Justice Society of America #2 // Review
The Huntress wakes up in an infirmary. She’s expecting to find herself in her father’s cave. Turns out she’s awakened decades into the past. Judging from the calendar on the wall, it’s November of 1940. She’s in for a very rude awakening in Justice Society of America #2. Writer Geoff Johns continues another journey into a new Golden Age in an issue brought to the page by the art team of Mikel Janín, Jerry Ordway, and Scott Kolins. Color comes to the page courtesy of Jordie Bellaire and John Kalisz.
The Justice Society of America is understandably a little anxious to find a masked crimefighter in their presence. It’s one that they’ve never met before. She’s pretty shocked herself. She’s heard stories. She’s familiar with the old team, but actually being in their presence and being the object of their concern and suspicion is more than a bit surreal for her. Not that she hasn’t been through a lot of strange stuff in her own past. And she IS there for a reason. She needs to find Dr. Fate. With any luck, she’ll find him. She’s just going to have to get through the strange awkwardness of the moment.
Johns is clearly going for something very, very ambitious. The story is reaching across multiple timelines in weird nonlinearity that would be maddeningly difficult for anyone who isn’t already quite familiar with the histories of the JSA to follow. As it is, there isn’t much beyond the central character of the Huntress to draw in readers. Given the fact that she seems sympathetic, she might be enough to pull together some kind of an appeal for the series, but by the end of the second issue, there’s still way too much going on to feel too terribly coherent.
The multiple artists working on the issue feel like they’re all orchestrated pretty well. Every timeline seems to have a different artist. Janín’s work feels gorgeous in the center of the story. Janín has a really solid grasp on what makes the Huntress appealing. Her journey through time feels compellingly executed as she struggles to her feet from the infirmary and promptly gets blasted through time. Her emotions are written cleverly into her face and overall posture. The big group shots between her and the classic JSA are almost moving as they reverently bring legendary, largely forgotten Golden Age characters to the page in a way that feels warm and approachable.
Periodically over the years, DC has had a habit of looking back to the earliest era of superheroes with fresh eyes. It takes the right kind of writer to see it from a fresh perspective in a way that feels truly new. Between this and the new Stargirl mini-series, Johns is definitely taking a novel look at the old era. The art brings the reality of a bygone era to the page with a sharply stylish execution. This sort of thing has been done before, but Johns and company are bringing it to the page in a thoroughly enjoyable way.
