When I was a kid, I couldn’t get enough of DC’s Who’s Who series. This series featured biographies of most (probably not all) of the DC Comics heroes and villains. I still find myself--when seeing this character or that character--remembering the entry and some useless piece of information. For example, I was always interested in Robin II. He was the grown-up Robin from the 1940s and he had a cool outfit, not the regular lame Robin one with the jockeys and the booties. The character appeared in a bunch of late 1970s comics, but I had no idea what issues (because Who’s Who didn’t feature a recommended reading list) and, even if I had, I imagine they were probably pretty expensive, especially since I was around nine at the time. For some reason, DC’s collecting these issues in nice trade paperbacks.
I just read today--here--a comic blogger explaining old comics aren’t better, but the smaller brains of children make them seem better. Having just read a bunch of comics from 1976 and 1977 (when my brain wouldn’t have even existed yet), I can say this fellow is wrong. The stories in Justice Society aren’t great--the dialogue isn’t excellent, even the art can get pretty sloppy. But they aren’t full of shit. They’re superhero comics and the writers usually make up for their lack of writing chops with some good stuff--whether its some cute observations about characters, the fearlessness of making these old heroes act like old men, or just some actual social commentary, they’re at least interested in the story being told. Or they’re faking it. They may very well be faking it, but, if they are, there’s a degree of visible competence.
This collection features eleven or so issues, which is way too many to read in one sitting. My brain began to hurt and I took a few lengthy breaks with reading it. These comic books were not intended to be read in a sitting.
As for Robin II, he’s barely present. Instead, Power Girl--who’s handled quite differently from the current incarnation, with the writers trying for a positive portrayal of a liberated woman, but coming off with a Gloria Stivic knockoff--is the central character. The Golden Age Superman shows up for a couple issues and he’s a welcome addition to the cast, since the writers really enjoyed contrasting the young heroes with the old ones. There’s a great moment when the Flash’s wife makes him come home because she’s worried about him. It takes about three panels. It’s nice. I haven’t seen anything like it recently, because it’s a nice honest moment--something I wasn’t expecting from Justice Society.
As I read, I kept wondering if I’d bother with a post about it (the collection’s 224 pages and I mentioned three things from its contents), but I just finished it up and I decided I should. I imagine the audience is real small--and I’m giving DC the benefit of the doubt and assuming their design mistakes were an attempt to appeal to new readers--but I enjoyed reading it. I don’t enjoy reading many comic books anymore, because they’re joyless. Justice Society shows exuberance goes a long way.