JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #10 - May 1993

J.S.A. No More?

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: Kulak sends his minions to New Mexico to kill Starman, which inadvertently sends him on Kulak’s trail. In Gotham City, Kulak terrorizes the captive JSA. Johnny Thunder antagonizes Kulak into using up a large portion of his power, making him easier to defeat when Starman arrives. Later, Green Lantern convinces Hawkman to don his costume and lead what could be the final JSA meeting.

Irrelevant Continuity: Kulak explains that he was sent to ancient Egypt following his defeat in All Star Comics #2. He’s plotted his revenge against the JSA ever since. The Atom questions how both Kulak and Vandal Savage can take credit for being Cheops.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority: While boasting about his total control over Hawkgirl, Kulak licks her shoulder with his gigantic tongue as she coos in ecstasy.

Review: I can see why this incarnation of Justice Society of America could be considered a lost classic. Not only was it cancelled to make room for the flavor-of-the-month guns, stubble, and trenchcoat heroes of the day, but it also features the early work of the legendary Mike Parobeck. Getting indignant over this book’s cancellation would virtually be a requirement for comics blogging, had it existed in 1993. Looking back at these ten issues, however, I honestly don’t see a great loss.

Parobeck immediately went on to do Batman Adventures, a title that suited him perfectly and brought him even more attention, so it’s not as if DC let his talents go to waste. Len Strazewski would return to journalism (and judging by his editorial at the end of this issue, I’m not sure if he ever felt totally comfortable writing comics.) The JSA survived and would have an ongoing series again by the end of the decade. Sure, no one wants to dedicate their efforts to a title that dies out by issue ten, but the cancellation didn’t seem to cause anyone any lasting harm.

The truth is, if the book had been drawn by any journeyman artist working for DC at the time, and didn’t have any juicy gossip surrounding its cancellation, I can’t imagine people talking about it today. I can’t say it’s a bad comic, but it’s a very straightforward superhero action comic with predictable plots and pedestrian dialogue. Strazewski’s affection for the characters occasionally shines through, and in those moments the book breezes past the “generic” marker, but too often he just assumes that the reader already cares as much he does. This issue, for example, halts the plot for over two pages to explain what Kulak the Sorcerer has been up to since… All Star Comics #2, cover-dated Fall 1940. Now, a flashback to Kulak’s days in ancient Egypt isn’t automatically a bad idea, but nothing in the story makes Kulak interesting enough to follow through this journey. The only reason the reader might care is if he’s somehow read this pre-WWII comic and wants to see how Kulak’s been resurrected in the ‘90s. (And his resurrection relies on another one of Strazewski’s writing tics, the massive coincidence. Of course Kulak’s tomb is uncovered by Hawkman and Hawkgirl decades later while on an archeological dig.)

The early issues gave me hope that Strazewski might be able to translate his enthusiasm for these characters into compelling stories that show why they’re special. The JSA can’t be great merely because they “came first,” they have to be able to exist as engaging, unique characters. Strazewski talks in his editorial about aging as just another obstacle for these brave men, who aren’t likely to give up after facing everyone from Hitler to the Ultra-Humanite. Okay, fine…where was that grit during this series? After ten issues, I haven’t warmed up to any of the cast. I do like the scenes that emphasize the friendships within the team, but individually, these characters aren’t strong enough to carry an ongoing series. The true star of this series is Mike Parobeck, and if I’m going to miss anything from this incarnation of Justice Society of America, it’s going to be those Parobeck splash pages.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #9 -April 1993

Hearts of Darkness, Eyes of Hate!

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: A mysterious force spreads across the country, creating hostility towards the JSA in their public and private lives. Thunderbolt senses the presence of dark magic, but disappears while investigating it. After a false “exposé” of the JSA’s past airs on Green Lantern’s television station, he flies to the station to get answers. He’s ambushed by Guy Gardner, who’s easily defeated. However, Green Lantern and the JSA are soon surrounded by an angry mob. Carter Hall arrives to rescue the team, only to lead them to his master, Kulak.

I Love the ‘90s: Dr. Mid-Nite complains that television is creating irrational fear surrounding the AIDS epidemic.

Total N00B: On that note, Dr. Mid-Nite listens to a radio news report on the AIDS-related death of an unnamed actor at the age of 70. Mid-Nite says that he was a great talent and that it’s a shame that he spent so many years of his career playing a superhero’s sidekick in the movies. I have no idea who this is supposed to be referencing.

