| JSA:
The Liberty File
I may be
one of the few comic fans who likes the “Elseworlds”
concept from DC: take your familiar heroes (almost always
Batman and Superman) and villains (one word: “Luthor”)
and change the setting. Place the characters in the far future,
or the recent past, or simply change one small detail of the
characters’ usually dense continuities and watch the
fun unfold. It’s not always done right (see JLA:
The Secret Society of Superheroes), but there are instances
when it is done spectacularly well (Batman: Thrillkiller,
ironically from the same author).
The
only problem with Elseworlds is the price tag: they’re
printed in “prestige format,” which puts the
price at $5.95 on average, and sometimes more. May the man
who invented prestige format burn eternally in the hottest
points of the nether regions of Hell. There just isn’t
justification for paying six dollars or more for a forty-eight
page comic book with a cardboard cover, so most Elseworlds
are ignored by the single issue buyer because of the high
price. Those who buy graphic novels at a fevered pitch (i.e.:
me) aren’t willing to shell out what adds up to half
a graphic novel for so little in the way of page content,
and a lot of prestige format books don’t get collected
right away or at all. Prestige Format screws everything.
One
of the reasons I missed out on JSA: The Liberty Files
and its sequel JSA: The Unholy Three, was that
I just wasn’t willing to pay for prestige format.
Lucky for me, it was collected.
It’s
1944 and America is in the thick of WWII. Working in the
intelligence community are several agents attempting to
keep the USA one step ahead of the Nazis. These agents,
the Owl (Dr. Mid-Nite), the Clock (Hourman) and the Bat
(if you can’t get this one by yourself, get off of
this site) are working to uncover the truth surrounding
the Liberty File; a secret Nazi project that could spell
the end of freedom and the beginning of a Teutonic world
dictatorship. On their mission, they’ll run across
several Golden Age heroes in and out of costume, as well
as new versions of villains, and more than few surprises.
Writer
Dan Jolley (Obergeist) goes further than most Elseworlds,
focusing on his story more than just the idea changing setting
on the capes, truly creating the feel of a comic about espionage
more than superheroics. The use of the characters like the
Owl, the Clock, and the Bat lend a lot to that atmosphere;
they are all relatively low powered or no-powered as superheroes,
forcing them to rely on more human means of solving cases
and taking down opponents. The fact that the characters
have to make contact with other agents, force information
out of several individuals, and use firearms in several
instances show that they are indeed human and not ready
to have a slugfest with another masked man in tights. The
masks they wear are meant to cover their faces and mask
their identities, not “strike fear in the hearts of
men.” It’s rare that a writer can add a level
of realism to a story featuring superheroes, without making
it a standard deconstructionist story.
Jolley
takes care to give each character a distinct personality,
and Jolley even manages to give the Bat(man) a slightly
different treatment than normal; still there are the semi-psychotic
hatred of crime, and the strict belief (if you listen to
Grant Morrison) that he is the most capable man on earth,
as demonstrated in a scene with the characters out of costume:
Terry
Sloane: You have grenades in your jacket?! But we were just
having dinner!
The Bat: Yes, and now we’re fighting one of the undead.
So move your ass.
But in addition to these Bat-conventions
are a pronounced sense of duty and a faint sense of patriotism.
It’s rare for these qualities to be included in Batman’s
personality and it’s interesting that Jolley included
them, as it adds more dimensions to an already deep character
type.
Something
else that separates The Liberty File from other
Elseworlds is the breadth of the story and the amount of
characters that appear and are handled well. The story takes
place over years and several locations including Egypt,
Germany, Russia, and good old Gotham City. Jolley doesn’t
focus on Batman and Superman (who eventually appears, but
with several interesting twists), instead keeping with the
title of the book: various Justice Society Members appear,
in odd and interesting incarnations. Mr. Terrific, Black
Canary, Green Lantern, The Sandman, Hawkman, The Flash,
and others make appearances with varying degrees of characterization.
The
artwork by Tony Harris is exquisite, as it always is when
he’s involved with a comic. As demonstrated on Starman,
he is an expert at creating mood with his visuals. The first
two chapters, when espionage is the most prominent theme,
are dark and noir-ish and the feeling that anything could
jump out of the shadows and garrote you is strong. In later
chapters, when superheroics become more prominent, the art
shifts to a lighter, but no less vibrant and detailed line
and the tone shifts. I’ve been hitting a good streak
as far as artwork goes lately in my reviews, and this is
the cream of the crop. Even the character design is great;
the subtle changes made to some of the characters costumes,
and the outright redesign of several others, make for interesting
pictures to go with the interesting writing. The inks by
Ray Snyder and the colors by Matt Hollingworth and J.D.
Mettler are as equally as good, both of which adapt seamlessly
to Harris’s change in penciling.
Go out
and buy this, even if you never liked Elseworlds. It’s
260 pages of greatness, collecting the orignal Liberty
File and The Unholy Three, and a cover gallery
by Harris. It’s pricey at $19.95, but you get a lot
of story for what you pay for. I like Elseworlds, but not
all of them aspire to be more than a “What If”
a la DC. It’s rare to find one this good. Enjoy the
rarity.
JSA:
The Liberty File
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