DC Comics reviews 3/14/23 – Justice Society of America #3, Superman Lost #1

Justice Society of America #3

Geoff Johns is working hard to bring some sense of cohesion to his non-linear story focused on Huntress traveling through time. So far Justice Society of America hasn’t buckled under Johns’ storytelling approach — it’s easier considering his pedigree and knack for making complex plots and premises easy to follow.

Johns kicks this issue off with a cameo from Sgt. Rock and Easy Company, which was well timed after the finale of the Bruce Campbell-written Sgt. Rock vs. The Army of Dead mini-series. As always, Johns peppers the issue with little continuity love notes to readers who will appreciate them. Thanks to DC’s abnormal continuity approach it’s challenging to understand what actually did occur and what is ignored now like Alan Scott being retconned to a gay man and sidelining his gay son, Obsidian, who would be useful on any JSA team.

For a legacy and history aficionado like Johns, making sense of present-day DC has to be a nightmare. He’s managing it well, however.

Huntress is still on the run from a time-jumping Per Degaton before settling in the present day where the JSA Is dealing with a major threat created by…a Wonder Woman B-villain? Gotta love Johns’ deep cuts.

Artist Mikel Janin handles the present-day scenes while Jerry Ordway draws the Golden Age sequences. It’s a terrific gesture to keep Ordway involved with these characters and his art still more than holds up. Jordie Bellaire and John Kalisz provide stunning colors while Rob Leigh ensures the lettering is creative and well laid out.

JSA is capturing all the feelings of an important and essential title as the Dawn of DC gets underway.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10