JSA #13: A Modern Classic

JSA #13 sees the classic DC Comics “Year One” storytelling device make its way into Jeff Lemire’s excellent Justice Society series, with Gavin Guidry taking over the main art duties. The previous issue concluded the twelve-issue-long “Ragnarok” storyline, which saw the JSA go up against their greatest foes and emerge triumphant despite some heavy losses. This “Year One” story takes a step back from that ongoing tale to return the series to the modern JSA roots, especially relevant considering the recent conclusion of Mark Waid’s History of the DC Universe.

Many fans were excited to see Jeff Lemire take on the JSA following his monumental success with the Black Hammer series, which excellently showcases his ability to tell character-centric stories within a team setting. The first twelve issues of the JSA series highlighted Lemire’s strong adherence to recent and current canon, with many events from DC’s Golden Age initiative proving impactful on the status and motivations of these characters. JSA #13 builds on all of that, albeit with a much smaller version of the team as events within the DC Universe force them to come together.

One of the most exciting aspects of this storyline so far is the way Lemire clearly trusts readers to know some of the foundational elements of these characters. For example, there’s an entire segment with Alan Scott where he openly admits he can keep a secret, though he says it in a semi-coded way, since the character was not openly gay at the time. The character never explicitly spells this out, but Lemire trusts fans to understand the subtext. This also ties the modern interpretation of the character to his established history, which is ultimately what makes many of these “Year One” stories so resonant.

Another highlight of this issue is the art from Gavin Guidry, which gives the story a truly classic feeling. Guidry’s art feels lively and expressive, with each character’s emotions rendered genuinely and appropriately for the setting. In a unique way, Guidry’s style feels reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke’s, giving these characters and this world a tone evocative of the Golden Age where this story takes place. This JSA story already feels like a classic in the making, and a huge portion of that credit goes to Guidry’s timeless artistic touch.