Happy Thanksgiving From The Heretic's Blog

Happy Thanksgiving!  Go see your family, friends, or whomever and eat lots of food...get some rest...and eat some more food!

I probably wont have any reviews or other posts out today or tomorrow due to, 1) Thanksgiving, and 2) me being on call through the weekend.  So don't expect to much from this blog for the next few days.

But now, in recognition of the holiday, and one of the greatest American artists of the 20th century, Mr. Norman Rockwell, here is DC Comics way of wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America #40

Book Information
Written by Bill Willingham
Penciled by Jesus Merino
Colored by Allen Passalaqua
Inked by Jesse Delperdang & Merino
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Cover by Merino & Passalaqua

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion
Huh, I had kind of forgotten about the whole “Alan Scott turning evil” bit. Which is why I think JSA #40 had to wrap up like it did…or at least that’s what Bill Willingham thought he had to do. I’ve enjoyed Fatherland so much that I was certain the ending was going to be fantastic! But instead, it turned out to be something that seemed rather forced. I don’t know if Willingham’s hands were tied by the higher forces within DC Comics, or if he really wanted the conclusion of this arc to be this way. Whatever the case may be, #40, while still being a decent issue, is not a worthy addition to such a great story.

Willingham decides to enter into the inner monologue of Obsidian and turn the bulk to the issue into a narrative epilogue where he describes how the time paradox was resolved and things brought back to normal, this takes a mere four pages to accomplish. Then we go into a few moments where Obsidian faces his inner demons with Power Girl and confronts Mr. Terrific about how he knew what the 4th Reich was actually up too. A few fighting sequences here and there, but overall, very unsatisfying. I typically don’t mind it when comics use a superhero’s thoughts as a way of telling a story, but for what this story arc had become, this ending just didn’t suit it.

This is not too say that #40 wasn’t fun to read as nearly half of the book kept my attention engaged and ready. The very hilarious lie that Obsidian makes about being cured of his homosexuality could not have been timed better. And I did appreciate that Willingham did show the JSA beating the Reich and didn’t just cop out with Obsidian’s opening line “And that’s how we beat them.” But I think this issue would have been much better if, say, the team hatched Obsidian moments before the Reich’s engine had been turned on. But hey, that’s just me.

Artistically, Merino stays very consistent with what he’s been producing in this arc. His and Delperdang’s work on the cover is arguable the most impressive aspect of the whole book, even though I’m not sure I understand why the team is suddenly popping out of the Obsidian egg. But overall, the art is very good.

My Profoundly Climactic Conclusion
Disappointing ending to an incredible story arc, but not entirely bad in and of itself. I guess that’s what happens when to try to write stories involving time travel…you can never quite wrap things up efficiently. Oh well, Thanks Willingham for writing such a cool story!

Ratings
Writing: 7.5
Themes: 6
Art: 9
Overall: 7.5 out of 10

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America #39

Literary And Artistic Credits

Writer: Bill Willingham

Penciller: Jesus Merino

Inkers: Jesse Delperdang

Letterers: Rob Leigh

Colorist: Allen Passalaqua

Cover Art: Merino & Passalaqua

Associate Editor: Rachel Gluckstern

Editor: Mike Carlin

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

Like any story dealing in time travel, or an alternate universe, there is this paradox that creates numerous problems in its logic and progression.  These types of plots almost always end as if nothing ever happened, as if the conflict, which is the basis of the storyline, never occurred.  This same plot progression occurs in #39 as Mr. Terrific’s ultimate goal is to send a message to his past self, giving him the code necessary to turn off the Fourth Reich’s dark engine in hopes that this terrible catastrophe will never happen.  But Willingham throws in a major monkey wrench that may cause the JSA to change their plans drastically.

What I had to remind myself of is Willingham’s purposeful style of storytelling; that hokey, Nazi defying storyline that was extremely popular during the mid 70’s into the mid 80’s is the dominant feature of this story.  This is important in realizing the authors’ intention as Willingham pulls from the silver age and follows the formulaic plot progression from that time. 

