This is Justice Society of America: The New Golden Age. It is the first volume of Geoff Johns’ run on Justice Society of America. The Prime Illustrator is Mikel Janín. The Other Illustrators are Jerry Ordway, Scott Kolins, Steve Lieber, Brandon Peterson, Marco Santucci, Diego Olortegui, JP Mayer, Scott Hanna, Todd Nauck, Viktor Bogdanovic, and Gary Frank. The Prime Colorist is Jordie Bellaire. The Other Colorists are John Kalisz, Jordan Boyd, Brandon Peterson, Nick Filardi, and Matt Herms. It is Lettered by Rob Leigh. Trigger Warning: This book contains elements that one may find disturbing such as stalking, someone’s neck being snapped, nationalism, blood, choking, moments of extreme violence, Nazism, and warfare. Readers’ discretion is advised. This book follows Helena Wayne, the child of Batman and Catwoman from the future, who has run into some time travelling shenanigans. After a mysterious figure kills her entire Justice Society of America team, Helena is transported back in time during another previous era of that group’s history. Helena then uncovers the plan of this mysterious figure to destroy every single version of the Justice Society of America so that he can rule the universe. But, with this new superhero team by her side, Helena makes it her mission to stop this mysterious figure from completing his evil plot. Who is this mystery man, and what long-term affects does his plan unlock?
This book was so cool. I really respect the amount of work and effort that everyone put into this series, especially writer Geoff Johns. For those of you who don’t know, this series is Geoff Johns’ attempt to completely recreate the Golden Age of DC Comics for a modern audience, both enhancing older characters and creating new ones. One of the main factors that makes me incredibly fascinated by Geoff Johns is his love for the Golden Age of comics. And this book puts that aspect of Johns on full display. There are so many little nods and hints about details within the Golden Age that it is honestly astonishing. Every single superhero within the original Justice Society of America has their iconic costumes on. And, members of Helena Wayne’s Justice Society of America are full of reformed villains created in the Golden Age, such as Solomon Grundy (who was introduced in All-Star Comics #61 (1944)) and The Gentleman Ghost (who was introduced in Flash Comics #88 (1947)). And the new superheroes created for this series still have that Golden Age feel to them.
Now, onto the main plot itself. It was a time travel story that isn’t confusing, which is an accomplishment given how comics usually handle this concept. It helps that they focused on only one character, Helena Wayne, throughout the whole thing, and we experienced everything through her eyes. For the general gist on how Helena Wayne time travels, she has a magic snow globe that lets her jump to different points in time connected with the Justice Society of America. I enjoy how Geoff Johns gives proper time to each version of the Justice Society. We get a lot of time with the classic Golden Age version of the Justice Society. And the books make sure to have members that people don’t even remember, like Hourman and Atom (for clarification, not The Atom (Ray Palmer) but Atom (Al Pratt)). But Geoff sure remembers them, so they’re there. After the issue focusing on the classic team, Helena is then transported to modern times, and sees that version. It is still a remarkably similar team, with returning members like Alan Scott and Jay Garrick, and new members, like Stargirl and Power Girl. But easily the most important member, at least in this series, is Doctor Fate, who the mysterious figure makes sure to kill first for reasons unknown. I love this, because Doctor Fate has always been one of my favorite members of the Justice Society, and the DC Universe in general. I absolutely adore how Geoff Johns uses the time travel concept to spotlight different eras of the Justice Society of America. It is spectacular.
Spoiler Alert: One of the more fun aspects of this book would be the villain. About halfway through the story, the mysterious figure is revealed to be Per Degaton, who, of course, was introduced in the Golden Age (All Star Comics #35 (1947)). Okay, what is the best way to describe Per Degaton? Just imagine if Kang the Conqueror was a Nazi. And he wasn’t just ideologically aligned with Nazis, he was a full-on scientist for the Third Reich, researching supernatural machinery. He becomes a test subject for an experimental time machine, which causes him to be jumped a few days in the future. He then uses his newfound power to change history so that the Nazis come out on top. He then discovers that the best way to achieve his goal is to destroy the Justice Society in every single era (past, present, and future). Other than that mission statement, just like Kang the Conqueror, Per Degaton has his own conspiratorial group, made up entirely of himself. There are members where Degaton is an old man, and others where he is a child. It is truly bizarre. Per Degaton in this book is just really fun to watch, just because of how wacky his entire character is. It feels as if Geoff Johns wanted to stretch his knowledge by making a one-note villain, that no one has used in years, and make him the main villain of his Golden Age saga. But, hey, at least it was entertaining.
Another Spoiler Warning: One thing about this book that I had a problem with would be the constant teases for other projects. Look, I get it. This book is supposed to set up an entirely new side of the DC Universe. But Geoff Johns uses multiple sections of this book to tease future parts of this universe further down the line, whether it was a future arc or completely different book. Sometimes, the teases were fine because they were relatively short and didn’t interfere with the main story that much. They teased a Golden Age Red Lantern, which is such an awesome idea, and it was only a one-panel sequence. It was cool and got the point across without much interference to the general story. But the one tease that got me was the one for a Mephisto arc. Look, I love Mephisto, and it’s been a while since he was a major threat. But it did not have to be a multiple page teaser, with two characters just talking about him the entire time. It was boring, and it felt like a big roadblock for the main story. So, please Geoff Johns, leave your teasers either in small doses or at the end. I am here to experience the story you have currently created, not a teaser for other projects down the line.
The art for this book is nice. I have always loved Mikel Janín’s art style, ever since I saw it in Tom King’s Batman run, and this might be his best work yet. That is because, for the most part, Mikel Janín mostly did very street level and realistic stories. This might be the first time that he illustrates more fantastical books, which allows him to really stretch his drawing muscles. It is honestly great. For the other artists, I will admit, it got a little muddled and distracting on just how many artists they got for this book. Janín was still the prime artist, but the others do take up a lot of time. And many of these artists were only there for one issue, which makes it both better and worse. And I have the same thoughts on the colorists, even though Jordie Bellaire was great. Overall, the art for this book was fantastic, but I wish there were fewer cooks in the kitchen.
Overall, this book was a great read. It did a pretty satisfactory job setting up this new side of DC. All the new characters were interesting to watch. The villain was surprisingly fun, given his background. I always enjoy looking at the research that Geoff Johns does for these books (since, you know he does). I did find that this book was muddled in multiple ways, such as the teasers and art. With saying that, the art was still good and nice to look at. Overall, this book is fun for people who like old school superheroes.