Justice Society of America #15

With the explosive ending of last month's "Justice Society of America" I was looking forward to what writer Geoff Johns hand in store. Many on the web have lamented the addition of so many members new members to the roster, while I have taken a bit of a wait and see approach. Johns has worked his magic on several titles and I have faith in him. Johns had no problem making a story about a plethora of ring toting good guys and bad guys a great story over in "Green Lantern". While the added characters haven't really lit me up, they do add some depth to the team making it almost a current day "Legion of Super-Heroes".

Art Rating: 4 out of 4
Story Rating: 3.5 out of 4
Overall Rating: 4 out of 4

While Johns' writing continues to drive this book, I amazed at the effort put forth by penciller Dale Eaglesham and inker Prentis Rollins. Assisted by the outstanding colors of Alex Sinclair, the art team brings a depth to the proceedings that is missing in some of DC's other high profile books. You can feel the weight of each character on every page. Johns sends up a very good action packed story, bringing along quite a few character bits as well. The final introduction of Gog is also not to be missed. My only complaint about the issue is that the promise of the Kingdom Come looking Green Lantern really isn't met in this issue. Alan Scott and son join the fight, but by no means do the win the day. I love the KC GL design and hope to see more of it.

Month-to-month Johns puts out a good story. Even if you are not steeped in JSA lore, you can connect with this book and enjoy its variety of characters. If you haven't checked it out you should.

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #9

You have to love the Goddamn Batman. I know a lot of reviewers out there have skewered this series for Frank Miller's take on the Batman, but I have a lot of fun reading it. This series just keeps getting better and better with Batman and Robin having a little meeting with Green Lantern this issue. The humor and violence are handled well and Miller's script is razor sharp. Jim Lee continues to provide impressive art on this series. I have to give it up to colorist Alex Sinclair on this issue. The yellow scenes were flat out impressive.

My only complaint is the timeliness of the series. With such long breaks between issues, I have to either dig up the previous issue or rack my brain to figure out where we last left off. Given that quibble, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Justice Society of America #13

One of the biggest critiques of Geoff Johns' "Justice Society of America" is that it has too many characters. Johns' actually addresses this topic in this issue with Jakeen Thunder exclaiming "...Enough is enough. This team is too damn big!" The first few pages of this issue deal with all of the new members moving into the brownstone and provided some good comic relief. The rest of the issue covers the "Thy Kingdom Come" story arc and is very good. Johns folds elements from Superman as Gog is killing off supposed false gods and the JSA is searching for answers. The poignant return of KC Superman to Metropolis is handled well - as is the meeting between Superman and KC Superman. The fight between both men of steel and Hercules is great showing off the awesome power of KC Superman. The art in this issue his handled by a fill in team of penciller Fernando Pasarin and inker Richard Friend. While I'm not a big fan of fill in artist, the team keeps the look and feel of Dale Eaglesham and Ruy Jose's art. I think they did an excellent job here.

While the "Thy Kingdom Come" story has meandered a bit in the last few issues, Johns propels the story forward here and provides a good cliffhanger for the next issue. I like how Johns and Ross are playing this story out and look forward to an interesting ending to the arc.