The first six pages give us a brief recap of what had transpired thus far as narrated by Mr. Terrific himself.  This may have been a tad bit tedious, but the artwork by Merino kept eyes interested where my mind wasn’t.  What follows is a series of corny, and somewhat humorous pieces of dialogue that wouldn’t fit into the comic book literature of the modern age.  Black Canaries phrase of ending up in the “Valhalla of these Nazi’s Nordic wet dreams” was priceless and made me wonder what it would have been like reading comics when my parents were kids. 

Despite the corny dialogue in places, nothing seemed out of place with the purpose of the story.  The dark nature of this future was powerful enough to keep everything focused and the characters meaningful.  There were even some pretty epic moments that no one can justly claim to be a poor aspect of the story; Superman controlling the giant military robot, Green Arrow saving the day from above, there was even a moment portraying the Penguin as a changed man in the face of Armageddon.  What I found most amusing and fun was attempting to decipher who was who in this time period.  Black Canary with black hair was particularly tricky to figure out.

Merino is flawless in how precise and creative he gets in each panel.  This comic is so busy with fire and explosions, but never once does it become so overbearing that I no longer enjoy the artistic value. 

                                                     

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

This book is a lot of fun.  We know for the most part how this story will end but my hopes tell me Willingham will use this storyline to drastically change the future of the JSA forever.  Predictable this story is, but the potential that this story carries into the DC universe is far greater.

Writing: 9

Themes: 9

Art: 10

Overall: 9.33 out of 10

Top Ten Comics For April

I wonder if I will get a lot of criticism for this list?  hmmmmm.....

10. Justice League of America #44 (8.67)

Written by James Robinson

Art by Mark Bagely

Typical James Robinson, split the team up right when it's getting started. However, this issue was a lot of fun and well worth the price of admission.

9. Superman: Secret Origin #5 (9)

Written by Geoff Johns

Art by Gary Frank

Can't wait for the conclusion!  Gary Frank you are amazing!

8. Batman #698 (9)

Written by Tony Daniel

Art by Guillem March

Why, why, WHY must Tony Daniel leave as writer for Batman only to allow Morrison to take over?  Do you hate us Daniel?  You are so much more capable of a writer than Morrison, please, come back to us!

7. Green Lantern #53 (9)

Written by Geoff Johns

Art By Doug Mahnke

A lot of fun and innovative.

6. Action Comics #888 (9)

Written by Greg Rucka & Eric Trautmann

Art by Pere Perez

DC Mythology at its best.  For those who don't like this arc, shut your face and get over yourself!  It's awesome!

5. Brightest Day #0 (9.67)

Written by Geoff Johns & Peter J Tomasi

Art by Fernando Pasarin

Surprisingly well done for a #0.  At least it wasn't a Free Comic Book Day book.

4. Justice Society of America #38 (10)

Written by Bill Willingham

Art by Jesse Merion

This is without a doubt the best story arc I've read in a while, only rivaled by Superman: For Tomorrow.

3. Power Girl #11 (10)

Written by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti

Art by Amanda Conner

I'm going to miss This trio creative team once #12 hits stores.

2. Green Lantern Corps #47 (10)

Written By Peter Tomasi

Art by Doug Mahnke

Tomasi delivered one of the most "human" stories to ever grace the pages of the GL Corps.

1. Secret Six #20 (10)

Written by Gail Simone

Art by J. Calafiore

Yeah, quite literally the best of April, and very likely of the year.  Dark, violent, unhappy, angst driven and edge of your seat suspense.  #20 is a work of art!

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America #38

Book Information

Written by Bill Willingham

Art by Jesus Merion & Jesse Delperdang

Lettering by Rob Leigh

Colored by Allen Passalaqua

Plot

The Fourth Reich has obtained control of the world, imprisoning our favorite superheroes.  As each hero is made an example of, Mr. Terrific and the rest of the heroes work together to put an end to the Fourth Reich’s tyrannical reign of murder and destruction, but it may come at a very high cost.

My Thoughts

Like most stories set in the future, the world is now a grim and destructive place, only now it’s ruled by an evil Nazi regime.  I can’t really say that there are any uplifting moments within this book, apart from the fact that Willingham provides a hint of hope that the heroes have a plan to get out of this mess and end the Fourth Reich’s rule.  But truly, nothing good comes out of this issue, only misery and despair. 

