Justice Society of America #3 Review

Writer: Geoff Johns

Art: Mikel Janín, Jordie Bellaire, Jerry Ordway, Scott Kolins, Steve Lieber, Brandon Peterson, John Kalisz, Jordan Boyd, Rob Leigh, Yanick Paquette, and Nathan Fairbairn

Publisher: DC Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: March 14th, 2023

Huntress’s journey to save the Justice Society of America lands her smack dab in the middle of the 1940s at the birth of the team! Can Huntress and the present-day JSA work together long enough to figure out how to stop the strike on the ’40s team?! Let’s dive into Justice Society of America #3 by Geoff Johns and find out!

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THE DISPATCH

The cold open in this week’s Justice Society of America #3 was almost frozen. With almost a two-month hiatus and no recap, Johns throws fans into a Nazi War to provide some background on Degaton. Granted, the clarity arises rather quickly once fans realize they’re ultimately provided a short, backstory summary of the villain. And truthfully, I think the opener would have meshed well if the gap between issues wasn’t so large. Therefore, I would quickly reread Justice Society of America #1-2 before picking this up just to regain your footing before diving into this issue.

Immediately, Johns throws readers into a battle that showcases Huntress monologuing a who’s who of the current Justice Society of America while also providing hints for the future of the team… which is actually her past. It’s quite a clever writing trick. However, before you know it and feel like you get your bearings, Justice Society of America #3 is over. In essence, Johns spends most of the issue attempting to give readers a bit of a backstory on Degaton. Nevertheless, we get very little motivation and understanding as to how and why he’s skipping through time. The assumption is the occult. But, what the crystal ball or talisman are is still a mystery.

ART

Mikel Janín draws his characters with a more softer appearance and features. Moreover, their physical features aren’t ever overly exaggerated. His design is always so smooth and distinct that adds a sense of realism to the comic. Nevertheless, Janín’s particular style stands on strong coloring or else it will fail miserably which is where Jordie Bellaire comes into play. In the past, Bellaire has always worked well with Janín providing well-polished renderings that give his stories an almost mature, authentic shine. Yet through that realism has always been one minor knock that Janín’s style still needs to work on… his action sequences. Sometimes, and you’ll notice it in this week’s Justice Society of America #3, the action scenes look almost like still shots without movement. Sure, they look good for pinups but, at times, the action appears almost still and lifeless.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Readers, Justice Society of America #3 spends a bulk of the time becoming a segway issue used to provide background on Degaton and our “present day” JSA. Johns more or less takes a pulse of the current JSA landscape while showing fans where Degaton started. Now, don’t get me wrong, these plot threads are important… but not after a long hiatus from the comic. To fans of this series like myself, I was expecting more clues, cliffhangers, and key moments to reward our mini vacation from the story. Nevertheless, Justice Society of America #3 is more filler and groundskeeping than anything else this week.

Sure, I get it. This sounds like the issue is bad. However, it’s far from terrible. Johns is an outstanding storyteller and is merely fortifying his narrative to give the characters tangibility and depth. It’s a very important element of any story. Nonetheless, my desire was to at least gain some type of reveal or “wow” moment to continue to hook me for the next installment. Readers, Justice Society of America #3 is still a well-written issue complimented masterfully by Mikel Janín and Jerry Ordway making the story easy on the eyes. However, don’t enter this story expecting huge reveals or mind-blowingly clever plot threads that will cause you to think like a Johns comic has been prone to do in the past.