Review: Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1

Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come, Part 1 by Geoff Johns

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I don't remember specifics for each book, so I'm combining a review for all 3 of the parts of Thy Kingdom Come into one review.

When a much older Superman is pulled through a black hole created by Starman, he tells the story of his world gone wrong. He is from an alternate world, Earth 22, and didn't manage to save the people that lived there. His fear, based on some of the things that the members of the JSA had told him, was that this earth would soon be following in the footsteps of his own home planet. And he's willing to help the JSA try to make this happen.

But when the nature of that threat arrives - an old god by the name of Gog from the Third World - the team becomes split. Gog seems to be making things better. He cures Starman's madness. He fixes Damage's scarred face. He restores Dr Midnight's sight. But not everyone is as trusting of this seemingly benevolent god. Will Gog be what tears the team apart?

This is a series that I'd seen in the back of several of the graphics that I'd gotten recently and I thought that now would be the time for me to check them out, especially when I saw the second volume on my library shelves. The other two volumes arrived at my branch of the library last Saturday and I dived into them, curious what the story was going to be about.

And it was a good story. Not my favorite by a long shot (that still goes to the Green Arrow graphic novel, Quiver) but a fairly solid story. The only thing that I had to quibble with is that the message seemed a bit heavy handed at times. But seeing the various members of the JSA struggle with the choice of whether they should believe in Gog or not was well worth the message that was being passed along. I felt sorriest for Citizen Steel, who couldn't even hold his family because of the powers he received. Especially when Gog helped every other person but ignored him. Yet, for the longest time, he kept the faith in Gog stronger than anyone but Damage.

I think the authors did a wonderful job in depicting the various characters from the DC Universe, making us care about those that were new to our world, and giving enough information about the heroes that new readers wouldn't be completely lost. If you're wanting to get started in the world of reading Graphic Novels, then Thy Kingdom Come may not be a bad place to start. Yes, you'll probably want to go out and read a ton of other comics that had come before, but I don't think this will detract in the least.



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