Saturday 7 July 2012

Review: Earth Two #3 - Rebuilding the society

Issue 3 of the James Robinson's new 52 interpretation of the Justice Society continues here as the story follows on from issue 2 with the birth of the Green Lantern.
Having survived last issue's explosive cliffhanger, Alan Scott finds himself face-to-face with "a green talking bonfire" who informs him that he is destined (as all these characters seem to be) to be a "champion". Meanwhile, as a new hero is born, the new 52 version of a familiar DC villain rises from the ground to give our new hero a battle in future issues.
While, not cover-to-cover action, Earth 2 is beginning to show, now more than ever, that Robinson is all about world-building. Green Lantern's origin is very different to what it used to be, but at the same time it has an air of familiarity to it which is both engrossing and enjoyable. At the moment, Robinson's method of focusing on the origin of each individual character while momentarily returning to focus on some of the other cast (there is a small bit of continuation regarding Flash and Hawkgirl from the last issue in here, which is also the only action scene in this book) seems to be doing the job. It allows for each character to get their day in the sun, while simultaneously keeping an eye on the larger plot. This is also helped by Nicola Scott's continuously incredible artwork. I find myself wondering why I've never seen any of her stuff before because it is just so vibrant. The one downside to this issue however is the reveal of the villain which, while no doubt necessary to prevent the book from just being an origin only affair, feels very shoehorned into the story and seriously impacts on the books momentum.
However, this lapse in the story is a minor problem compared to the issue as a whole. While this book is not overly filled with action and is more of a slow burn, it is certainly an investment and a step on the road to what might just be a really quality book. The Justice Society is being rebuilt in these pages and, from the looks of it, this team will be better than ever.
(P.S. One thing I forgot to mention is the the throwaway quote which references a classic JSA character. Talk about epic!!!)

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