When the Dead Call
JSA #84
One Year Later
Cover Date: June 2006
Released: 5th April 2006
- Writers: Paul Levitz
- Pencilers: Rags Morales / Luke Ross
- Inker: Dave Meikis
- Colourists: John Kalisz / Rob Schwager
- Letterer: Rob Leigh
- Editors: Stephen Wacker / Harvey Richards
Continued from JSA #83.
We start as the last issue ended with the JSA reacting to Gentleman Ghost how any super team would, by instantly attacking the villain. It doesn’t go well for our Pee Gee who flies straight through the ghost into the fire, though her Kryptonian physique (we’re post Infinite Crisis now) means she’s okay. Its even worse considering Stargirl does the same flying through him just a few seconds before!
This does stop the fight as the cooler head prevail and Gentleman Ghost disappears for a bit. In this down time the JSA all chat among themselves, Jakeem being told that yes he they are fighting a ghost though Wildcat points out it doesn’t matter either way as they still have to deal with thing. In reversal of there early years Kara, whilst dealing with with costume malfunction (calm down it’s only a shoulder).
We then get another part of Jim’s flashback with his mother dying and him being thrown out of the lodging they were currently in. Helpfully everyone is in the same room to save time, everything was apparently smaller back in ye olde times!
Meanwhile Jakeem goes down to a graveyard to talk to the ghosts of his parent’s, finding out that he really did have an older brother that (obviously) died. He reveals that somehow Gentleman Ghost is the one that allowed all these ghosts to come back to th mortal plane. Then helpfully they all disappear, taking pains to say how proud they are of what he’ been doing.
Then a quick Jim flashback to show the start of his criminal history, with him starting out a pick pocket.
Back to the plot as Jay and Alan talk on they’re way to Gotham, with Alan revealing that his ghost was of someone from college that got killed in an accident with a broadcast tower, something that Alan feels responsible for causing. Chekov’s ghost being set up we now see the to of them facing said ghost, who they quickly capture and try to question about what’s Gentleman’s Ghost’s plan, which he reveals to be to restore Craddock back to life at the JSA’s expense.
We then get two pages of Jim’s origin, a fortune teller revealing that he’ll keep stealing even after he’s hung obviously something we know in the present day.
We get a quick return of the ghost to fight Jay and Alan before more importantly going back to the JSA Headquarters where Gentleman Ghost spooks Ma before he’s (somehow) smacked down by Pee Gee, though to her chagrin he’s just disappears.
This is one of those solid middle issues, the plot is being driven forward and we know more about what’s happening than we did at the start, but in doing that not that much is progressed. Not terrible but really just setup for the later half of the series.