FanExpo11: DC Announces JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA with James Robinson and Nicola Scott

Justice Society of America

Art by Darwyn Cooke

Today at FanExpo 2011 in Toronto, Canada, DC Comics announced during the DC: The New 52 panel that there will be a new Justice Society of America title, written by James Robinson with art by Nicola Scott. This confirms the recent rumors that have been swirling over the past month that this book was forthcoming.  But it’s not what we expected.

Robinson and Scott wil be telling the tales of the JSA in the new DC Universe, but on Earth-2. That’s right. The DC Multiverse exists and much like the days of DC Comics yesteryear, the Justice Society of America will be the inhabitants of an alternate Earth.  What this means for future multiverse stories, we don’t know, but it looks like they just built a bridge to tell those type of stories.

As far as the creative team goes, congratulations to DC Comics for getting this one right. Robinson and Scott are a perfect match for this title, as Robinson has a long history with these characters and a reverence that will bring out the best stories possible while Scott is clearly one of the most talented artists at DC Comics.  These two creators were curiously absent from DC’s New 52, so it’s great to see them getting their due on a great book.

We’re still waiting to hear who will be on the team and other details – we’ll post the info as we get it from Toronto!

UPDATE – iFanboy staffer Ali Colluccio was at the panel and checked in with some additional information:

James Robinson said that by having the Justice Society of America on Earth-2, this gives him the opportunity to use some great characters that were previously dead or unavailable. DC comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio added that they wanted to do the characters right and find a great creative team, which is why this title wasn’t announced as part of the DC Relaunch.

This announcement comes hot on the heels of our recent video episode, where we discussed the history and importance of the Justice Society of America. Good timing,eh?

Comments

  1. Mixed feelings on the Earth-2 thing.. but…. this is a team I want to read with a creative team that should be excellent.

  2. Now this news makes that video woefully inaccurate. (kidding)

    I like it that Garrick and Scott are going to still be around, and Scott is a great artist. But….I just can’t buy a book with Robinson as writer. He does nothing for me.

  3. I am very happy about this.

  4. Good timing indeed! I just finished watching the vid on youtube right before this news hit the site. Looks like Ifanboy has got a lil’ Nostradamus in ya!

  5. Avatar photo JeffR (@JeffRReid) says:

    I’m curious what version of each character is going to exist in this new Earth-2 JSA. Will Hourman be Rex Tyler, the original one who died in Zero Hour? His son, Rick? Perhaps that weird android version of Hourman from the future that Robinson used early in his JSA run? Maybe all three? And that’s just one hero! There are dozens more!

    I’m curious how this will all go. While I do miss the idea of legacy in the DCU, I do trust these two creators enough to look into this when it comes out.

    • They said in the panel today the reason for going to Earth-2 was because a lot of the classic JSA characters had died over the years, and putting the JSA back on Earth-2 gives them a chance to bring them back. So think of any currently dead JSA members. they will be starting fresh on Earth 2 so any of them can come back now!

  6. Now that didn’t take long at all. Great news! And I love the return to an alternate Earth. Hopefully it will give the team room to breathe away from the Justice League. Now the speculation starts about who will be on the team.

    Didn’t DC already confirm a “Multiversity” event that will deal with the set up of the new Multiverse, with Morrison writing? Sounds like prime real estate for a JLA/JSA crossover.

    Oh.. And I want JSA WWII era stories!!

  7. Credit where credit is due; Bleeding Cool did announce this first a few weeks ago.

    Also, my comment predated this article by one minute in the JSA video thread so….Kudos?

    • congrats, you get a 5 cent, plastic junior G-man badge.

    • To be clear: BC posted bar-gossip from SDCC which is hardly announcing anything. We heard the same rumors and gossip at SDCC but did not report it because it was not announced – probably because at that time, it was just gossip/rumor.

    • @wally: Aww I wanted a no prize…

      @ron: Well wouldn’t titles like this be in production weeks before it’s announcement? I’m sure Robinson was told to do this title months ago before scripts had to be due.

    • They didn’t show any art, or share any details, or state when it would be coming out. My guess is it just got firmed up/confirmed/approved right before the con. That is why we don’t post rumors.

    • But rumors are so juicy, c’mon! 🙂

    • I come here precisely because they don’t post rumors. The rumor mongering that has taken place on this site in the past are some of the few articles I’ve commented negatively on. Tabloidy junk is just gross.

    • @ronxo you are correct sir. Dan DidIo said in the panel that they were working on firming up the JSA announcement the night before the panel. These guys do a lot of after hours work at these cons to take advantage of the face to face aspect.

  8. I hope they take the opportunity to make Earth-2 a little different tone from the regular DCU….just for variety sake and to offer a bit more “all ages” and by that i mean good old fashioned fun superhero comics….maybe a dash of The Brave and the Bold.

