Come one, come all to the Countdown before Countdown! We are post Identity Crisis, the powder keg paving the way for the event to end all events. I will stand here and say that this era of the DCU might be the most unified and exciting it has ever been (though a close second would have to be 2016-2017 Rebirth era). I would even dare call Countdown itself an event with how much impact it has line wide. With Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, and Judd Winick at the helm maneuvering all the power players into the places they need to be, there's not much that can go wrong!
[JSA Vol 11 - Two of A Kind]
- JSA #68 - JSA/JSA, Part I : "Making History" = Great opener; brutal action, time shenanigans, and just the right amount of exposition to have me hooked on the premise. The Red Morgue sequence did a great job of catching me off guard, and Kramer executed that perfectly. Love pitting Rip against Degaton, who seems pretty damn unbeatable now with some crazy infrastructure backing him up. I think it's hilarious how some of the JSA members at the McCarthy hearing don't even wear masks, and the senator sounded dumb as mess after that request. I wonder what Degaton's plan is to discredit the Society, as well as who is watching Courtney in those final panels. The plot of convincing the old JSA members reminds me a bit of the All-Stars mini, with spotlights on each character. Why is the Thunderbolt missing?
- JSA #69 - JSA/JSA, Part II : "Guardian Angels" = A star flew over the cuckoo's nest! Some fascinating set-up, but I can tell this is Johns going ham on his chance to write the classic JSA. Some fun tid-bits here and there, especially Terry Sloane receiving a telegram from some version of Roulette? But wasn't Roulette his grand-daughter or something? I loved the Johnny/Jakeem stuff, and the Sand + Pieter sequences as well, but Courtney getting straitjacketed and thrown in a padded cell right after having to watch her family die is rough to say the least. Who is Al Pratt associated with?
- JSA #70 - JSA/JSA, Part III : "High Societies" = Jesus Christ that last page caught me off guard! Major step up from the last issue, the crock-pot is churning and I'm ready for the boom! The Terry Sloane scenes were wild; the Roulette we see in the present day is actually his Grand-Niece? Jakeem and Johnny engage in fisticuffs with a group of jocks, Pieter and Charles enjoy a fireside chat, and Al finds more in common with his predecessor than he expected. Who is the redhead who saved Courtney? What is this "Secret Society's" proposition to Black Adam? What happened to the Thunderbolt? What is Degaton's true plan? And finally, RIP Walker Gabriel!
- JSA #71 - JSA/JSA, Part IV : "Past Mistakes" = Societies converge! The rush of serotonin I got from turning the page and seeing both JSAs in the Brownstone was immense. Huge reflections of Per Degaton as Johns' proto-Eobard Thawne as he gives Hourman his own "It was me Barry!" scene. Love that Rick has some way of attacking him via fortification from the Hourman Android. The Terry + Michael and Ted + Court scenes were wonderful, and we finally got October 30th plan: JSA vs Manchurian Candidate!
- JSA #72 - JSA/JSA, Part V : "Against The Clock!" = Enjoyable enough, but I have to admit that I was expecting a little bit more from Degaton's plan. I can't really complain since as I write this Johns is writing a JSA vs Per Degaton story, but I would probably be ticked if I read this back in 2005. Art by Kramer has been awesome the fight was great, and the reveal of Patricia Duggan being the future Starwoman was absolutely wonderful. What did Karen see when they went through the time storm? What was the knot in 1985?
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