JSA Classified: Honor Among Thieves

Justice Society (collected editions) #57

by Peter J. Tomasi, Pat Olliffe, Don Kramer

A new volume featuring new stories starring the Justice Society of America! First up, a tale spotlighting the JSA's arch-foes the Injustice Society! While the JSA investigates the appearance of the Prometheus key in their headquarters, the villainous Wizard approaches Icicle with a grave request that will change their fortunes forever. Plus, a mysterious figure has gained control of the Spear of Destiny, one of the most dangerous artifacts on earth, and is using it to pit the heroic Wildcat against the evil of Dr. Polaris.

Reprints JSA: CLASSIFIED #5-9! The Injustice Society reforms with a crazy new mission: break into the JSA's very own headquarters to steal the key of Prometheus! But a flurry of betrayals and the loss of a teammate might threaten any chance that the Injustice Society has

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Graphic Novels Comics

125 pages, Paperback

First published January 24, 2007

About the author

Peter J. Tomasi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, such as Batman And Robin; Superman; Super Sons; Batman: Detective Comics; Green Lantern Corps; and Superman/Wonder Woman; as well as Batman: Arkham Knight; Brightest Day; Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors; Nightwing; Black Adam, and many more.

In the course of his staff career at DC Comics, Tomasi served as a group editor and ushered in new eras for Batman, Green Lantern, and the JSA, along with a host of special projects like Kingdom Come.

He is also the author of the creator-owned titles House Of Penance with artist Ian Bertram; Light Brigade with artist Peter Snejbjerg; The Mighty with Keith Champagne and Chris Samnee; and the critically acclaimed epic graphic novel The Bridge: How The Roeblings Connected Brooklyn To New York, illustrated by Sara DuVall and published by Abrams ComicArts.

In 2018 New York Times best-selling author Tomasi received the Inkpot Award for achievement in comics.

Reviews

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume collecting a couple of arcs from JSA Classified is just "ok" in my book. The first story is about the formation of a new Injustice Society, told through the eyes of Icicle (JR?). The second story is rather second rate and concerns the re-emergence of the Spear of Destiny and how The Flash (Jay Garrick) and Wildcat basically have to kill each other in order to stop the villain behind the spear's machinations.

Both were rather uninspired, although the Injustice Society story marked the return of Johnny Sorrow, always a scary villain. The second one left too many questions unanswered.

I do miss the days when the JSA was operating alongside the Justice League. We get some good crossover mentions here of the League and Batman, etc. The DCU was a much bigger place then with a much richer history, and I miss it at times. It was really nice seeing Ma Hunkle, the original Red Tornado, as the den mother for the JSA HQ.

The art was passable, but unremarkable. I think this is the only volume that collected JSA Classified stories.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories in this volume. The first is a heist story featuring a new incarnation of the Injustice Society; most of the story is focused on the setup and the preparation, with the actual heist and (fairly abrupt) conclusion feeling comparatively under-developed. The second story pits Jay Garrick and Wildcat against WWII-era supervillain Dragon King, who's acquired the Spear of Destiny; the plot seems like it should have been used for a longer, epic full-JSA storyline, rather than something for just these two heroes. Both stories aren't bad and are solid enough reads (with the first being the better of the two), but they feel like they could have been better. (B)

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed stories that give you the story from the villain's point of view. Geoff Johns really nailed that on his Flash run and here Tomasi does a really good job with the Injustice Society. I would have actually been a better story if it was a little longer to flesh out all of the characters. The second tale involving Flash & Wildcat was decent but the villain was somewhat convoluted. Really good art adds to make this a really solid trade.

[SB Senpai Manga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book due to the fact it's told mostly from a villains groups perspective and really humanizes them. A refreshing take on a super hero comic.
What stops it from being perfect is the other story featuring The Flash and Wildcat. Just didn't make sense to me as a story

[Matt town · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the injustice society story better than the other but both were lots of fun. I think that the Golden Age villains lend themselves well to actual amicable villain teams. A really nice read.

[David]

Quick read - just getting back into DC Comics in general, and this was a good starting point for my re-introduction to the JSA. Not a lot of prior knowledge of the characters needed to enjoy these stories.

[Alex Sarll]

An Injustice Society heist caper by the writer of Hopeless Savages really ought to have more pizazz and character than the first half of this. The second half is by Peter Tomasi, and as is normally the case there, reads like Geoff Johns by numbers.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the golden age superheroes from DC and the new JSA brings these original heroes back into the modern age along with their legacy namesakes. Well above average art and plot keep these 70 year old comic characters interesting and entertaining. Very recommended

[Warren]

Infinite Crisis

[Ryan Haupt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two arcs in one book. The first arc, by Jen van Meter, was not my thing. But the second arc by Peter J. Tomasi was much better. The art is consistently good, if not very good, throughout.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The team battles an old villain in this great addition to the book series with a good mystery to boot.