By Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky & Bernard Sachs (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-412-1
By the time of this fourth collection’s contents (Justice League of America #23-30) a winning formula had been ironed out. Mix earth-bound crime and disaster with high-concept alien encounters, keep the super-villain content high and above all, get better and better with each issue.
Faced with the impossible task of topping the resurrection of the Justice Society of America in all their glory (see Justice League of America Archive Edition Volume 3 ISBN: 1-56389-159-X) creative team Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs rose to the challenge with the eccentric outer-space thriller ‘Drones of the Queen Bee’, wherein the heroes of Earth 1 had to fulfil the devious wishes of an alien super-criminal with aspirations of immortality. As the team escaped enslavement to the alien seductress, the continuity bug was growing, and the casual referencing of the ongoing cases of individual members would become a mainstay of most future issues.
Alien despot Kanjar Ro returned in ‘Decoy Missions of the Justice League’ (JLA #24) a sinister world conquest plot that featured another guest-shot for off-world adventurer Adam Strange whilst a perplexing mystery with planet-shaking consequences temporarily baffled the team in the rousing off-world thriller ‘Outcasts of Infinity!’ Issue #26’s ‘Four Worlds to Conquer’ dealt with an insidious revenge plot of the three-eyed alien Despero whilst a much more metaphysical menace assaulted the team in ‘The “I†Who Defeated the Justice League’. Although the deadly android Amazo was also on hand to add a more solid threat to the proceedings.
The charmingly naff Head-Mastermind and a bunch of second-string super-villains tried to outfox the League in #28’s ‘Case of the Forbidden Super-Powers’, but not so easily defeated or forgotten are the next two tales. ‘Crisis on Earth-Three’ and ‘The Most Dangerous Earth of All!’ reprised the team-up of the Justice League and Justice Society, when the super-beings of yet another alternate Earth discovered the secret of multiversal travel.
Unfortunately Ultraman, Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick and Power Ring were villains on a world without heroes, and saw the costumed crusaders of the JLA and JSA as living practise dummies to sharpen their evil skills upon. With this cracking two-part thriller the annual summer team-up became solidly entrenched in comic lore, giving fans endless joy for years to come and making the approaching end of school holidays less gloomy than they might have been.
(A little note: Although the comic cover-date in America was the month by which unsold copies had to be returned – the off-sale date – export copies to Britain travelled as ballast in freighters. Thus they usually went on to those cool, spinning comic-racks in the actual month printed on the front. You can unglaze your eyes and return to the review proper now, and thank you for your patient indulgence at my sad showing-off.)
The wonder years of the Justice League were a time of startling creativity and these tales just seem to get more marvellous with every re-reading. This deluxe format is an admittedly expensive indulgence, but these books are ones you always return to and their bright shiny resilience is well worth the extra outlay.
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