RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books Viw from the Other Side :JSA - The Liberty Files

It is 1943, and three secret operatives are in Egypt in a race with the Gestapo to hunt an albino criminal called "Jack the Grin". These men are all war hardened and kill without hesitation for thier country. They are Charles ("Chazz") McNider, Rex Tyler and Bruce Wayne - the Owl, the Clock and the Bat.

JSA: The Liberty File is written by Dan Jolley & Tony Harris, with art by Tony Harris & Ray Snyder. I recognised Harris' work from Starman, but had not heard of Dan Jolley before.



If you like The Maltese Falcon, Casablance, and Indiana Jones movies, you'll probably like these stories. Jolley and Harris reinvent a lot of the JSA and some associated villains, in a deeply noir / espionage theme. Probably the best thing about this book is that the reinvention of these characters is often vastly superior to the originals. The prime example of this is Mr Terrific: Terry Sloane (the original Mr T.) is made a deeply interesting and classic 30s character, complete with pencil thin moustache and fencing uniform, and a clearcut motive for acting in the way he does, first agaisnt foes, and then against his main ally. The Owl (Dr Mid-nite) is a notorious ladies' man, constantly getting laid. Other reinvented characters worth noting are The Scarecrow (an inhuman Nazi), the Sandman (a portly spymaster) and the Atom (whose scary powers reminded me of Pathfinder from Suicide Squad). Others are less innnovative - Robin is Hitler's towel boy, and Hawkgirl is a slutty nurse - and others still are sheer cannon fodder. The cannon fodder element to the story is a trifle frustrating, because you wish the characters had more "airtime", but it makes perfect sense in a wartime environment that there would be casualties.

Here is the review from Pop Image:

http://www.popimage.com/apr00/reviews/jsaliberty.html

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DC's Elseworlds invoke an interesting premise. Elseworlds comics take everyday DC heroes out of their normal environment and shake them up a bit. They put radical twists on the heroes that we know and love. JSA: LIBERTY FILES was no different.

Dan Jolley, Tony Harris and Ray Snyder did a bang-up job on their latest contribution to the DC mythos.

The basic story revolves around special agents during World War II named the Bat, the Clock and the Owl (Batman, Hourman, and Dr. Midnight, respectively) and their mission to stop the Nazis and Hitler's new super soldier, a certain 'super' man.

The story, narrated by the Bat, follows the three heroes around the globe as they try to stop a homicidal albino arms dealer, Jack the Grin (the Joker), and a horrific strong man called the Scarecrow. Mr. Terrific joins our protagonists in book two. Book one shows Jack the Grin apprehended by authorities, only to escape shortly thereafter. The Bat meets up with the Clock and the Owl, and they leave in Jack's pursuit. There's an appearance by the Black Canary as a spy/ lounge singer, talks to The Clock making references to "The Cat" (Wildcat of the JSA). After countless battles, the trio manages to find Jack. "The Bat is still Bruce Wayne; only now, he's taken crime fighting on a global scale."

The second book starts with an injured Owl in the hospital. The Bat and the Clock start searching for Hitler's super-soldier, or 'Uberman'. They go after an informant who has unfortunately already met up with the Scarecrow. Their mission finally leads them to Northern Africa to hold off the attack of Hitler's super-soldier. The story is very like an INDIANA JONES film; the heroes are tough, and the villains fight dirty. It's just a lot of fun to watch.

What really caught me was how well the characters are written. The Bat is still Bruce Wayne; only now, he's taken crime fighting on a global scale. He's just as cocky, clever and secretive as his 'real' caped crusader counterpart. The villains are twisted and devious, just as they usually are. Jack the Grin is a great character. He gains amnesia in book one and carries a timid demeanor, unaware of his actual psychotic personality. The Scarecrow is portayed in the most clever way I've seen in a while. This creature's rotting, corpse-like appearance brings fear to his victims (just as the 'real' Scarecrow does, albeit somewhat differently), but he can also emit a chemical which doubles as a truth serum as well as a fear toxin. This is a great move on the writers' part; it really adds to the mood.

The dialogue is tight and works very well. It's not only entertaining to watch the Bat interact with others in battle, but also in everyday situations. He constantly changes his outward appearance, including his hair colour, to disguise himself from everyone, even his allies. There's a classic scene in book two where Scarecrow attacks the Bat, the Clock, and Terrific on a train. The Bat jumps at him, opening his suit jacket to reveal a bunch of grenades. Terrific asks, "You have grenades in your jacket? But we were just having dinner!" To which the Bat replies, "Yes, and now we're fighting one of the undead. So move your ass." Classic Batman. Truly classic. "Harris' photo-realistic penciling style really helps bring the story alive."

Tony Harris and Ray Snyder do some of their best work yet. Harris' photo-realistic penciling style really helps bring the story alive. The civilian scenes are tight, as the characters are appropriately dressed for the time of WWII, and the fight scenes are energetic and demand the reader's attention.

My only warning is the price tag. JSA: LIBERTY FILES was released by DC as two 48 page prestige format book. Each had a cover price of $6.95. The price is a bit steep but worth it. I bought the first issue for the creative team and stuck around for the storyline. If you're at all a fan of the JSA, INDIANA JONES movies, or Jolley and Harris, do yourself a favour and pick up this pair of books.

Recommended

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One of the appealing things about the book is the period in whcih it is set: most of these characters were established and in their prime in the 1930s and 1940s, and it seems natural to have each of them behave in the way they do. In retrospect, its fine characterisation, in a classic period peace.

An intriguing twist on superheroics - not my favourite genre, but this I really liked. 7 out of 10.

I thought both volumes were great. Highly recommended.

I've always meant to seek these out, and the sequel as well.

Hey, did anyone read Matt Wagner's Dr. Mid-Nite miniseries? Was that any good?

You can pick up JSA: The Liberty Files and its sequel, JSA: The Unholy Three, in a single trade paperback. Both were solid, fun reads. Interesting twists on characters. I dug 'em both.

The Dr. Midnite mini was damned good, too. I think that's still available as a trade paperback as well.

I actually think The Unholy Three was not quite as good as The Liberty Files, but only because The Liberty Files was more Indiana Jones, and Unholy Three, set in the Cold War, was not as convincing as a period piece.

One last thing beofre I de-stick this.... how did the Hawk fly? Did he have humingbird wings that could only be perceived as a blur? What was the point with the surrounding pigeons?

I believe the birds were carrying him somehow. I'd have to check again, but that was the impression I got.

Liberty File did work much better than the sequel, but it was very cool to see the redesigned characters. I really liked what they did with the Golden Age Atom.

I'd like to see Harris do a Golden Age Sandman story.

I'd like to see this take on the JSA as a monthly series. A kind of "ultimatization" of them.

Speaking of Ultimates, it strikes me that Bryan Hitch's design for Ultimate Cap's GA uniform is very reminiscent of Harris' costume designs here.

I remember reading it at the time and noticing in a lot of the panels, Batman was wearing nail varnish and alluding to sordid debauchery!

Did this happen or was I dreaming or was I on drugs when I read it?

Tony Harris tends to draw fingernails black for some odd reason. He did the same thing in Starman. As for debauchery, none more than usual, if memory serves.

I would prefer to see this as the regular / mainstream JSA history, myself.

Spoilers follow:



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Did anyone else pick the Martian Manhunter as the German Ubermensch? I thought that was a nice switch, anticipating that it would be Superman. And I didn't expect Superman to be Zod, although that was way out of left field and not something which was as clever as the Manhunter switch.