Post by av2kwriter on Jan 29, 2007 11:17:09 GMT -5
I stumbled across the site a couple of weeks ago and frankly on what I’ve read there so far the site deserves some attention.
So, why did I choose JSA: Legends of the Golden Age as the first title to read? Firstly, because I have a love of the JSA and they may be my favorite DC heroes. Secondly, the title only had two issues to read and the covers caught my attention.
As mentioned above there are only two issues right now, and they were released some time apart. Having looked through other posts on the site it appears that the title is going to start coming out more regularly this year. That’s a good thing.
The title is set in the Golden Age, during WWII, and we get to see the team gather together for the first time. This isn’t done quickly, but is spread out over the two issues and flows very well. Is it the most original gathering of heroes, probably not, but it does happen organically and so it works well. One thing I expect when I’m reading something set in another time period is that the characters will be true to that period – both in speech and actions. I can happily say that this is the case for the most part. I can think of one instance where I felt it slipped a little – where Ted Knight and Rex Tyler are talking – but overall I liked the feel of a different time the story gave.
One thing that was a little jarring was the fact that the message board caused the story to be split into multiple posts. Now each post was a complete scene, but the headers and breaks between each section was more than a line break or three asterixes and was distracting. Given the medium being used to deliver the stories, I can forgive that as they’ve made the best use of what they have.
The characters have been chosen to provide the classic JSA line-up – Atom, Sandman, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, Starman and Flash. In addition there are various mentions within the story of other classic JSA characters such as a news report read by Libby Lawrence. Those little touches are what made the story come alive for me. They were subtle, yet painted a much larger picture of the world the title was set in. As mentioned above the dialog of the characters worked well and flowed very smoothly. The plot also moves along at a nice pace, with the main plot taking the majority of the story, but a secondary storyline appears smoothly from it. I liked the choice of villains – who else by the Secret Society – and the membership of it.
I do have a complaint – the fight between Hawkman, Flash and Grundy really needed to be on screen. It started there and built up an expectation and excitement, then suddenly we move forward and time and get a recap of the remainder of it. For me, that didn’t work. Either it needed to be all on screen, or all off screen. Mixing the two was a let down.
That however, is my own really criticism of the two issues out there so far. I’m hoping that the writer does come back to this regularly this year as he has a very interested reader in me who wants to know what happens next. Can I recommend JSA: Legends of the Golden Age? I think by now you know the answer to that – absolutely. Go enjoy Golden Age heroics and you’ll find a hidden gem in this site.
Des
So, why did I choose JSA: Legends of the Golden Age as the first title to read? Firstly, because I have a love of the JSA and they may be my favorite DC heroes. Secondly, the title only had two issues to read and the covers caught my attention.
As mentioned above there are only two issues right now, and they were released some time apart. Having looked through other posts on the site it appears that the title is going to start coming out more regularly this year. That’s a good thing.
The title is set in the Golden Age, during WWII, and we get to see the team gather together for the first time. This isn’t done quickly, but is spread out over the two issues and flows very well. Is it the most original gathering of heroes, probably not, but it does happen organically and so it works well. One thing I expect when I’m reading something set in another time period is that the characters will be true to that period – both in speech and actions. I can happily say that this is the case for the most part. I can think of one instance where I felt it slipped a little – where Ted Knight and Rex Tyler are talking – but overall I liked the feel of a different time the story gave.
One thing that was a little jarring was the fact that the message board caused the story to be split into multiple posts. Now each post was a complete scene, but the headers and breaks between each section was more than a line break or three asterixes and was distracting. Given the medium being used to deliver the stories, I can forgive that as they’ve made the best use of what they have.
The characters have been chosen to provide the classic JSA line-up – Atom, Sandman, Dr. Fate, Hawkman, Starman and Flash. In addition there are various mentions within the story of other classic JSA characters such as a news report read by Libby Lawrence. Those little touches are what made the story come alive for me. They were subtle, yet painted a much larger picture of the world the title was set in. As mentioned above the dialog of the characters worked well and flowed very smoothly. The plot also moves along at a nice pace, with the main plot taking the majority of the story, but a secondary storyline appears smoothly from it. I liked the choice of villains – who else by the Secret Society – and the membership of it.
I do have a complaint – the fight between Hawkman, Flash and Grundy really needed to be on screen. It started there and built up an expectation and excitement, then suddenly we move forward and time and get a recap of the remainder of it. For me, that didn’t work. Either it needed to be all on screen, or all off screen. Mixing the two was a let down.
That however, is my own really criticism of the two issues out there so far. I’m hoping that the writer does come back to this regularly this year as he has a very interested reader in me who wants to know what happens next. Can I recommend JSA: Legends of the Golden Age? I think by now you know the answer to that – absolutely. Go enjoy Golden Age heroics and you’ll find a hidden gem in this site.
Des
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