I’ve been a fan of the JSA since the early 2000s. I liked the mix of classic heroes older than my parents and new faces that were younger than me. The very nature of ongoing comics is one eye on the past and one eye on the future, and the JSA embodies that better than probably any other book from either of the Big Two. The main story of JSA #18 is focused squarely on the past as a group of Nazi-sympathizing traitors try to help the Ultra-Humanite appeal to Hitler as he ravages Europe.
This issue is nonstop action. It sings from page to page as this group that doesn’t even have a name yet flies from problem to problem and do their best to stop it and save lives. Alan Scott saves the group from an explosion on a rooftop. Thunderbolt takes off from Johnny’s side to turn falling debris into snow. Jay takes off to stop the explosives lining the new subway project before the entire line collapses the city. Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern take off for the Ultra-Humanite, and the other heroes scatter in their own specific direction to save the day as well.
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The pace of this issue is impressive, giving a real sense of excitement with every page turn. Gavin Guidry’s art shines as this large cast of characters is brought to stylish life and choreographed well. Every pose these characters strike just feels classic and right. Luis Guerrero’s colors give a vibrancy to the action. Pinks, purples, and yellows especially pop, giving a fun coat to action in a time your brain still thinks of in black and white.
Jeff Lemire’s script leaps out when Ultra-Humanite does his best to tear down Alan Scott. It was a short but powerful moment that showed what bravery and heroism look like between punches, and I think it’s the best exchange in the whole book.
Last month, I criticized JSA #17 for feeling too small stakes, and that feels addressed here, to a point. The Ultra-Humanite transplanting his brain into a new powerful body definitely ratchets up the danger for our intrepid group of heroes, but more than that, seeing the story take place out in the world instead of tunnels and hidden warehouses really makes the story feel bigger too.
The only slight negative I can think of is that the tension is cut down a bit by a narration taking place in the present. We know these characters survive and aren’t in any real danger, but that narration is a constant reminder that the fight has already been won. Again, not a big deal, but slightly deflating when you think you see some actual risk these characters are taking.
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All that said though, the story was great, hitting all the right notes a modern story in a time we have a harder time connecting to as we move further away from it. Plus, it’s always fun watching Nazis lose.
The ending itself is cheesy but I don’t have the comic book version of lactose intolerance so I enjoyed it. Much like Rogue One ending seconds before the start of Star Wars, this book ends just before the cover of All-Star Comics #3, the first appearance of the JSA.
After the main story, we’re treated to a short back up—the second part of a prelude for the next arc, “The Search for the Spectre”. It’s nice knowing that Stargirl and Atomsmasher are back in the JSA fold and the direction sounds exciting; given recent JSA stories, that I was afraid would go on unremarked in this volume of JSA. That said, the part I’m looking forward to most, after the Spectre, is the return of a character from the previous arc, Ragnarok.
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JSA #18 provides a fun and explosive finale that occasionally hits some pretty high notes and never any low ones. While I still don’t think it lives up to the high expectations of the name it invokes, it’s nonetheless an entertaining conclusion to a story that is a solid starting place for readers curious about the Justice Society of America and what they mean to the greater DC Universe. Don’t go into it expecting Batman: Year One levels of revolutionary storytelling, but instead something more like Nightwing: Year One levels of satisfying storytelling. At the end of the day, the script is smart and brisk, the art is pretty and poppy, and the fascists lose.
Win, win, win.
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