Does the world really need another (Citizen) Steel? There doesn’t seem to be any point to this latest incarnation of the Justice Society, beyond granting legacies to heroes long (and best) forgotten. Commander Steel (this one’s uncle) had his own fabulously successful (it ran five issues) comic in the late Seventies (Gerry Conway dreamt him up in five minutes so DC could flood the newsstands with a glut of new titles), and his successor joined the Detroit League (and died). That’s one hell of a legacy to live up to. Citizen Steel has liquid stainless steel for blood, and is about as much use in a fight as Stone Boy from the Legion of Substitute Heroes. So useful in fact that the other heroes take to throwing the baddies at him. This comic is sub par in all respects; Geoff Johns script is unnecessarily mawkish (and ditch the Nazi/German stereotypes, Geoff – they were old when Roy Thomas was still a writer) and I have no idea what’s happened to the usually serviceable art of Dale Eaglesham. His figures are stiff and forced, and faces contorted beyond recognition. There is one laugh to be had; Alex Ross’ cover depicting a Citizen Steel that should be a hit with all the ladies (and not a few of the boys).This comic was bad!
1 comment:
Very nice review, though I enjoyed the comic rather more than you. I especially liked the supportive Power Girl.
But yeah, the Stone Boy analogy, and laughable legacy is fair.
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