Tuesday, August 12, 2008

JSA (DE)Classified

As a comic book reader, I often fall behind on the news and business aspects of the hobby. I rarely read the advance solicitations that describe what publishers will ship 3 months from now. So I'm susceptible to surprises like the one that greeted me when I finished the last issue of "JSA Classified." The little box on the DC Nation page which teases the next issue's contents said something like, "Thanks for reading! See ya!" In other words, this title is going bye-bye.

It was far from a great comic book; in fact, every few months, I considered dropping it from my pull list. It featured some of the worst artwork I've ever bought in comics. Instead of spotlighting a variety of Justice Society characters, it ignored much of that potentially huge world and featured Wildcat every other arc. Yet I kept buying it because of my love for those JSA characters and my desire to support them.

After the debut arc, a Geoff Johns-penned Power Girl story, I don't think "JSA Classified" sold many copies. But I'd think there are more JSA fans who are sorry to see it go. There were some strong moments in the run. The finale, a two-parter starring Wildcat (natch) was good enough to rekindle my interest in the book and save it for the umpteenth time from my personal chopping block.

Now its gone, and at least I'm saving 3 bucks a month, but the unfortunate thing is that the cast of "JSA" proper has never been larger, making it difficult for individual characters to get significant face time. Now would actually be a good time for a spotlight book to keep some of those team members out there--members in addition to Wildcat. Hey, I love the guy, but, jeez...maybe DC is prepping "Tales of Wildcat" to replace this.

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