Justice League #37 Variant by Darwyn Cooke

In December, a whole lot o' DC comics will ship with covers illustrated by Darwyn Cooke.  By then, Birds of Prey will be long dead and I have no idea if Black Canary is slated to end up in another book because I haven't paid attention to the solicits since, um, April...?

However, Cooke included Black Canary in the background of his cover for Justice League #37.

That's her way back behind Superman and Batman.

I wondered if there was any reason for this specific assemblage of of heroes.  Cooke expertly depicts a nostalgic sense of whimsy in his covers, so it makes sense that he uses the seven original members of the Justice League of America--Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and J'Onn J'Onzz.  But he also includes Cyborg, a founding member of the New 52 Justice League.  But what about Green Arrow and Black Canary?  I can't imagine this is the lineup of the team in issue #37 since J'Onn and Ollie are in Justice League United and for some reason I think Hal Jordan is still off the team playing space cop.

I would be happy if Black Canary joined the main Justice League team.  I think she deserve a shot at it, but it might take a creative team shift to get me interested in reading the comic again.  I like most of what Geoff Johns does, but I don't think he ever had a firm grasp on the League like he did with Green Lantern, the Flash or Justice Society.

Black Canary in Green Lantern #188 through #192

Black Canary was a regular fixture of Green Lantern comics in the early and late 1970s, but in the mid '80s around the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Dinah appeared in Green Lantern issues #188, #190, #191 and #192.  And by appeared, I mean mostly she just showed up in one panel as a cameo.  But I'm trying to cover all of Black Canary's comics appearances--eventually--so I decided to knock these four comics out in one recap that doesn't really cover the comics in detail.

All four issues were written by Steve Englehart with art by Joe Staton.

In Green Lantern #188: "Decent Exposure" the press outs the new Green Lantern's secret identity, architect John Stewart.  Some people take the revelation in stride, but Ollie doesn't and calls Hal Jordan to vent his frustration.  Dinah appears in the background.

In Green Lantern #190: "Time Out of Mind" a mystery arises when Green Arrow and Black Canary come to see John Stewart, bringing along the same reporter who outed John in the media.

Green Arrow asks John Stewart the seemingly stupid question of how many times they have met and worked together.  The reporter presents a video taped interview that no one remembers.

Then time freezes for the heroes and the villainous Predator leaps through the window.  Only Katma Tui is unaffected by the time-stop, but she is unable to prevent him from stealing the video tape.

Black Canary and the others survive their fall and awaken from the trance Predator put on them.  They don't recall what happened during the time lapses, and need to figure out more about the Predator, but that part of the story will be explored by Hal Jordan.

And that exploration happens in Green Lantern #191: "Macho".  Hal Jordan finds the stole video tape, revealing the same footage--and the same panels drawn by Joe Staton--from the last issue.

In Green Lantern #192: "First Star I See Tonight", the crazy-ass saga of Carol Ferris and Predator and Star Sapphire is revealed, which includes another copy of the lower left panel from the previous two issues.

So, there you have it.  Some random panels of Black Canary in stories of which she has absolutely no real effect.

Society Dame: Justice Society of America #8

Previously...

Justice Society of America #8 is written by Len Strazewski with pencils by Grant Miehm, inks by Rich Buckler, and a cover by Tom Lyle featuring Black Canary and Solomon Grundy.  The series is edited by Brian Augustyn along with Mike Gold, who edited Black Canary's miniseries, her ongoing series, and her first arc in Action Comics Weekly.  The issue is cover dated August 1991 and hit the shelves in June.

"Vengeance from the Stars Chapter 8: Battle of the Stars" opens with the heroes Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkman, and Black Canary beset by Vandal Savage dressed as the Egyptian Prince Cheops and a trio of constellation monsters composed of energy.  Except the monsters aren't in their normal mythic form; they look like characters out of television.  And Vandal Savage isn't happy about their new appearance.  Perhaps he doesn't wield as much control over these beings as he made it seem.

Vandal Savage uses the Cosmic Rod he took from Ted Knight to command the energy monster that looks straight out of I Love Lucy to attack Green Lantern.  While Black Canary helps Alan Scott get back to his feet, The Flash speeds around the energy monsters, drawing their attention away from his friends.

