On the other hand, I have some positive things to say about the latest issue of DC Comics' JSA. Now, I wouldn't consider JSA to be a flagship title at DC. It is closer to the periphery than the center, at least as far as sales and popularity are concerned.
Avengers #s 38-39, $1.99/$2.25 US, published by Marvel Comics
Writer: Kurt Busiek; Pencils: Alan Davis; Inks: Mark Farmer
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
I am one of what must be a very small minority of readers who has not been enamored with Kurt Busiek's run on Avengers. The majority of fandom seems ever-ready to heap praise on Busiek's work on this title. I, on the other hand, have found most of his Avengers stories in the last three years to be, well, above average. There have been a handful of issues that I have enjoyed. But it seems those very issues were the same small number that the die-hard fans did not actually like! Go figure.
The latest two issues of Avengers are the start of brand-new art team Alan Davis & Mark Farmer. They also mark a change of pace as the Avengers, frustrated at recent indecisive battles and loose ends, become more proactive in their approach. The team decides to start searching out criminals, instead of waiting around for the bad guys to attack. They start by aggressively working to shut down the training camps of the superhuman mercenary Taskmaster. They dispatch teams to different points around the globe to investigate leads and set up monitoring systems. They even create a hologram of the globe in Avengers Mansion to track the activities of dozens of their foes, so as to be ready for their next moves.
My reaction in two words: big whoop! (That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't tell.)
The problem is, we have seen all this before. On various occasions, the Avengers have sworn to be more proactive, more aggressive, to strike first against their foes. And on all these occasions, after a few issues, the status quo inevitably crept back in, and soon enough the Avengers were back to sitting around their headquarters, waiting for somebody to attack them.
The two most glaring examples of this were only a few years ago. In the mid-1990s, the west coast branch of the Avengers reformed into a team called Force Works, with the goal of striking first against threats to humanity. Unfortunately, one thing after another contrived to prevent them from doing so, and they were more often reactive than proactive. Also around this time, after the disastrous events of "Galactic Storm," a group of Avengers, in the hopes of preventing future tragedies, became more aggressive. This so distressed the traditionalist Captain America that he left the team for a while. But Cap eventually returned and, confronting a group of fanatical aliens trying to destroy the entire Earth, admitted "Maybe, just maybe, it is time for a new type of Avenger." However, over the next couple years the Avengers gradually settled back into their established routine of reacting to threats, until, they were back to their pre "Galactic Storm" mentality.
All this ends up making Captain America's complaint in Avengers #37 that "We're still playing catch-up, always playing catch-up. Always two steps behind!" simply ludicrous. After all, the last time the Avengers became proactive, Cap criticized it. But now he's complaining that they aren't aggressive enough? Talk about an inconsistent attitude. And, aside from that, bearing in mind that the Avengers have indeed been proactive in the past, only to inevitably return to their usual reactive state, I don't think I can be faulted for wondering how soon that is going to happen this time.
In any case, the Avengers so-called proactive approach doesn't even accomplish much in #38 to begin with. They go after the Taskmaster, destroy his training camps, and capture hundreds of his goons. But the Taskmaster himself escapes. Again. The Avengers pat themselves on the back, but what have they accomplished? Yeah, they've shut down a bunch of the Taskmaster's "schools" and arrested an army of mercenaries. But those are setbacks the Taskmaster has been dealt numerous times. He always bounces back, starts new training camps, recruits new mercs. In the end, the Avengers have made a negligible impact. In fact, that is all they are allowed to accomplish, because, as I've observed many times before, Marvel is dependent upon the status quo and the illusion of change. And we can see that illustrated perfectly here. The illusion of change is represented by the Avengers destroying the Taskmaster's bases and stomping on a bunch of faceless goons. Yes, it looks like things have changed, but they really have not. Because the Taskmaster escapes, which will allow him to start all over again, therefore perpetuating the status quo, and ensuring he will be around to use in future stories.
As for the Avengers' holographic globe showing the locations of their enemies, that gave me a definite sense of déjà vu. No, strike that. When you have déjà vu, you're not sure where you've seen something before. I know exactly where I've seen this before: ten years ago, in Uncanny X-Men #273. The newly reformed and reorganized X-Men gathered in Xavier's mansion to take stock of affairs. They had a giant hologram of the globe that pinpointed the exact locations of their major foes. Reading that issue back then, I was struck by a momentous feeling of drama and anticipation. Here, at long last, were the X-Men, locating their enemies and setting up plans. They were making a list and checking it twice (so to speak). Surely they'd be going out after all these villains any day now, taking the fight to them, acting instead of reacting? Well, that did not happen. Instead, the X-Men ended up spending most of their time practicing in the Danger Room and bemoaning their existences, waiting for a baddie to swing by and attack them. In other words, it was business as usual.