    I dunno, this could be promising. I love the JSA when they’re done right.

  9. This is great news. I miss the old guard JSA so I’m glad to have them back on a regular basis, especially with this creative team.

  10. Like others I love Robinson/Scott on JSA but wonder at the Earth 2 thing. The idea of the mentor relationships and the generational story really made this a special comic.

  11. Awesome! fantastic creative team! this should be great

  12. The JSA is back, written by James Robinson, and they’ll exist on Earth-2 with their own history? It’s like DC got me an early birthday and Christmas present in one new comic.

  13. Hmm using previously dead characters? Earth-2 Superman and Batman maybe? Liberty Belle?
    Mr Terrific i guess won’t be on the team since he has his own book. Hawkman likely not there either.
    I wonder if Star Girl will be on the team?

  14. Wasn’t sure they’d go the Earth-2 route, but that seems the best way to do it. Excited!

  15. I dig it. I’m kind of happy the multiverse is back. I thought it would be due to the face they were putting a lot of emphasis on the number 52. But I’m excited to get crazy multiverse stories and this JSA sounds like it’s going to both be awesome and be a good start to stories harkening back to the early days of the JLA.

  16. Yes! Yes!

  17. I’m glad that the team will be around, and I’m very glad that there will be an Earth 2.

    I am not glad that Robinson is writing it. I’ll be skippin this.

  18. So, I get new James Robinson Shade stories, plus a new JSA series by him? Normally, I’d already be excited about this news, but seeing as I just finished book three of the Starman Ominbus, I can’t wait . . . I’m mixed on the Earth 2 thing, as I agree that the mentor role was a good niche for the characters. However, it does jive with the whole reboot concept of fresh entry points for new readers, so I’m not surprised that DC chose that route . . .

  19. I’m real happy about this! What good is a multiverse if you can’t put it to good use? I just finished reading Justice Society #54 and got kind of misty-eyed at the end, thinking I wouldn’t get to see these characters again for a long, long time. So yay 🙂

  20. The return of Earth 2!!!! yes!!!!!

  21. YES. That is all that needs to be said at a time like this.

  22. ifanboy doesn’t post rumors… just stills. This is the most welcome reboot to me. But wait… Does this mean Karen Starr didn’t make the boat back to Earth-2 if she’s in Mr. Terrific?

  23. Oh! and please bring shiity-psuedo-Batman costumed Robin onto the team!

  24. I cannot be any more happy. This is a dream creative team.

  25. Kind of hoped that they would set the JSA up on a different earth (thought they might actually be the only ones left on the current DC Universe, how interesting would that have been). Gives them the opportunity to make the team ups mean a little more when they happen. Now the biggest question left for me is where is Wally? Would they put him on Earth 2 as well? With Donna and some of the other missing Titans? Will anyone know about the old DCU?

    • Concern #1) Barry is young. Let him be the Flash. Wally is coming to Earth l. Donna is a photographer. She too will become important later.

      Concern #2) From what I’ve heard/read “there is no ‘back door.’ This is the clean slate Wolfman proposed back in ’84-’85. If you’re gonna re-do it, do it all at once. And Make It Simple Stupid. (Not you, just the state of mind.)

  26. I thought I saw Ali at the panel!

    (Spoiler alert below)

    One thing Dan DiDio mentioned that I haven’t seen pop up on the site was that Stephanie Brown will still be around post New 52 as Spoiler. He said something about her being in a storyline in Batman Inc and that when “we return from the Flashpoint universe” she will still be there in that story … then he just said that she would be Spoiler.

    You guys don’t post rumours but it is ok if I do right?

  27. Worth a look.

  28. I loved the JSA videocast. Was that iFanboy’s way of hinting at this announcement?

  29. This is most welcome news! I can’t wait! Good choices on the creative team. The Earth-2 thing should be, at the very least, interesting. I am so glad these characters aren’t being abandoned!

  30. YOU DID IT, IFANBOY!!! (*balloons drop from the ceiling*) Your video show brought the JSA back from the dead! Wa-hoo!

    (Now never ever have a show on the Sentry.)

  31. Nope this was exactly what I expected to have happen and I couldn’t be happier. I’m probably the only one though that hopes they go the atomic robo route and have events happen in both WW2 and the present. JSA has such a rich history that it’ll be neat to see how things play out again!

  32. Awesome. I’ll totally be picking this up. I think the Earth-2 thing lends to some different kinds of stories, and this way, it’s not bogged down in whatever is going on in the new 52.

  33. @Matrix: Agreed!! I would love to see DC go the All Star Squadron route with this book and set it entirely in WW2. However, I’m just glad the JSA is back so soon!!

