Justice is Blonde

Justice Society of America #9

Hey, wow, a comic with a competently-drawn Power Girl on the cover. That’s pretty dadgummed rare these days…

Anyway, this is a fairly cute transitional issue. Most of the story takes place at a benefit event the JSA is holding for a NYC firehouse. There’s a big pancake breakfast, with Citizen Steel and the kids of the Heywood family cooking up the flapjacks, and the two Wildcats (boxer Ted Grant and his were-panther son, Tommy) stage a charity prizefight. But midway through the first round, a fire call comes in, and everyone takes off for a burning factory. After evacuating everyone, the JSA discover the cause of the still-blazing fire — former Teen Titans villain/rock star/demon Goth got a hole blasted through his chest and what remains of his demonic powers are about to blow the factory sky-high. So to get rid of Goth’s body, Starman actually makes a black hole and throws him in it. And who steps out of the black hole afterwards? The Superman from the acclaimed Mark Waid/Alex Ross series “Kingdom Come.”

Can’t say I really know what to think of this one. On one hand, I really like these “Day in the Life” stories where we get to see super-people doing stuff like making pancakes and entertaining awe-struck kids. But I’m really not too keen on bringing the “Kingdom Come” Superman over here — DC’s continuity is already stretched just about to the breaking point, and adding another few Supermen isn’t going to do any of it much good. And dangit, it’s been ages since we saw characters like Sandman, Jakeem Thunder, Mr. Terrific, Dr. Mid-Nite, Obsidian, or Ma Hunkel. It’s way past time that this comic got back to giving all of its characters some time in the spotlight.

Verdict: I think I’ll give it a thumbs up. The pancake breakfast and boxing match really are fun.