JSA Welcomes you to Earth 2

ComicBookResources.com has a great interview (and nifty new look!) with Geoff Johns about the upcoming Justice Society of America Annual to be released this Summer.

The annual will re-introduce an idea that DC Comics has struggled for over a decade to unwrite and then tried twice as hard to bring back, the Multiple Earths. Introduced in the classic Gardner Fox story Flash of Two Worlds and later used to a greater degree as a way for Roy Thomas to write the further adventures of the JSA, Earth 2 is where the ‘old super heroes live.’ This is the Earth where the heroes fought in WWII and aged, had families, etc. It’s actually a very good idea and one that I’m eager to see Johns explore.

Seeing Jerry Ordway on art chores is an added bonus!

“Huntress is the reason we are doing this. She’s Batman’s daughter and she kicks ass,” laughed Johns. “She’s awesome. And it’s a thrill to write her.”

Another reason, said Johns, was that he was desperate to work again with legendary artist Jerry Ordway (“All-Star Squadron,” “Infinity Inc.”), who provided artwork for both the original “Crisis on Infinite Earths” and “Infinite Crisis.”“Nobody else can draw the story because it’s Jerry’s story,” explained Johns. “It wouldn’t work without him. Jerry Ordway is one of my absolute favorite artists in the business. He’s one of the greats and he’s one of the few whose craft still improves today. I worked with him on [‘Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime’] and it was brilliant. We have worked here and there before but for me to actually work with him on a full project, and it’s just all for him, is really exciting. I hope I get to work with Jerry on more and more things.

“The way we are looking at the Multiverse in ‘Justice Society of America’ is very art driven; it is very creator driven, so when ever you see something that takes place on the world of ‘Kingdom Come,’ Earth-22, Alex [Ross] paints it. Because that’s what that Earth is. It’s creator driven.

“The same thing happens with Earth-2. Whenever you go there, you have to see Jerry draw it. It’s just got to be him because it’s HIS Earth. Jerry Ordway IS Earth-2. That’s his. It belongs to him.

Read more of the interview here.

Geoff Johns interview

There’s a great 2-part interview with Geoff Johns over at comicbookresources.com.

Geoff is one of ‘those writers’ that you either love or hate. He came to DC Comics and reworked the Flash and the JSA (with Blade’s screenwriter David Goyer) at a key moment in the company’s history when super hero comics were finally coming back into their own. Grant Morrison had made both the hipster ‘I hate comics but love the Invisibles‘ crowd and the classic comic loving ‘I love Superman but not what DC has done to him’ group happy with his JLA series and created a demand for good super hero comics.Johns made those comics.

After JSA, he took on the gnarled knot of half-thought-out ideas that was Hawkman, revived Teen Titans and then did the impossible, he made Green Lantern a best-selling series for DC for probably the first time since the 1960’s. Some dislike the hard-edged world that Johns has helped to create, a world of violence and insanity that culminated in the mega-event Infinite Crisis, but it’s here to stay.

In addition, Johns has helped to create a kind of community of writers including Morrison,  Greg Rucka and Mark Waid that has helped invite readers into a universe of interlocking stories rather than stand alone creations. The follow-up to Infinite Crisis, 52, remains one of the most successful comics ever created and to date the only successful weekly comic project (I’m looking at you, Countdown!).

Currently he’s working on reviving the ailing house of Superman which is good news. For years, there has been a revolving door of great creative teams on both Action Comics and Superman that has made readers exhausted and impatient for DC to get their act together. In the interview, Johns hints that their wait will be worth while.

The current storyline re-introducing the Legion of Super Heroes with star artist Gary Frank (of Supreme Power) is working up to be an explosive tale that could change the status quot for the Man of Steel.

There’s also a statement in the interview that makes this fan gleeful with hope, that he’d like to write one of the Avengers titles along with Bendis. For anyone who read his incredible run on the title back in the day, this could not be a better idea.

Please, comic book fairies,  hear my wish!

Newest JSA Member… Superman?

In a surprising move, DC Comics just announced that the newest member of their blockbuster super team the JSA, is none other than Superman.

But not just any Superman, specifically, the Superman last seen in the mini-series ‘Kingdom Come.’

For those who are not aware, Kingdom Come is a glimpse into a possible future of the DC Universe in which the super heroes of today have aged into jaded shadows of their former selves, leaving the world at the mercy of dangerous super powered punks.

Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come is a fan favorite and well loved in and outside the comic industry for its portrayal of comic book superheroes and the photo-realistic art.

Exactly how DC is going to pull this one off is still a mystery to me, but now the last panel of Justice Society of America #1 makes sense. Many thought the Alex Ross painted panel featured a picture of Earth-2’s Superman, but it looks like they’re wrong.

