Doctor Mid-Nite is dying in the mountains. Jakeem Thunder is dying in an endless fifth-dimensional maze. Will the JSA lose more members before they rally against Injustice? Your Major Spoilers review of JSA #9 from DC Comics awaits!
JSA #9
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Diego Olortegui
Colorist: Luis Guerrero
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Katie Kubert
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: July 2, 2025
Previously in JSA: Eight issues ago, the Injustice Society attacked, separating the JSA and forcing new and old factions. With some of the team reunited, they need to put a plan together to strike back at the Injustice Society!
But with a mole hiding amongst them, is their plan already ruined?!
FROM THE FAR CORNERS OF THE DCU
This issue primarily focuses on four JSA members: Doctor Mid-Nite (with the unconscious body of Obsidian) is wandering the Himalayas, stalked by the Scandal Savage, while Jakeem Thunder (with the disembodied mind of Obsidian) wanders a strange maze that refuses to obey the laws of physics. Jakeem has been here since before issue #1, while Beth has been out of focus since issue #5. When Jakeem finds Johnny Thunder, they manage to summon Yz the Thunderbolt, only to discover that the Injustice Society seems to have an additional member hiding in the maze. As for Mid-Nite, she barely survives Scandal’s attack, but the daughter of the immortal Vandal Savage miscalculates her travel time… and darkness falls. She manages to get a transmission back to JSA headquarters, where Green Lantern and Jade are waiting, just in time to realize that they gave away the Justice Society’s greatest secret…
…to Johnny Sorrow!
A LITTLE HARD TO FOLLOW
Many comics reviewers and fans (myself included) have complained about “writing for the trade,” but this issue brings that complaint home for me in a whole new way. Not only are we dealing with a massive cast, most of whom haven’t really had any panel time since the Dark Crisis or earlier. With this story arc in play since BEFORE the first issue of JSA debuted, a dozen villains (more if you count The Demons Three), an army of Kobra lackeys, and decades worth of Justice Society members on the proverbial chess board, any given issue of JSA Volume 2 jumps around in time and space at random. Despite that sprawling canvas, the circuitous plan of the ISA is both ingenious and multi-layered, which has made each issue a fun little experience on its own. This time around, we get to the grit in Beth “Doctor Mid-Nite” Chapel, a little bit of fun stuff with the ostensibly retired Wildcat and Doctor Fate, and the reveal of the spy in their midst. Olortegui’s art makes it all exciting, and I especially enjoy his rendition of the endless maze (whose secret is revealed, but I’m not gonna spoil that just yet).
BOTTOM LINE: BY NO MEANS A JUMPING-ON POINT
In short, JSA #9 provides excitement, attractive art, and a couple of big surprises, and despite the fact that it throws the characters (and the reader) into strange situations without a prelude, it holds together for 3 out of 5 stars overall. If there were ever a modern DC book that carries the proud banner of Robinson’s Starman and its anachronic storytelling, this is it, and what works works quite well. I just wish there was more connective tissue between the various threads of the narrative.
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JSA #9
There's a lot going on in these pages, dating back to issue #1, with more characters popping up here. The Justice League may be unlimited but the Justice Society is timeless.
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Coloring6
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