  34. I’m just glad we live in a comic book world where it has suddenly been considered non-confusing to have Earth-2 back.

    Yea, we’re smart again!

  35. I hope we don’t get any Power Girl whining about not being in the right universe. Cause that was the worst part of Johns run on JSA in my opinion. He wasted so much time with that storyline which basically went no where. (When he could’ve done those 3 one-shots late in the run to be issues in the regular comic)

  36. I have been somewhat choosy about which books I will be picking up in the NuDCU, but I will definitely be trying this one out. I like the creative team and I like most of the JSA characters. I hope some of the newer generation characters are going to be used. Stargirl was one of my favorites on the team. There are certain characters that I hope show up. Wildcat, Dr. Fate, Hourman, and Captain Marvel. The fact that it is on Earth-2 is interesting as well.

  37. This, right here, is the first NuDC book that has me excited

  38. Hmm. I’ll give this a whirl I suppose. Actually picking up fewer DC books after the reboot, so I have some wiggle room here.

  39. Next Crime Syndicate Earth 3

  40. I am SOOOO excited about this. I loved Robinson’s previous run on JSA and Scott’s art on Teen Titans has bee beautiful!!

  41. I like everything about this announcement. Everything.

  42. POWERS THAT BE! HEAR MY WORDS!!

    This is an epic win!!

    I think Robinson and Scott (OMG! Nicola Scott!) are going to hit this one out of the park! All of the classic DC Golden Age characters and tropes [from the start] without interference from the ‘modern world.’ I don’t even mind if they don’t include the Big Three. Let them use Iron Monro, the Fury and the rest. I don’t care; they can come later in the story. Let’s just see what the rest can do. If we can [at least] experience some of the enthusiasm and creativity Roy Thomas and Robinson gave us in the past we are going to be in for one heck of a ride, Earth ll Style!

    Looking into the Old Crystal Ball Uncle Cei-U gave me some years back, I can predict reliably at least three POTWs in this title’s first year of publication.

    I think I’m gonna love the new DCnU.

    Old School DCU! Old School DCU! Old School DCnU!

    • JSA being in earth 2 allows them to have the golden age batman and superman in the team. The earth 2 batman has been dead for a long time, I wonder if he’s one of the long dead characters they were talking about?

  43. I hope this means it is also possible we could end up with a Fawcett Earth!

  44. Dan Didio said they were thinking about bringing back Wesley Dodds…and i got very very excited

  45. I think the creative team is spot on and that this is very great news to the die hard JSA fan but I’m curious how this titles will sell beyond the core readership.

  46. Excellent News!

    Not only is this what I’ve been hoping for (The Return of not only the JSA, but of Earth-2), but its got the TOP creative talent it deserves. While the end of Robinson’s JLA run was not my favorite, I can’t wait to see what he has in store for the JSA. And Nicola Scott is probably my favorite artist at DC these days. Very exciting stuff.

    Wondering what will become of the Marvel family. Maybe Captain Marvel could be the Earth-2 equivalent of Superman.

  47. YES! The JSA are back and sooner rather than later! “Golden Age” and “Starman” are two of my favorite books. Robinson has great love and knowledge of these classic characters. I was not familiar with Nicola Scott’s work until recently but wow what a fantastic choice, perfect style for this book. My fears for this reboot were just lowered and my hopes and excitement just went up ten fold.

    Can’t wait for the Fawcett/Shazam Earth 3 and Seven Soldiers of Victory Earth 4. DC finally realized that the multiverse is a brillient concept with unlimited possibilities not the burden they’ve made it out to be for 25 years. And they’ve already got all the characters and mechinisms in place (like Flash, Booster Gold, Rip Hunter, Waverider, etc.) to integrate and crossover these worlds whenever they want.

    Our long national nightmare is finally over!

  48. Im probably in the minority but I’m hoping that Earth-2 still has something of a modern take on the heroes. I’d love to see WWII flashback stories, maybe similar in approach to the “Remembering David” features in Starman, or the glimpses back to Hawkman’s previous lives. But I still want to see Stargirl, still as the stepdaughter to STRIPE…I want to see Cyclone, Wildcat’s son Tom, etc.

    Oh well, however they choose to do it, I will be right up front and center!

  49. Love it, bridges the two worlds and stories for multiverse, rather the JSA be here but Robinson might change my opinion on that as the possibilities are endless with them being on Earth-2 and its where Crisis on Infinite Earths had them 20m years ago, so its like Flashpoint reset the whole DCU to before the first Crisis with some modern changes from the Flashpoint timeline. I’m just happy to see the book that got me obsessed and in love with comix again back in the DCU and with a great creative team behind it, James Robinson is a veteran with these characters and knows what they need to work and Nicola Scott is a great artist who’ll fit the book right.