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Rating: 
Summary: The Golden Age Strikes Again!
Review: For anyone who's a fan of 1) The "Golden Age" of DC Comics; 2) Great team books; 3) Compelling superheroes; or 4) Old-fashioned comic book grandeur, you can't do much better than The Justice Society Returns!I picked it up not knowing worlds about the golden age: Of course I knew Wonder Woman (although this is actually the current WW's mother, Hippolyta), and I knew the Spectre, the Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman, but for the most part, these were new characters to me. And honestly, there's not a soft one in the bunch. Robinson - along with comic greats like Mark Waid and Geoff Johns - puts a very modern spin on a tale that sees the original JSA battling a demon bent on stopping war by eliminating all life on Earth. The story follows the traditional golden age JSA formula: the team confronts the problem as a unit, they break up and fight on their own or in small teams - and they reunite at the end to fight the menace together. Overall, the whole thing is really effective. The writing is top-notch, as each character gets some time to shine (especially Hourman and the Atom). The art is also fantastic, often taking a realistic approach for serious settings and topics like WWII and branching into a more cartoonish look when dealing with a throwback like Starman. There are just enough nods to the era (it's set circa 1944) blended with a modern feel (mainly in the smooth lines and dynamic action of the art) to make it seem both nostalgic and relevant (see specifically the chapter that sees the Flash and Mr. Terrific trying to prevent the firebombing of innocent civilians in Dresden). It makes cornball heroes like the Star-Spangled Kid seem legit and just makes comics in general seem colorful and fun again. Really, any age will enjoy the stories here, and it's all an excellent introduction to the (still relatively) new JSA ongoing series DC started in 2000. If you like this collection, you should also take a look at: *The new JSA series (vols. 1-5) by Geoff Johns & David Goyer, among others. *"Dr. Mid-Nite" by Matt Wagner & John K. Snyder III *"The Spectre: Crimes & Punishments" by Ostrander & Mandrake *"All-Star Comics Archives, Vol. 1"
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