New creative team! Marc Guggenheim and Scott Kolins take over as the Justice Society of America fights a super-terrorist in Monument Point, the city Jay Garrick is now mayor of!
The Good
I was a huge fan of the very short Willingham run. I also loved what Geoff Johns did with this team and this book, so needless to say, I wasn't too enthusiastic to see my favorite super-team get a new creative team... again. I am a fan of Scott Kolins work, and I love the way he draws Alan Scott, but in all honesty, I've read a bunch of Marc Guggenheim's stories from Marvel, and I've never liked them. However, this is different. This is by far the best thing I've read Marc Guggenheim write. Sometimes writers, whether you like them or not, just "click" with different characters, and we have that here, even if Guggenheim is beating the crap out of them for 22 pages. There are tons of downers in this issue happening to quite a few of my favorite characters, especially the literally jaw-dropping reveal at the end of the issue. Writing-wise, this is a great start to what I believe is going to be a stunning storyline. Also, no Magog or JSA All-Star brats crossing over into this series. Thank you VERY much. I've mentioned before, I'm a huge Scott Kolins fans. I loved his work (writing and art) on the Solomon Grundy mini-series from last year. This time, he teams up with Mike Atiyeh on colors to piece together one great looking book that not only does a great job complimenting the great writing, but adds a bit more depth than I'm used to seeing with Kolins work. The art stands out more here than any of the other books Kolins has worked on in the past. The best way to describe it is "super-detailed Golden Age." Lastly, Alan Scott actually looks old in this issue. Usually, he passes off as early 40s in the book, but this time, he actually looks older.
The Bad
The one thing I really didn't like about this book was how they worked together. This team, for the most part, has worked together for a long long time (at least Alan, Jay, and Wildcat), and they end up looking a little amateurish in battle. At the same time, it's one of those action that almost had to have taken place in order to stop the baddie of the story. I'm a little down the middle on this one.
The Verdict 4.5/5 Great Jump-In Point! Highly Recommended!
Great start to what seems to be a great storyline. I had my doubts, but this issue was a great read. The deterioration of this team, and a few of its characters, seems to be the focus in this storyline, so keep your eye on it, before this team possibly disappears forever.
