lex Luthor is behind this plot and then in the epilogue to Power Trips, we see Power Girl get attacked by Clayface. But by chapter 5, which is a reprint of her premier self-titled series, Kara has moved to New York to star up a research company. There’s no mention of the assault by Clayface and Lex Luthor is never heard from again.

What’s up with that? And do those plot lines ever get resolved?

Thankfully, the next storyline helps me get over this confusion pretty quick. Written and drawn by the dynamic team of Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Justin Gray, the first 12 issues of the 2009-2011 series of Power Girl is awesome. This epic tale has Power Girl battling the Ultra-Humanite, dealing with a photographing Peeping Tom, and fighting off the advances of a hormonal space Casanova that looks an awful lot like Sean Connery in Zardoz. (Don’t believe me, then why does this guy fly a giant stone head for his space ship?)

Power Girl: Power Trips is a massive volume filled with 16 issues. For only $30 and in full color, that’s a freaking steal! The art of Conner and Gray is fantastic and I love the covers, especially to PG #10. Kara’s facial expression on that cover is just classic. While this volume is gigantic, it’s in no way an omnibus. So, there’s still 15 issues of Power Girl out there waiting for me to collect and devour.

I’m trying to collect all of JSA and JSA Classified and with my search for the remaining Power Girl issues now underway, hopefully, I will find out why Luthor wanted Power Girl to know the truth about the multiverse so bad and why Clayface attacks her. I highly recommend this edition and I hope you’ll over look some of the inconsistencies from the first story line and the second. If you can, you’ll be in for a visual treat that’s funny, sexy, and extremely smart.

Worth Consuming

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Justice Society, Volume 1

After several decades, the Justice Society were rewarded with their own title in 1976-78. The numbering continued from where DC left off in the 1940s but this Justice Society isn’t what is once was. It’s been 30 years and the JSA has gotten a little wiser and a lot older. Most of their teammates have gone on to bigger and better things. Black Canary, for instance, decided to live on Earth Prime after a cross-dimensional episode with the Justice League of America.

The Society gets back together after encountering a trio of up-and-coming super heroes struggling to battle a global crisis. Seeing a chance to get back in the game, the JSA decides to mentor these new heroes, which include a grown up Robin, the out-of-his-own-time Star Spangled Kid, and Power  Girl- Earth 2’s version of Supergirl, only older and much more buxom.

The premise as a training ground for heroes is training is brilliant and DC will continue the formula for decades with more Justice Society titles published after the Crisis on Infinite Earths from 1985. My biggest problem isn’t with the comics themselves- it’s the reprint’s cover! The cover touts Robin as being a major player in this series, as well as Superman. Yet, with the exception of about 8 panels in the next to last issue collected here, the Man Wonder only appears in the first 2-part story. As for Superman, he doesn’t pop up until the last third of the volume. I understand the editors at DC had their reasons for using these characters sparsely. Just don’t hype me on their paltry contributors as main reasons to buy this book.

As for the quality of the comics- it’s about par for the course. The art is typical 1970s DC Comics second-tier stuff. This isn’t Dick Giordano or Neal Adams. But it’s not bad either. The stories are very good and the plots are well thought out. The biggest problem is the dialogue. The generation gap between the old Justice Society members and the Young All-Stars is directly proportional to the gap both DC and Marvel have had to overcome as generations of readers got older and a new wave of readers came on scene. But I like to think that some of the corny “granddad” speak was intentional as two generations of super heroes worked together as one.

There’s a second volume and I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on it. I inherited this book from my late friend Todd. He loved the Justice Society and I enjoyed pouring over the same pages he did. However, volume 2 isn’t a priority at this time. It’s a good read but it’s hasn’t lit a fire under me to finish the series anytime soon.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.