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Title: Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1
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Manufacturer: DC Comics
List Price: $19.99
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| Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 by DC Comics The Final Straw | This is it. I can't take it anymore. I have been purchasing the Justice Society books for years now and have been a fan for more than a quarter of a century but this is the last JSA book I will buy until the quality improves significantly. 'Thy Kingdom Come' is an absolute mess. My biggest issue is the claim that this book is a sequel to "Kingdom Come". That would be a total lie. The Kingdom Come version of Superman ends up traveling to Earth 1 thanks to an overly convenient localized black hole. It doesn't even make sense since Superman's disappearance contradicts events from Kingdom Come. To market it as a sequel to one of the all time great DC comic stories is a rip-off.
There are so many characters coming and going that it's impossible to keep track. As if the JSA's roster wasn't bloated enough they add at least four more unnecessary members. One new hero, the grandson of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, naturally has super powers just like everyone with even the slightest tangential tie to original Justice Society. He's currently serving in the Middle East and wait `till you hear this backstory. He was on a mission to protect an Iraqi museum from looters (this truly is another universe) when one of the artifacts burned a brand into his arm and now he can project energy bolts using some ridiculous hunk of metal he holds in his hand.
The other three new members include a female Judomaster, the grandson of Amazing Man and (Good Lord) Citizen Steel. So here is Citizen Steel's story and it's a doosy. The original WW II Commander Steel had a body composed of steel thanks to war injuries so naturally the JSA fates will bestow upon his progeny steel related powers. In the previous book a villain named Reichsmark disgorged a vomit of molten metal onto Nate Heywood causing horrible burning and... oh right, no actually it makes him super strong and impervious to damage. Yeah, that's just kinda the way things work here. Nate is unable to reign in his awesome new strength so the geniuses at the JSA decide to cover his body in molten metal thus dampening his power by forcing him to resist the metal envelope with every movement. Not only does his metal cover appear totally lifelike it is forged as an exact duplicate of the costume Commander Steel wore. Having never served in the military Nate takes on the identity Citizen Steel. It hurt me to write that.
But the award for the dumbest new hero goes to Mr. America. The new Mr. America is literally a guy who knew the old Mr. America and decides to take on the role after Mr. America is killed. Is this all it takes to become a superhero. Just throw on a mask and suddenly you can become an exceptional fighter with amazing athleticism. This is insulting to the intelligence of the reader and diminishes comic book heroes.
In the end it doesn't matter because the JSA cycles through characters faster than a stack of tissues during flu season. The comic would improve if they would dump the horrible Cyclone, the badly misused Starman and that Werecat son of Wildcat. This reboot needs a reboot. | | Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 by DC Comics KC Superman rules! | All in all, great stories. They feature good writing, excellent art and fairly emotional storylines for heroes such as Citizen Steel, Liberty Bell and Power Girl.
The main event however is the appearance of Kingdom Come Superman, who we now know to be the Superman of Earth-22. The caring, the nobility and the sense of tragic destiny of this older Superman are all there. A majestic figure, he almost makes Earth-1 ("our") Superman look like a beginner by comparison. I was especially touched by the way he reaches out to Power Girl when she is going through a difficult time - a very emotional scene.
Excellent book, well worth the price! | | Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 by DC Comics Still the best super-team story going... | I can't believe that advance word hasn't leaked out to everyone yet (and the cover on the trade is spoiler enough), but, just in case: SPOILERS follow!!
Geoff Johns really isn't messing around; typically, dude has had large ideas concerning the Justice Society of America, and he trots out some more here. For one thing, the JSA team roster continues to expand as yet more characters are introduced. As a reader, I'd be normally worried about the deluge of team members, except that Johns has time and again proven that he has a gift for dense ensemble storytelling. JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: THY KINGDOM COME (Part One) collects issues #7-12 of the new ongoing monthly series and is another excellent read, the centerpiece of which is the arrival of the Kingdom Come Superman.
The first two issues here are basically spotlight stories. #7 focuses on Nate Heywood and his unwilling debut as Citizen Steel. Nate has never wanted to assume the mantle of Commander Steel, preferring to make his mark as an athlete - that is, until his football career-ending injury. Now, Nate, whose run-in with Reichsmark of the Fourth Reich has left him with a body composed of organic steel, finds himself able to again walk, but with a loss of physical sensation and haphazard control of his sizably increased mass. Dr. Mid-Nite and Mr. Terrific contrive a steel alloyed costume to help Nate gain a measure of control over his sudden super-strength, although Nate initially isn't too enthused with the look of the thing.
The next issue showcases Liberty Belle, and how she finally comes to terms with the powers passed on to her from her parents. Issue #9 starts out as a "day in the life" sort of episode as the Society hangs out with the New York Fire Departmment and the father-and-son Wildcats engage in a friendly exhibition bout for charity. Note the cool 2-paged splash of the JSA racing with the NYFD towards a crisis, the end result of which would usher in the Superman from the alternate Kingdom Come universe ("The Earth where the super-human society ran wild!)".
