Justice Society of America #3

But Why Tho?

Justice Society Of America #3 from DC gives fans all they need in one explosive issue. Geoff Johns wrote the hell out of this issue, with Mikel Janin and Jerry Ordway doing their absolute best, most detailed artwork. Jordie Bellaire and John Kalisz are just as astute on colors as is Rob Leigh on the finer, smaller, attentive lettering. (...) Justice Society Of America #3 is a dream issue. The transition from Ordway’s art to Janin’s is apparent but never jarring. However, I wonder if Janin went through an epiphany between issues because this art here is three steps above issue #2. Somehow. It pops more, has a few more fine lines, and faces are exceptional in how one differentiates from another. Action scenes are brilliant. Johns said some time back that Janin is putting in his best work. He’s half right. Janin and Ordway are in their best form as if buying this issue equated to getting war bonds to snuff out Hitler. (...) I love this issue so much. And take your time soaking up Bellaire and Kalisz’s saturations. These colors have their own textures and standout moments. Leigh seems to have shrunk back the word sizes. I mean, it works beautifully. The art bangs more this way, and it causes you to have to pay more attention to the words and the balloon shapes. Genius. Buy this issue. Don’t worry about not liking WWII or the Golden Age or unfamiliar heroes. Go with a friend to the comic shop or roll over in bed and click the Comixology app. Forget the guy who claims this issue will be dull. He lied. His taste is terrible. Johns did not dillydally. Whereas I dreaded the time jumps would take 4-5 issues, oh no. I’m happy to admit to being wrong. This issue taps in and won’t stop. Writing, it’s fabulous. Artwork, I am beyond elated. Colors, like watching the sun rise at dawn. Letters, practically mad science in its structure. The Justice Society, and other war-torn heroes, are back, in your face, and looking and acting like the top stars they’ve always been. V for Victory.

Dark Knight News

Justice Society of America #3 shows us who Degaton is and what his motives are. It showcases excellence and master talents when it comes to embracing the past while enjoying what is the future. I can not wait to see what twists this story has for us, even as the pain is imminent with a title for the next issue being “The Death of The JSA“. I am down for the ride and will see you next time!

SciFiPulse

Geoff Johns continues to weave an interesting time travel story that feels very much in keeping with the spirit of the Justice Society of America. I loved all the discussion between the various JSA members when they are told that The Huntress is Batman and Catwoman’s daughter. I also enjoyed the idea of seeing a Doctor Fate who is still getting to grips with what the helmet can do. Overall. A fun issue with a brilliant cliffhanger ending that will keep everyone guessing until next month.

Lyles Movie Files

Geoff Johns is working hard to bring some sense of cohesion to his non-linear story focused on Huntress traveling through time. So far Justice Society of America hasn’t buckled under Johns’ storytelling approach — it’s easier considering his pedigree and knack for making complex plots and premises easy to follow. (...) Artist Mikel Janin handles the present-day scenes while Jerry Ordway draws the Golden Age sequences. It’s a terrific gesture to keep Ordway involved with these characters and his art still more than holds up. Jordie Bellaire and John Kalisz provide stunning colors while Rob Leigh ensures the lettering is creative and well laid out. JSA is capturing all the feelings of an important and essential title as the Dawn of DC gets underway.

Geek Dad

This title has been plagued by major delays from the start, which has certainly hurt the momentum—but not enough to detract from how compelling this third incarnation of Geoff Johns’ most long-running title is. I’m not sure if the issue is Mikel Janin’s highly detailed art, but if Janin is not able to make the deadlines, the creative team has found an innovative solution—bringing in different artists to illustrate segments set during different timelines.

DC Comics News

Justice Society of America #3 is another fantastic chapter in "The New Golden Age. The execution is great, and the nostalgia is still strong. The character and world building makes this an engaging series as the JSA and Huntress come together to stop longtime foe, Degaton. Like most great stories, it's a journey. If the DC Universe is going to continue to grow it will be because series like this expand beyond the real of the Bat-Family, and this is a great place to start.

