Originally published on Patreon
I've been a big fan of the JSA, and Johns' run on the series, for more than a decade. I love those classic, golden age characters (and the newer heroes they picked up over the years) and how they fit into the modern DC universe. And their exclusion was one of the big parts of why I dropped off from DC for a few years after the New 52 essentially erased them. So I'm actually really excited to see Johns returning to these characters, and deciding to do more with the Golden Age.
Stargirl: The Lost Children focuses on one of the more popular modern additions to the Justice Society, Stargirl, as she and Red Arrow work a mission to try and find out what happened to a bunch of missing sidekicks from the Golden Age who seem to have been forgotten by the world. Those who read Flashpoint: Beyond will be familiar with some of the names mentioned in this issue, and will probably have a good idea of why they vanished and why people don't remember them; but that's info that Courtney doesn't have.
Instead, we see Courtney trying to juggle her new mission, one no one really believes in, with her personal life as her mother grounds her and tries to stop her from working with Emiko any more. But, Courtney is nothing if not stubborn, and she and her friend head out to the home of a former kid sidekick, Dyna-Mite, whose hero was the first to be killed years ago.
Dyna-Mite has assembled quite the conspiracy theory board full of info on the missing kids, and this gives the two young heroes the information they need to begin the next stage of their journey; heading out into the middle of the ocean where a disappearance happened years before. They're not the only ones heading out there though, as Dyna-Mite has been sailing to the spot. When his boat is destroyed in the storm he swims ashore on an island that shouldn't be there, and finds himself transformed from an old men into a kid once again. But someone on the island attacks him.
The rest of the issue includes some interesting flashbacks to Dyna-Mite and his hero partner, TNT, in the golden age, and shows what life was like for young heroes back in that era. It captures a lot of the fun and feel of the comics from that time, and also shows why the older Dyna-Mite still cares so much, and puts himself in as much danger as he does.
If you're coming to this issue having read the stuff building up to it, hoping that you're going to get some answers, sorry that's not happening. However, this issue does do an excellent job at establishing the mystery for new readers, as well as setting up the kind of tone the book is going to have. It wonderfully captures a lot of the fun and energy of the Golden Age books, and has some fun with the more modern characters.
The art on the book, by Todd Nauck and Matt Herms, looks great, and the opening pages set in the golden age look really dynamic and colourful, and instantly draw the reader in. The panels where the young heroes go to investigate Dyna-Mite's home are packed full of details, with interesting stuff in there to keep an eye out for. The entire book looks good, and the art style really seems to suit this story.
If you're a fan of Stargirl and golden age books in general this series looks set to be one that's going to be a lot of fun.
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