The comics medium is capable of handling just about any genre well: crime, horror, western, slice-of-life... but sometimes, you just want to see a good old-fashioned super-hero throwdown, and if that's what you're looking for, JSA #46 is just the ticket. Johns and Goyer serve up three very nasty, very powerful bad guys with an evil agenda, and guest artists Sal Velluto and Bob Almond, coming off a spectacular run on Black Panther, deliver a stunning portrayal of these villains whupping up on the heroes. This is part one of a big epic story, and so far "Princes of Darkness" is off to a great start.
Given all their power, it's got to be a little difficult to come up with adversaries that can credibly challenge the JSA. Johns and Goyer have done a pretty good job of it, though, whether it means using some of DC's heavy hitters or just scaling up the power of some of their existing threats a bit. There's a little of both in this issue, as Mordru is definitely powerful enough to be a big threat, while Obsidian has been turned into much more of a powerhouse since he went bad. And the third villain in this piece got a power-up in a big story during the 90s, and fits right in with the "Princes of Darkness" theme and the JSA's use of DC continuity.
Mordru is the real star of the show here, though. His introduction into the 20th century, when he was known solely as a Legion villain, was one of the big innovations early on in this series, and I'm glad to see him back for a return engagement. The creators do a terrific job of showing just how powerful and vicious he can be, using his magic to put down several members of the JSA with one shot each. While the JSA doesn't feel necessarily helpless (Alan Scott in particular gets a great moment of defiance), the battle does look one-sided, and for the first issue of a big epic, that's probably as it should be.
As always, there's a danger of the continuity feeling a bit heavy for casual readers, but Goyers and Johns generally keep it pretty light and accessible. I say generally because although I enjoyed seeing Dove back in action, the explanation of who she was and how she came to take Lyta Hall's place and give birth to Dr. Fate was one of the most complex bits of exposition I've seen, and it didn't add that much to the overall story.
For all my appreciation of the writing, though, it was the change in art this issue that really got my attention. I've liked Leonard Kirk's take on this book, but I've been waiting to see more work from Velluto and Almond, and they did not let us down. Their battle scenes are stunning in their detail, and it is in large part due to their artwork that the brutality and scale of the fight comes through so clearly. Just as you couldn't do The Ultimates without Hitch, I don't think this issue of JSA would have worked as well without Velluto and Almond.
