News transcript: JSA RETURNS from Newsarama

DC has finally revealed the titles and the creative teams for their next monthly "event". Now entitled THE RETURN OF THE JSA, the 3 week-long project, conceived by Starman's James Robinson and David Goyer, features 9 one-shot titles spotlighting comics first superteam, the JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, in brand new stories set in the team's World War Two heyday. Each title will feature a classic Golden Age title, with ALL-STAR COMICS #'s 1 & 2 serving as bookends surrounding 7 "team-ups" starring a pair of JSA'ers working on different aspects of the same case.

Explained Goyer, "The 38-page bookends, features virtually every member of the JSA - in current standing or reserve - at least as far as the time period the adventure takes place in, which is 1945, during the waning days of World War II. Together, with the one-shots, they make one giant, epic adventure. The team is brought together in February of '45 by Hourman (who is no longer on active status) because a new, potentially world-threatening menace has reared its head. After the initial story, the team splits up into seven 'sub-teams' to track down and defeat the menace in various locations throughout the world. They then reunite (along with a few guest stars) for a final battle in the second 38-pager. And while we don't want to give too much away, we will say that the menace is not someone the JSA have ever fought before (nor has anyone in the DC universe, for that matter). By the same token, the menace isn't entirely new to DC readers."

The titles, creative teams and stars are as follows -

ALL STAR COMICS #1 by Robinson and Goyer, with art by Michael (Superman:War Of The Worlds) Lark and Wade Von Grawbadger. Entitled "Time's Keeper", it unites the team to face off against The Stalker, a new mystical threat to the Allied forces summoned by the desperate Nazis.

ADVENTURE COMICS #1 (starring Starman and The Atom), by the entire Starman creative team of Robinson and Goyer, Peter Snejbjerg and Keith Champagne. The heroes team to protect the Manhattan Project from the threat of one of the Stalker's agents.

ALL-AMERICAN COMICS #1 (starring Green Lantern and Johnny Thunder), by Ron Marz and Eduardo (Superman: A Nation Divided) Barreto. Alan and Johnny Thunder and the Lightning Bolt vs. a villain with the powers of ice and snow, it's told from the viewpoint of a US soldier at the historical Yalta conference attended by FDR, Stalin, and Churchill.

NATIONAL COMICS #1 (starring The Flash and Mr. Terrific), Mark Waid and Aaron (Generation X) Lopresti. "Jay Garrick and Mr. Terrific have been assigned to Dresden the night of the famous Allied bombing run," said Waid. "Flash must face off against Stalker's mystical agent, while Mr. Terrific tries to find fairness in the soulless destruction of innocent civilians. I landed this assignment by my own request. Mr. Terrific is one of my all-time favorite DC characters, and to be able to get into his skin and figure out just what made him tick made for, I think, one of the best stories I've ever written."

SMASH COMICS #1 (starring Doctor Mid-Nite and Hourman), by Tom Peyer, Steve (Starman 80-Page Giant) Sadowski and Michael Bair. "It was a lot of fun to write, given the stark contrast between the personalities of the two heroes", said Peyer. "I reread Bernard Baily's Golden Age Hourman origin story and learned that Rex (Hourman) Tyler is actually a pretty timid guy until he takes his Miraclo pill; it not only gives him super-powers, it lowers his inhibitions! It transforms him from David Spade into Chris Farley. Meanwhile, Charles (Dr. Mid-Nite) McNider is a physician and a newspaper columnist, both of which suggest to me that he could be kind of prim and judgmental (editors note: Hey!). So put these two together and they could be the Jack Klugman and Tony Randall of comics, with lots and lots to bicker about while they're beating up soldiers and dodging a supernatural demigod in a secret Allied anthrax factory in WWII."

SENSATION COMICS #1 (starring Wonder Woman And Hawkgirl), by Robinson and Goyer, with art by Scott (Ghost) Benefiel. The femme duo fight in the Pacific theater Iwo Jima, where American and Japanese forces have actually put aside their differences to fight the new threat of the Stalker. "One of the things we hoped to do with these one-shots was to partner up the JSA's heavy-hitters with members that don't normally get much time in the spotlight, explained Goyer. "We thought it would be interesting to feature Hawkgirl with another woman, as opposed to Hawkman - this way, she's not just playing second banana to Carter Hall. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to delve into these characters a little more deeply - that's certainly the case with the Atom story."

STAR SPANGLED COMICS #1 (starring The Sandman and The Star-Spangled Kid), by Geoff (the upcoming Stars And S.T.R.I.P.E.) Johns and artist Chris (The Invisibles) Weston. The heroes take on an agent of the Stalker in NYC. "It stars the Sandman and the Star Spangled Kid and their respective sidekicks - Sandy and Stripsey, and guest stars another really obscure Golden Age hero," explained Johns. "I can't really give much more away - seeing as it ties into All Star #1.

THRILLING COMICS #1 (starring Hawkman and Wildcat), by Chuck Dixon, with art by war-comics legend Russ Heath. The pair head to Africa to face off against an agent of the Stalker.

ALL STAR COMICS #2, by Robinson and Goyer and Lark. Called "Time's Arrow. The final battle reuniting the entire JSA for the sake of earth itself.

Each of the 9 titles will feature cover art by Dave Johnson and as well as unified design and trade dress echoing DC covers from the 1940's, featuring new, modernized versions of each title's original logo. And of course the event serves as a kind of back-door introduction to the new ongoing modern-day JSA book, "as certain events in the Golden Age story will have repercussions in the present," said Goyer.