JSA #37

Posted: Wednesday, June 26
By: Jason Cornwell

Writers: David Goyer & Geoff Johns
Artists: Leonard Kirk & Peter Snejbjerg (p), Keith Champagne & Peter Snejbjerg (i)

Publisher: DC

Plot:
The book opens following the big climax at the end of last issue that saw the Ultra-Humanite possessed Johnny Thunder struck down by Captain Marvel, and we see Sand races to locate the Ultra Humanite to keep him from leaping into a new body. We then see that Icicle has followed Sand, and he is ready to kill the body-leaping villain, while Sand simply wants to contain the threat, and lock the Ultra-Humanite away. However, the decision over what to do is made by a third party, who effectively kills the Ultra-Humanite. Meanwhile, back with the JSA we see the group acts to make Johnny Thunder's last moments as comfortable as possible, while Jakeem pleads with the wish-granting thunderbolt to bring the fallen hero back to life. While the thunderbolt is unable to perform this task, we see it is able to do something else that keeps Johnny Thunder's spirit alive. We then see Jakeem restores the world to the way it was before. The book also offers up a back-up story that follows the new Crimson Avenger, as she seek vengeance on a party who sent an innocent man to the electric chair, and we learn the guilty party is a member of the JSA.

Comments:
Another member of the Golden Age JSA cast is knocked off in this issue, but as we saw last issue with the original Hourman, Johns & Goyer have come up with a fairly novel twist that ties the new incarnation of the character to the original. Even better is the idea that they came up with a way for the original Johnny Thunder to still play an active role in this book, beyond the simple fact that Jakeem is controlling the Thunderbolt. So we get a fairly shocking death scene, a wonderfully emotional exchange where Jakeem orders the Thunderbolt to bring Johnny back to life, and best of all Jakeem becomes a more interesting character as his link to the original is made much stronger than it's ever been. This issue also features a fairly unexpected moment as we get the classic confrontation between Sand & Icicle about the fate of the momentarily helpless Ultra-Humanite, and in a fairly bold move the decision is taken out of their hands by a third party. It's been a while since I've actually seen one of these morality debates actually commit to the path that has the villain murdered instead of being brought to justice.

I normally don't make a case over the price that companies decide to saddle a book with, but I must make mention of the fact that I had to shell out another $1.50 for eight extra pages. Call me old-fashioned but isn't 39 pages the standard page-count for an annual-priced comic, and as such this comic falls a bit short of this number. Still, I will concede that Johns & Goyer put these extra pages to good use, as this back-up feature does a very credible job linking the new Crimson Avenger to the original. It also offers up a fairly nice cliffhanger, as we see her inserted back into the regular DCU continuity, and a target of her vengeance seeking weapons turns out to be a member of the JSA. Now I'm not overly familiar with the original Crimson Avenger, as if not for his guest-appearances in "Sandman Mystery Theatre", I seriously doubt I would've even heard of the character. However, the latest incarnation of the character is a pretty interesting creation, as her role in the main story, and this back-up feature, have me eager to see her playing a regular role in the JSA.

Leonard Kirk does his best work yet on this issue, as while there's not much action to be found in this chapter, the art is called upon to deliver several key moments, from the rather disheartening opening shot of the downed body of Johnny Thunder, to the credit page shot of the Ultra-Humanite making one final stab at making his escape, to the page where we discover just what the Thunderbolt did to preserve the legacy of Johnny Thunderbolt. The art also invests some nice emotional weight into the scene where Jakeem demands the Thunderbolt bring Johnny back to life, and it does an equally chilling job on the scene where the new Crimson Avenger makes her presence known. This issue also offers up a heroes gathered for a funeral scene, and Leonard Kirk does a nice job filling the page with key players, with Sandman's grave marker in the background being a welcome touch. However the Starman fan in me noticed that while the Shade puts in an appearance, Jack Knight was noticeably absent. What's the deal with that? Oh yes, Peter Snejbjerg also turns in some nice moody work on the back-up, that perfectly suits the material

Final Word:
The death of Johnny Thunder is handled quite well in this issue, and the issue also does a great job adding a new twist to Jakeem's power, as the torch is nicely passed to the younger hero, while the original is far from forgotten. This issue has a couple strong side plots going for it, as the battle between Sand & Icicle is a nice intense affair that is given a fairly unexpected finish by a third party. The visit that Sand makes to Icicle later in the issue was also a great little moment, as we see Icicle makes it clear his heroic streak has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur. This arc also added a couple new members to the team, and one of them is a character whom I really didn't expect to join as they've never been a big team player in the past. The back-up feature also does a pretty fair job developing the Crimson Avenger into a character who may very well make a lasting impact on the JSA, as she targets one of its members. In the end this issue made for a very nice closing note for the big Stealing Thunder arc.