Comic Related - If It's Comic Related, You'll Find It Here!

Why I Love... the JSA!

Welcome to another edition of the Why I Love column, where I, Eric Ratcliffe, pick something I've read, played, listened to or watched to discuss with you fair readers. This week we have a book that I've wanted to talk about for a long time; a book that stars some of the best characters in the DCU. Without this book I would have never jumped back into DC Comics and probably would have never known about guys like Geoff Johns and Rags Morales. That's right folks, this week's spotlight is on none other than the Justice Society of America!

Now, as I already mentioned, I can remember going to the bookstore when I was about 15 or 16 and finding this trade called "Stealing Thunder" also known as volume 5 of the series before the latest version. Mind you this was at a point in my life where I was religiously reading Wizard Magazine (back when they weren't trying to be anything more than an actual comics magazine) and they had their yearly awards. I remembered reading about the return of Hawkman and how interesting this classic set of heroes sounded to me. (I've very recently got my hands on that arc.) So here I was, picking up my first JSA book.

The first thing I thought about as I flipped through these pages was just how great the artwork was. Everyone was real, each character having their own unique look, costume and abilities. Geoff's dialogue and characterization as well as plot pulled me in. I fell in love with Sandy Hawkins, Icicle, Captain Marvel, Power Girl, Jakeem Thunder and Rick Tyleras as they did their best to fight against the Ultra Humanite who had taken over the world.

I'm not sure exactly what hit with me but I instantly felt for these characters and felt they were much more interesting then the JLA and soon I found myself picking up everything else that I could. Alan Scott, Wildcat, Atom Smasher, Doctor Midnight, The Classic Flash...these were my characters. They felt like a family and even the youngest members like Stargirl really pulled you in.

Icicle was probably one of my favorite characters that I got to read in that first arc and is an interesting morally grey character to me. He says he's not a good person but when you see some of the stuff he does throughout all his appearances I certainly have to disagree. He may be a villain but just like James Robinson with The Shade, Geoff makes Icicle into a character that the readers can route for, even if you feel bad for it in the long run.

The staples of the team, also known as another version of the Trinity bring so much to the table. Jay, Alan and Grant all bring so much into the book that it's not even funny. You have the world's greatest boxer and one of the best fighters on the planet in Wildcat. You have the heart of the team who wields one of the most powerful weapons on the planet in the original Green Lantern and then one of the fastest men on the planet in the original Flash. They've lived for years longer than you'd expect them to (it actually makes sense too!) and you really have to love the bond that the three men have that is really the driving force behind the JSA.

The title also really drives home the legacy aspect without it ever feeling forced. Characters like Stargirl, Sandy, Doctor Fate, Hawkgirl and a few of the others are all carrying on the mantle from someone previously and do their best to make a legacy of their own while respecting the past.

There is a brilliant arc toward the end of the 85 issue run where Rick and a small team of JSA ers go back in time and manage to save his father from death which adds an interesting thing into the background of the character having Rex Tyler back alive and well.

Remember me mentioning James Robinson earlier in the spotlight? Well he was a part of the creative team to relaunch the JSA and the Starman we all fell in love with in Starman does join up with the team in the first few issues. Jack is very much himself here and there is a cool little short story in JSA All Stars that has Tony and James telling a story from Ted's past.

Even the tie in issue for Identity Crisis was really well done as the Society deals the best it possibly can with everyone's families on the line. Courtney having to face some dark realities about possibly losing her family was one of my favorite moments in that entire first run of the book as the time travel arc featured not only some of my favorite characters but also some of the best character moments in the whole title.

But it's not just the heroes that help this title shine but also the villains. The Ultra Humanite was a highlight for me personally as well as Dagon the time traveling evil mastermind. Plus even a few obscure villains came back and the injustice society was always a driving force against the team.

My personal favorite characters were guys like Sand, Jakeem Thunder, Atom Smasher and Rick Tyler who all throughout the series grew and changed for the better, Sand probably changing the most, his new costume looking a lot like Wesley's classic one.

When David Goyer and James Robinson both left the series became Geoff Johns and the first real showing of his talent. He knows how to handle large casts and still give the spotlight on everyone while giving screen time to the right amounts of action and exposition.

I guess when it comes to the JSA, I'm a huge fanboy and love everything that I read. Though with the recent relaunch the title has lost a lot of its original charm. I am honestly not sure why Magog is there other than to test us as readers. There is nothing to like about the character and he was much better as the original character they introduced. Sand and Jakeem have seemingly disappeared for the most part. Hourman is a lovesick puppy dog and even Terrific has been abused as of late.

If you're looking for a good Justice Society read, I highly recommend most everything with Geoff Johns, David Goyer and James Robinson's names on it. From Lightning Strike to JSA All Stars to even the Elseworlds known as the Golden Age, the material is all strong and gives me hope that the title will return to this great tone that it once was.

That's it for this week, readers, join us next week as we look into something else close to my fanboy heart and look forward to near the end of the month for the second annual Why I Love Comic Awards!

Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching DVDs, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!