Writing & Themes

Willingham is doing an excellent job at maintaining the “old school” feel that should always be apart of the Justice Society.  Superman’s fight with Behemoth was a classic rendition of the corny dialogue and narrative prose used in the golden age, almost humorous in its stature. Yet at the same time, the fight gives off a sense of purpose, as if the corniness is needed to establish the heroes’ ability to adapt quickly to any situation.  We already know that the heroes have a plan, while not knowing what it is, but this issue shows us that even without a plan, a crippled superhero is still a threat to an evil doers endeavors.

As a way of presenting this new Nazi driven world to his readers, he creates the disturbingly happy and uplifting “Good Morning Fourth Reich” TV show, with two hosts flashing their Nazi symbols both proudly and naturally.  Willingham shows us a world where tyranny and murder are an acceptable form of entertainment.  In addition, the Nazi’s themselves seem to enjoy watching the heroes suffer as they taunt and humiliate them.  As young people, we are taught to hate the Nazi belief system and what they did so long along, Willingham appeals to this socially constructed fact to write a story that we can all be drawn too despite the fact that nothing good happens.

Within those first 25 pages, Willingham provides the ultimate premise to a story where everything goes to hell.  All the heroes loose their powers, either being severely injured or dying.  With this being the third chapter in a five part story arc, we’ve reached the penultimate point in the story where it really does seem like there’s no hope…which makes it the best chapter in the story!  The shooting of Batman and the joker was not entirely surprising but definitely interesting.  As I knew Blue Beetle was going to attack Mr. Terrific however, (as planned) I did not expect him too be shot in the head by a Nazi soldier.  The questions that hit my mind at that moment were, “Is this story cannon?  How will this story be concluded?  Is there a plan for it to make sense within the DC Universe as this could very well throw everything off course in DC’s mapping of their world?”  This is what makes Willingham such a great writer, always knowing how to raise questions in his reader’s minds about the effect his stories will have on the surrounding societies.

Rating: Writing – 10 / Themes - 10

Art

Merino has a very static approach to his characters, which works perfectly with Willingham’s story telling.  And as he isn’t my favorite artist, this writer/artist team-up is spot-on perfect.  I’m not as familiar with Merino’s artwork so I can’t say if this is typical for him, but the style is incredibly well done for this title and I hope he sticks around on the JSA for a while.

Rating: 10

Overall Rating: 10 out of 10 stars, + 2 incentive points.

Next Issue Coming May 26, 2010

Mr. Terrific gathers the ragged remains of the Justice Society in a last-ditch attack on the Fourth Reich, and their power-negating Darkness Engine. If they fail this time, there's no coming back from the devastation!

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America #37

Book Information

Written by Bill Willingham

Art by Jesus Merino

Plot

It’s the future and the Nazi mentality has taken over the world with America as its headquarters.  The former Mr. Terrific is under going a series of questioning by an American servant of the German founded political system.  With the remaining superheroes of the world drained of their powers by some mystic dark engine and put under lock and key, the third Reich can now relish in the fact that the entire planet’s inhabitants pledge allegiance to one flag and one leader.  The superheroes are completely helpless…or are they?

My Thoughts

If you were to ask me which story arc I’ve enjoyed reading the most in my years of comic collecting, I would respond “Fatherland…definitely Fatherland!”  The combined talents of Bill Willingham and Jesus Merino have created an arc that rivals Kingdom Come by Geoff Johns.  There’s nothing particularly original or innovative about this arc, but it does take us through a trip down memory lane to the times when comics were all about the American spirit and fighting against the oppressive Nazi Regime.

Last month, Willingham introduced some new villains as well as revived some already established ones, all of which pay tribute to Nazi Germany.  The Shadow of War is one of the more interesting and terrifying of the mix due to her mysterious and perplexing demeanor.  Her powers seem to be limitless and incomprehensible, which makes her the perfect villain to fight against the Justice Society.  It was a nice surprise as she unveiled the secret weapon which would render the JSA powerless.  I am a little confused, however, as to why the dark engine did not affect the Shadow of War.  The rest of the Third Reich held back which I’m sure was the plan from the start so the Super-Nazi’s would not be unharmed, but what makes the Shadow of War so unique that she can carry this engine and still retain her powers?  In addition, why is the egg form of Obsidian so important to the running of this dark engine?  This is most interesting and intriguing part of the story and I’m very excited to see what Willingham has up his sleeve. 

