by Randy Lander

JSA #34 "Stealing Thunder 2 of 5: Troublestruck" Recommended (8/10) DC Comics Writers: David Goyer & Geoff Johns Pencils: Leonard Kirk Inks: Keith Champagne Colors: John Kalisz & Heroic Age Letters: Ken Lopez Editor: Peter Tomasi Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN The post-apocalyptic world where the villain wins is a familiar scenario in super-hero comics, but Goyer, Johns and the rest are giving the old chestnut another run. There's a lot of familiarity in the scenes this issue, from the morally conflicted heroes to the torture scenes of the ultra-powerful villain to the sense of a hopeless battle. However, while the story may lack surprises in structure, it has a lot to offer in terms of new characters, great moments for the existing characters and a powerful and imaginative villain. I'm as interested in this new JSA as I was in the team prior to the Ultra-Humanite's scheme, and the creative team has gotten me hooked on this storyline. Johns has shown an appreciation for how to write the villains in his work on Flash and his Rogues' Gallery, and he brings that talent to bear on the Icicle and Ultra-Humanite here. The Icicle's distaste for his allies makes for some wonderful narration, and having such a dangerous and unrepentant villain teaming up with the heroes goes a long way to showing how desperate the situation is. The rest of the desperation shows through in the Ultra-Humanite's actions, as he lectures Alan Scott on the use of stolen power or tries to break Wildcat. While the villains are interesting, however, the focus this issue is on the new JSA members that we were introduced to in the previous issue. Hourman is a familiar face, with some modifications to his powers from both the last hero to bear the name and to reflect changes in technology, and I'm already happy to have a more traditional version of the character back in the team. I'm also already quite taken with the new Crimson Avenger, whose silence and ability makes her seem quite formidable and mysterious, and a good heir to the name and style that the original Crimson Avenger had. Mind you, the explanation of Hourman's powers is poured onto the page in a bit of a clumsy fashion, essentially seeming like Hourman reading his own "Who's Who" entry to the readers, but in general, I was pleased by these new incarnations of classic characters. Quite honestly, I miss Stephen Sadowski's work on the book, as it was always crisp and powerful, and he defined the book for me. However, Leonard Kirk does an excellent job on the artwork, whether it's on the new designs for Hourman and Crimson Avenger, brutal and powerful action scenes or creepy and unsettling backgrounds to indicate the extent of Ultra-Humanite's takeover. Kirk is called upon to do some pretty impressive visuals here, including a final splash that would make George Perez jealous, and he handles the work in fine style. JSA is a fairly traditional super-hero book, building off continuity and standard super-hero morality and methods of operation. However, it is an excellent example of that kind of super-hero book, and anyone with even a passing interest in super-hero teams should find plenty to like in this book. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.