Review: There’s a fantastic opening to this issue, which has Flash’s wife Joan violently lashing out at her magically youthful husband. This is the reader’s introduction to Kulak’s scheme against the JSA, which has everyone in the world turning against the team. The opening scene implies that Kulak is exploiting feelings that already exist, such as Joan’s insecurities that she’s now too old for her husband, which is very Claremontian and a great way to explore the JSA’s relationships with their supporting cast. The rest of the comic, however, just has the public irrationally hating the JSA for no clear reason at all. This isn’t nearly as interesting, and the only use Strazewski gets out of the concept by this point is a Guy Gardner/Green Lantern fight.

I’m assuming that a fight between the original Green Lantern and the mouthy, intentionally unlikable Gardner is something GL fans had wanted to see for years. If you’re divorced from the continuity, it reads as a decent superhero fight, but there isn’t much else to it, aside from Parobeck’s larger-than-life action. (Another N00B moment…why does Guy Gardner have a yellow ring at this point?) Less impressive is the JSA vs. angry mob scene, which suffers from no real drama, and apparently deadline problems, since the crowd is often portrayed as little more than stick figures. Things liven up with the cliffhanger, though, which has the original Hawkman leading the team into a trap, Kulak impaling Thunderbolt on a stick, and a brainwashed Hawkgirl standing by the villain’s side. With only one issue left, hopefully the book can get out of the little rut it’s worked itself into and go out with a final issue that does the characters justice.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #8 - March 1993

Whispering Death!

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: Hourman visits his son in the hospital, joined by Johnny and Jesse Quick, and Sandman, who’s recovering from a stroke. Outside, a group of white supremacists are protesting anti-Apartheid leader Bishop Tumutuu, who’s receiving gall bladder surgery. When the protesters turn violent, Johnny and Jesse Quick try to contain them. Hourman also miraculously regains his powers and joins the action. When a protester invades Bishop Tumutuu’s room, he’s stopped by Sandman. Meanwhile, Hawkman and Hawkgirl discover Kulak the Sorcerer in Egypt.

Irrelevant Continuity: Sandman and Bishop Tumutuu have been good friends since the 1950s. Jesse Quick remarks that Sandman seems to know everybody.

I Love the ‘90s: The story ends with Green Lantern watching television in bed. He comments that he never believed Johnny Carson would hang up his microphone, shortly before Kulak's infomercial begins.

Total N00B: Kulak is a three-eyed purple-skinned humanoid that apparently brainwashes Hawkman into hosting an infomercial that introduces him to the public. The story acts as if we should already know whom Kulak is, which is a stretch. I initially wondered if he was supposed to be the dying alien in Green Lantern’s origin story.

Review: An issue dedicated to the unofficial JSA members, even though we’re still not sure what exactly the JSA’s role is supposed to be in the modern DC Universe. Strazewski does handle the Hourman material quite well, as the hero deals with the guilt that’s consumed him since his son was diagnosed with cancer. Obviously, Strazewski is eager to have Hourman back in action, so he’s given what appears to be the third non-drug related return of his powers, conveniently when the story needs him to be repowered, of course. This isn’t quite as cheap as it sounds, since Strazewski is playing off Johnny Quick’s earlier discovery that his powers existed in his genes all along (the story opens with Johnny Quick unsuccessfully coaching Hourman). If Johnny Quick can be super-fast without his formula, Hourman doesn’t need his Miraclo drug either, which I guess is fair enough.

Now, are white supremacists the best opponents for the JSA to be fighting? They do seem an odd match for the book’s tone, but I suppose Nazis and bigots were standard foes in the Golden Age. Strazewski hints that some outside force is driving them into a murderous rage, and they do have a giant eye drawn on their hoods, so perhaps this is somehow tying into the Kulak subplot. I wonder why the book doesn’t identify the bigots as Klansmen, even though Parobeck is drawing them in KKK garb (with that added eye…and boy is it strange to see Parobeck-style Klansmen). Was DC afraid of a lawsuit?

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #7 - February 1993

…Or Give Me Death

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: Jesse Quick stumbles across suspicious activity in Bahdnesia, and soon runs into Dr. Midnight in an underground jail. They discover that Pol St. Germain is keeping undesirables from around the world in the underground cages. They set the prisoners free and give them medical attention. Meanwhile, Wildcat is abducted by Bahdnesian security, and then brainwashed by St. Germain into turning against the JSA. When the JSA unite to confront St. Germain, Wildcat breaks free of his conditioning. However, St. Germain unleashes the island’s volcano, forcing everyone to evacuate.