Multiple Earths, here we come?

Suggested Reading:

Kingdom Come
Justice Society Returns (JSA)
Justice Be Done (JSA: Justice Society of America, Book 1)
JSA, Book 12: Ghost Stories

DC Comics Previews July/August

All Flash #1 follows the events of the previous Flash volume’s final story line which saw the brutal murder of the 4th Flash, Bart Allen (I covered a lot of Flash history in a previous post, Deaths of the Flashes)

Too late to stop the killing, Wally West has returned to hunt down Bart’s killer and nothing will stand in his mission of revenge.

The issue is written by Flash favorite scribe Mark Waid with art by a host of artists including Karl Kerschl, Ian Churchill and Daniel Acuña (the recent Green Lantern Star Sapphire story line and the Freedom Fighters).

This issue precedes the upcoming new volume of the Flash that promises to return the title to its top tier status under Geoff Johns and before Geoff, Mark Waid. Like the character, the series has a lot of potential. Insanely popular in the 60’s, the Flash earned a cult following in the late 90’s with Mark Waid’s introduction of the ‘Speed Force’ as the source of the Flash’s abilities, which gave the character a much-needed mythology.

Since that time, the character has enjoyed a new popularity bolstered by the Justice League Unlimited cartoon in which he stars.

With a movie planned for release next year and the return of popular writer Mark Waid to the title (also rumored to be the new Editor in Chief at DC Comics), this title is sure to regain its popularity and success.

Many do not realize that comic book giant Geoff Johns was Richard Donner’s assistant before his career in comics took off. So it’s in many way no surprise that Donner and Johns have teamed up to deliver what many are calling the best run on Superman… ever.

I covered some of those details and others in my mega-post Superman, Superman, Superman.

The story involves two basic threads; one is that a baby has fallen from the skies… apparently from Krypton, two is that the dreaded villains from the Phantom Zone (from Superman II as well) have escaped and are enacting their revenge upon their jailer’s son, Superman.

An unlikely parental unit of Clark Kent and wife Lois Lane have decided to look after the young child (named Christopher Kent by Lois), but their adoption process was cut short when Superman was abducted into the Phantom Zone.

With a lead-in like that (told in their first three issues), things can only get better. The newest issue (out in August) sees Superman in a all-out action battle with his old enemy Bizarro (presumably this is another tale told from recent past while Superman attempts to escape the Phantom Zone). With art by Eric Powell (creator of the Goon), this three part adventure will be lots of fun.

The return of DC Comics’ first super team from World War II, the JSA (this volume is called the Justice Society of America) has been one helluva ride so far.

The first storyline featured a neo-Nazi group of super villains set to eliminate the team’s greatest strength, their family. It sounds hokey, but each member of the JSA has a tie to the past by family or lineage of some other sort (such as one character accepting the mantle of a deceased hero to carry on their legacy).

One of the JSA’s strongest characters, Steel, has a twisted and tortured lineage running through the tragic character of Commander Steel who experimented on his grandson Hank Heywood to transform each part of his body into a fighting weapon as the 80’s answer to the Steel legacy.

After this second version of Steel died, it fell down to Nathan Heywood to pick up the legend, but the expert athlete was crippled by a terrible football accident and addicted to painkillers that left him numb in spirit and body. It wasn’t until he targeted by enemies he never knew he had and his annual family summer gathering turned into a bloodbath of which he was the only survivor, that his destiny became clear.

While under observation, it became clear that Nathan Heywood’s crippled legs had been regrown as sparkling steel-like limbs. After having lost one family, the new Citizen Steel will find that he has found a new one in the Justice Society of America. Though I bet it’ll take a while for him to accept that this is a ‘good thing.’

Paul Dini’s thrilling two part story ‘Trust’ concludes this week with a startling reveal. I covered some of this in a previous post here, but in essence, this is the most surprising re-appearance of the Joker in years.

Another story in what has been the best run of the Detective Comics title in ages, Trust will pit the two giants of Batman mythos against each other.

As Detective Comics has primarily been a cerebral title (especially compared to its fun-loving fist-fest Batman), this is the first true confrontation that the series has seen under Paul Dini.

I’m sure it will be a battle worthy of your $2.99.

The issue is currently on the stands where, if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to find last month’s 1st part shelved right next to it.

Suggested reading:

The Flash: The Return of Barry Allen
Life Story of Flash
The Flash Vol. 3: Crossfire
Superman: Up, Up, and Away!
JSA: Black Reign
Justice Society Returns (JSA)
Batman: Detective