Recalling all of this, I get the terrible feeling that the exact same thing is going to happen again to the Avengers in just a few issues.
In any case, the Avengers' proactive plans are immediately distracted by events in Greece, when the entire population of a village is mystically transformed into an army of Hulks. Here, at least, Busiek does something interesting, as throughout #38 he builds up the suspense as to what is happening in the Greek village, until the climatic revelation at the end of the issue. The battle between the Avengers and the horde of Hulks in #39 is exciting. Unfortunately, it is also drawn out, with it still not having been resolved at the end of the issue. Worse yet, the mastermind behind this whole affair is Diablo. As I mentioned in my previous column, I find him to be horribly dull and overused. It's disappointing that Busiek decided to kick off a supposed new, innovative direction on this title by carting out the likes of Diablo. Especially since Diablo was only just used a few months back as the villain in the first story arc of the "bold new direction" on Fantastic Four. I mean, this is a character that even Stan Lee, the master of hyperactive hyperbole, doesn't have anything good to say about!
I should compliment Busiek on how he used SHIELD in #39, accurately portraying them as an international organization. As most of the action occurs in Greece, the Avengers liaison with the Greek branch of SHIELD, which is staffed by Greek personnel. Certainly that's a nice change of pace from the typical American SHIELD agents that pop up all the time, no matter where in the world the story is set.
One part of #38 I definitely did enjoy was the date Carol Danvers, aka Warbird, and the synthetic Vision go on in #38. Too bad this was only a two page sequence. It would be very interesting to see a relationship develop between these two.
While I found most aspects of the story in these past few issues to be disappointing, I have no such complaints about the art by Alan Davis & Mark Farmer. It is exquisite and detailed. I have always find Davis' work stunning, and here, rendering dozens of superhumans in action, he produces some dynamic work. His battle scenes are definitely filled with energy and excitement. The double page splash at the end of #38 revealing the mob of Hulks is both striking and chilling. Davis also successfully renders conversational scenes, such as Warbird & Vision's date earlier in the issue, and the conversation between Jarvis and his ward Lupe in #39.
If I had looked at these two issues of Avengers by themselves, they would have gotten better reviews. But I just cannot read these stories in a vacuum. Inevitably, all the past stories I've read are brought to mind. If these issues had come out a decade ago, I probably would have enjoyed the stories a lot more. Back then, it no doubt would have seemed fresh and innovative to me. Unfortunately, now I'm all-too-familiar with the conventions of the superhero formula. And, yes, I'm cynical from having seen too many "bold new directions" failing to live up to their promises, from having seen the status quo restored time after time. Because of all of that, these issues, rather than being fresh and dynamic, are, for me, just more of the same. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with Busiek's writing here, but neither is he breaking any ground or offering anything innovative.
JSA # 21, $2.50 US, published by DC Comics
Writers: David Goyer & Geoff Johns; Pencils & Inks: Buzz; Cover: Alan Davis & Mark Farmer
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
As I mentioned earlier, JSA is not exactly a flagship title at DC. Rather, it's something of a second-tier publication. Amidst DC Comics' numerous Superman, Batman, and Justice League-related titles, JSA (aka Justice Society of America) ends up falling somewhat below the radar (much the same way that Black Panther and Thunderbolts are often eclipsed by the Avengers and X-Men related books, incidentally enough). And, to be perfectly honest, I think that is rather a good thing. Under less editorial and corporate scrutiny, the creators of JSA are allowed more creative freedom and innovation. And the results show.
The Justice Society was DC Comics' first superhero team, dating back to the 1940s, and it has existed in various permutations over the intervening decades. This incarnation is probably one of the most interesting, as it places the surviving members of the original team alongside younger heroes who either have adopted the costumed identities of the deceased team members or have family ties to the original. The cast is made up of several generations: septuagenarian originals (the original Flash, Wildcat, and Sentinel), adult heroes with several years of experience (Sand, Black Canary, Atom Smasher, Dr. Mid-Nite, Mr. Terrific), and rookie teens (Hawkgirl, Star Spangled Kid, Thunderbolt).
Issue #21 serves as a transition point, a breather as the team (and audience) catches its breath after the non-stop crises of the last year's worth of stories. Recovering from their recent battles with Kobra, Extant, the Injustice Society, Johnny Sorrow, and the King of Tears, the various members of the JSA pause to deal with the aftermath and take stock of their lives. This provides Goyer & Johns the opportunity to write some superb characterization.
