RICHARD: It might have slipped me by. Okay, tell us more about that high note. The JSA/Hawkman Black Reign crossover?

GEOFF: BLACK REIGN is weekly starting in JSA #56, then Hawkman #23, JSA #57, Hawkman #24, JSA #58 and Hawkman #25 -- again, our last issue of Hawkman. Rags, Michael and I wanted to depart Hawkman on a high. We've been building up to BLACK REIGN in JSA and as Hawkman's roll grew and evolved, it became clear this was really a story about Hawkman searching for answers and facing someone, Black Adam, who was once very much himself. And with Hawkman's history with Black Adam, they fought side-by-side in Ancient Egypt, it makes that point even clearer.

 

JSA: DARKNESS FALLS TRADE PAPER BACK

Essentially, BLACK ADAM, the dark child of the Marvel Family, believes justice is not being done properly in this world. Adam's wife and two sons were murdered back in the 15th Dynasty when Adam was still seen as a hero throughout the world. After their death, Adam vowed to never let anyone going through that kind of pain again. He sought out those he believed to be criminals and executed them. This didn't sit well with the Wizard Shazam, and he was labeled corrupt and exiled for thousands of years -- until recently, when he was finally freed. Adam's been trying to re-establish himself as a hero by working with the JSA, but he's since been fed up by their lack of finality. Black Adam has been recruiting others to help him in his quest. Atom Smasher, the godson of the original Atom, who himself killed Extant to save his mother's life. Brainwave, the son of the deceased JSA villain by the same name. Brainwave strove to be a hero rather than a villain, though he's gone through mental ups and downs. Northwind, the godson of Hawkman. A half-human, half-bird creature from a lost city in the mountains of Greenland. Alexander Montez, the former JSA museum curator who has taken control of the power of Eclipso and the black diamond that imprisons him. And Nemesis, a genetically enhanced super-soldier from the Council of Manhunter fame. Their first actions as a team -- they hunted down and murdered Kobra in JSA #51.

They're setting their sights on a higher goal now. Black Adam's homeland of Kahndaq. Their intentions appear good, their methods debatable. To the JSA, these young men and women under Black Adam's control are their responsibility.

But with Black Reign, things are never what they seem. Traitors, hidden allies and enemies, motivations blurred and distorted by emotions and inner voices, and several twists and turns. It's a story about the search for true heroes and true justice, a story about the JSA doing their best to be those iconic heroes. And in my mind, it's the best JSA story we've done to date. Among all the action, we've really managed to spotlight characters throughout -- Doctor Mid-Nite, Flash, Green Lantern, Stargirl, Atom Smasher, Captain Marvel, they all play a vital roll in this story. Actually, Doctor Mid-Nite plays perhaps my favorite roll he's had in the book since day one.

It's absolutely beautiful. Rags and Michael have pulled out the stops and Don Kramer and Keith Champagne have put an amazing amount of detail and realism into their work on JSA. I'm also thrilled that it's coming out weekly. It's been tough on everyone working on it, but in the end, we're getting a major JSA story in under two months.

There will also, of course, be a handful of events that will carry on out into the next year of JSA. In JSA #59, immediately following, a few of the members have had enough for awhile. We'll be really focusing JSA down to a core group of characters over the next year. And we've got our plans laid out for the next several storylines.

Cool?

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