The racist caricature of a Native American constellation monster starts a rain dance type of thing before attacking Flash.  Hawkman and his friend, William Wildeagle, scoff at the offensive depiction of one of William's people, and neither of them have the situational awareness to recognize Savage's hired goons creeping up on them with guns.

Eventually, the Joe DiMaggio/Babe Ruth monster nails Green Lantern with his bat, and the "I Love Lucy" monster gets a good shot on The Flash.  It takes the wind and some of his own awareness out of him.

Hawkman barely manages to get an attack on the Indian monster, but it has little effect.  As Savage's goons capture Will Wildeagle, the Justice Society members are surrounded by the constellations which change shape again, this time back to their animal forms.

Before his beasts can finish off the heroes, Savage is confronted by Ted Knight who rises from his wheelchair brandishing a newly created Cosmic Rod of his own.

While Ted fights Savage, Wildeagle disarms his captors and turns the table on the hired goons.

With a lot more practice and expertise with the Cosmic Rod, Starman is able to destroy Vandal Savage's weapon and then the tools he stole from the Gotham Museum, effectively stripping the immortal tyrant from any control over the constellations.

Then Starman turns his attention to the energy beasts and uses the power of his Cosmic Rod to batter at the three otherworldly beasts.

Starman and Green Lantern contain the monsters, the Flash destabilizes the pyramidal structure that Savage erected, and Hawkman flies into the observatory to redirect the telescope.  All of this draws the constellation monsters into the same energy portal that shoots them back up to the stars where they belong.

But what can Black Canary do in this situation?  Defense.

In desperation, Vandal Savage grabs Starman's Cosmic Rod.  Solomon Grundy grabs Vandal Savage. The result is they both end up cast into the heavens with the star monsters, and the heroes rejoice.

Ted Knight confesses that he, too, feared change and ran away from his duty with the Justice Society of America.  He doesn't want to completely forget his normal life at the observatory, but he requests to be reinstated as a member of the JSA if the others consent.  They wholeheartedly do, and the issue ends with them watching television.

That's all for this miniseries, but Len Strazewski and artist Mike Parobeck returned for a second Justice Society series a year later.  Black Canary didn't appear in that series; I think it took place chronologically after she left Earth 2 to join the Justice League of America.

Overall thoughts on this story: It was mostly good.  The different artists were a bit of a hindrance on my enjoyment.  Parobeck was stellar and Miehm was pretty good, so it was fortunate that they drew five of the eight chapters.  More than art inconsistencies, though, I think the big problem with this story is the villains are boring.  I have never cared about Vandal Savage, but this story in particular didn't make him charismatic or even very scary.  And the energy monsters attacking the heroes were both emotionless and flat, as well as repetitive.

What worked was that I like the characters in this book.  Obviously, I love Black Canary, and Hawkman is one of my favorites, although I don't like him in the yellow luchador mask he wears in this series.  I also love Starman and his connection to Dinah, and Green Lantern and Flash both have some nice interactions with her.  This wasn't a great series, but it was fun when the heroes got to play off each other.

The End

Society Dame: Justice Society of America #7

Previously...

Justice Society of America #7 is written by Len Strazewski with pencils by Grant Miehm, inks by Rich Buckler, and a cover by Tom Lyle featuring Black Canary and Solomon Grundy.  The series is edited by Brian Augustyn along with Mike Gold, who edited Black Canary's miniseries, her ongoing series, and her first arc in Action Comics Weekly.  The issue is cover dated August 1991 and hit the shelves in June.

Miehm previously pencilled the Black Canary-focused second issue of the series, which looked pretty great.  That bodes much better for this issue than the last chapter by Tom Artis.

"Vengeance from the Stars Chapter 7: The Return of the Justice Society" opens with Green Lantern Alan Scott and Black Canary happening upon the nefarious Vandal Savage and his undead henchman Solomon Grundy just before they destroy the heroes' compatriots, Hawkman, the Flash, and William Wildeagle.

At the sight of Green Lantern, Solomon Grundy loses what little remains of his mind and rushes to attack.

The Flash uses his super speed to catch Black Canary before she hits the hard ground.  Green Lantern uses his power ring against Grundy, but the magic has little effect, so he calls the Scarlet Speedster back for reinforcements.

