Justice Societies of America?


Are two Justice Societies better than one? The new writing team seems to think so.

During yesterday’s SDCC “Great Society” panel, Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges announced that following their first arc with Justice Society of America, the team will split down the middle. A major schism (the second in recent years) will divide the heroes, and that means less games of musical chairs at those increasingly crowded staff meetings. Not to be outdone by almighty Gog before them, Willingham and Sturges’ shakeup will actually lead to two distinct JSA groups, each showcased in their own monthly series. Willingham holds it down at the Brownstone with the old guard in the continuing Justice Society of America while Sturges helms the kids’ table with the new JSA All Stars. Series artist Freddie E. Williams III has already provided this teaser image.

When it was announced months ago that Geoff Johns was leaving the JSA franchise, a lot of us were pretty bummed. I remained pretty conflicted about the new direction of the book and hadn’t reconciled all that anxiety by the time I heard this particular bit of news. The butterflies in my stomach suddenly changed course. My dread has turned to excitement. With two new JSA series on the horizon, the chance of my being smitten all over again has now doubled.

We’re still months away from the launch, but what do you think of the plan? Will Justice be served twice?

Comments

  1. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    Here’s what’s interesting about this image to me. Hourman’s there. Where is Liberty Belle? 

  2. And who is that kid in the back? Is that Zatanna’s brother?

  3. Avatar photo Jeff Reid (@JeffRReid) says:

    Hmmm.  I have all the trades of the old JSA series, but none of the current volume.  Maybe now it’s time to get back into it?

    But according to your info, Paul, does that mean that Jay Garrick, Alan Scott, and Ted Grant will be in the JSA proper book?  They’re the only ones I really think of when you mention "old guard."  Does Courtney count as the "old guard" these days, seeing as how she’s got been around for 10 years?

  4. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    He’s supposedly a new character called King Chimera. Master of disguise legacy character according to Sturges. 

  5. Doesn’t  the appeal of the Justice Society of America lie precisely in its multigenerational character? Although, giving the  new creative team a shot is always a good idea

  6. I always felt part of what made JSA interesting and unique was the interaction between the old guard and the younger characters.  Am I the only one who is a bit worried about this split?  

  7. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    I’m just going by the preview image. I think we can assume that Ted, Jay, and Alan remain in JSA proper. Sturges also stated in an interview that Willingham also got Dr. Fate. Mr. Terrific and Dr. Mid-Nite are probably also in that group. And Liberty Belle too? For those just tuning in, Liberty Belle and Hourman are married. 

  8. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    They certainly could’ve mixed the generations up a little bit more, especially if they split up that main trio of old white guys, but this is still an interesting division. Who knows. There could still be some younger characters like Jakeem in the main group. 

  9. Kool, now there are two JSA books I don’t read instead of one.  I have to admit, the last big convention you guys covered sure seemed to have a lot more fun info spilling out of it.

    Still no Bruce Wayne news?

  10. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    Weekend isn’t over yet. 

  11. Ha it’s the all new Infinity Inc!

  12. The idea seems clever enough, but I wish it didn’t mean I would have to buy another book. That actually makes me less likely to buy either of them, unless they’re really, really good, as I’m guessing they’ll tie into each other pretty frequently.

  13. This actually kinda bums me out a little.  Like Dave and PVT above state, a lot of the appeal of this series is the co-mingling of the old and new guard characters. In fact, after reading the previous volume written by Goyer, Robinson, and Johns, and the current stories by Johns, I’d say that was the most important factor in this book. I certainly thought at the beginning of Johns’ run that there was no way that the book could work with the continual addition of characters, but the Gog storyline proved me wrong.

    I’ll give them both a few issues, but if the split is due to Jay Garrick being a neo-con and Stargirl wanting to support Ralph Nader, I’m dropping it like a ticking gamma bomb.

  14. I’m not getting what could drive Courtney away from the older group. She’s the only one that I see that regards the old guys as family that she loves dearly. So until I see why she went with All Stars, it seems out of character.

  15. I can just imagine the awkward dinners.

    The First JSA on one side of the room, the other JSA on the other. What will become of Thanksgiving!?

