****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
The final volume that collects Geoff Johns' run on the JSA is a strong sendoff to the title and makes me all the more nostalgic for this classic team (hopefully DC has plans to revive the core roster in the coming days of DC Rebirth). Volume Three is a bit like the first volume in that it has the most direct tie-ins to overarching DC events (Infinite Crisis, 52, and Final Crisis). To get the most out of this book you'll want to have read Infinite Crisis and 52 at the very least as those two books/events have major repercussions for the JSA thanks to their long history with Black Adam. Infinite Crisis mostly effects new team chairwoman Power Girl as she has her past memories of Earth 2 unlocked by that world's Superman and Lois (who both return and subsequently perish during Infinite Crisis). 52 was the brilliant follow up to Infinite Crisis that showed a year without Superman, Wonder Woman, or Batman. In that vacuum, one of the major arcs was Black Adam's. Adam found a wife and an adoptive family all his own (her brother, her brother's ill fated monster best friend). When Adam's family is torn away from him at the end of 52 by his enemies, he goes on a murderous rampage and incites WWIII. As punishment, Captain Marvel reassigns the magical word Adam uses to access his superhuman powers and leaves him on the run as a normal human.The opening of this omnibus starts off with some solid fallout issues tying into Infinite Crisis before the meat of the book shifts to the post-52 "One Year Later" era when the DC universe attempts to rebuild and soldier on from the Infinite Crisis. The JSA feels they failed in their roles as superhero mentors during the Crisis and decide to expand their roster. Much of this third volume is the core team left over from the first two volumes bringing in new members under their wings such as the second Wildcat (the first's estranged son), Damage (the biological son of the original JSA member the Atom), a new Starman (a mentally imbalanced member of the Legion of Super Heroes visiting from the future), Cyclone (granddaughter of the original Red Tornado), and others. The idea of late-run additions at first seemed like too much too late to me, but the manner in which the book handles the huge new roster and the way in which the newcomers effect the core team is masterful. Liberty Belle and Hourman (who got married) take on almost parental roles to Damage and the youngest member of the team Stargirl becomes a mentor figure (despite her age) to the newcomers on the team who look to her as a sign that young people can have a great impact on the team.The tragic finale of Black Adam and his wife's story is a highlight of this volume (though it helps to have read Black Adam's stand alone, post 52 story Dark Age an admittedly difficult book to find these days), however, the best arc in my opinion is that of Kingdom Come and Gog. A large portion of this volume ties in with the classic Elseworld story arc Kingdom Come. After Infinite Crisis dictated that many of the Elseworld "what if" stories were actually taking place on alternate Earths, Earth-22 became the locale of the religious-inspired Kingdom Come story wherein a new brutal wave of heroes led by Magog start murdering criminals in cold blood and are stopped by a team led by an older Superman. In Kingdom Come, Superman is hit by a nuclear blast and for a brief moment believes his friends are all killed. A retcon shows that Superman was thrust out of his world by that blast and Starman on Earth 1 and for a time joins the JSA as a displaced ally. He becomes fast friends with Power Girl due to his likeness to the older Earth 2 Superman and much of his arc comes about when the JSA finds a god-like being named Gog who heralds the coming of Magog (the being Superman blames for the disasters on Earth 22). The story plays out in a fun manner and Gog makes for a fun villain since he truly believes he is doing what is best for the people of Earth.All in all this remains a must-have collection for collectors and fans of this classic team. I considered taking a star off my score for this book due to the fact that you really get the most out of it after reading Infinite Crisis, Black Adam Dark Age, 52, Kingdom Come, and Final Crisis, but the book flows on its own without necessarily needing to read all those stories. It just really helps your appreciation of the material.Best of the three mega volumes. The first seemed very sloppily put together and I have yet to get the second. But the first was a little jumbled and difficult to see what was included and what was0 missing. As one reviewer put it the second volume straightened that problem out. I will be ordering the second volume this month and read them all. Of the quality the first was a little cheap, DC could have done better. The second volume I don't have, but should be of a better quality. The third is simply superb. Other reviewers do much better than I. I hate spoilers. But if you are a JSA fan this volume looks great. Nice pages, vibrant colors and excellent writing of the little I skimmed through.OK I went through all 3 volumes because I love JSA and the work of Geoff Johns. Johns left no stone unturned, no JSA member forgotten, no JSA generation or parallel universe ignored. It's quite complicated but it's fun. Much more than the simple original JSA DCA archive stories. Alot of this is fluff but some of the story lines deserve an Absolute edition. In fact some are retellings of existing absolute editions. The art work is superb. When it is all done you may find that you can't remember what you just read; no problem. You can pick these monsters up a couple years from now and enjoy them all over again. Just wish they could be about 500 pages each....but that would increase the price exponentially.Some may say that this volume is not as good as the preceding two, however I would say this is not so. One might say that the other volumes only have impact because of the consequences of previous actions found in this book. These three volumes prove why there should always be a JSA.It's falling apart, and a bookbinder wants at least $200 to fix it. Amazon was kind and gave me a partial gift credit as I'm out of the return window. Still, I'm real disappointed with quality control on this one, DC comics should be more respectful of their fans and hire a better manufacturer. Ah well, the stories are great!Very very good!good jobNice book beautiful artAn epic conclusion to one of the best modern super heroes runs. By far, Geoff Johns best work!The art in the entire book is quite good and alex Ross's work at some places is mesmerizing. Loving it. An excellent oneExcellent Art & Story writing...Must Buy
