Blake Petit
December 27th 2004, 10:09 PM
Review by: Blake M. Petit Blake@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Life of a Madman
The origin of Lord Dynamo!
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/665/jsasa5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/665/jsasa5.jpg" align="left" border="0"></a>Writer: Kevin J. Anderson
Breakdowns: Barry Kitson
Finishes: Gary Erskine
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter J. Tomasi
Cover Art: John Watson
Publisher: DC Comics
Review: So far, this has been a dandy little sci-fi escapade about the Justice Society in the immediate post-World War II era. Lord Dyamo tries to set himself up as a world savior, he’s exposed by the Justice Society and he absconds with the two most important people to Johnny Thunder – his Thunderbolt and writer Jack Williamson.
This issue gets slightly derailed, though, by switching to an extended flashback sequence with the origins of Lord Dynamo. As a result, there is very little plot progression until the closing pages. Now Lord Dynamo is an interesting villain with a very good, solid, “classic” origin, but it would have worked better if Kevin Anderson had parceled it out in bits and pieces rather than one lump as he does here. On the plus side, he actually comes up with a plausible explanation for the clichéd device of having the villain tell his story for the captive – he’s not just rambling stupidly as so many villains have, he’s decided he wants a great writer to tell his story, and to do that, he’s got to tell his story to the writer. It’s a smart way to do what otherwise would be an extremely overused sequence.
Kitson’s breakdowns and Erskine’s finishes make for some fine artwork. I’ve always been a fan of Kitson’s sci-fi art, and this is a special breed of sci-fi, the “retro” sci-fi, as it appeared in the 50s. The covers and subplot of this series are both intended to pay tribute to classic pulp sci-fi magazines, and it’s only fitting that the artwork keep that same sensibility.
I love reading a good, old-school JSA story, and Anderson is one of the best to tell those sorts of stories these days. This isn’t the best issue, but overall, this is still a very engaging series.
Rating: http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpg http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpg http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpg http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/half.jpg http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpg
Buy JSA: Strange Adventures products from X-World and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1409&cat=JSA%3A+STRANGE+ADVENTURES)
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Life of a Madman
The origin of Lord Dynamo!
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/665/jsasa5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/665/jsasa5.jpg" align="left" border="0"></a>Writer: Kevin J. Anderson
Breakdowns: Barry Kitson
Finishes: Gary Erskine
Colors: Hi-Fi
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editor: Peter J. Tomasi
Cover Art: John Watson
Publisher: DC Comics
Review: So far, this has been a dandy little sci-fi escapade about the Justice Society in the immediate post-World War II era. Lord Dyamo tries to set himself up as a world savior, he’s exposed by the Justice Society and he absconds with the two most important people to Johnny Thunder – his Thunderbolt and writer Jack Williamson.
This issue gets slightly derailed, though, by switching to an extended flashback sequence with the origins of Lord Dynamo. As a result, there is very little plot progression until the closing pages. Now Lord Dynamo is an interesting villain with a very good, solid, “classic” origin, but it would have worked better if Kevin Anderson had parceled it out in bits and pieces rather than one lump as he does here. On the plus side, he actually comes up with a plausible explanation for the clichéd device of having the villain tell his story for the captive – he’s not just rambling stupidly as so many villains have, he’s decided he wants a great writer to tell his story, and to do that, he’s got to tell his story to the writer. It’s a smart way to do what otherwise would be an extremely overused sequence.
Kitson’s breakdowns and Erskine’s finishes make for some fine artwork. I’ve always been a fan of Kitson’s sci-fi art, and this is a special breed of sci-fi, the “retro” sci-fi, as it appeared in the 50s. The covers and subplot of this series are both intended to pay tribute to classic pulp sci-fi magazines, and it’s only fitting that the artwork keep that same sensibility.
I love reading a good, old-school JSA story, and Anderson is one of the best to tell those sorts of stories these days. This isn’t the best issue, but overall, this is still a very engaging series.
Rating: http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpg http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpg http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpg http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/half.jpg http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpg
Buy JSA: Strange Adventures products from X-World and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1409&cat=JSA%3A+STRANGE+ADVENTURES)