Justice Society Of America #8 Review

     

     

Written by: Geoff Johns
Art by: Mikel Janín
Colors by: Jordie Bellaire
Letters by: Rob Leigh
Cover art by: Mikel Janín
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: December 26, 2023

Justice Society Of America #8 sends Alan Scott to Russia to apprehend Ruby Sokov as part of Huntress's recruitment drive of heroes and villains who will someday become the new JSA.
Is Justice Society Of America #8 Good?

Geoff Johns gets back to the chronically delayed JSA maxi-series for Huntress's next target on her recruitment list - the Crimson Flame-powered Red Lantern of the future, Ruby Sokov. Filled with cool Red Lantern action of the non-rage variety, emotional angst (more on that in a minute), and drama, Johns may be offering up the most captivating issue in this maxiseries to date.

When last we left the JSA, Huntress sent assorted members of the current team to reconnoiter the current whereabouts of members from the JSA of the future, including Solomon Grundy, Icicle, the Mist, and more. The recruitment drives ended with mixed results and increasing amounts of tension within the current JSA.

Now, Huntress's drive to recruit future heroes who are still in the villain phase of their lives meets JSA resistance, especially when the next name on the list is Ruby Sokov, daughter of the Crimson Flame-powered Red Lantern and former nemesis of Alan Scott. Sokov is on a killing spree to find her father in Russia. Alan Scott is certain her father is dead, so he insists on a solo mission to find Ruby and stop her from doing more harm. Alan soon finds his task personally challenging given his "history" with Ruby's father.

"Wha...? What's that supposed to mean?" you might query. Well, Johns appears to be dovetailing this series, particularly the aspects related to Alan Scott, into Tim Sheridan's Alan Scott miniseries that retcons the hero's history and defines the origin of the original Red Lantern, Agent Sokov. Although neither series reveals the details of Sokov's origin story yet, it's possible Sokov was living a double life as an American citizen, Navy sailor, and Alan Scott's gay lover, Johnny Ladd. If true, that would put Alan Scott in an emotionally and ethically troubling situation in any scenario involving Agent Sokov and his offspring. We'll see if that theory pans out.

What's great about Justice Society Of America #8? More Red Lantern action of the non-rage variety is a good thing. Ruby is a lethal villain, which makes her a formidable ally in the future. Spending so much time on a recruitment drive for a JSA team in a future timeline that doesn't exist is an odd play by Johns, but I'm interested to see where he's headed.

What's not so great about Justice Society Of America #8? I'm interested to see where this story is headed, but the story is nothing more than a mild curiosity. Johns's multi-month delays are a momentum killer, and the overarching plot seems to have no purpose other than for Huntress to reconstruct the JSA of the future, which isn't much of a hook. After eight issues, we shouldn't still be wondering about the point of this maxi-series.

How's the art? Mikel Janín's art is fantastic in this issue, especially the brief bits of Red Lantern action. If we get more Green Lantern versus Red Lantern action in the future with this caliber of art, I'm on board.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces:

Justice Society Of America #8 continues Huntress's self-serving recruitment drive to Russia when Alan Scott tracks down the daughter of the original Red Lantern. Johns liberally hints at a deeper story about the relationship between Alan Scott and Agent Sorkov, possibly in connection to the current Alan Scott miniseries, which could be an interesting dramatic twist. However, the constant delays are a momentum killer, and the series' hook is too weak to make this a must-read.

7/10