Comic Book Review – Stargirl and The Lost Children

Stargirl and The Lost Children (2023)
Reprints Stargirl Spring Break Special & Stargirl and The Lost Children #1-6
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Todd Nauck

Geoff Johns is in his third act, and it’s not going great. Act one was his rise to prominence as one of DC Comics’ best writers in the 2000s. This was followed by a transition into DC’s films division, where he oversaw what I consider some of the worst superhero films of all time. He would still dabble in comics occasionally, but once he stepped down from his role in the movies, his output increased. The word that comes to mind when discussing this second shot at comics writing for Mr. Johns is “delays.” Not just a month, but multiple months on books that are already limited series. Why DC doesn’t require X number of issues in the bank before beginning publishing remains a mystery to me. It is an excellent strategy to ensure distribution goes smoothly and your readership stays happy.

One year ago this month (November 2022), Johns’ revival of the Justice Society of America began. The initial entries were a one-shot book titled The New Golden Age, a 12-issue Justice Society of America mini-series, and Stargirl and The Lost Children, a six-issue mini. Since then, three more mini-series have begun (not written by Johns) featuring The Flash, Green Lantern, and Sandman, respectively. The JSA title has been delayed to the point of absurdity. However, this Stargirl book managed to hit most of its publication dates. Why? No one can quite figure that out.

The book follows Stargirl, the superhero identity of teenager Courtney Whitmore, as she teams up with Green Arrow’s sidekick & half-sister Speedy to discover the whereabouts of Daniel Dunbar. Dunbar is now an old man, but in his youth, he was Dan the Dyna-Mite, sidekick to the Golden Age hero TNT. The girls follow Dunbar’s journey to a mysterious island inhabited by over a dozen Golden Age sidekicks frozen in their youth since the 1940s. They are kept here by the monstrous Childminder, a twisty Mother Goose who seeks to sell them to a mysterious buyer. When that buyer is revealed, it raises many questions as they are someone thought to be “one of the good guys.”

Since Infinite Crisis, Johns seems to have become fixated on villains whose intent is to reshape time & reality. It was present in Flashpoint, Rebirth, Doomsday Clock, and Flashpoint Beyond, the mini-series that led into The New Golden Age. This host of never-before-seen sidekicks is explained to have existed in the past through retroactive continuity. It’s explained the world’s memories of them were intentionally wiped away. It’s an interesting conceit, but by the end, I needed to understand why these characters were taken rather than more prominent ones. This mini-series is yet one of many instances of decompressed storytelling, a narrative that could have been knocked out in a couple issues stretched out to sell more books. It doesn’t make much sense as sales of monthlies are in decline as more & more readers wait for the collected editions of these stories.

Johns writes Stargirl well; she’s a character whose voice he’s always had a firm handle on as he created her. Beyond that, the other characters don’t play a significant enough role to impact the story. They help populate panels, but I cannot remember anything significant about Quiz Kid, Cherry Bomb, or Tick-Tock. The most memorable of these characters is Salem, the Witch-Girl, a female variation on the villainous Klarion. Apparently, Salem has retroactively been made into a sidekick for Doctor Fate, and she has a sentient pet broom. 

There’s an inevitable fatigue I feel when in the middle of a Johns’s new character avalanche where you are hesitant to invest in being interested in any of them as the writer has a track record of dumping new characters and no one else picking them up. If you look at Johns’ second run on the Justice Society, it was full of this: crowded panels with new faces and little development. I can see potential in a character like Salem, but as possessive as Johns is about the JSA, I wonder if she will ever get development outside of however long The New Golden Age lasts. 

This is also far from being new reader-friendly. More than being tied into Flashpoint Beyond, there are so many references to characters that aren’t in this comic that a new reader will probably need clarification. With the JSA book, I can see how it could go deep in continuity, but The Lost Children seems like a perfect instance to bring in younger readers who could enjoy the pocket of the DC Universe these Golden Age characters inhabit. The one twist in the story will hit with a thud for most readers not entrenched in DC lore. Even I, who knew who the person was and understood the impact of the twist, was bored with the story overall.

I love DC’s Golden Age characters, and expanding on what is established gets me hyped. The problem is that the company won’t allow anyone other than Johns to work with these characters (I will give them that Bill Willingham’s follow-up was awful). Once upon a time, he was the standard; his JSA series in the early 2000s is some of the best popular comic storytelling I’ve ever read. Yet now, the magic is gone, and his stories feel unnecessarily clunky & complicated. There are many intriguing ideas, but very little is ever made with them. It comes across as a form of IP fishing, just throwing dozens of new characters out there and sitting back to see what readers gravitate towards on a superficial level. I am far more excited about three solo side minis being penned by writers other than Johns. 

If you had told me a year ago I would be let down by the New Golden Age initiative, I would have thought you were crazy. I’ve always loved these comics. Now, I am just waiting for Johns to finish the 12-issue mini-series so I can read the whole thing and see how it hits. For a title that should have been wrapping up this month, issue 10 will hit stands in mid-December. Here’s hoping it’s done by summer 2024.