Irrelevant Continuity: Johnny Thunder learns that the Bahdnesians abandoned their island long before Pol St. Germain arrived -- because he accidentally stole the island’s magic when he bonded with Thunderbolt. Kiku, the last known Bahdnesian, is given the Bahdnesians’ sacred history book at the end of the story.

We Get Letters: The series’ cancellation is announced in the letter column, following a fan’s letter expressing his concern after reading about it on a computer bulletin board.

Review: Sadly, this is a terrible conclusion to the Bahdnesian arc. As always, Mike Parobeck delivers great superhero cartooning, and I like Len Strazewski’s development of Johnny Thunder, but the overall storyline doesn’t work at all. The previous issue introduced the mystery of St. Germain and the “economic utopia” he’s created on Bahdnesia, and while this issue resolves the mystery, I can’t say the resolution makes a lot of sense. St. Germain’s plan is to present Bahdnesia as an island paradise, sell his economic planning skills to other countries, and then blow up the island if anyone gets too close to the truth. Okay, but…

I get that St. Germain is brainwashing people, but the story isn’t clear on who exactly is getting the treatment. Just his security guards, or the entire populace? He brags that everyone has a job in Bahdnesia, so is he brainwashing everyone into working the jobs he assigns them in this “progressive planned economy”? I guess the idea is that the citizens are working for free, which enriches St. Germain and allows him to reinvest in the island, but nothing in the story confirms this theory. The story’s also vague on where these citizens came from following the departure of the native Bahdnesians. He’s brought in people from various countries, yes, but somehow this ties in with the sick and poor undesirables he’s keeping as prisoners underground. How did he end up with these people? Why did he take them in? They're clearly too weak to be working as his slaves, and if he’s supposed to be keeping them as human experiments, we’re never told this during the story. What kind of a master plan is this?

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #6 - January 1993

Give Me Liberty…

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan & Carlos Garzon (inkers), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: The JSA travel in their civilian guises to Bahdnesia, telling Jesse stories about their WWII adventures. When they arrive, Dr. Midnight slips away to investigate the island, which is owned by the mysterious Pol St. Germain. Meanwhile, Wildcat and Atom go to a boxing match. When a boxer is allowed to brutalize his opponent, Wildcat enters the ring and attacks the boxer, attracting numerous security guards.

Irrelevant Continuity: The girl from issue #3 with the mysterious connection to Thunderbolt is revealed as Kiku, a descendant of Bahdnesia immigrants. She travels with the team to Bahdnesia.

Total N00B: I have no idea why Kiku’s ancestry as a Bahdnesian apparently allows her to control Thunderbolt.

We Get Letters: One fan is upset that Green Lantern isn’t wearing his toupee in this title, which contradicts his appearances in Green Lantern Corps Quarterly.

I Love the ‘90s: Green Lantern is disappointed that the government is spending billions on the Gulf War while people are out of work. The Gulf War was almost two years old when this comic was published, but I guess the news was still new to GL.

Review: The only member to appear in costume during the lead story is Dr. Midnight, which I suppose was the motivation for opening the book with a lengthy flashback to one of the JSA’s WWII battles. This adventure takes place on the White House lawn, as the JSA stop an elaborate assassination attempt that we’re somehow supposed to believe never became public knowledge. The flashback doesn’t seem to have any real relevance to the main story, which I’m sure breaks a few of the accepted writing rules, but it’s nicely illustrated and allows the issue to open with an unexpected cold action sequence. The story then moves on to the Bahdnesian plot, which has the various teammates wandering around the island, remarking that something is Not Quite Right. With a name like “Pol St. Germain,” I can’t imagine anything is fishy about the island’s leader, but we’ll see how this turns out. Strazewski can still make the camaraderie between the JSA readable, so the leisurely nature of this storyline isn’t a problem at this point.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #5 - December 1992

Only Human

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan, Matt Banning, & Jeff Albrecht (inkers), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: With the aid of Jesse Quick and the modern-day Flash, the JSA defeat Ultra-Humanite. When the team receives word of Johnny Thunder’s injuries, they travel to the hospital to visit him. Johnny reveals that he’s discovered that his investments have made him rich during his years away, but remains unhappy. He then explains that he traveled with his genie Thunderbolt to Bahdnesia, the place where they first met, only to discover that all of the native Bahdnesians were gone. Meanwhile, the Ultragen goons who invaded Dr. Midnight’s office are killed by a green goo.

