PopSyndicate.com

At a time when Grant Morrison is ushering in the Fifth World Gods, Geoff Johns steps back to explore what a god of the Third World was like.

A new god (not a "New God") walks the earth.  Gog, a remnant of the Third World which preceded Darksied and Orion, has awakened and is trying to create a heaven on earth, bringing vegetation to the deserts of Africa and giving hope to the people and heroes of the world.  Damage's face, destroyed during Infinite Crisis, has been restored.  And that was Gog's first and more minor miracle.  In Justice Society of America #17, he gives sight to the blind and peaceful dreams to the restless.  He sends the abandoned home.  He gives everyone their dreams and wishes.  Well, almost everyone.

Ever since the Kingdom Come Superman first appeared in Justice Society of America, both the title and team has spun off in an interesting direction as they try to prevent a future that's already happened in another universe.  And if the Kingdom Come Superman shows up, can a Gog or even a Magog be that far behind?  First there was a very human Gog, running around killing supposedly false gods, but now the JSA has to figure out what to do with a giant god-like Gog who only seems to want to help the world.  Geoff Johns and Alex Ross puts the JSA in an interesting position, unsure about what their actions should be.  Unlike other stories that have had the heroes immediately judge the god's actions as false, the JSA and the JLA hang back a bit to observe Gog.

Since well before the relaunch, the book JSA felt kind of lost.  Somewhere around issue 60 of the previous series, you can tell where Geoff Johns started to get more wrapped up in his Infinite Crisis and 52 work, leaving JSA in the hands of Keith Champagne and Paul Levitz.  The two guest scripters turned in respectable stories but they were obviously just marking time, waiting for Johns return to the title.  Even when the title relaunched, now called Justice Society of America, it took Johns a bit to get back into the swing of the team.  Getting wrapped up in a convoluted crossover with the Justice League didn't help matters that much.  And then bringing in Alex Ross to help co-plot seemed an odd move but made a bit of sense when you figured out that the Kingdom Come Superman was going to be joining the team.

The "Thy Kingdom Come" and now the "One World Under Gog" storylines perfectly recapture the magic that Geoff Johns, James Robinson and David Goyer captured in the old series.  Taking world shaking events that only the JSA should handle and mixing in a fun mix of novice to old-timer heroes on the team.  After seventeen issues, Johns and Ross are finally giving some nice character moments to newcomers like Cyclone, Damage and even Lance (even if his legacy is kind of weak) while not ignoring mainstays like Doctor Midnight or Mr. Terrific who've spent a lot of time on the sidelines this series.  And their able to balance out the quieter, character pieces with the mystery of Gog, a seemingly benificient god who looks a lot like Darksied.

Regular fill in artist Fernando Pasarin turns in his best job yet on the book.  You can tell that he's getting comfortable with the characters and with the scope of the title, capturing the little moments between Damage and Cyclone, the crisis of faith for Mr. Terrific and the utter creepiness of a happy god like Gog.  His pages even flow better than regular artists's Dale Eaglesham.  Eaglesham produces nice images but Pasarin's storytellingg flows and moves in ways that Eaglesham's hasn't in the past. 

It may have seemed like some cheap sales stunt to bring Alex Ross onto the book and to have the Kingdom Come Superman join the team.  If so, it is a cheap sales stunt that paid off.  Justice Society of America #17 shows off how well Johns can pull off the little moments while building a much larger story at the same time.

Justice Society of America #17
Story by: Geoff Johns & Alex Ross
Written by: Geoff Johns
Pencilled by: Fernando Pasarin
Inked by: Prentis Rollins & John Stanisci
Colored by: Hi-Fi
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
3