Nice of Black Canary to be able to mock the damsel in distress trope as--while she is the least powerful person in the area--she was also the first one to step up and throw down against Grundy.

Meanwhile, inside the Mt. Pride Observatory, a manually and emotionally battered Ted Knight watches his old friends battle valiantly and perhaps futilely against the power of Vandal Savage.  The same power that crushed Ted.  He thinks back to the glory days of the Justice Society of America, before the team broke up and members went their separate ways... before Ted retired his Starman duties to focus on astronomy.

But now, Ted sees that he was wrong to walk away from the responsibility of being a hero.  And for the first time since the first issue, he stands upright in defiance.

Outside the observatory, Vandal Savage is struggling with the damaged Cosmic Rod he stole from Ted while the rest of the heroes try to subdue Grundy.  Hawkman grabs the not-so-gentle giant and lifts him into the air, only to drop him from a great enough height that Grundy leaves a crater in the earth when he lands.  Green Lantern knows, sadly, that's not nearly enough to keep Grundy down.

As the four heroes (and Wildeagle) close in on Vandal Savage, they come under fire from Savage's hired guns, the same hoods who robbed the Gotham Museum and fought with Black Canary back in issue #2.  The boys finally arrive with the stolen loot and Savage dives into their car.  He throws a hook around Grundy and drags the brute back to the observatory where an energy force field goes up, preventing the Justice Society members from following them.

Inside, Ted Knight is frantically working to construct a means of fighting Vandal Savage with spare parts, when the ancient evildoer tosses Ted's own Cosmic Rod at him and demands Ted fix it.  Then Savage takes in the stolen relics from Ancient Egypt: tools, he informs the men, that will grant him total control over the energy monsters he creates and the power to rule the world.

Outside, the four heroes recap the events that brought them to this point.  Realizing they will soon be faced with three different energy monsters when none of them could even defeat just one, they decide to storm Mt. Pride and stop Savage before he can attack.  But they still have the force field to contend with.  William Wildeagle suggests using his ancestor's tomahawk, a wooden weapon that Hawkman used to some success in his battle with the giant woman.

Hawkman throws the tomahawk against the force field, causing a massive energy spike.  Or maybe it has nothing to do with the tomahawk and everything to do with Vandal Savage making a dramatic re-entrance in his best pharaoh fashion.

Savage goes on to monologue about how the monsters went into the modern world to steal "the powers that drive the modern age: electricity, radio and television waves, and atomic power."  He also boasts that he is Cheops, returned to greatness once again.  Hawkman takes issue with that claim because he's a reincarnated Egyptian prince himself and knows who Cheops really was.

Then things take an... interesting turn, when Savage unleashes the three constellation monsters in their true form, which appear to be three television celebrities.

Simply solid issue with some great action beats from Black Canary and The Flash.  It's great to see the heroes working together as a team and interacting rather than fighting electric giants one-on-one.  It's also great to see Ted Knight get his balls back and start to resist the crippling influence of Vandal Savage.

And Miehm's art is without question better than Artis' work on the last issue.  It's not always clean but it is dynamic and energetic.

Come back Thursday for the final chapter of Justice Society of America...

Society Dame: Justice Society of America #6

Previously...

Justice Society of America #6 is written by Len Strazewski with pencils by Tom Artis, inks by Frank McLaughlin, and a cover by Tom Lyle featuring Black Canary and Solomon Grundy.  The series is edited by Brian Augustyn along with Mike Gold, who edited Black Canary's miniseries, her ongoing series, and her first arc in Action Comics Weekly.  The issue is cover dated August 1991 and hit the shelves in June.

The last issue that Tom Artis drew for this series was the Hawkman-centric issue #4.  That was a shame because I love Hawkman, but Artis' art was pretty lifeless and boring.  This time it's even worse, which sucks because this chapter focuses on Black Canary and Green Lantern fighting in the sky.  But, as we'll see, Artis' art is boring and awful.