Irrelevant Continuity: Hourman visits his son in the hospital, who’s apparently contracted cancer after consuming Hourman’s addictive superhero pill Miraclo. He then attends an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Total N00B: When Johnny Thunder goes on his misery tour of the modern US, he visits Dinah Lance’s grave. I’m familiar enough with DC continuity to know that she’s Black Canary, and an original JSA member, but when was she dead? And why was the ‘80s and ‘90s Black Canary also named Dinah Lance?

Review: The Ultra-Humanite arc finally concludes, although Strazewski doesn’t allow the JSA to arrest him, since the heroes can’t bring concrete charges against him yet. I’m personally ready to move on, although I’m sure hardcore JSA fans were thrilled to his “classic” simian form return as Ultra-Humanite’s trump card in the fight. And the fight is fun, with the modern Flash learning lessons from the original, Jesse Quick meeting her idols for the first time since infanthood, all executed with pages of spotless Parobeck action. I just don’t view Ultra-Humanite, at least as he’s presented here, as a villain strong enough to support a five-issue arc.

Moving on from Ultra-Humanite, a few subplots staring Hourman and Johnny Thunder are developed. Hourman’s dealing with the horrors of addiction, which I’m sure somebody thought was clever at some point in the ‘80s, but it hasn’t aged too well. Johnny Thunder recovers from his wounds while his genie behaves erratically, which is setting up the next issue’s storyline. Johnny’s sense of meaninglessness after decades away is skillfully portrayed; it’s inevitable that the Rip van Winkle angle will have to be explored in this book, but the obviousness of the concept doesn’t undermine the execution. I don’t know if the disappearance of the Bahdnesians (who?) is that great a setup for the next issue, but I am curious to see how Thunderbolt’s story plays out.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #4 - November 1992

Life on the Line

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: The modern-day Flash attempts to rescue Wildcat, Atom, and Dr. Midnight, but finds himself a captive of the Ultra-Humanite as well. Dr. Midnight uses one of his devices to free his teammates while Ultra-Humanite is preoccupied by Flash, then rescues Flash from the Ultra-Humanite’s genetically modified trap. Meanwhile, Johnny Quick sends information to his daughter on Ultra-Humanite’s connection to Ultragen. She contacts the JSA and travels with them to rescue the heroes.

Irrelevant Continuity: Ultra-Humanite is now in a genetically modified body of his own creation. After burning out of his ape form, he possessed a number of humans and founded Ultragen as a front for his genetic research. The first issue’s villains, the New Order, were test subjects that turned on Ultra-Humanite.

Total N00B: The current Flash wishes he could vibrate through walls like he used to do with his predecessor (Barry Allen). He wonders if the original Flash can show him how to do it. Why exactly has he forgotten?

Review: Okay, I’m not sure how the ‘90s Flash got involved with this, but Parobeck certainly draws a nice rendition of Wally West. Strazewski moves the story along by revealing the origin of Ultra-Humanite’s new body (but not his stutter), and his connection to Ultragen. This brings us to another wild coincidence: the X-parody characters from the first issue also have connections to Ultra-Humanite/Ultragen. By a colossal twist of fate, Flash and Green Lantern just happened to be watching TV in a diner when a news report of their terrorist attack on a nuclear plant aired. So, virtually every event in the series so far goes back to Ultra-Humanite’s plot, even though the JSA have kept stumbling on to his schemes through sheer luck. I personally find these plot conveniences grating, but I guess it’s something the reader has to accept by this point.

Ignoring the master plot, we do have numerous action sequences that are masterfully handled by Parobeck, so there’s still plenty to enjoy. Parobeck’s also drawing a few more of the modern DC characters this issue, allowing his Byrne influence to become more noticeable. This might sound like an odd match for his style, but he makes it work.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #3 - October 1992

Out of the Past

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: The JSA discover their mystery guest is Johnny Quick, who is now an infomercial star. He reveals to the team that Ultragen recently sued him for exposing the dangerous side effects of their nutrition products. Suddenly, Dr. Midnight enters, divulging that Reggie, his patient and old friend, recently died after agreeing to one of Ultragen’s experimentations. He leaves with Wildcat and Atom to investigate the facility. Soon, they’re confronted by the Ultra-Humanite. Meanwhile, masked men arrive to steal Reggie’s body from the clinic. Johnny Thunder happens by, but is unable to stop them. When his genie appears, it’s greeted by a strange woman.

