JSA All-Stars #2 – Review

By: Matthew Sturges (writer), Freddie Williams II (art), Richard & Tanya Horie (colorists)

The Story: Constellations, Part One: After last issue’s ambush and the kidnapping of Stargirl by a love-smitten Johnny Sorrow, the JSA All-Stars are in full action mode. The problem is, the guy paid to take Stargirl is double-crossing Johnny Sorrow, who’s got the Injustice League on his side. A full-on meta gang-war is not conducive to a rescue mission.

What’s Good: The writing impressed me. Power Girl’s narrative run through most of the book and with a few exceptions at the beginning, her voice was engaging. I think Sturges managed to put a lot of character into all the characters, actually. Power Girl’s admission that she likes to hit people was funny, as was her race against a bullet. Stargirl’s “Time to cowboy up and bust out of here” reeks of personality. And the new A.I. for the ranch (sounds funny saying it, doesn’t it?), Roxy, stole the show when she was on. Check out her first lines. I also think the story idea of a super-villain being in creepy love with a 16-year old super heroine was a good angle to try. It creates a weird stalker dynamic and a lot of motivation for Johnny Sorrow to continue to be an implacable enemy to the JSA All-Stars.

Williams’ art had some great moments. He’s got an over-the-top take of anatomy that’s all steroid-jacked muscle with no fat anywhere. He’s got a very light touch on the inks, which makes for very fine lines and more fluid, texture-less features. His layout work is good, including the choice of camera angles and how many people get into any shot. For the most part, the art is clean and you can look at the panels or the page and the story tells itself. I also enjoyed some of the shine he did on Citizen Steele.

What’s Not So Good: A niggling plot problem got me; if Courtney has never been able to call her sceptre before (she says in the book “Let’s see how far that goes”) and she can now to break out of a trap, that’s a minor bit of Deux Ex Machina on the part of Sturges. I also found it a bit weird that Johnny Sorrow and his posse can still call themselves “Injustice Society” with a straight face. It’s a bit like Kim Jong-Il boasting to the people of North Korea that he’s a member of the Axis of Evil. Everyone is a hero in their own mind and Sturges has an opportunity to reimagine, update and make cool every character he calls up. I suggest using a bit more creativity and getting a better name for the villain’s team, or even skip a name. I have to say that for most of Sturges’ run on the JSA, I’ve never really found the villains to have their own motivations other than minor, petty ones and I’d love to see the villains brought up a notch. Lastly, on the art, Williams certainly captures Power Girl in all her pneumatic glory, and even adds to it. While he’s at it, he adds a cup size to all the women (including Stargirl). Pre-pubescent boys of the world rejoice! However, lets be honest. Gratuitous anything (nudity, voluptuousness, violence, killing, wise-cracking, etc) takes away from how seriously a reader can buy into the story. I love being caught up in a great story and I buy comics to take me to some place and time, even if only for a while. To succeed, a story needs balance and so I have to give this issue a strike for some of the gratuitousness in the art.

Conclusion: There’s some good story in here. If you like the gung-ho side of the JSA, check out JSA All-Stars.

Grade: C

-DS Arsenault