The Comicbook Dispatch

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.

AIPT

The action comes to the modern day as Huntress meets the JSA, and things look like they'll move forward until the villain arrives. Geoff Johns, Mikel Janin, Jerry Ordway, and Jordie Bellaire bring the goods from the past and the present to keep the excitement high and build for a showdown.

You Don't Read Comics

There have been quite a few different attempts to give the Huntress the kind of spotlight she’s deserved. She’s by no means the title character of this particular series, but Johns and company seem to have found a vehicle for her that gives her the right balance between heroism and vulnerability to make her FEEL like a title character in her own book. Given the right momentum, this particular incarnation of the Justice Society is making a strong case for a deeper focus on the Huntress.

Comics Nexus by Inside Pulse

Another action-packed story with some cool moments in past and present with art teams for each timeframe that capture the feel of the time. Time travel stories can be tough to tell, but this one does it’s best to be accessible and mostly succeeds. I am still infatuated by the snow globe, but also intrigued by the cliffhanger.

Henchman-4-Hire

I remain lukewarm on this series as individual issues. It’s written for the trade, and I bet it will read very well when that comes around. The pacing is rather glacial in terms of the overall story. We have a villain, and we have our protagonist, but I’m still not entirely sure what this story is about or what the villain is after. Just that Huntress keeps getting shuttled through time to encounter different Justice Societies. And that part is fun. This issue wins in terms of characters and their interactions. It’s fun to see the various Justice Society members get flummoxed when dealing with this time traveling Huntress, especially this young Dr. Fate. Time travel is a classic story trope, and Johns has some fun having these veteran and newbie heroes deal with the complications of it all.

ComicBook.com

Per Degaton's origin and motivation are further detailed in Justice Society of America #3 with appearances in World War II and the modern DCU. The flashback sequences are the most rewarding, by far, with guest art from Jerry Ordway who comfortably captures the charm and appearance of Sgt. Rock, Easy Company, and the Unknown Soldier as they battle Hitler's supernatural forces. While this still leaves the exact aims and machinations behind Per Degaton's plan in a vague state, it makes the mad man seem far more threatening than the superhero tropes utilized in issue #1. The rest of the issue, still focused on Huntress, continues to play with those tropes as yet another team is (re-)introduced with narrative captions left to do the work of characterization. Artist Mikel Janín's depictions of a brawl with Quitely-infused Bizarros is particularly fun, even if what follows at another meeting and slow expository crawl leans on the series' worst tendencies. If nothing else, there's finally fun to be found in Justice Society of America's tour through DC Comics' history, and that's certainly an improvement.

Weird Science DC Comics

I love the JSA. You love the JSA. We love the JSA, so let's enjoy a JSA adventure together. So I mean this with all sincerity, Geoff Johns needs to calm the $%^& down with the time-hopping. There's a fun, timey-wimey adventure inside Justice Society of America #3 waiting to show itself. Still, Johns gets too mired in cameos, tangents, and time-hopping shenanigans to let the story settle and just breathe. (...) Right now, the down point of this issue (and series) is that there's no clarity about what's going on. Mysterious, confusing things are happening, but it's all random, without any apparent direction. When a plot is either missing or directionless after three issues, expecting readers to keep going is too much to ask. This issue has multiple artists working on pencils, inks, and colors, which is usually a red flag for a time crunch. Thankfully, the art quality doesn't suffer in the least. The line work in WWII past and present is different but suitable for each time period. The colors look great, and the action scenes are well done. (...) Justice Society of America #3 makes it difficult to keep reading this title because there appears to be little plot or direction to ground the story. There's an intriguing mystery at the heart of the series, but excessive time jumps, random scene transitions, and a general lack of focus keep the mystery buried under a lot of noise.

Batman-News

I really hope things can turn around soon. I was actually excited to see the JSA return and interact with the new DC universe in new and exciting ways, but it looks like Johns is gonna Johns, at least for a little bit. Still holding out hope, though!