Justice Society of America #7: The Start of Something New

Justice Society of America #7 continues the search for the future Justice Society of America as the team (plus Batman) fight Solomon Grundy in the swamps. This iteration of the Justice Society of America series has been really focused on the build up and the future, with several delays making it hard for readers to follow along with the complex story. Sadly, this has detracted from an otherwise action packed, well told story. Justice Society of America #7 is finally where the book starts feeling like less setup and more of a traditional, team story, especially when compared to the Justice Society of America series that Geoff Johns has worked on in the past.

Johns has been spinning a very long yarn with this chapter of his saga within DC, with Justice Society of America #7 spinning further off from the Stargirl and The Lost Children series that came out earlier this year. The most surprising elements here are how Johns chooses to focus on newer characters like Salem The Witch Girl. This makes the issue read in a familiar, yet new way. The divergent storylines also are all fairly compelling, keeping the issue fresh at every turn. The oddest storyline is the one featuring Wildcat and Doctor Midnight, as it seems to be setting up a future storyline that doesn’t gel completely with the hunt for the future Justice Society of America.

Whereas the majority of the series has been illustrated by Mikel Janin, Justice Society of America #7 is drawn by Marco Santucci and colored by Ivan Plascencia. Santucci and Plascencia do an excellent job in capturing the essence of the multiple storylines, especially when the more mystical and magic stuff gets paired with the more traditional, action oriented things. Plascencia especially does a great job in marrying the several storylines, allowing each segment to feel unique. This is especially apparent on the Doctor Fate and Salem The Witch Girl storyline.

Rounding out the creative team is Rob Leigh on letters who does an excellent job giving unique voices to the large cast of characters that are transitioned throughout the issue. Justice Society of America #7 also has a lot going on, s it is nice to see how well Leigh spaces out the dialogue and positions everything to help maintain readability and establish a foundation to display Johns’ words.