The Return of the Justice Society of America

[samurainoir]

About Damn Time.

[thunderbolt]

Is it just a bit part in Doomsday Clock or for real? IF for real, someone better let Fun Guy know.

[Blue Meanie]

Yeah...but with the shakeup at DC with them cutting titles....will they ever get their own title again? BTW...That original page is freakin' FANTASTIC!!! I'd love to put that in my collection.

[PNGwynne]

Wow, that's gorgeous. I'm unfamiliar with Doomsday Clock. Would have loved to see Mr. Terrific included, though I realize they're recreating the All-Star cover.

[samurainoir]

Yeah...but with the shakeup at DC with them cutting titles....will they ever get their own title again? BTW...That original page is freakin' FANTASTIC!!! I'd love to put that in my collection.

There has been rumours of an old school Justice Society series in the works since 2017, but we can perhaps assume it hasn't come out or been announced due to the delay in the Doomsday Clock storyline.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I love seeing them...but I fear for their use at today's DC. Johns did right by them for years in JSA and Justice Society of America, but he's not quite the same Geoff Johns nowadays....

Chris

[cjefferys]

I've always had a soft spot for the JSA and man, that's a gorgeous page!

[MRP]

Wow, that's gorgeous. I'm unfamiliar with Doomsday Clock. Would have loved to see Mr. Terrific included, though I realize they're recreating the All-Star cover.

Doomsday Clock is a pseudo-sequel to Watchmen which revolves around Dr. Manhattan messing with the structure of the universe which is what caused all the changes in DC Continuity and such outlined in the DC Rebirth special that launched the Rebirth era. There's more to it, but that was the elevator pitch for the book.

As for Johns and the JSA, remember it was James Robinson, not Johns who did all the foundational work for that JSA series and wrote the early issues. Like most times in Johns career, he gets the accolades for standing on the shoulders of giants and not messing things up too much with that series. The difference between Johns then and now is that he no longer gets to stand on those giant's shoulders and has to do things on his own ideas and ability, and it shows.



-M

[PNGwynne]

I'm still reading Aquaman, only. I knew that Dr. Manhattan was the deus ex machina that had reset the DCU,post-New52. I didn't know that Doomsday Clock was a maxi-series or particularly that it was still being published/influencing the roll-out of new series. Thanks for the info.

Is this JSA appearance an homage or an intention for more?

[MRP]

I'm still reading Aquaman, only. I knew that Dr. Manhattan was the deus ex machina that had reset the DCU,post-New52. I didn't know that Doomsday Clock was a maxi-series or particularly that it was still being published/influencing the roll-out of new series. Thanks for the info.

Is this JSA appearance an homage or an intention for more?

Rumor is it's supposed to establish the JSA's place in the new continuity (it's supposed to do the same with the Legion) and pave the way for a JSA series, but so much has changed in the management of DC since the series was launched (it has seen massive delays between issues) that no one knows for sure at this point, maybe not even the new WB suits in charge of overseeing DC.

-M

[samurainoir]

Back in 2016, they teased the classic JSA as part of Rebirth.

https://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/04/12/bleeding-cool-sees-the-back-of-dc-comics-rebirth-and-the-return-of-the-jsa/

Doomsday Clock has been often delayed, following in the footsteps of the original Watchmen series I guess? (and Geoff Johns busy film/tv work schedule)

They have been seeding in not only the return of a classic JSA into Doomsday Clock, but also the Legion of Superheroes as well. With Johnny Thunder and Saturn Girl as supporting characters.

[samurainoir]

As for Johns and the JSA, remember it was James Robinson, not Johns who did all the foundational work for that JSA series and wrote the early issues. Like most times in Johns career, he gets the accolades for standing on the shoulders of giants and not messing things up too much with that series. The difference between Johns then and now is that he no longer gets to stand on those giant's shoulders and has to do things on his own ideas and ability, and it shows.

I honestly don't think that is a very fair assessment. I'll agree that James Robinson did an amazing job setting the tone and laying the foundation for the JSA in The Golden Age and Starman, however he only co-wrote the first five issues of JSA with David Goyer. Geoff Johns then would co-write with Goyer through to issue 50 or so before doing another very solid 50 issues or so on his own of JSA/Justice Society (with some co-writing with artists Alex Ross and Jerry Ordway). Add in 14 issues of Stars and STRIPE, plus 25 issues of Hawkman (with Robinson only co-writing 7). I would say his solo work on the series was just as strong and full of great ideas, innovation and character reinvention as the ones that were co-written with him.

It is hard to say what each writer contributes to a collaboration, but I do know that between Goyer and Robinson's solo output during and after that period, vs Geoff Johns amazing output revitilizing title after title, including Green Lantern, Teen Titans, Superman, Flash, and Aquaman, that he was likely as strong a contributor as his more seasoned writing partners.