"Vengeance from the Stars Chapter 6: Danger Flies the Skies" opens with Black Canary slowly regaining consciousness, pleading with her husband, Larry Lance, to let her sleep ten more minutes.  Then her eyes open fully and she realizes she is dangling high in the sky in the taloned clutches of a giant energy bird, the latest form of the constellation monster Sagittarius.

Green Lantern, caught in the bird's other talon, tells Canary to shut up so he can concentrate.  Real nice, Alan, coming from the crime fighter who can fly if the bird drops you!

Green Lantern struggles and manages to free his left arm from the talon.  He doesn't use his free hand to escape, though, just scratch his nose.  Black Canary tells him that the bird is also carrying a box full of stolen Egyptian relics from the Gotham Museum, and while she's recapping events from issues #2 and #3, a crop-duster soars nearby.

This is no random airplane flying near the bird's path, though, this "borrowed" crop-duster happens to be piloted by Doiby Dickles, the buffoonish cab driver that took palled around with Green Lantern before usurping his feature in All-American Comics.  Dickles flies close enough to tell Green Lantern he brought the special item, but the bird takes notice.  Sagittarius swoops down to attack the crop-duster and Doiby leads it on some fun little aerial acrobatics that make Black Canary nauseous.

Well, they should have been fun aerial acrobatics, but Tom Artis' layouts and panel construction are so flat that the motion and energy of the stunts is lost.  Anyway, Doiby gets out of the pilot's seat and hands Alan Scott the green power lantern.

Sagittarius doesn't like this at all and dives down toward Doiby who is trying to regain control of the plane.  Green Lantern uses this time to speak the oath that powers his magic ring.

Alan creates an energy projection to pluck the bird's hind feathers, causing Sagittarius to drop Green Lantern and Black Canary.  Green Lantern creates a green parachute for Dinah, allowing her to settle gently on Doiby's plane while Alan turns around to combat the bird monster.

Meanwhile, on the ground below, Vandal Savage's henchmen watch the fight in the sky while Solomon Grundy rages about wanting to kill Green Lantern.  The henchmen use reverse psychology on Grundy to get him to pick up the fallen box of Egyptian loot and put it in another plane.  Then they take off for New Mexico and the Mt. Pride Observatory where their evil master awaits.

Back in the sky, Green Lantern tries to cage the bird with his power ring but it doesn't work.  The bird is too powerful and it shoots energy beams out of its eyes that knock Alan unconscious.  He begins to fall, but the ring keeps his descent slow and steady.  But that puts him in danger of Sagittarius' beak and claws.

Doiby flies the plane near the bird and releases its tanks of insecticide smoke in Sagittarius' face.  The monster is distracted enough fro Black Canary to climb out onto the plane's wing and catch Green Lantern.

Black Canary brings Alan around and asks if he can absorb the monster's energy using his lantern and he thinks it's a great idea.

Green Lantern flies out again, but this time when Sagittarius fires its deadly eye-beams, Alan catches them with his green power lantern and siphons the monster's stolen energy.  Weakened, the bird flies off.  Green Lantern and Black Canary are able to follow the bird, sending Doiby off on his own to hopefully die a horrible death.

The heroes follow Sagittarius to the Mt. Pride Observatory where their friend, Ted Knight, works.  Sagittarius disappears into the massive antenna relay that has been constructed around the observatory.  As the heroes get closer, they find Vandal Savage gloating over the half-conscious forms of Hawkman and The Flash.  They witness William Wildeagle shoot Ted Knight's Cosmic Rod out of Savage's hand, but then Solomon Grundy sneaks up on Wildeagle.

After the awesomeness of Mike Parobeck last issue, it really sucked to endure Tom Artis' pencils in this issue.  They're not terrible on their own, but they don't compare to Parobeck or Rick Burchett or Grant Miehm.  And the greatest problem is the uninspired panel construction and layout.  Every page is based on a six panel grid.  Occasionally, two panels will merge into one or he'll give us a splash, but they're never anything impressive.  I don't know if he was trying to emulate the simplistic style of Golden Age comics.  I also don't know why this eight issue series needed four different artists.  Either way, this issue suffered.

It's also not the best story.  It's just as formulaic as the rest; the aerial combat with the energy monster really isn't powerful enough to take up two thirds of the book, and the last two pages cover stuff we already know.  Plus, Doiby Dickles is lame.  All in all, this isn't a great way to lead into the final two issues of the series, but they should pick up.

