Adieu to the Justice Society
I think that I've reached the end of my tether concerning my beloved JSA. I've been reading it for a long time now, and it's just getting crappier and crappier. I'm one of those people that have a tendency to hang on for FAR too long...waiting for the next issue to be better than the one that I just bought, waiting...waiting...waiting.
I honestly couldn't make heads or tails out of the latest one. And I'm not too thrilled with the idea that Alan has somehow made some sort of "magic" land on the far side of the moon, because even for comic books, that's just weird. And the art has been subpar, and I miss Eaglesham, and I miss Geoff Johns, and in a word...I'm fed up.
THIS is my JSA.
You've got the grizzled veterans like Alan Scott and Jay Garrick and Ted Grant. You've got Hawkman throwing his weight around, and Power Girl. You have Star Girl and her braces. And Doctor Midnite and Sandy being awesome. Not to mention Mister Terrific, who is...well, pretty terrific. And Cyclone and Ma Hunkel making them all lemonade. ANd the Brownstone which is ALSO awesome. And Wildkitty, and Obsidian, Hourman and Liberty Belle, and everyone else that I'm leaving out.
They hung around doing awesome sorts of things. They had picnics, and went to firehouses, and helped people, and trained the younger generation. If you were a teen you went into the Teen Titans, and if you were a LUCKY teen, you went into the Justice Society. These were the sort of people who could walk into a room and call Superman "son". Who could even make Batman and Hal Jordan sit down and shut up.
They were magnificent, dammit, and now they're just a mess. And enough is enough. But I'm still sad inside.
posted by SallyP @ 7:35 AM
13 Comments:
I'm with you. That JSA was awesome, a perfect mix of wily vets, contemporary heroes, and young ones starting out. I stopped reading when they split the team and from everything I've read since about the teams, I've had no reason to regret my decision.
I have no problems with change, when the change makes things interesting, or even more awesome, etc. But this is just wrong.
It all did seem to go downhill rather quickly, didn't it? I probably SHOULD have quit when they split the teams, but I have this habit of hanging in there...just a little too long usually.
But yeah, it's pretty bad at the moment.
The splitting the teams thing really irritated me. I just didn't like what I read about it, so I stopped reading then and there.
But I know about hanging on too long. I kept reading the Rise and Fall of Arsenal in hopes he would emerge stronger and would be heading for better things, instead of leaving him an addict again.
I gave Judd Winick on Power Girl more time than he deserved. At least I had the sense to stop reading WW with issue 600. That preview of the new direction was too irritating.
I think it's time to pull out the older JSAs and remember the good times.
Comics should be fun, and it's apalling how many writers seem unable to remember that.
Yeah, I lost patience Justice Society itself whole back when Willingham ran "Days Of The Future Past... with Nazis!!!!!" and I only hung on with All-Stars until the Liberty Belle/Hourman feature ended.
I'm going to go read the fire station issue again (Citizen Steel and all his nieces and nephews making pancakes, so cute).
I stopped just a few issues after the Johns run, right when they brought back Mordru (again!).
I used to be more like Shelly in terms of patience. I still regret picking up stuff like any Identity Crisis issue after #1. But getting burned repeatedly has made me quicker on the trigger nowadays. Even if I do really like the art (i.e. Rags Morales, Don Kramer).
I'm most reluctant to drop female lead character books because it might send the messagethat they don't sell, rather than the intended message of: This creative team sucks! or: This direction for the character sucks!
I have no qualms about dropping a team book or a male lead character book if I don't like it.
But now that I've finally dropped Power Girl, I have to hope someone gets wise and gives the book a better team soon rather than cancel the book for lack of interest. That's a real problem.
The book is in sad, sad shape. And Scott Kolins? Not a good fit at all. Sigh.
Yep, it's pretty bad. And that's a darned shame, because the CONCEPT of the JSA is just so wonderful. I think that finally getting rid of Magog is a good thing, because he managed to drag things into the crapper, but still, the recent moves involving Jay and Alan just irritate the piss out of me.
JSA has lost its heart somewhere. Guggenheim has a good high concept - "Let's build a society of justice" – but doesn't realize that's what the JSA was already doing. We don't need super-city built in the wake of Islamic Terrorist Badness; we need super-people relating to one another and old farts teaching young punks that super-people wear capes and don't kill because that's just how grown-up super-people behave. Building the Justice Society.
-- Jack of Spades
So long as I'm working at the comic shop, I get to read it on the stands. I stopped buying it months ago, but I keep reading it, possibly out of what a friend of mine equates to Stockholm Syndrome.
I can't say this at work, because we operate by the twin commandments of Don't Insult The Customer's Tastes and Don't Tell Someone Not To Buy Something, but ... Great Caesar's Stars and Garters, this book has been garbage since before All-Stars spun off, and has finally crossed the line into sewage.
I'll throw myself on this grenade for a few more months, and let you know if it gets any better. Or, if possible, any WORSE.
"Stars and Garters"? Thanks for plugging my blog, Serp!
Stockholm syndrome just about sums it up.
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