Speaking of creepy characters, I think Kid Karnevil is the gold medal winning super villain in the creepiness category.  The rest of the Third Reich is obviously evil, but they portray a certain level of normalcy as strange as that may sound.  Kid Karnevil has officially boosted himself to an equal insanity level as the Joker.

As stated above, Jesus Merino contributes a lot to the Silver Age feel of the JSA this month.  I can’t be sure if it’s purposeful or just his style, but the wooden, yet colorful look to this entire issue is perfect for this story arc.  It maintains the contemporary style that comic books have today but does call upon the inspiration of the silver age.  The darker tone at the end of this issue vs. the much brighter feel in the earlier parts was a very nice touch, showing the difference between the past and the future, the classic era and the darkness that will come.

Merino has this incredible ability to portray an incredible sense of motion, as if it didn’t take any effort at all.  Jay Garrick, for example, as he struggled to free himself from Shadow of War’s mystical grip was quite impressive.  Unlike most artists, who use an overabundance of speed lines to give the feeling of fast paced action, Merino uses his natural talent to create powerfully moving objects without going to far with the details.  It’s a perfect display of immense action and suspense that doesn’t revert to the bad habits we find in most comics these days.

Overall

This issue will by no means make my top ten list for 2010, but this issue certainly will be in the top spot for the month.  It’s a lot of fun and brings back the classic comic book story back to the stores for the contemporary reader to enjoy.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming April 28, 2010

The Nazis have succeeded and taken over America, which is leading to the scheduled executions of the major heroes and villains in the U.S.! But Mr. Terrific may have figured out a way to topple the Fourth Reich using their own Darkness Engine against them...

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America #36

Book Information

Written by Bill Willingham

Art by Jesus Merino

Plot

The attacks on Obsidian and Mr. Terrific weren’t just meaningless hits, they were apart of a much bigger plan that even the JSA will have trouble dealing with.  With a silver age aura to it, this issue deals with a super villain team that has been gone for some time, but still packs a punch!  With war quickly approaching, and three key members out of the picture, this wont be an easy task for the JSA.

My Thoughts

What makes the Justice Society so cool is its classic, silver age feel with every issue.  Geoff Johns did a wonderful job during his time on this title, but it always remained a little too contemporary for me.  Issue #36, with Bill Willingham at the helm, truly takes us back into the past of the silver age era.

Anyone in their mid to late 20’s can’t deny that the Nazi theme definitely takes us back to when our parents were kids; how every TV show, comic, and other related media was mainly focused on brain washing the youth to believe America was right, and every other country in the world was wrong.  By utilizing super heroes, comics were able to capture their readers with big booming adventures, while keeping the government happy and the Comics Code Authority off their backs.  Now while I’m glad comics have so much more room to expand and give us top notch story lines, Willingham’s approach was fun and exciting.

The campy, over dramatic approach was humorous, yet serious at the same time.  When you have characters that call themselves Baroness Blitzkrieg, Captain Swastika, Baron Gestapo, Count Berlin, Shadow of War, and my all time favorite, Captain Nazi, you’re first reaction is to laugh.  The way the villains are integrated into the story, however, is no laughing matter.  Apart from the Black Lantern zombies, I don’t think I’ve been more freaked out by an evil villain than I have with Kid Karnevil.  Baroness Blitzkrieg may be a campy name, but she sure knocked Liberty Belle out of the park.  And the brute strength of Captain Nazi is nothing short of damned impressive.  The hokey approach to this book does not over shadow its dark demeanor.

The sudden death of Green Lantern was a huge upset for me.  Jesus Merino does a fantastic job with the explosive art, but I wonder how DC is going to play out this catastrophic occurrence.  Alan Scott is incredibly popular among fans, so to kill him off is a bold move where DC had better have a backup plan to help give his death some pretty heavy significance within the DC universe.  It was a nice touch on Willingham’s part.

I can’t complain about the art work, it’s probably the best stuff I’ve seen Merino do.  Again I say his one page panel of Alan Scott being blown to smithereens was a gorgeous piece of art work.  The body sculpting of every character was very well done.  My favorite thing about Merino is his proportional accuracy of the human figure.  No one’s biceps are bigger than their heads, none of the women’s boobs were so big that you wondered if it was their super powers or magic that was holding them up so perfectly, and the facial features specifically fit each individual character perfectly. 

