Showing posts with label Adrienne Roy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adrienne Roy. Show all posts

Sunday, May 31, 2015

I Reads You Review: America vs. the JUSTICE SOCIETY #1

AMERICA VS. THE JUSTICE SOCIETY #1
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER/EDITOR: Roy Thomas
PENCILS: Rafael Kayanan with Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway
INKERS: Alfredo Alcala and Bill Collins with Jerry Ordway
COLORS: Adrienne Roy
LETTERS: Cody
COVER: Jerry Ordway
48pp, Color, $1.50 U.S., $2.00 CAN (January 1985)

Chapter One: “I Accuse!”

America vs. The Justice Society was a four-issue comic book miniseries starring the Justice Society of America (JSA).  The series was written and edited by Roy Thomas and penciled by Rafael Kayanan, Mike Hernandez, and Howard Bender and primarily inked by Alfredo Alcala.  Other artists featured in the series included Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway.

America vs. The Justice Society was originally published by DC Comics between January and April 1985.  The series was set in DC Comics' “Earth-Two” (or Earth-2”) universe and involves an accusation that members of the JSA committed treason during World War II and then, conspired to keep their treasonous actions secret in the years following the war.

Earth-Two was a parallel universe to the mainstream DC Comics continuity.  DC established Earth-Two during the 1960s, as a way to explain how DC characters who had adventures in the 1940s could still be in their 30s in contemporary comics, with contemporary then being the 1960s.  Why was Batman still a young man in the 1960s when he had adventures in the 1940s?  Well, the Batman of the 1940s lived on Earth-Two.  The Batman of the 1960s lived on Earth-One, the modern or regular or mainstream DC Universe.  You can see how that created problems later on when Batman of Earth-One was still young in the 1980s.

In 1981, DC revived the Justice Society of America, the 1940s precursor of the Justice League of America, in the comic book All-Star Squadron.  Roy Thomas was this comic book's writer and he used the series to retell JSA stories that were published in the 1940s.  Of course, All-Star Squadron was now set on Earth-Two, which is where the JSA existed.  Confused yet?  Well, America vs. The Justice Society is a re-telling slash re-imagining of the events around the disbanding of the JSA in the 1950s.

[While visiting the DC Entertainment website, I discovered that America vs. The Justice Society was being reprinted in a trade paperback.  I decided that I wanted to read the series and found a reasonably priced set of all four issues on eBay.]

America vs. The Justice Society #1 (“I Accuse!”) opens on Earth-Two in late 1984.  The splash page features the front page of the Tuesday, November 26, 1984 edition of the “Daily Star” newspaper.  The newspaper's headline declares that the members of the Justice Society are traitors... at least according to the “Batman Dairy.”  Clark Kent, the editor of the “Daily Star,” received this alleged diary of the late Dark Knight (who apparently died in 1979) from Dr. Nichols (or Prof. Nichols).  According to Nichols, Batman gave him the diary a few months before his death.

The “Batman Diary,” recounts the origins of the Justice Society and also how the members allowed Adolf Hitler to convince them to join forces with him during World War II.  The diary also recounts how the Justice Society hid their crimes during and after war.  Although Kent tries to delay the release of the diary's contents, they are made public before Kent can verify if the diary is really authentic, beyond the fact that the handwriting in the diary does seem to be Bruce Wayne's.

Superman, Wonder Woman, Starman, Hawkman, Green Lantern, Robin, Wildcat, Atom, Doctor Fate, Johnny Thunder, Hourman, Dr. Mid-Nite, and The Flash – the members of the Justice Society gather in the team's old headquarters in Civic City.  There, these superheroes try to find a way to clear their names, while outside forces plot their downfall.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Watchmen, and The Sandman are the three most influential and famous comic books that DC Comics published in the 1980s.  In the last few years, DC has announced and published sequels and prequels to these seminal, event comic books (although the first sequel to The Dark Night Returns was published back in 2001 and 2002).  Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Crisis On Infinite Earths are probably the other big event publications from DC that fall behind the above “holy trinity.”  America vs. The Justice Society would certainly make my “Top 10” list of DC Comics' best of the 1980s.

