In this review of JSA #20, Aztor finds a new host, as a small cluster of JSA members goes in search of Jim Corrigan.
JSA #20
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by DIEGO OLORTEGUI
Main Cover: PETE WOODS
Variant Cover: MATT TAYLOR
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: 6/3/26
This review contains spoilers
In Manhattan, Aztor is on an out of control “let’s judge EVERYONE” spree. He needs a host to help get him under some semblance of control. Alan tries to offer himself, but Jay pulls him out of the way…only for him to find out that he can’t handle that power, either. Which brings Aztor to…Hourman.
Doctor Fate, along with Kid Eternity and a few others, goes off to figure out what ever happened to Corrigan. While he doesn’t know where to find him, he does bring them to someone who very well might: Madame Xanadu.
Xanadu gives the team a bit of information about who Corrigan was back in the 1940s, about how he was a cop who’d been murdered and revived by Aztor. They’d worked well together for a time, before their separation. But she doesn’t know where he is now. Or for that matter, who Kid Eternity is.
She looks into Kid Eternity’s past, and we get a small glimpse of her as a child in Japan with her grandmother. But she passes out before things can get further.
Back at the battle, Spectre 2.0 starts going after the remaining team members.
Kid Eternity comes to, and Xanadu says she’s being blocked from Corrigan. But someone else says he can help…
The average citizen in any major comic universe has certainly seen some crazy stuff. That’s sort of a given. But some huge figure in the sky, glaring down at everyone like the villain on many a movie poster, judging literally everybody… That’s freaky to deal with no matter who someone is.
My first thought, reading through the beginning of JSA #20, was “Holy crap, imagine someone’s anxiety flaring up with this!” Being told that you’re guilty…but not what you’re guilty of…
They did an excellent job establishing just how terrifying Aztor would be to deal with, even before he starts getting the upper hand on the JSA themselves.
Even with the harrowing aspects of Aztor and the Society, we still get a few fun character moments in JSA #20 as well. A favorite of mine? Stargirl fangirling over Madame Xanadu. Even if the encounter doesn’t give them Corrigan’s location, it’s still an intriguing one to see. When Xanadu greets them, in particular Stargirl, she has The Star tarot in her hand, and that just feels like a very nice touch on the artist’s end of things. It’s a small detail, but it’s very appreciated.
In the issues leading up to this storyline, we’d seen the Spectre in action, with Corrigan feeling overwhelmed by Axtor’s power. Was nice to see the beginning of their uneasy partnership play out here.
Though with Corrigan having already been at least on the verge of death when that began, it does make me wonder where he’d ended up after the pair of them broke things off. But that’s something that’s going to be addressed later on, I can see.
What I’m also curious after JSA #20: will the rest of Kid Eternity’s past be unlocked? The little that’s shown gives us the knowledge that she’s from Japan, and she’d lived with her grandmother. But what about the rest of the path that led her to where she is now? Looking forward to seeing more of that, as well.
The story didn’t give any huge revelations just yet…but it did leave some pretty tantalizing crumbs to follow to them.
Final Thoughts
Between Aztor’s judging spree, and the brief reveal of part of Kid Eternity’s history, JSA continues to be a nice, strong team title. It certainly keeps my attention, but I’m also very curious for more answers that I hope will come about soon.
