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Newsarama: Jeff, thanks so much for talking with me today.
I discovered All-Star Squadron as a kid and just fell in love with the characters.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Jeff Lemire:Yeah, same.
So on that note, what are your big touchstones for the JSA?
What eras and ideas are you drawing on as your big influences?
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Lemire:I’m trying to draw on everything, which is a lot.
It was just this cool monthly comic that had so many characters in it.
As a kid, that was super cool.
And I love the stuff from the ’70s that Paul Levitz wrote.
It’s part of that lineage of books, it kind of fits right in with all of those.
This series is part of the core DC Universe after several years of the JSA existing in other continuities.
So I’m happy that it’s back.
It’s just such a joy to write that and see it again.
This series is picking up following the events of Absolute Power and its tie-ins.
What do readers need to know going into the new JSA #1?
It should be pretty accessible, I hope.
You mentioned the cast, and there is a big, kind of sprawling cast here.
There are almost two casts, between the elder generation and their successors.
Who are the characters you’ve found yourself connecting with that has maybe surprised you?
Lemire:Yeah, I mean, there are some that really surprised me.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
But I just kind of fell in love with writing her as I was writing her.
That’s cool when that happens, you know?
Your new JSA title is launching right around the same time that the Justice League is returning.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
The Justice Society is multiple generations of heroes living and working together.
And their goal isn’t just like, you know, to protect people or to go on missions.
Lemire:It’s been really cool.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Not everyone can do the energetic action the way he does and also really deliver on the character side.
We’ve also got great variant covers by Cully Hamner, which is fun.
He’s also a big part of the creative team.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
I’m super excited, this a dream book for me, so it’s been a real thrill.
Yeah, I loved the big reveal.
Lemire:Oh, I know who it is, yeah.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
We shouldn’t talk about that.
We shouldn’t say who it is.
Lemire:It’s pretty fun.
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Obviously, the cast was already massive, so why not throw in another massive super team?
It’s really fun to make the JSA and the Injustice Society central to the DC Universe again.
What’s so special about this team that their absence changes the fabric of the DC Universe?
The Justice League and the Titans and all these other superhero teams would not exist without them.
And so there’s this sense of the JSA sort of anchoring the whole DC Universe.
You’re just missing all that history and all that context without them.
I think it’s super important to keep that or else the DC Universe just sort of feels untethered.
