Well, after a long absence from reading comics (largely caused by frustration from One Year Later), I’ve spent the last couple of weeks reading through my back inventory of unread books, and it’s been a very mixed bag. There’s been good and bad. I could sit here and pick at my issues with recent events in the Teen Titans, or why I dislike the first LS featuring Renee Montoya as the new Question. Perhaps I will in a few days.
First off though, I find myself turning to the Good. I’ve read some good stuff in the last days, but easily the best has been the “Thy Kingdom Come” storyline in Justice Society. There are some oddities there to be sure, but overall, it was compelling, thought provoking, and just plain well done.
It’s been awhile since I’ve read Kingdom Come (in either TPB form or the outstanding novel). That’s always been a story I’ve greatly enjoyed, and not mostly for the Ross artwork. Honestly, I like the novel better. You spend less time trying to sort out who the next-gen heroes are, and more time thinking about the plot. For obvious reasons, I’ve always liked the pastor character (even though we come from very different branches of the Church…heh). Indeed, he’s one of the things that’s gotten me to think about what it must be like for “everyman” in a superhero world.
When I heard that they were going to revisit that story, and indeed bring it into the “mainstream” continuity, I was a bit skeptical. It’s an outstanding story, worthy of a post unto itself. However, it’s one of those stories that I figured should stay self contained.
Having said that, I must give credit where it is due. The way they brought it into the DCU works… both by designating it as Earth-22, and perhaps most of all, by bringing the JSA into the mix. More than any other team, the JSA is the conscience of the DCU. Not Superman, not Batman, but the three “old men.” Jay Garrick, Alan Scott and Ted Grant. Supes, Bats and WW may be the “Trinity” but Jay, Allen and Scott have their own role in the bedrock of the DCU.
As Kingdom Come played with the issues of power and responsibility, the JSA is the perfect vehicle to work Gog and Magog into things. This is especially true when you consider the stated intent of the new Society to make better heroes.
Yet, when the time comes for the JSA to fracture in the story, notice that the “old school” JSAers are the ones who stand against Gog first. They can sense that too much is being offered, that they were “Hansel and Gretel at the Witches house”. The only “old” JSAer who goes with Gog is Hawkman, who has always been a bit of a loose cannon. (Still, on reflection, that choice surprises me. Yeah, he’d certainly relate to the way Gog turned those soldiers into trees, and Carter wouldn’t shed a tear, but he’s too cynical to really buy into Gog’s offer I think). Otherwise, it’s the “new” members who fall. Damage, Commander Steel, the soon to be Magog (forget the name he takes early on).
Gog preys upon their pain, but at the same time, remember that Damage and Steel aren’t the only people in the Society to have felt pain. When you think about those who listened to the Siren’s Call, it says more about them, than the Siren itself.
At first, it took me a bit to get used to the interleaving of the Ross artwork for Earth-22 scenes with the more “normal” style for the rest of the story. Yet, that created an outstanding ending to the story, with everything coming full circle.
Is it a perfect story? Not at all. I have lots of quibbles and nits, but even so, it’s a story that reminds me while I like comics. Maybe in days to come, I’ll get to a bit more.
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