Overall

This is a fantastic book!  My only problem is that it still has more to come, which drives me nuts!  Obsidian has been stuck in his egg-like state for a few months now and the JSA are still being attack, and no one ones why!  I certainly hope Willingham keeps this good work up because this story arc is off to a fantastic start!

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming March 24^th, 2010

The war takes a turn for the worse for the JSA as the enemy fires up their super power-negating "Darkness Engine." But the terror rises when the team learns that the machine is powered by the black egg that used to be their colleague Obsidian!

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America Annual #2

Book Information

Written by Keith Giffen &Matthew Sturges

Art by Tom Derenick & Rodney Ramos

Plot

Magog attempts a loner expedition in thwarting a massive escape attempt by Haven’s most vile and evil criminal masterminds.  However, confusion hit the JSA’s (both versions) radar as the call is made claiming Magog to be the culprit.  With tensions rising, and the team constantly questioning Magog’s crime fighting methods, is this the last straw for the team?  Is Magog truly the one instigating this terrible criminal escape attempt, or is there dirty work afoot at Haven’s doorstep?

My Thoughts

I hate Magog, that’s all there is to it.  He’s an obnoxious character that equals the stupidity that came along in the creation of Lobo and Arm Fall-Off boy.  He was cool in Kingdom Come, but I really hate seeing him anywhere else in the DC universe.  I would honestly prefer brushing my teeth, and then drinking orange juice then having to continually see that idiot Magog on any more pages of a DC comic every again.  However, Giffen and Sturges do make this a “better than your average comic” yearly annual.

There nothing in this issue that’s mind blowing, or allows you to come to new realizations about any of the characters...until the end.  This is without a doubt an explosive and loud comic from start to finish.  90% of this issue has either an explosion, a light show, or fist to fist combat, with the occasional one page consisting of calm, yet tension building plot twists.  The two paged spread towards the end of the destruction of Haven was breathtakingly astounding.  Points go to the artistic team for given us a visual masterpiece on every page turn.  I can only imagine how exhausting that had to have been, and even then I probably fail to fathom it.

The story itself for the first chunk of the book made me think that this was going to be nothing more than a slug fest with no successful or meaningful conclusion.  With Power Girl’s constant bickering, Wildcat II’s whining, and the persistent yelling at fellow teammates while they duke it out with the escaped convicts, I wondered if this issue was going to have any thought provoking end at all.  Much to my surprise, it had just that.  The last page shows the splintered JSA, torn between one another’s differences.  Questions are raised about loyalty, leadership, authority and responsibility.  The approach that Giffen and Sturges took in tackling this dilemma of the teams wanting to be together, yet feeling as if they can’t was perfectly done.  The emotional impact that fighting amongst family or those you are closest too is one of the deeper and more consistently conflicting aspects of life that anyone could write about.  I think this JSA split up is going to be a lot better than I initially thought.

Overall

Exceptional issue.  While being a punch drunk, fist happy, explosively violent comic, it ties all of that rage together into a realization that fighting amongst family and friends will bring nothing but more destruction in addition to what has already been caused.  This issues attempts to showcase the very age old question, “Can we disagree without becoming violently disagreeable?”

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America #35

Book Information

Written by Bill Willingham

Art by Travis Moore

Plot

Mordru has sent the Society into separate dimensions where they face unique and dangerous tasks that match their personalities.  Dr. Fate lays unconscious in the real world unable to assist his team mates.  What will the Society do to rectify their current predicament?  Will Mordru finally get his revenge on his enemies or will the Society learn from past mistakes? 

My Thoughts

A series of tasks are appointed to each member in which Mordru no doubt thinks them unbeatable.  Why Willingham decided to do this, I have no idea.  Why put the 3^rd smartest man in the world in a battle of wits with a sphinx?  We all know it’s going to be no challenge right?  But to make matters worse, not only was it an easy task, but there was no conflict with the beast in any shape or form.  Mr. Terrific smart talks his way out of this fight right at the beginning and the whole string of dialog becomes redundant and contrived, along with the rest of the book.

