JSA #1 – Jeff Lemire, Writer; Diego Olortegui, Artist; Luis Guerrero, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Lost amid a lot of the other huge announcements from DC, the fact that the company managed to lure Jeff Lemire back to DC superhero books is a huge development – and all it took was the JSA being available for the first time in over 20 years. Geoff Johns so defined this franchise that it’ll be fascinating to see someone else take a crack at it, and I couldn’t think of a better choice. But when we catch up on the Society, things are grim. The original members are missing in action, Jakeem Thunder is in a coma, and the Infinity Inc. characters have largely taken over. Jade, Obsidian, Jesse Quick, Hourman, Yolanda Montez, Beth Chapel, and Sandy are the current roster, and there are personal problems aplenty. The biggest is definitely growing tension between Jade and Obsidian, as the latter is embracing a darker style of crime-fighting against Kobra (complete with some terrifying effects that make his shadows nightmare fuel).
This is a very ambitious first issue, picking up in the middle of an ongoing storyline with some of the most famous characters missing in action. But we catch up with them before the end of this issue – finding the original leads plus Dr. Fate trapped in the Tower of Fate, navigating a surreal magical hellscape. Diego Olortegui is a perfect fit for Lemire’s dense writing on this story, giving the art some genuinely creepy effects throughout. This feels very reminiscent of Lemire’s work on his brilliant creator-owned work Black Hammer, playing with classic tropes of Golden Age heroes while subverting them. The ending reveals something that I’m surprised hasn’t been done with the JSA yet – introducing a threat that might be one of the biggest we’ve seen yet, with some very surprising faces guest-starring from the last few years of JSA comics. Lemire’s comics are usually slow-burns, but this is anything but – we’re off to a big start with a ton of potential here.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
