JSA - Ragnarok

There was definitely no better way to start out 2021 than to read the one and only JSA prose novel! I have been waiting for this book for more years than I can count (well, not really, but it HAS been quite a number of years!).  The JSA (or, more accurately, the Justice Society of America) has long been my favorite superhero team, consisting of my favorite heroes from the pre-Crisis Earth-2 (and if you don't know what that means, go look it up!).  After the Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985, DC Comics wiped out all of the alternate earths and merged the JSA into the main earth; however, this meant that these World War II heroes would be fighting side-by-side with their formerly Earth-1 counterparts, and the world would be filled with two Flashes, two Green Lanterns, two Hawkmen, two Hawkgirls, two Atoms, two Wonder Women, etc.  And DC couldn't have that.  So, they elected to send the old-timers into a limbo, forever fighting the undefeatable Surtur in a never-ending cycle of battles to protect all of reality - and so seemed to end the careers of the Justice Society...

Until DC brought them back in the '90s. After a short-lived 10-issue series, writer Geoff Johns breathed new life into the team, creating a legacy of heroes and an absolutely amazing comic book series populated with old and new heroes alike.  And it is this super team that author Paul Kupperberg drew upon for the very first JSA prose novel, Ragnarok.  It was set to be published in early 2006, and I even had it on my Amazon watch list, ready to buy it.  Then the publisher claimed bankruptcy, and the completed JSA novel never saw print.  I kept hoping DC would take it to another publisher, but that didn't happen.  And year after year after year went by, until finally I came to the realization that I would never get to read Kupperberg's tale.

But all that changed when I saw an announcement on Facebook that Kupperberg was going to self-publish the book!  After all this time, I finally was able to get the book and read the prose adventures of the JSA!  And Kupperberg definitely did not disappoint.  Ragnarok is not a re-telling of the JSA's last adventure after Crisis; rather, it was a story that explored the after-effects of that tale.  The story is set in the post-Crisis universe, where Power Girl is uncertain of her origins; where Superman and Batman were never part of the original JSA; where Hippolyta (Wonder Woman's mother) was the Wonder Woman who was a member of the JSA; where Hawkman's son, Hector Hall, is Doctor Fate; where Sand has now taken over the role of Sandman; where Jakeem Thunder now has control of the Thunderbolt, who is merged with the original Johnny Thunder; where Michael Holt has taken over the role of Mr. Terrific; and where the original Flash, Green Lantern, and Wildcat are training the next generation of heroes, such as Stargirl and Hawkgirl.  The story also features the JSA's long-time nemeses, the Injustice Society - the Wizard, the Icicle, the Sportsmaster, the Fiddler, the Tigress, the Shade, Brain Wave, and even Solomon Grundy.  It is a good, old-fashioned story of good vs. evil - the ISA wants to take over the world, and the JSA must stop them.

Kupperberg treats readers to a glimpse into the JSA's past, after the end of World War II, as the world was beginning to settle down following the death of Hitler and defeat of Germany.  The Spear of Destiny takes center stage, both in the past and in the present, and when the Wizard gets all three pieces of the Spear, in conjunction with other mystical objects, it offers him an opportunity for unlimited power - but at what cost?  Is he willing to betray his own villainous teammates to put an end to the JSA once and for all?  And with the JSA on ice (literally!), how will they prevent Surtur from taking them back into his world to return to that eternal battle from which they thought they had escaped?

There's plenty of heroic action, plenty of characterization of our beloved characters, and plenty of dastardly betrayals.  The only thing that was a bit disappointing for me with this story is that Green Lantern mentioned his daughter, Jade, on several occasions - but not once did he mention the fact that he also has a son (Todd Rice, otherwise known as the hero, Obsidian).  There is even a mention of the Infinity, Inc. team, of which Obsidian was a founding member.  So, why the glaring omission?  I can't say, but once can only hope that it was merely an accidental oversight and not an intentional omission.

The story was well-worth the wait, and considering how long it has been now since DC introduced its "New 52" universe and the current "Rebirth" universe, leaving far behind not only the original JSA of Earth 2, but also this version of the JSA from New Earth, it was refreshing and fun to read some more adventures of the team I've loved for nearly all my life. Now, if only DC Comics would bring back the original JSA and tell some more stories of them (perhaps the upcoming JSA cartoon movie will inspire some creators to pitch a new JSA comic to DC.....)

RATING:  9 showings of Casablanca out of 10 for feeding a fan-boy's hunger for more tales of the original super-team!