This older version of Superman seems so much more imposing than this world's Man of Steel, and more world-weary. He simply reeks of battle-tested experience and heartwrenching loss. He also has a severe emotional impact on Karen (Power Girl), who had just gone thru losing her last tie with her own universe, her cousin Kal-L, whom the Kingdom Come Supes closely resembles. Most of the JSA and the Justice League are understandibly wary, considering the hellacious events in Infinite Crisis, and Johns manages to do a job keeping this elder Kryptonian enigmatic and jaded, although not so jaded that he's lost all hope. He senses that, with this Justice Society having remained active and involved, perhaps the bleak future which devastated his own world might not befall this particular universe. Anyway, he has no choice but to stick around.
Further reading would unveil a shadowy killer, the Heartbreak Slayer, who is gruesomely murdering metahuman criminals who have passed themselves off as demi-gods. This rash of serial killing not only serves to debut the second new Mr. America but to also introduce the next major JSA story arc (see Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come Part II).
Other stuff that happens? The JSA's Legacy Files continue to supply new names for recruitment, including the offspring of Black Lightning and the descendants of Amazing-Man and even of FDR, who founded the JSA back in the day. An encounter with the new and virtually unhittable Judomaster, who'd run afoul of the police, leads the JSA to assume custody of her. There's also a welcome sighting of Jakeem and the thunderbolt, and their priceless reactions to the new members ("Who the -- are you?!").
In the JSA/JLA team-up (Justice League of America Vol. 2: The Lightning Saga), Power Girl became the Justice Society chairwoman. Here, she gets a chance to exercise her leadership skills, and while she doesn't strike me as dynamic, she does a passable job. Meanwhile, after the hectic Lightning Saga, this world's Superman drops in at the Sunshine Sanitarium to have a chat with his old friend, the amiable but unbalanced Starman. And, since it's Wednesday in the sanitarium cafeteria, the two get to catch up over Sloppy Joes. Starman, in Geoff Johns' hands, is a great loopy character and consistently provides the funny. I wish, though, that Maxine Hunkel had gotten more camera time.
Admittedly, for whatever reason (maybe co-penciller Fernando Pasarin?), the interior artwork isn't as tight as in Justice Society of America Vol. 1: The Next Age, although Dale Eaglesham is still mostly solid. However, at times, I noticed a cartoony style seeping into the artwork, which I don't believe is suitable for the JSA's look. Too, the Kingdom Come sequences strike a discordant note, as Alex Ross's smooth watercolors clash with the rougher pencil & ink work; the contrast is too huge. As a gimmick, I don't think this one worked too well as it tends to make one pine for even more of Ross's extraordinary paintings instead of enjoying Eaglesham's efforts - 's what happened to me, anyway. Ross's covers, by the way, persist in being spectacular.
What it boils down to is that JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA: THY KINGDOM COME (Part One) is an engrossing read. Many props to Geoff Johns, who narrates absorbing multiple story threads like it's the easiest thing to do. Dude also excels in lending relevance to his characters. As written by Johns, you can see why the Justice Society is so looked up to by the other heroes in DC. Yes, this is in part your granddaddy's comic book. And that's what makes it so good. | | Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 by DC Comics Thy will be done indeed | | Geoff Johns (Infinte Crisis, The Sinestro Corps War) is arguably the best superhero writer in comics today. His long run on Justice Society of America is ample proof of this as well, and so is the latest collected volume of the series, Thy Kingdom Come. Taking place after the Lightning Saga crossover with Justice League of America, Thy Kingdom Come finds some more new members joining the oldest superhero team in history, including Citizen Steel (grandson of Commander Steel), Judomaster, a returning Jakeem Thunder, Amazing-Man, Lance Corporal Reid, a new Mr. America, and Wildcat's "were-panther" son (aptly named Wildcat). Last but not least new to the team however, is none other than the Earth-22 Superman from co-plotter Alex Ross' classic Kingdom Come, and as we learn as this hardcover goes along, he hasn't come alone. There is a lot going on here that Johns manages to somehow all make sensible, even with a growing roster of team members and characters to deal with. Also going on here is Damage getting some closure to his past, and Power Girl once again dealing with the fact that she is all alone. With solid artwork from Dale Eaglesham and Fernando Pasarin (as well as a few painted sequences from the legendary Alex Ross), Thy Kingdom Come is a fine chapter in the ongoing JSA saga, and here's hoping that there is more solid superhero tales to come. | | Justice Society of America Vol. 2: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 by DC Comics Product Description | | The worlds first super-team is renewed by a new generation of heroes, promising to uphold the legacy of their predecessors and inspire other heroes across the world. This second volume, written by Geoff Johns, the acclaimed writer of INFINITE CRISIS, focuses on the individual members of the team.Nathan Heywood, the grandson of Commander Steel, awakens to find himself transformed into the teams newest member, Citizen Steel.All American powerhouse Liberty Belle races to stop the Justice Society's troubled young recruit, Damage, from making the worst mistake of his life.Plus, the secrets of 52 begin to reveal themselves to the Justice Society. |
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