Publishing in late 1984 and early 1985, the events depicted in America vs. The Justice Society were swept away by Crisis on Infinite Earths, which began publication not long after the final issue of America vs. The Justice Society was published, making the latter no longer relevant in terms of DC Universe continuity.

That's a shame.  America vs. The Justice Society is an exceptionally well-written comic book.  It is kind of like the Watchmen of Earth-Two, but as an old-fashioned mystery thriller.  Roy Thomas takes characters that he obviously loves puts them in a position in which they hugely vulnerable.  The members of the JSA may choose to cooperate with law enforcement, but that only makes their position more precarious.  Regardless of what good they have done, they seem confronted with the immediate now:  they stand accused of being traitors which puts everything they have ever done in question.

Thomas adds more tension by making their accuser a former teammate.  Thomas offers the notion that some JSAers may not stand for being prosecuted and persecuted for long (like Wonder Woman).  Also, a number of grudges held against the JSA by non-powered politicians, former allies, and mystery figures means that they will face more allegations and charges.  In America vs. The Justice Society, Roy Thomas adds mystery and suspense into the superhero genre, turning fantasy adventure into muckraking political theater.

I like the art presented in the first issue by Rafael Kayanan, Rich Buckler, Jerry Ordway, Alfredo Alcala, Bill Collins, and Adrienne Roy (and in later issues by artists Mike Hernandez, Howard Bender, and Carl Gafford).  It was old-timey and old-fashioned even for its time (1984).  The art takes a story set in 1984 and gives the graphical storytelling the atmosphere and vibe of the 1940s, which was the Golden Age of comics and of the JSA.  It is a pity that the printing process used for this comic book was crappy and made for an attractive comic book.  Hopefully, the 2015 trade paperback will offer better printing quality and this comic will look as pretty as it should.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux on Patreon.


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.



Saturday, October 5, 2013

Review: Advs. of Superman: José Luis García-López

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: Gerry Conway, Elliot S. Maggin, David Michelinie, Denny O’Neil, Martin Pasko, Len Wein
PENCILS: José Luis García-López
INKS: José Luis García-López with Dan Adkins, Vince Colletta, Joe Giella, Dick Giordano, Steve Mitchell, Bob Oksner, Frank Springer
COLORS: Jerry Serpe, Adrienne Roy, Glynis Wein
LETTERS: Ben Oda, Clem Robins, Gaspar Saladino, Milt Snapinn
COVER: José Luis García-López and Dan Adkins
ISBN: 978-1-4012-3856-8; hardcover (April 2013)
360pp, Color, $39.99 U.S., $47.00 CAN

Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

In Superman #347 (May 1980), Superman takes on an alien phantom whose antics are placing Metropolis and the surrounding region in danger of a nuclear disaster.  It is a nice story with a sad ending, but what is more memorable about this particular Superman comic book is the art for the story, penciled and inked by José Luis García-López.

On Pages 4 and 5 (of the story), García-López depicts Superman having dinner with Lois Lane at a rooftop restaurant.  As usual, García-López shows off his knowledge of human anatomy in the physique of Superman and in the lithe, athletic figure of Lois Lane.  However, on those two pages, García-López’s compositions conceive Metropolis Towers Restaurant’s settings, interiors, and backdrops with elegance and flair.  This comic book art looks like pages that could be from an architectural or interior design magazine.  It is simply a testament to García-López’s skill, and such an artist deserves a special showcase.

Earlier this year, DC Comics published Adventures of Superman: José Luis García-López.  This book is part of a line of hardcover, full-color books that collect the work of influential comic book artists on iconic DC Comics characters, in particular Superman and Batman.  Previous books in the series include Legends of the Dark Knight: Jim Aparo and Adventures of Superman: Gil Kane.

