Order And Chaos

Justice League of America #47
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley
Co-Feature by Robinson
Art by Pow Rodix

 

This is part 3 of the JLA/JSA crossover that began here and continued here. Oh hell ya Kyle Rayner shows up here! It is great to see him in a JLA book again and they even use his old Green Lantern Logo text! That brought joy to my fanboy heart. As for the entire issue, I felt like the plot didn’t move as quick as it could have and we are at a kind of stand still. I wonder why Doctor Fate is the one holding the JSAers hostage and not the starheart? The narraration boxes also got kind of annoying in this issue where they haven’t bothered me the last few. Maybe Robinson is overdoing them a bit. This story is still as epic and fun as a JLA book should be though and I can’t wait for the next chapter. The back-up actually ties into the main story as now that Red Tornado has been remade nearly indestructibel by Cyborg, he is effected by the starheart. (I mean he is an elemental of the Wind – of course he would be effected, I am surprised I didn’t think of that before)

The Epic Continues

Justice Society of America #41
Written by James Robinson
Art by Mark Bagley

 

This is part 2 of the JLA/JSA crossover that began here. Part 2 of this epic was just as awesome as the first. Once again Robinson utilizes the DC Universe to the fullest by bringing in obscure characters and such who would have been effected by the starheart. This is a lot of fun and I am having a blast reading it. Bagley’s art is gorgous, it is definitely the best work he has done at DC. I liked how Robinson even had the all-stars appeared because it was beginning to look like the main group never checked up on the all-star group. And the little tidbits such as a meta-ranking scale Mr. Terrific refers to called the “Hoshi scale”. Probably named after Doctor Light. Brilliant. The only thing I thought was strange was the flirtation between Lightning and Mr. America. Isn’t Lightning underage? Weird. It was also great to see Miss Martian and I loved how scary she was in her white Martain form. I can’t wait for the next part!

Finale

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #35
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Pop Mhan

I am sad to say that this is the last issue of Firestorm. After thirty-five issues, it is time to say good-bye. While the main body of this issue was only mediocre, the ending of this was amazing. We got to see Gehenna and Jason go off together into space to find the missing Professor Stein. Perfect…there really wasn’t any other way of ending this. While we will not necessarily see the resolution of this in this series, it will most likely be in Countdown so I hope no one feels cheated. Going off into space together was the perfect closure for this series and a good way of sending off two characters and a relationship that I love. It was a very respectful way to end it and I am glad McDuffie didn’t end it with like killing Jason or bringing back Ronnie, thereby undoing the importance of the last thirty-five issues and the build-up of Jason’s supporting cast. Thanks you Dan Jolley, Stuart Moore, and Dwayne McDuffie for this series. I am going to miss my monthly fix of Jason Rusch.

Firestorm 33 and 34

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #33
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Dan Jurgens and Ken Lashley

McDuffie begins the final arc of this series with a bang. He utilizes the great supporting cast created by Stuart Moore perfectly and at the same times being the New Gods into the equation. It is good to see the New Gods again (which is weird, since I have never found them to be as cool as other think they are). McDuffie also makes great use of Firestorm’s powers throughout the issue, including turning Guns into Peanut butter!

Firestorm: The Nuclear Man #34
Written by Dwayne McDuffie
Art by Pop Mhan and Rob Stull

In this penultimate issue of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man, we find that the Firestorm Matrix hides the key to a sort of Anti-Anti-Life Equation (The Anti-Life Equation is that thing that Darkseid is always looking for. Any fans of the Fourth World are certainly going to enjoy this, but Firestorm and causual fans will enjoy it as well. Oh and any time we see Metron in that chair is always a plus. I am genuinely sad that the next issue will be the final issue.