I think this series' biggest strength is that the majority of its cast do not have solo titles. With the notable exception of Black Canary (who co-stars in Birds of Prey), most of the members of the team seldom appear outside of this series. This is their starring venue, so to speak. As a result, JSA avoids the pitfalls that often strike JLA. After all, JLA features DC's "big guns" such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and that means it is not allowed to significantly advance or change the status of the characters, as they have their own ongoing book or books. Not so with the Justice Society. And that allows Goyer & Johns to write stories that actually feel like they have significance to them. There is definite character growth and development within this series.
One of the more interesting plot lines of the last year revolved around Al Rothstein, the Atom Smasher. His mother was killed when the terrorist Kobra blew up an airplane. Several issues later, the JSA fought the time-traveling tyrant Extant. Atom Smasher was able to use a time altering device to swap Extant's place on the airplane with him mother's. The villain died in her place. This was a dramatic, shocking action, certainly not typical of the simplified morality found in superhero comics. And, yet, if each of us were placed in the exact same circumstances, given the opportunity to sacrifice the life of a murderer to save a loved one, what would we do? I think most human beings would have made the same choice as Atom Smasher. I am glad Goyer & Johns wrote the outcome of the story that way, and had Al make a plausible decision motivated by believable emotions. I'm also relieved that we see the aftermath of that decision in issue #21, as Al is confronted by the duplicitous Mister Bones over this action. Even though what Al did was almost certainly the right thing, it is still not something that an individual can just push to the back of his mind. While I certainly do not want to see Al's character undergo a major personality change or be overwhelmed by guilt, it should be acknowledged that his decision is bound to affect him in some way.
A character who gets a significant amount of focus in this issue is the new Hawkgirl, Kendra Saunders. One of the subplots of the past year has been the building realization that there is more to the character than her teammates, and even she, realize. Hints have been percolating that she has a connection to past incarnations of Hawkman and Hawkwoman that goes beyond her name and costume. There's a major advancement to the mystery in this issue, one that I certainly didn't expect. No doubt this is going to lead into the upcoming return of Hawkman himself in the next few issues.
Now, reintroducing Hawkman opens a whole can of worms, considering how convoluted, indeed, mangled his origin became after Crisis On Infinite Earths, as DC constantly kept rewriting his backstory to fit their ever-shifting continuity. The character became so unwieldy that eventually he was literally dropped into limbo several years ago. Until now, DC has not brought him back, and it's understandable why. But given the reverence that Goyer & Johns have showed for the JSA's past while also successfully moving the team forward, I can't think of more appropriate writers to tackle the "Hawkman problem." If anyone can straighten out Hawkman, it's them.
An interesting development was Black Adam petitioning Sand for membership in the JSA. Adam is kinda sorta a former supervillain, but not really. It's very complicated. The public at large has regarded him as a "bad guy," but in reality his crimes were perpetrated by someone else controlling him (loooong story) and he was legally cleared of responsibility. So Sand is left to consider the application of someone who isn't actually a villain after all, but who he knows very little about and doesn't really trust, either. Black Adam's presence on the team would definitely be interesting, so hopefully he will be sticking around.
On the lighter side of things, this issue we also got to see Black Canary and Mid-Night finally have a date uninterrupted by attacking supervillains. Goyer & Johns have done a good job developing the attraction between these two. It will be interesting to see where their relationship goes from here. (And hopefully it will get acknowledged over in Birds of Prey!)
My only complaint is the foreshadowing of the return of Obsidian, Sentinel's insane son. There was already a story arc in this series' first year dealing with Obsidian and his journey into evil, and I didn't find it too interesting. So learning in this issue that he's coming back, still dark as hell and with a chip on his shoulder the size of a Cadillac, doesn't fill me with much anticipation. I'd rather not see him as a recurring enemy.
The art this issue is by Buzz, filling in for the regular creative team. Buzz drew a couple of other issues of JSA, as well as last year's annual, and his return is definitely welcome. He has a marvelous way of drawing human figures, an eye for exquisite detail, and a slick inking style. Buzz draws some stunningly beautiful women who are also realistic and tastefully rendered. He also has a good grasp for a wide variety of settings and objects. On one dramatic splash page, he draws an alien spaceship in an ancient Egyptian temple, doing a fine job with both sci-fi and antiquity. And his facial expressions communicate a wide variety of emotion, a definite benefit for a character-oriented issue such as this one.
The cover art for this series has been by Alan Davis & Mark Farmer. This is their final issue contributing a cover. No doubt they will be devoting their time to Avengers from now on. Which is too bad, because I am going to miss their work here, on a series I enjoy more. Ah, well, hopefully JSA will continue to have quality cover art. I'd like to see Buzz contribute covers, or Mike Bair (who is also the regular inker on the book).
JSA is a title that I enthusiastically recommend. And issue #21 is a perfect jumping-on point for new readers. It presents an overview of the entire cast, while setting the stage for upcoming characters. The superhero genre would definitely benefit from more stories of this type.