  16. Isn’t this a little premature?  Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait and let the new team prove themselves just a little first – their first issue isn’t even out yet and could yet be awful. Also, the above comments are right on the money – the book is meant to be about the old guard teaching and handing on the legacy to the new heroes. And there’s that even more cynical standpoint – that it’s kind of an easy way to squeeze 3 extra bucks out of the fans… 

  17. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    I’m a power ring half full kind of guy, I guess.  

  18. Isn’t this the same premise that Justice League of America and Justice League: Cry of Justice is all about?

  19. What do you guys think is better? JSA or JLA??

  20. @SteenAR are you referring to the state of the books or the teams? Historically I prefer the JLA but JLA is abysmal now. The roster and the writing are both awful. Hopefully Robinson can salvage it when he takes over.

     I’m don’t know how excited about the split in JSA.  Sturges’ team is supposedly:  Stargirl, Damage, Judomaster, Wildcat (Tom Bronson), Thunder, Magog, Power Girl, Citizen Steel, Hourman and Cyclone.  Other than Power Girl and Cyclone that’s not a team I am too interested in. I’m sure I’ll give it a shot though.

  21. The Gog storyline was great, but nothing kills a book for me like Jerry Ordway.  I think I’ll drop it and save myself from having to buy two books.

  22. We could have two teams. One Blue JSA and one Gold JSA! And then we can have two titles, Uncanny JSA, and adjectiveless JSA, and then…. WAIT! Hasnt this been done before?

  23. Is Cyclones monkey shrinking? 

  24. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    I’m perplexed by the scale of the monkey as well. 

  25. im still on the fence about this.  niether willingham or sturges have proven themselves to be able to play in the DC sandbox.  Willinghams Robin was meh and Salvation Run was kind of terrible.  These guys kick ass on Fables, but when it comes to DCU…we’ll see

  26. That must be one of them fairy monkey’s I’ve heard so much about.

  27. You know, that looks alot like Infinity Inc. to me.

     

    But sure, we’ll call it all stars, why not?

  28. I’ve no reason to doubt Willingham and Sturges. Here’s hoping it’ll be great!

  29. As much as I love these characters, I’m annoyed that we essentially have to add another monthly book to our pull list to get the full story. For that reason, I think I’ll wait to see what the critical reaction is on this then trade-wait if it’s good. I can get my JSA fix by reading Johns’ JSA trades, none of which I’ve read yet.

  30. I haven’t read all the comments… but, is this going to be a JSA / Young Justice kind of thing again?  that’s my first impression. 

    Also, I don’t think the Gog storyline ever really resolved the JSA split.  There was a clear division between the ideals upheld by various members.  Just because in the end Gog wasn’t the answer did not mean those individuals changed their way of thinking. 

  31. Well, I guess this is one way to deal with the far-too-large roster JSA has had for the past couple years. I’ll no doubt try both of these, but I really don’t think I need to be reading two JSA books a month…

  32. This will be an organizational disaster. Notes will be passed from office to office, asking each other if they’re dealing with certain situations, and nothing will get done. "Yeah, this is ___ . Gog is at it again, and we wondered if you’d take care of him for us. We’re kinda in the middle of a birthday party. I’ll save you a slice? Got to go – the stripper is here".

  33. Not too sure what to think on this split, I’ll give them a few issues each to prove this is not a stunt.

  34. "What do you guys think is better? JSA or JLA??"

    I prefer JLA for characters, I feel more attached to the "Iconic" line up then the JSA "Iconic" lineup.

    Problem is you can’t do good stories in the JLA, it might mess up Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman or Batman stories or anyone else with their own DC Sandbox. 

    With the JSA, you could beat the ever living snot out of their Green Lantern, Wildcat or Flash. Heck you could kill them and resurrect them 20 times in the same story, change their genders, make them robots or any kind of craziness and it can become status quo for awhile. So the possibilities are far superior for story telling and surprise but also ‘weight’ in that you can kill half the time have them removed from coninuity for awhile and not need to replace them with second stringers like Dick and Kate.

  35. @Paul No Liberty Belle might have something to do with Flash Rebirth, since she is connected to the speed force.

    I’m a little disappointed about the split, thought it would be great to see Courtney lead a team.

  36. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    @ato220 – I was thinking that same thing about Liberty Belle. Especially with Johns’ remarks about the Flash ongoing. There’s a new speedster, and he wouldn’t comment if it was a familiar face or not. So I’m thinking…