|
JSA #32
"Stealing Thunder Prologue"
Highly Recommended (9/10)
|
DC Comics
Writers: David Goyer & Geoff Johns
Artist: Peter Snejbjerg
Colors: John Kalisz & Heroic Age
Letters: Ken Lopez
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
After being named Best Comic of 2001 by Wizard, JSA is riding in on a high note in 2002 as well. This issue is a terrific "downtime" story, showing the day-to-day life of a super-hero team, with the mundane clashing with the fantastic, and after a solid issue full of character development and funny moments, the creative team just kicks the reader in the gut with an incredible finale. This issue works on several levels: it's an examination of the bureaucracy of an organized super-hero team, exploration of the various characters who make up the team, and a terrific jumping-on point that leads into what promises to be a very interesting story. JSA
last year established itself as one of the best super-hero team comics on the
market last year, and it looks poised to continue that dominance this year.
Geoff Johns seems a shoe-in
for my favorite writer list of 2002, given the excellent work he has done in the
last year, and this issue is a terrific example of why. While never losing the
sense of wonder that super-heroes should have, Johns conveys that they are human
and makes them very easy to relate to. Little moments like a meeting where the
heroes discuss what kind of food to order or where a pair of friends who both
have an interest in the same woman share an uncomfortable moment get across that
for all their powers and weird origins, these heroes are people.
I'm also really enjoying the
relationships that have developed between these characters in general. The
brother-sister vibe from Jakeem and Courtney is a great idea, as is the strange
friendship/rivalry developing between Black Adam and Atom Smasher. In addition,
seeing newcomer Power Girl talking with outgoing member Black Canary was a great
way to re-establish their relationship as well as to provide the reader with
some fairly unobtrusive information about the various team members. Canary's
speech sometimes seemed a little too stilted, too blatant in its exposition, but
in general it was a clever device.
Given how much I have enjoyed
Stephen Sadowski's work on the title, I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying
Peter Snejbjerg's fill-in work. His approach is completely different, a bit
darker, and he doesn't have the same sort of detail on the faces that Sadowski
did. However, the body language and storytelling in general is still incredibly
expressive. Black Canary's farewell, and Dr. Midnite's reaction, is an emotional
moment, and the finale of the book is powerful and surprising.
While I enjoyed the entire
issue, it's that finale that really grabbed me. The cover hints at the reunion
to come, but I suspect no one will guess at its actual outcome. There's only one
thing better than a solid super-hero comic with good characterization, action
and artwork, and that's one that leaves the reader breathlessly awaiting the
next issue. The ending of this one will no doubt have fans counting the days
until the next issue.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board. |
