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Second verse, same as the first?

Boy, that Alex Ross fella sure does polarize the fanbase, doesn’t he? While he has many fans who love his photorealistic, iconic paintings of superpeople, places and things, you’ll find just as many who love to complain that his style is static and dull, and I’ve even seen comparisons to the World War II-era photography and films of Leni Riefenstahl, fortheluvvapete. Clearly, fandom is not on the same page in regards to Mr. Ross’ work- and I don’t know if that’s just a tendency towards contrarianism, or just something deeper that I’ll never understand.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, there’s been an ongoing storyline in the Justice Society of America proper comic in which Geoff Johns is revisiting characters and themes that were first introduced in Ross and Mark Waid’s Kingdom Come, as the KC Earth’s Superman has found himself on the Earth of the current JSA, and is seeing the same things take place that led to disaster on his world…and thus he’s spent a lot of time adjusting and brawling when he’s not looking pensive and troubled. In this one-shot, written as well as illustrated by Ross, Supes once more finds himself dealing with deja vu-like events, specifically the Kingdom Come-world catastrophe that cost him the life of his beloved Lois Lane. He also takes the time to have a word with Norman McCay, the minister who (if you recall) was the focal point of the events of Waid’s original series. Finally, the KC Man of Steel has a touching interlude with the Lois of the JSA Earth, and is spurred on to events which will take place in the next spinoff issue, Magog #1 to be precise. Sure, it seems like Ross is merely rehashing previous events, and that’s a valid criticism, but there is a dramatic weight to each of the story beats that made them compelling to me- I did feel and empathize with this Superman, his bitter regret and his overpowering feeling of loss…and the doing of that is something which eludes even the best writers, let alone illustrators that dabble in scripting from time to time. And I also don’t believe that any of this would be as affecting as it was without the verisimilitude that Ross’ art style brings; he’s as effective working from pencil and ink and Photoshopped color as he is guache, acrylic and oils.

Plus, he draws a cute Cyclone, and I like that character. Don’t judge me.

But you’re not reading this to explore my pathetic fanboy obsessions, I know- what you want, nay, need to know is: “Do I want to buy this four-dollar comic book?” And my answer is…no. No, you probably don’t. Unless you’re a) a fan of Ross’ work, and are compelled to buy everything he’s signed his name to; b) following the current multiple JSA storylines; or c) a Kingdom Come completist. If any of these apply, then you won’t be sorry. It’s a well-done comic book, even though it’s padded out with several pages’ worth of Ross describing the process he undertook to create the story. Worthwhile for process junkies and aspiring young Rosses, perhaps not so much for everyone else. Me, I qualify on count b), and I do admire Ross’ work, so for me, it’s worth it. Others’ mileage may vary, as the saying goes.

Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special: Superman #1

Written and Illustrated by: Alex Ross
Colors: Alex Sinclair
Lettered by: Rob Leigh

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