Irrelevant Continuity: Johnny Quick’s aging even more slowly than the JSA due to his speed formula. The modern explanation for how exactly a “string of letters and numbers” gives him super-speed is that he has a “meta-gene,” which is a madness that affected ‘90s DC, to the point that even Green Arrow was revealed as a metahuman. Johnny believes that the formula is a mantra that releases his fullest potential, which is the philosophy he teaches in his self-help classes.

Total N00B: The version of the Ultra-Humanite that appears in this issue is a man with red eyes, white hair, and vaguely ape-like features. I know that the very first version of Ultra-Humanite was human, but I don’t know of any story that changed him out of animal form. He also stutters habitually and I have no idea why.

Review: Hey, more coincidences. So, an old friend of the team just happens to agree to a risky medical treatment offered by Ultragen, the same company that’s connected to their old foe Ultra-Humanite, and located right next to their headquarters. Another associate, Johnny Quick, also happened to have a run-in with this company last year. And, only a few pages after this revelation, Johnny Thunder just so happens to be visiting Dr. Midnight’s clinic when it’s being ransacked by masked men, presumably working for Ultragen.

Now, if Ultra-Humanite was plotting these events out years in advance and specifically targeting people associated with the JSA, that’s defensible, but the story at this point is treating all of these events as random occurrences. Wild coincidences were common in the Golden Age, back in the days when every city only seemed to have one police officer and every newspaper one reporter, but a) those stories were often eight-pagers that had to cram in an excessive amount of plot, and b) the audience largely consisted of young children. I don’t think the audience of 1992 is so willing to suspend disbelief.

Overlooking that complaint, this is another chapter dedicated to slowly bringing more members in and building up the Ultragen mystery. Len Strazewski seems to be writing this story specifically for JSA fans, since most of the characters’ superhero names are never referenced, and we’re never told who exactly Johnny Quick is or how he’s connected to the team. (Is he a former member or just a friend? Is he another Golden Age hero, or did he debut later? Why wasn’t he trapped in the alternate dimension with the other heroes?) There’s also an assumption that the reader knows detailed JSA continuity, like the specifics of when Dr. Midnight is or isn’t blind. It’s easy to feel as if you’re not getting the full picture, but the story moves at a steady pace, the tone feels right, and of course the art is stunning.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #2 - September 1992

Days of Valor

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: While on their way to a JSA meeting, Atom and Wildcat stop two thugs from beating up an Ultragen protestor. After joining Green Lantern and the Flash for the meeting, a videoscreen conversation with Hawkman and Hawkgirl convinces the Atom that the JSA still has a role in today’s society. Green Lantern receives word that a riot has broken out across the street, leading the JSA to protect more protestors from Ultragen’s aggressive guards (who have been heavily armed by a mysterious source). Later, the JSA returns home to discover a shadowy figure in their headquarters.

Irrelevant Continuity: The JSA are given more of a specific age, with Wildcat claiming that they’ve “plateaued at sixty or so.” Plus, Hawkman and Hawkgirl have a son who died in the early issues of Sandman.

Total N00B: Apparently, Wildcat was recently in a wheelchair. Precisely how he recovered isn’t addressed. I also don’t know how the Atom has the ability to use his fist like Iron Fist’s, since I was under the impression that he was simply an unusually short man who challenged himself to reach his physical peak.

Review: Strazewski is still slowly rebuilding the team, as two more members rejoin while we receive a few excuses for why the others can’t make it to the meeting (Sandman has the best one -- stroke). I’m sure if he knew the series was doomed to a ten-issue run, Strazewski wouldn’t have opened with such a slow burn. By the time the team is fully assembled and ready to begin whatever mission they decide to embark on (they’re currently debating if they’re too old to be active superheroes), I have a feeling we’ll be on issue #10, or close to it. Even if the plot is a little slow, Strazewski is able to write the cast as a likable group of old friends, and his characterization of Atom as an insecure elderly man who’s awkwardly easing back into superheroics uses the book’s premise well.

I think using two mystery men in separate plots is overkill, though, even if the identity of the intruder is sure to be revealed next issue. There’s also the massive coincidence that has the mystery foe from the last issue arming the security guards of a no-doubt evil corporation in this issue…a corporation that just so happens to be located across the street from the JSA’s secret headquarters. Perhaps this is a tongue-in-cheek nod to some of the convenient plotting that often showed up in Golden Age superhero stories, but it’s the kind of idea that really doesn’t work in a modern context.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #1 - August 1992

Home Again!

