They May Have Picked The Wrong Guy(s)

A few months ago, the final issue of Justice Society of America written by Geoff Johns appeared. Johns has been the guiding light of that franchise for many years, but now he's turned his attention toward the Green Lantern and Flash portion of the DCU, which is good news for fans of those characters (like me!) but worrisome to JSA fans (like me!).

To fill the void left by Johns, DC has brought in the writing team of Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges, the two gentlemen responsible for Fables (a fantasy series from DC's Vertigo imprint that I've not read). I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, as I've heard good things about Fables over the years. But the sad truth is that when I finished their first issue of Justice Society of America (# 29) recently, I was very underwhelmed. It didn't read well, and it seemed apparent to me that they didn't have a very good grasp of the characters just yet. Some of the decisions made by the members of the team seemed suspect, and my willing suspension of disbelief was strained to the breaking point when a large contingent of the JSA arrives to take down one C-level criminal only to discover that a dozen supervillains are lying in wait for them there. Holy dramatic confrontations, Batman! Or maybe just, wow, what a poorly written setup!

On the other hand, I've now read the first two issues of the 6-issue miniseries, JSA Vs Kobra, written by Eric Trautmann. This is exactly what I had hoped from the main JSA title following Johns' departure, as it's a different take on the superteam (more espionage-based than straight up superheroics) but thoroughly engrossing on its own terms. Trautmann makes the wise decision to focus on a subset of the team, and to leverage what we know of their recent history while still moving the team forward. JSA Vs Kobra is off to a nasty start, in terms of civilian body count, but that lends it an appropriate emotional weight and thereby brings the reader into the story more than if it just featured, for example, a big slugfest between colourfully-garbed heroes and villains.

I have to say that I'd be a lot happier about the prospects of my beloved Justice Society if Willingham and Sturges were writing the miniseries and Trautmann were in charge of the main title! Unfortunately, that's not what we've got, so I'll just have to enjoy the remaining issues of JSA Vs Kobra and hope for the best on the flagship series.