What a fantastic book. This has been an incredible story-arc. Geoff Johns and Alex Ross make a fantastic writing team. I love what they've done with these characters and how they've incorporated the JSA into the Kingdom Come mythos. To me, the best part of this story is the feelings, and emotions that Geoff Johns gives all of these characters. You can feel the yearning from Hank Heywood. A yearning which later turns into contempt. He gets that feeling when he's the only one that can withstand Gog's onslaught. But as he's standing his ground, just barely, he's also watching his friends and teammates being tossed around like so much cannon fodder. You can feel Wildcats frustration when he takes his own son down because he feels that he's standing on the wrong side. You can feel Superman's desperate yearning to be able to reason with those that stand alongside of Gog, without having to fight them. He desperately doesn't want anyone else to suffer. You can feel the pain in each of the heroes as Gog alters their gifts. Jay Garrick is writhing in agony as Gog speeds up his metabolism to make him one with the speed force. He once again blinds Dr Mid-Nite. He sends Thom Kallor back into the abyss of insanity. Sandman once again has to live with his night terrors. And Damage? Damage feels betrayed and lost because he's stood with Gog this whole time . . singing his praises. But because Gog feels the need to punish the rest of the JSA, he also gets his gift taken away. Now he'll have to be a freak again. The question is, does he feel betrayed by Gog . . or by the JSA. And finally there's David. David, who appeared to be Gog's favorite, when he turned him into Magog. But now it seems that he was really just another of his tools. A lost soul willing to follow someone, anyone, because they made him better than he thought he was. But deep down he still has honor and a sense of right and wrong. So when Gog demands that everyone worship him . . that they go down on bended knee and praise him . . David finally has his eyes opened up. So, like the others Gog takes away his gift. But, what does that mean for David. When Gog gave him his gift . . he also brought him back to life. This was an incredible book. The main lesson we learn here is spoken best by Jay . . "You can't help people and demand something in return, Gog. That's not how it works." The art for this book was done by Eaglesham and Ordway. It was perfect. I really can't say enough about this book, or all the chapters in this story-arc. If you didn't get a chance to read it as it came out, you should really pick up the TPB when it comes out and read this story from beginning to end. Also the Kingdom Come story isn't required to understand what's goiing on here, but . . it's such a great story, and you definitely won't be disappointed. Get it. If you can.
No comments:
Post a Comment