José Luis García-López was born in Spain in 1948 and eventually immigrated to Argentina with his parents.  He began his comic book career there at the age of 13 and also studied at Escuela Panamericana de Arte.  He broke into American comic books in the late 1960s with Charlton Comics and worked for the publisher into the early 1970s.  After moving to New York City in 1974, García-López met DC Comics editor Joe Orlando, and his first work for DC Comics began appearing in 1975.

Adventures of Superman: José Luis García-López reprints García-López’s work on the character for which he is arguably most associated, Superman.  Apparently, at one time, García-López’s Superman was used on all DC Comics merchandising.  Adventures of Superman: José Luis García-López reprints Superman stories from the following Superman publications:  Superman #294, 301-302, 307-309, 347; DC Comics Presents #1-4, 17, 20, 24, 31; and All-New Collector’s Edition #C-54 (Superman vs. Wonder Woman.)

The first time I really paid attention to José Luis García-López was when I found an issue of Amazing Heroes (the former Fantagraphics Books magazine that published news, features, and interviews about superhero comic books) that focused on him.  The article talked about his work on the comic book series, Atari Force (1984), and his then upcoming work on the hit 1980s New Teen Titans (Vol. 2, #7-11; 1985).  The article included images of García-López’s pencil art before it was inked.  I learned from the article that García-López was a master of figure drawing in comic books.

That is indeed true.  For the last 25 years, many comic book artists have presented the human figure by over-delineating musculature with cross-hatching and detailed line work.  That yields either unimaginative photo-realistic art or characters (especially male characters) in which every muscle is squeezed and pumped until the characters look like freakish bodybuilders.  García-López mastered the human figure through cartooning, expression, and abstraction.  The result is dynamic figure drawing that best captures the magic and wonder evoked by comic book characters, especially superheroes.

In splash and half-splash pages and with big panels, modern comic book artists can show off intricate pencils, detailed backgrounds, and figure drawing that catches every nook and cranny of the human form.  In this book, José Luis García-López, the master, shows off the proficiency of his ability to cartoon the human figure in even the smallest panels just as well as he can in double-page spreads, splash pages, and assorted big panels.

In the first six stories reprinted herein, García-López blends the page design style of Neal Adams with the aesthetics of Steve Ditko to create stylish page design cramped and dotted with panels.  Still, the physicality of Superman and guest-stars, such as Supergirl and Solomon Grundy, shines through everything.  Superman’s muscular form takes on the traits of dancer’s lithe body, as the Man of Steel flexes, fights, and flies from one panel to another.  Because García-López can pull this off, he creates a sense of movement in his pages, connecting not just each panel to another, but also each page to another.  Looking at the art, I thought I was watching a tiny Superman literally flying through the story and acting as the storytelling vehicle.

The masterstroke of Adventures of Superman: José Luis García-López is its reprint of All-New Collector’s Edition #C-54, a 1978, oversized comic book that pitted Superman and Wonder Woman against each other, before finally uniting to fight Axis evil.  The clean inks by Dan Adkins give García-López’s pencils a Neo-Classical quality, but retains the “New York slick” style that fits this World War II era story.

This book will also afford readers an opportunity to read stories written by a number of good comic book writers, especially the now underappreciated Gerry Conway.  His “Superman vs. Wonder Woman” tale is spectacular.  The feud between the two heroes and their eventual resolution makes sense within the context of the story and also corresponds with real world issues that still vex us today.

Somehow, my Bin boss was able to talk DC Comics into giving me a copy of Adventures of Superman: José Luis García-López.  I don’t owe them a good review for giving me this book, but I’m going to give them one anyway.  This archival presentation is the kind of book that a great comic book artist like José Luis García-López not only deserves, but has also earned.  It is also indicative of the usual high quality of DC Comics’ hardcover reprint books.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.