Some thoughts about Justice Society of America #12

What is the future of the Justice Society of America?

Courtney is about to graduate and the right thing is to remember and to thank all the people that helped her along the way including all her different mentors and friends and this could mark a brand new beginning for the JSA.

I guess I was expecting more from this series as a whole.

The return of Geoff Johns to the JSA was very promising since he apparently had great ideas for the team after he planted the seeds for years (most importantly during Doomsday Clock). Unfortunately, such return was plagued by decompressed storytelling and constant delays which made it very difficult to be excited for each new issue and ultimately ended with a book that felt rather underwhelming with each new storyline.

Funnily enough, this finale is not centered around the team itself but about Stargirl who is remembering the most important people in her life, including Pat (her stepfather and also the superhero Stripesy/S.T.R.I.P.E.) and finally acknowledging him as her actual father due that he was the one who was with her all this time instead of her biological father and it works really, really well, creating an appropriate and emotional closure that has been building up for years.

And it would have been perfect... if this was the end of a Stargirl book but it isn't, is about the Justice Society of America and thus, it doesn't feel as satisfying.

Johns tries to give some focus to the team though like creating scenes representing the multiple incarnations of the team since he started writing them including the original JSA book from the 90s that he wrote alongside James Robinson and David Goyer, the post-Infinite Crisis title with a brand new team and the current group and their adventures but is not as prominent as the focus on Courtney. Hell, Johns even brings back Jack Knight, James Robinson's creation from his legendary Starman book as a nod to the start of the modern JSA but again, it mostly serves to give Stargirl even more closure.

Then again, I can't really blame Johns for giving Stargirl the spotlight considering she's based on his late sister and he's obviously very fond of her.

Todd Nauck handles the art and is very fitting considering the energy and young vibe the penciller brings to the table.

Decent Stargirl finale, not so much for the JSA but let's hope that Jeff Lemire does a better work in the future.