Willingham attempts to make the story interesting by singling out each member into different worlds that resemble a bit of their personality; however nothing interesting becomes of it all.  Liberty Belle doesn’t actually defeat the multiplying beast, Wildcat never breaks free of his own doing from the giant stuffed animals, Mr. America never actually out runs the pack of wolves, Doctor Mid-Nite stays trapped among the sickened patients, Lighting only meets, but does not fight the electrifying creatures ready to destroy her, and Flash only sinks in the quicksand running from an ever growing swarm of bees.  The only Society member who actually accomplishes anything is Green Lantern in his battle of intelligence and agility against Mordru’s onslaught of raw power.  How are they freed from their dimensional prison?  Dr. Fate sticks his hand inside different boxes and pulls them out.  Plain and simple.  No member learns anything new about themselves nor do they discover any new mysteries involving Mordru or of a future oncoming threat.  If Willingham had at least made each society member beat their individual tasks, then the issue could have been salvageable, but nothing good comes from it.

I truly hate this “hokey” approach Willingham is taking with the Society.  It feels as if the team has split, and the All-Stars are the ones taking things seriously while the other half is joking around and making light of the situation.  This feels cheap and poorly planned and I’m not sure I want to continue picking this title up anymore of Willingham continues to write crappy stories like this.  Grant Morrison writes better stuff for goodness sakes!

The art is fair, although not what it needs to be to help boost the lack in quality writing.  However, Travis Moore does possess a talent that resembles the old style of comic book art, which fits with this title very well.  I could live with having Moore stay with the JSA for a long time, as long as Willingham gets out of dodge!

Overall

Piss poor.  Take this opportunity to save $2.99 or spend it on something worthy of your hard earned money.

Rating: 1 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 24, 2010

The discovery of exactly who was behind the recent attacks on Obsidian and other members of the Justice Society puts the team on the trail of a true Axis of Evil! This means war!

Comic Book Review: Justice Society of America #34

Book Information
Written by Bill Willingham
Art by Travis Moore and Dan Green
Cover by Jesus Merino

Plot
As the Justice Society resets themselves with the most current spilt-up, a mysterious figure hovers above the Earth, monologuing to himself, claiming he is free once again. The figure descends upon the unsuspecting JSA to possess the body of the newly appointed Dr. Fate who now walks about the headquarters acting strangely. With plans to kill every member of the JSA, time is running short! Will the Society discover their phantom invader in time to stop his evil plans, or will they fall to an enemy they can’t see?

My Thoughts
Bill Willingham has not been overly impressive these few months he’s been working on this title, and this issue is far from impressive. My initial reaction to the story probably mirrors what most fans thought as well; this plot had been used before and Willingham sucks because of it and I’m totally on board with this sentiment. I believe it’s a cop out and Willingham needs to re-evaluate his writing techniques for future issues. However, there are a few aspects of the issue I did enjoy.

This is definitely one of the “funnier” issues to come around for this run of the JSA, maybe even TOO funny. Jesse’s pissed at everyone’s assumptions, Fate wants cookies, A lot of unexpected whip lashing power, and much much more. To the typical fan, this way of using humor can be annoying, especially since this is the most respected superhero team in the DCU. However, let us think back to issue #26 when our esteemed writer, Geoff Johns, was still on board. That was an issue about going deeper into the private lives of the JSA. What would it be like to see a day of rest for the entire team? Willingham takes this same approach and puts a different twist in it than Johns did. I’m sure everyone on the team, even Mr. Terrific, will say or do something stupid that causes people to laugh or feel silly. I appreciate Willingham’s willingness to expand his horizons and write a story with some normal, realistic humor.

I’m not sure how much of a fan I am of Travis Moore and Dan Green’s artwork. I felt like I could have seen this art in an issue of DC kids. Now granted, there are some moments of brilliance. The next to last page, with the team charging at Fate was impressive and emotional, but as a whole, I would say this was less than acceptable. But maybe that’s what Willingham was going for, so he enlisted the help of a more comedic artist to compliment his writing of this issue.

Overall
Definitely not my pick of the month, but there still enjoyable. I would think most DC fans will enjoy this issue, but forget about it next month.

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming January 27, 2010

It's all-out war as the leaner, meaner Justice Society of America confront another intruder in their midst! But this time it's bad news for their enemy, as he's facing a team that has learned from its past mistakes! The new incarnation of the Justice Society is more together than ever!