Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

JSA All –Stars #1

By Hervé St-Louis
December 29, 2009 - 11:57

The JSA All-Stars is a new spin off series from the Justice Society of America series featuring the first super hero super team in history. Having gained many new members in recent years, the Justice Society’s rank were swelling and made the series unmanageable. Thankfully, the large team had an internal disagreement over how to go about hunting villains with many younger members wanting a more proactive outlook instead of the “stale” society. But the new team is already threatened by several villains. Will it survive long?

This series was designed as a straw man. Swell the roster until it is unmanageable and then find some bogus reason to split the team in two and force readers to buy two series instead of one. The split was not well handled. There lacked much characterization showing why several of the members chose to leave. Really, if you were invited to be part of an exclusive and decade’s old club by its founding members, would you after a few months split away from them and make your own club under a similar chapter and relying on the prestige of the older and established unit to parade with your new friends? I wonder how often that happens in fraternities.

Still the new writer , Matt Sturges works hard to provide needed characterization to all the characters and show some burgeoning team dynamics. I continue to wonder why the team trusts a US Marines’ corporal as their field leader instead of the more than experienced and talented Powergirl. Powergirl seem to be the chairwoman, but what she may lack in terms of basic military training, she more than any member of the team makes up by the very fact that she has been part of the Justice Society, the Justice League and has served in many missions and crisis compared to the limited experience of the corporal. I certainly don’t mean to belittle US Marines corporals in general, but I do know that they don’t teach military tactics and strategy to corporals. They teach that to officers who go to military academies. The premise of this series while interesting is already flawed. Sure, Magog can shape the troops into physical peak through hardcore PT, but can he really lead?

I don’t like Freddie Williams’ work here. It’s like a mix of Vince Giarrano and Bart Sears. I’ve always liked the solidity of Bart Sears’ designs, but Giarrano’s work is too amorphous. It’s a weird mix to find to opposite styles within merged within one artist. So while I like the imposing figures, they also look like jelly and have weird facials.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12