Come back Monday for the next chapter of Justice Society of America...

Team-Up: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #100 (March 1972)

Happy Batman Day!

Yes, today marks the 75th Anniversary of the Dark Knight's debut in Detective Comics #27.  To honor this landmark in comics publishing, I couldn't think of a better topic for today's post than one of the Blonde Bombshell's team-ups with Batman in the pages of The Brave and the Bold.  And, thinking one big anniversary deserves another, what better issue to cover than The Brave and the Bold #100 starring Batman and Robin, as well as the Hard Travelin' heroes, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and Black Canary?

"The Warrior in a Wheel-Chair" is written by Zany Bob Haney with art by the legendary Jim Aparo and a cover by the equally legendary Nick Cardy.  The Brave and the Bold #100 is cover dated March 1972 but hit the streets in December of '71.

The issue begins with an unseen sniper spying potential targets on the steps of Gotham City Hall.  When Batman comes down the steps, though, the sniper zeroes-in and fires, cutting down the Dark Knight Detective.  Commissioner Jim Gordon rides in the ambulance with Batman, cursing the drug dealers he believes responsible for this attempt on Batman's life.

The hospital's chief-of-staff tells Gordon the bullet penetrated Batman's chest and stopped perilously close to his heart.  There is only one surgeon who might be able to save the Caped Crusader, according to the chief-of-staff; unfortunately, Dr. Hellstrom is in Zurich and can't arrive in Gotham for three days.  That means Batman has to stay safely on the sidelines for three days while the biggest drug shipment in history is set to go down.

Batman stubbornly tries to rise out of the wheelchair but his body betrays him.  Alfred pleads with him to stay in the chair while Batman agonizes over his newfound uselessness in the war on crime.

While sulking, Batman observes a spider catching a fly in its web and has a sudden epiphany.  "The bat must turn into a spider," he says, and tells his faithful butler to summon Robin.

Later that night, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern arrive in Gotham City wondering if Batman's condition is as serious as it sounded when he beckoned them.  And naturally, it doesn't take long for the Emerald Archer and the Ringslinger to start shouting at each other about drugs and other societal problems.

Unseen by the trio of Justice Leaguers, Robin makes contact with his boss, using code names for both of them.

Huh... Robin can't understand what value Black Canary brings to Batman's scheme?  Is this naiveté of youth?  Ignorant sexism?  Or just another Bob Haney-ism that we roll our eyes at and press on with this wacky adventure?  Let's go!

Commissioner Gordon contacts Batman and tells him he can't combat the drug trade by himself while recuperating from his gunshot.  Batman tells him not to worry, that he's brought in his ward and three members of the Justice League of America to help his operation.  Then, inexplicably, Gordon complains that this war on drugs is police business.  Is he objecting to more costumed crime fighters lending a hand in an unofficial capacity?  He knows he's talking to Batman, right?  Haney!!!  Anyway, Batman asks for Gordon's trust and a little bit more time to put his plan into motion, then he hangs up and fights back the pain of his life-threatening injury.

Across the world in Switzerland, Mr. Belknap, the head of the international drug cartel is nervous about the security of his drug shipments to Gotham, so he sets up a test run.  Back in Gotham, we learn that Batman has a coded set of delivery routes and dates.  If he cracked the code, he ought to be able to anticipate the location of every one of Belknap's shipments.

Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, the Bat-Spider sends the Ace-Archer into action.  Green Arrow slips into the Gotham City Post Office and observes the drug traffickers disguising drugs into mail packages.

Green Arrow sends a shaft through the chest of one of the drug runners, killing him; the other punk gets away.  Green Arrow checks the packages full of drugs but discovers that it's only fine sugar.  After reporting in to Batman, the Dark Knight realizes that Belknap sent in a test shipment.  Now they are aware of each other and the operations will get even more dangerous.

Batman gets word that another shipment is coming in through the docks.  Green Lantern watches the ship come into port and unload a foreign car.  He suspects the drugs might be hidden in the car, but when he goes to investigate, hidden gunmen from the ship and the docks open fire.  Green Lantern uses the power of his ring to protect himself and thwart the shooters.  Then he uses the ring to deconstruct the car, only to find no drugs hidden inside.  Once again, Belknap has foiled Batman's plan by sending a false shipment.

