JSA: Justice Be Done #1

Members of the JSA learn of the birth of a new Dr. Fate and race to find the child who bears the mark before the evil Mordu does. 

This is the beginning of JSA series that was launched back in 1999 and ran up until 2006. This first story arc was written by James Robinson and David S. Goyer. Both happen to be two of my favorite writers. Unfortunately this isn't their best work. In fact I was disappointed upon finishing this. When I found out these two heavyweight writers penned this comic I was excited to check it out. There were just too many turn-offs in this comic that didn't allow me to enjoy it as much as I hoped. A lot of the dialogue was just awful. The unnecessary pop-culture references came off horrible and made certain characters seem out of character. It just felt forced, like they were aiming at a younger demographic of readers who lack good taste and could care less about a well constructed story with well developed characters.

There are a few bright moments albeit short ones where when the writers aren't dropping their corny one-liners, they revert to their true form and deliver some compelling storytelling and dialogue. Unfortunately it doesn't happen from start to finish and the few moments it does occur are simply not enough to consider this comic worthy of any sort of praise. 

The art is by Scott Benefiel, Stephen Sadowski and Derec Aucoin. The art was equally disappointing as the writing was. It had certain moments that were decent, but overall it failed to impress. I just didn't like the way a lot of characters were drawn. Stargirl seemed oddly proportioned for example. It's not all bad but it definitely lacks consistency. 

While the JSA are one of the most prestigious superhero teams in comics, this volume isn't a true testament to what they stand for. It may please long-time comic readers who have been reading comics for decades, but newcomers probably wont be thrilled with this story.