Justice Society of America #4 – Geoff Johns, Writer; Mikel Janin, Jerry Ordway, Artists; Jordie Bellaire, John Kalisz, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: This series has dealt with massive delays—so massive that the companion series, Stargirl: The Lost Children, has already finished despite starting later! This is a weird dynamic, and you can see some remnants of the places where the books were supposed to intersect. That will play in more in the second arc, but this arc is more concerned with another young hero—Huntress, Batman and Catwoman’s daughter from the future. She’s here to prevent Per Degaton from killing the Justice Society one team at a time, and she’s discovered she has one unique advantage—because she’s out of time, the time-hopping Nazi can’t see what she’s about to do and pre-empt her moves. That makes her the only one who is able to counter him and send him running as he attacks the current team—but as a vision from Madame Xanadu indicates, that may not be enough to achieve her mission.
This comic has a large cast, and it keeps surprising us. There’s a fascinating segment involving Beth Chapel and Yolanda Montez as they desperately try to keep themselves alive amid a mysterious illness that’s targeting them—maybe because they were brought back from the dead? Then there’s Per Degaton and his partner in crime—an older, grizzled Per Degaton who is affected by everything his younger self does, in a surprising segment penned by guest artist Jerry Ordway. The issue also hints at Courtney playing a bigger role in the series going forward, but the only thing holding it back is that its main character, Huntress, still seems to be a bit of a blank slate. Maybe this is because this is the third Huntress and the second Helena Wayne we’ve been seeing in the comics in recent months. There’s a ton of great stuff in this book, and the second arc may find its focus even more strongly.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