Of course it's the woman who nearly ruins Batman's carefully constructed scheme!  And of course Robin thinks Black Canary's an idiot, though he is able to recognize her legs from across the street in the rain.

Wait, Black Canary had to get out of the rain because it was ruining her hair?  She wears a wig!!!

Batman wallows in despair that he couldn't catch Belknap's drug deliveries.  Three chances, three misses, and now the Dark Knight has run out of time.  He collapses under the strain and needs to be prepared for surgery.

Back in Switzerland, Belknap learns that Batman will be operated on by Dr. Hellstrom from the same country.  That night, "Hellstrom" oversees the loading of some equipment onto the plane sending him across the ocean.  In Gotham, Robin and Commissioner Gordon watch as Batman is wheeled into the operating room.  Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Green Lantern fume over their inability to stop the drug shipments and head to the hospital to be close to Batman during his surgery.

In the operating room, Dr. Hellstrom points out his elaborate machine that will keep Batman's condition stable during the procedure.  The Dark Knight begins to feel the effects of anesthesia which causes him to hallucinate images of a giant spider web and Belknap at the center.  The vision of Belknap transforms into the vision of a surgeon and Batman feels himself ensnared by webs.

The Caped Crusader snaps out of his sleep and begins to resist the doctors about to cut him open.  He struggles while they try to increase his anesthesia.  In desperation, he signals Robin in the waiting room.

Before Belknap can slice Batman's throat, Green Arrow fires an arrow that knocks the scalpel out of the drug kingpin's hand.  The heroes take down Belknap.  Gordon gets word to Switzerland where they discover that the real Dr. Hellstrom was captured by Belknap's goons.  It will take six hours for him to fly to Gotham, and Batman doesn't have that much time.  So Green Arrow uses his green power ring to collect the surgeon and bring him to Gotham in a much speedier time.

When the real Hellstrom begins to operate on Batman, he realizes that his specialized machine isn't working correctly.  Upon inspection, the heroes realize that the machine is filled with Belknap's drug shipment.

After the operation, the heroes gather around Batman and explain how Belknap planned to usurp Dr. Hellstrom, kill Batman during the surgery, and then take his machine out of the hospital to flood the city with his product.  They wonder how Batman figured out Belknap had taken the doctor's place, and the Dark Knight tells them he felt needle marks on the doctor's wrist and remembered that Belknap was a junkie.  Hmm... that seems like information we should have had earlier.

What to say about this issue?  It's fun and hilarious in all the usual Bob Haney ways.  The story is too complicated by half for its own good.  Why all this ridiculous spider imagery and emphasis on Batman spinning complex webs like a spider?  This doesn't amount to anything profound and the metaphor doesn't even hold up.  The characters are exaggerated and slightly wonky, and sexist in Robin's case, but that's just natural fun.

In any event, the true star of this book isn't Batman or Black Canary or Robin... it's Jim Aparo!

Society Dame: Justice Society of America #3

Previously...

Justice Society of America #3 is written by Len Strazewski with pencils by Mike Parobeck, inks by Rick Burchett, and a cover, once again, by Tom Lyle.  The series is edited by Brian Augustyn along with Mike Gold, who edited Black Canary's miniseries, her ongoing series, and her first arc in Action Comics Weekly.  The issue is cover dated June 1991 and hit the shelves in April.

"Vengeance from the Stars Chapter 3: Dead Air" begins with Alan Scott addressing the nation from the anchor desk on GBC News.  He informs the viewers that Gotham City and indeed most of the country is experiencing power outages.  This scene puts us at the same moment where issue #2 began, except instead of watching the scene on TV from the perspective of some looters, we're now in the studio with Alan Scott and his production staff.

Unexpectedly, the power goes out in the studio which shouldn't be possible with the emergency generators running.  Scrambling around in the dark, one of Alan's crew tells him something is sucking power from the generators as well as the broadcast signal.  Alan tells his crew to get on the problem and fix it, but they're startled by a brilliant light in the sky outside.  Rushing to the window, Alan and his crew see the giant shimmering image of Sagittarius in the Gotham skyline.

