JSA Presents: Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. Vol.#2

January 28, 2008

I had originally picked up the first volume of this when it was release because it looked simple, cute and it was a short run book. That opening volume was a surprising amount of fun considering what the material was working with, so I was quite looking forward to the second volume. It unfortuntely threw me off a fair bit due to the layout wherein it starts off with issue zero and then runs from nine through fourteen. That opening issue is interesting enough as it works to tie together the disparate parts of history that the characters are involved in, but the use of the modern age Starman just didn't gel well with the art style. Nor did any of the other characters and it felt like there was some poor retconning in there that makes me leery of going into the Starman trades at some point.

Once past that though, the book gets back into the proper swing of things with its storyline but that in itself is a problem. A lot of the appeal of the book is that it plays the gender gap nicely with the older retired hero (even if he is far younger than he should be due to a time leap) and the spunky newcomer. This series has a lot of history to it in the characters ties to the past but that really gets in the way of the story as so much time is spent bringing the reader up to speed on them or trying to explain why they're back in the present when they haven't been seen for a bit. In some cases, such as when sir Justin arrives on the scene, it just dominates the book and really throws things off. The series has a good deal of camp to it and it's written in a light way that's meant to appeal to girls, but the disparate elements of the book never really click again.

Even worse, they bring in Pat's son from another marriage and he's just a buzzkill in general. After getting kicked out of whatever military academy he was in, he's intent on coming home to this new family and taking on the role of the Star Spangled Kid. Naturally, Courney's gotten that job already and Pat's surprisingly strong willed about his son not taking it. There is a nice twist with the intended role he has for his son, but it's just so hamfisted until then that you really want to skim over the obvious and predictable material regarding the kid. And baby makes three... that only has you roll your eyes even more.

I like the concept and it's a rare moment where Lee Moder's artwork really works with the material, but it's very obvious that this is Geoff Johns' first work. You can see the seeds of things here in what he's doing, and this was an ideal title to get the kinks out, but it had a far stronger (if by the numbers) first half. I'm admittedly surprised it got canned so quickly, but that must mean that the monthlies were doing godawful. I'd pick it up in trade if they kept going, but if I was doing singles it'd be dropped in a heartbeat. It's worth checking out if you liked the first and you have a love of the various back stories that are involved here such as the JSA, Inifnity Inc. and the Seven Soldiers of Victory. But if the first one didn't sell you, this one certainly won't either.