JSA #31
"Making Waves"
Recommended (7/10)
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DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Peter Snejbjerg
Colors: John Kalisz & Heroic Age
Letters: Ken Lopez
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Johns continues to bring a strong balance between characterization and adventure, between modern storytelling and nostalgia. Still, this isn't the most complex mystery plot I've ever seen, but Snejbjerg's dark art brings a haunted mood to the book, reinforcing the mature side of the storytelling as opposed to the the inherently corny super-heroics.
The villain known as Shakedown is found dead, and the JSA is called in to investigate. They determine the brute was the victim of an apparent drowing, but he was found nowhere near any significant source of water. They also discover that the Batman was on his trail, and he teams with the team of heroes to track down the obvious culprit... and a kidnapped child.
Snejbjerg captures both the coloful fun of super-heroes but a darker side of that world as well. He presents Sand and Dr. Mid-Nite as almost alien, and it adds to the foreboding atmosphere in the book. Kalisz has adapted to the shift in art style as well. With his past efforts on books like JSA and JLA, he gave us brighter colors, more traditional super-hero tones. Here, he takes on a darker palette, and it's in keeping with the detective-fiction theme of the story.
With the appearance of Outsiders villains, it's clear to me that Johns grew up reading the same super-hero comics I did. Mind you, that meant the "mystery" of how Shakedown was killed wasn't much of a mystery, as the heroes quickly realize. The plot's rather empty, as is the idea that more than half a dozen super-heroes are needed to track down what Johns describes as a "minor league" villain.
Fortunately, the real story lies in how the characters interact, not how they beat up on a water-woman. The Batman's suspicions regarding the newer members of the Justice Society say a lot about his character, but they also opened the door for new readers to learn about the new characters as well. The tension between Mid-Nite and Canary rang true, and it provides regular readers with closure on what was an interesting relationship subplot.
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