Alan orders the crew to point some cameras on that thing so they can show it on TV as soon as they're able to broadcast.  Then, he slips into his office and speaks the oath of the Green Lantern.

Green Lantern flies out and scans Sagittarius, discovering that the giant energy monster is feeding off the local power, including the broadcast signal from the GBC television studio.  To get the monster to stop, Green Lantern gets its attention, which causes it to lash out at him.  It wrecks the studio's antenna and slaps the Emerald Knight across the sky.

Down below, we catch up on the climax of last issue's story with Black Canary making one last charge against Solomon Grundy.  Grundy is distracted by Green Lantern in the sky, but Dinah doesn't get a chance to take the giant out before the museum robbers knock her out.

This is the same scene as last issue, basically, except now Mike Parobeck is drawing it, so, y'know, score!  As the hoods carry Black Canary to their car, they're almost stopped by Alan Scott's producer and cameraman, but Charlie, the producer, is a lot more interested in filming a tussle between super powers in the sky than a woman in fishnets.

Green Lantern throws a massive energy punch at the giant.  Charlie dispatches Alan's personal assistant, Johnny, to go back to the studio and make sure they're broadcasting this fight live... and to get him and the cameraman some coffee.

As the battle continues, Green Lantern finds something familiar about the form this monster has taken.

Green Lantern tries to remove Sagittarius' weapons, but it leaves him vulnerable to a counterattack.  The monster swats him into a high-rise window.  As the glass rains down on the street below, Charlie revels in the chaos that his camera is capturing and only wishes the technology to broadcast in color was possible.

Someone else wishes the battle could be shown in color and that's the mysterious villain who has unleashed these energy monsters and caused all this destruction.  He is called by the leader of the museum robbers and told they captured Black Canary.  We learn this villain is Vandal Savage and he orders the robbers to bring Canary and Green Lantern--once Sagittarius has defeated him--to Savage's hideout at Mt. Pride Observatory.

Vandal Savage holds the Cosmic Rod and uses it to torment his slave, the former Starman, Ted Knight.

Savage ignores Ted and watches the battle on TV, revealing that Ptolemy introduced him to the power of the celestial constellations centuries ago.

Green Lantern fears his battle with the archer isn't going well and needs to stop it; he casts a green energy straightjacket on the humanoid form that only binds it until it transforms into the shape of a giant eagle.  The bird knocks Alan through the signal antenna, taking the footage off the air and infuriating Charlie down on the street.

Green Lantern cages the monstrous eagle, but then must decide what to do with it.

Meanwhile, Solomon Grundy is on the street fuming that his enemy is out of reach.  The hoods still have Black Canary and they're trying to calm Grundy down, too.  They fail, of course.  Solomon Grundy rips a telephone booth out of the street and hurls it into the air.  It slams into Green Lantern's back, the wooden frame penetrating his force field.  Green Lantern falls, but only so far before the magic of the ring protects him and lowers him down at a gentle floating pace.

Free of distraction, the energy creature rips the signal antenna off of the GBC tower.  The hoods want to put Green Lantern in the car with Black Canary, but Solomon Grundy doesn't want to wait for his revenge.  He throws the men aside, but before he can bash the heroes, the eagle swoops down and picks up Lantern and Canary in its talons and carries them off.

Grundy is left howling in disappointment as the tag reveals that next issue will focus on Hawkman.

So far, each issue of this series has spotlit one member of the team in a more-or-less continuous battle taking most of the story.  So far, Strazewski's formula hasn't faltered, but it does seem to be wearing a little thin by this third time around.  What saves this chapter from being boring and repetitive is Mike Parobeck's outstanding artwork, and the power of Green Lantern.

I wasn't much of a fan of any iteration of Green Lantern until Geoff Johns' Rebirth miniseries, and after that I loved Hal Jordan more than any.  But since then, the more I see and read of him, the more I really love Alan Scott.  It's almost not fair to compare them because they're such different characters, despite having the same name and essentially the same power.  But there is a stateliness to Alan Scott, a refined gentlemanly quality that really sets him above his peers in the Justice Society.

Come back Thursday for the next chapter of Justice Society of America...