Written by: James RobinsonIt’s incredibly difficult to move a story at a snail’s pace and keep it interesting. This is one of James Robinson’s trademarks, and it’s never done him well. Yet something has brightened up his writing skills as every single issue of Earth 2 so far has been absolutely fantastic. Of course, the biggest question that’s plaguing every reader’s mind is…will this clump of “wonders” ever become a team, forming the inevitable Justice Society?
After the polite shunning Green Lantern bestowed upon the other “lesser” super-powered mortals, a vanishing occurred, as so it says on page one. Hawkgirl and Flash are remaining teammates, yet have gone their own separate ways for a brief period on some personal errands. While Flash is making certain his mother is ok, Hawkgirl makes a plea to Khalid-Ben-Hassin to place the Helm of Fate on his head and take up arms with her and Flash. Reluctant as he is, he decides to help, but as a man, not a hero. In the meantime, Jay Garrick has a run-in with the Atom and company while checking in with his mother, and right before the final blow by soldiers of the World Army, magical forces make a last minute rescue. But the trifecta of Hawgirl, Flash, and the yet-to-be-crowned Dr. Fate seem to be in even more trouble than before they left the land of the known.
I enjoy a good “plotty” story from time to time, and this is certainly a goodie. The pacing is great, moving fast enough to keep the action interesting, yet holding back an appropriate amount of story-progressing material that’s all coming out in this issue, mostly dealing with the introduction of new characters both good and bad. Dr. Fate making his come back was a giddy moment for me, as odd as it seemed. In fact, with every aspect of this run comes a strange sense of oddity. Being 31 years old, having read comics as much as I have since 1992, my memories of the Society are as an older, more stylistic team up that maintained a very different and vintage montage and persona. With that being said, it’s very weird to see all of these characters I’m more familiar with as elderly folks drawn as younger egocentric personalities. It’s a new perspective on a set of heroes we are all to familiar with before the New 52 started. It’s one of the few titles that served it’s purpose exceptionally well since the reboot.
It’s a very good story that makes you wonder what the heck’s going to happen in 3o days, and how the Hell you’ll survive until then. Don’t ponder on it too much because you can always go back to Nicola Scott’s perfect artistry, bringing each character to life in ways most artists can only dream of. Page one, as simple as it was, was amazing with Hawkgirl’s wing spread, as well as the massive detail work done on Khalid’s office home. Could I draw like Scott does? I’m sure I could…but no way am I going to try to do this as consistently and regularly as she does. Wow!
It’s a great issue that proves DC’s doing all they can to make sure their stories are top-notch. There’s been some misses amongst DC’s regime of titles, but Earth 2 isn’t one of them.
9 out of 10 stars
