Lay Your Hesitation to Rest
Wow.... I was probably one of the most nervous about this series. I trusted Robinson, and held to that amongst the overwhelming naysayers... but the concept seemed too eager to please too diverse a group. Dark and gritty mixed with JSA? BUT LO AND BEHOLD. It is great.
This tells the same tale as the first arc of Justice League. Just 100% better.... which isn't saying a whole lot, but is DAMNED true. I FELT THINGS reading this. I choked up at a particularly emotional moment, and felt a stab in my chest when a later one really hit home. Geoff Johns seems to be all flash and pomp; while James Robinson digs deep for true emotional worth. He tells us a tale of a Trinity, written like the best issues of Superman/Batman but with Wonder Woman perfectly balanced in. But no Green Lantern or Flash in this universe. Maybe no Aquaman or Martian Manhunter (SHUT UP! HE'S FOREVER A FOUNDER IN MY HEART) either, but at least we know GL and Flash WILL appear, just not as we know them. Unless you know your JSA. At which point you will also catch a bunch of other nods that don't negatively impact the story when they fly over new readers' heads. Darkseid's invasion wasn't quite the same on Earth-2.
So does Robinson kill off as many as he can because it's a different Earth? Did you not read the earlier part where I say it's great? Every single moment in this issue is carefully plotted out for maximum emotional effect. Any deaths that may or may not happen hit you NOT because 'Oh x character is dying;' but because so much weight was put on it. This isn't flashy and cheap, although it IS full of some AWESOME action. Personally Nicola Scott's art has been... iffy for me. I KNOW it's good, better than Brett Booth, and I like it more than Brett Booth's; but it's never really 'wowed' me. Until now. I think it's mostly the colors. They're just gorgeous as they weave elegance through the combat. The combat, which is EPIC. This is an epic conflict. And it's only the prologue.
For a new world is beginning. Alan Scott and Jay Garrick are about to have their lives changed; and who knows who else? They aren't exactly the characters we know, but they're certainly not disrespectfully changed. We're drawn into them gradually, making real connections with them. Despite the more modern costumes, they're clearly going to end up the same firmly righteous heroes we love them as from the JSA. The JSA are returning to their roots, on Earth 2. And it it good.
In Conclusion: 5/5
This was well worth the extra dollar, and at least it's only the first issue that costs it. This is a whole world of possibilities, and Robinson is determined not to cheapen it with cheesy shock value simply because he could if he wanted to. That wouldn't be Earth 2. Because this IS the Earth 2 we wanted, in progress.
