Justice Society, Vol. 1 (Justice Society of America)
Grade 8 Up—Never heard of Dr. Fate, Wildcat, and the Star Spangled Kid? The publisher has a tendency to overestimate the appeal of their B-list superheroes. Especially distressing is the inclusion of small crossover appearances by Superman or Batman, when this book is really about the least-interesting members of the DC Universe. Most comics take a recurrent interest in the haunted or bitter origins of their superheroes, and that's what makes Superman and Batman so appealing, giving them emotional depth and a dark gravitas. But in these stories, the characters are merely all super, all the time, not even seen in their civilian personas, which strips away any potential for reader empathy. Many of the villains are preposterous, even for comics standards. Clearly, this series has not aged well. Despite the flawless page design and artwork, which shows no age at all, and despite a final story involving Hitler and Roosevelt that has some good plotting, most of these tales are rightly forgotten.—John Leighton, Brooklyn Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.