Credits: Len Strazewski (writer), Mike Parobeck (penciler), Mike Machlan (inker), Bob Pinaha (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary: A mystery man sends a colossal monster to attack the Justice Society at their public retirement party. The monster is stopped by Superman, much to the JSA’s disappointment. Following the battle, Sandman suffers a stroke. Several months later, Flash and Green Lantern respond to news reports of the New Order’s assault on a nuclear plant. They easily defeat the modern foes and are inspired to come out of retirement.

Irrelevant Continuity: So why are the JSA spry fifty-somethings instead of aging seventy-somethings? As Clark Kent helpfully explains to Lois Lane, “They were rejuvenated in a magical dimension…some of it must have stuck!” A footnote points to Armageddon Inferno #4, which honestly sounds like a made-up name for an early ‘90s crossover. Later on, the Flash remarks that some of the rejuvenation is wearing off, but he still feels “a bit younger than what the calendar says, though.”

I Love the ‘90s: I’m predicting no shortage of pop culture references to the early ‘90s, given that generational shifts and modern culture shock are bound to be recurring themes in the title. This issue opens with a mulleted child remarking to his grandfather that trading cards are worth a lot of money now. We also have a reference to the “ninja reptiles” heroes must face these days, a villain named after Saddam Hussein's favorite weapon, and not one but two instances of Green Lantern exclaiming “NOT!”

Total N00B: I’ve been reading comics for around twenty-five years now, and this is my first encounter with Johnny Thunder, who only appears in the background of this issue as a normal looking schmoe in a Jimmy Olsen suit. A helpful text piece by Mark Waid in the back describes him as “not the brightest man who ever lived…Johnny could nonetheless hold his own…by calling out the magic command ‘Cei-U’…and summoning to his side the mighty genie known as Thunderbolt.” So…he’s a dummy with genie powers? Was he the JSA’s wacky sidekick back in the day?

Review: So, DC’s Justice Society of America #1, released the same month as the debut issues of Image titles like Shadowhawk. There’s no spine-shattering here, but one old guy has a stroke while his friends are bummed that some young hipster, Superman, is upstaging them. There’s definitely a culture clash going on here, but the creative team is trying to face the issue head-on.

Instead of just tossing in a few cutsey references to early ‘90s fads, Strazewski and Parobeck take things a bit further by pitting the JSA against a thinly veiled parody of Marvel’s X-Force -- an x-tremist pro-mutant organization called the New Order. Their leader, Cain, is a Parobeckized rendition of the Liefeld-era Cable (the only real difference is an eye-patch, which he apparently doesn’t need), and he’s surrounded by a stable of throwaways that could’ve easily stood in the background of any Mutant Liberation Front group shot. Some of the villains are straight out of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe, like an unnamed Feral parody (apparently he or she’s a dog, so that makes it totally different). His or her teammate Scud is an amalgam of Scalphunter and Harpoon of the Marauders, and one member named Ammo has a gun-arm reminiscent of the Daredevil/Punisher villain Bushwacker. Bushwacker was originally introduced as an ally of the Marauders, plus Ammo just so happens to be the name of another villain created by Ann Nocenti and John Romita, Jr. while on Daredevil. I have a hard time believing that any of these were coincidences.

Knowing now that the early ‘90s style has largely been dismissed as a joke, while Mike Parobeck’s art has retroactively been declared the high-water mark for superhero cartooning makes this issue an odd artifact. Not that the creators knew that they were eventually going to win some imaginary credibility award, but they are clearly aware that they’re swimming against the mainstream tide and perhaps vainly attempting to keep a classical hero style alive.

Having Mike Parobeck do a Rob Liefeld parody undoubtedly adds some novelty to the issue, but it’s a testament to his artistic skills that the New Order characters still look as if they belong in this world. Everything Parobeck draws in the issue is clean, attractive, and instantly comprehensible. Parobeck originally entered comics as something of a John Byrne clone, so it’s fitting to see him joined by one of Byrne’s best inkers, Mike Machlan, for the series. I don’t know how I would’ve responded to this comic at age 12, but since I wasn’t totally brainwashed by the fads of the era, I’d like to think I would’ve recognized the obvious talent that’s on display here. I was fully onboard with the debut of Batman: The Animated Series a few months after the release of the book (and I think it’s important to remember that Parobeck hit on this style of cartooning independent of Bruce Timm’s work on the cartoon), so I know I wasn’t a complete moron back then.