Writer – Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas
Artist – Jerry Ordway
Inker – Mike Machlan
Colours – Anthony Tollin
Letters – John Costanza

While the Justice Society of America is holding a meeting, four people bust in demanding to be made members which of course leads to a bit of fisticuffs despite them seeming a little familiar. After calling a truce, readers and the JSA find out that they are in fact known to some of the members, related even. Present is Hippolyta or Lyta Trevor – daughter of Wonder Woman, Albert Rothstein known as Nuklon and sort of godson to The Atom, Northwind – godson of Hawkman and Hector Hall, son of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. They have seen their relatives in action many a time and they want in on the family business so to speak but after a bit of discussion, the JSA makes the decision to vote on the matter which leads to the four prospects discussing their origin stories in the next room. They are all interesting, Northwind’s far more than the rest and Roy Thomas does a great job at giving the reader enough background information on the characters to make them relatable. When the vote is revealed to be a tie, two more people end up barging in and asking for membership while also claiming to be the children of Green Lantern who has no recollection of who they are or of having a family. Again, a small skirmish breaks out before it is successfully halted in its tracks and that leaves the older generation of heroes admonishing the younger would-be heroes which they want no part of, what with still being teenagers or having just passed that specific age bracket. It is all quite humorous at times seeing the JSA do as such but there are those on the team who feel for the youngsters, namely Robin, the Star-Spangled Kid, Power Girl and Huntress, all of them being new recruits at one time or another. While Fury, Jade, Obsidian, Northwind, Nuklon and the Silver Scarab head off to talk about their future outside of the JSA, Thomas and artist Jerry Ordway leave the book off on a cliff-hanger as Brainwave, who was supposed to be trapped in limbo with the rest of the Secret Society of Super-Villains, has just entered the JSA’s headquarters which can only mean trouble. While this was a solid first issue, it was filled to the brink with story and dialogue and not enough action to really keep the pace going as well as it should have. There were some fun moments and a few funny ones and if there is one thing that Thomas is great at, it is providing the history of any character the reader might not be familiar with and it definitely makes for great reading. As it is, a little more action would have been good to see but there is more than enough to warrant coming back for more.

3.5 out of 5