I believe Robinson himself has admitted his head really wasn't in the comics game during that point in time and was preoccupied with his burgeoning Hollywood career (writing/directing Comic Book Villains, and writing the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie).

[MRP]

I honestly don't think that is a very fair assessment. I'll agree that James Robinson did an amazing job setting the tone and laying the foundation for the JSA in The Golden Age and Starman, however he only co-wrote the first five issues of JSA with David Goyer. Geoff Johns then would co-write with Goyer through to issue 50 or so before doing another very solid 50 issues or so on his own of JSA/Justice Society (with some co-writing with artists Alex Ross and Jerry Ordway). Add in 14 issues of Stars and STRIPE, plus 25 issues of Hawkman (with Robinson only co-writing 7). I would say his solo work on the series was just as strong and full of great ideas, innovation and character reinvention as the ones that were co-written with him.

It is hard to say what each writer contributes to a collaboration, but I do know that between Goyer and Robinson's solo output during and after that period, vs Geoff Johns amazing output revitilizing title after title, including Green Lantern, Teen Titans, Superman, Flash, and Aquaman, that he was likely as strong a contributor as his more seasoned writing partners.

I believe Robinson himself has admitted his head really wasn't in the comics game during that point in time and was preoccupied with his burgeoning Hollywood career (writing/directing Comic Book Villains, and writing the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie).

My assessment of Johns is based on reading stuff he wasn't standing on the shoulders of giants when he did them-his brief Marvel stint, his indy stuff done for Humanoids in Metal Hurlant, and some of the stuff he has done in the new52 forward where he had a free hand to steer the ship, and it is all much worse than stuff where there was another hand guiding his or laying the foundation of what he did, and some of it (the indy stuff where he was coming up with stuff whole cloth not playing in someone else's sandbox) is just abjectly terrible comics.

I enjoy a lot of what he has done, and I don't think he is a bad writer, but he's at his best when he is is building on or riffing off of what others have done or co-writing with someone else rather than when he is steering the ship himself. Whether it was channeling Richard Donner, working with Robinson and Goyer, or with artists who took a strong hand in co-plotting and pacing the book visually, Johns had done much better when his is not the sole guiding hand behind stuff.

-M

[samurainoir]

Speaking of James Robinson, I think his past decade worth of work spanning from Superman New Krypton to more recent stuff like Scarlet Witch, Squadron Supreme, and Fantastic Four has been "Okay" compared to his earlier stuff, but the one comic that stands out and has been hugely overlooked is his completely Gonzo take on Airboy.





I think this is the most insane, inventive, and oddly personal work he's ever done. The direction he chose is extremely unexpected, ridiculously funny and hugely profane, yet a little tragic and sad as well given the way he depicts himself, his career and his life. Surreal and Autobiographical(?) at the same time. Some incredible insight into a comics creator who experienced early commercial and critical success, and the current sturggle to hold onto that in his creative pursuits as an aging writer in commercial mainstream comics.

[samurainoir]

My assessment of Johns is based on reading stuff he wasn't standing on the shoulders of giants when he did them-his brief Marvel stint, his indy stuff done for Humanoids in Metal Hurlant, and some of the stuff he has done in the new52 forward where he had a free hand to steer the ship, and it is all much worse than stuff where there was another hand guiding his or laying the foundation of what he did, and some of it (the indy stuff where he was coming up with stuff whole cloth not playing in someone else's sandbox) is just abjectly terrible comics.

I enjoy a lot of what he has done, and I don't think he is a bad writer, but he's at his best when he is is building on or riffing off of what others have done or co-writing with someone else rather than when he is steering the ship himself. Whether it was channeling Richard Donner, working with Robinson and Goyer, or with artists who took a strong hand in co-plotting and pacing the book visually, Johns had done much better when his is not the sole guiding hand behind stuff.

-M

I've read that stuff as well, and beg to differ. In my opinion, two of his best works are wholly original and hugely overlooked. But again this is a matter of taste and preference.

Possessed.


and Olympus.


Haunting, Creepy genre stuff that would make excellent films or cable/streaming TV series. Both quite unique takes on their respective subject matter. I would love to see him do more of this kind of original content, but his riffing also is very well crafted and huge commercial successes. I don't blame him at all for following that pursuit.

Given your criteria, I'm actually not sure by those standards how much better any other writers who work almost exclusively in the mainstream comics world fare given the collaborative shared universe of the Big Two commercial production methodologies. Even the majority of James Robinson's output in the past decade (other than Airboy) has been spinoffs of event books for the most part, or place-holder/fill in runs, compared to his most inventive days as a writer in the 90's (and I was really looking forward to his return to The Shade in the new 52).