Category: JLA

By Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky & Bernard Sachs (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-119-0

When Julius Schwartz revived the superhero genre in the late 1950s, the key moment came with the inevitable teaming of the reconfigured mystery men and the relatively unchanged big guns who had weathered the first fall of the Superhero at the beginning of the 1950s into a new, modern, Space-Age version of the Justice Society of America.

When the Justice League of America was launched in issue #28 of The Brave and the Bold (March 1960) it cemented the growth and validity of the genre, triggering an explosion of new characters at every company producing comics in America and even spread to the rest of the world as the 1960s progressed.

This second volume in the deluxe hardcover reprint series re-presents issues #7-14 of the pivotal and oh-so-enjoyable series featuring DC’s costumed adventurers in tales that combine mystery with adventure, battle villainy with true heroism and run the gamut of science fiction, crime and even black sorcery.

All the tales here were produced by the magical team of Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Bernard Sachs and star Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Arrow and the Manhunter from Mars, as well as boy mascot Snapper Carr and an increasingly more involved Superman and Batman (whose editors in those simpler times initially feared that their characters could be “over-exposed”).

The fun kicks off with an intergalactic mystery tale in #7. An alien plot to secure a weapon–probe leads our heroes to a local amusement park and more specifically ‘The Cosmic Fun-House!’, whilst the next issue’s ‘For Sale – the Justice League!’ is a sharp crime-caper wherein cheap hood Pete Ricketts finds a mind-control device that enslaves the team. Once again ordinary guy Snapper Carr has to save the day.

Issue #9 is a well-known and oft-recounted tale, and the start of a spectacular run of nigh-perfect super-hero adventures. ‘The Origin of the Justice League’ recounts the circumstances of the team’s birth; an alien invasion saga that still resonates with modern readers and it’s followed by the series’ first continued story.

‘The Fantastic Fingers of Felix Faust’ finds the World’s Greatest Superheroes already battling an invader from the future when they’re spellbound by the eponymous sorcerer. Faust has awoken three antediluvian demons and sold them the Earth in exchange for 100 years of unlimited power. Although the Justice League defeats the magician they have no idea that the demons are loose…

In the next instalment, ‘One Hour to Doomsday’, the JLA pursue and capture the still undefeated chronal conqueror The Lord of Time, but are trapped a century from their home-era by the awakened and re-empowered trio of Demons. This level of plot complexity hadn’t been seen in comics since the closure of EC Comics, and never before in a superhero tale. It was a profound acknowledgement by the creators that the readership was no longer simply little kids – if indeed it ever had been.

Arch-villain Doctor Light attempted a pre-emptive strike on the team in #12, although ‘The Last Case of the Justice League’ proved to be anything but, and with the next issue the heroes saved the entire universe by solving ‘The Riddle of the Robot Justice League’.

Schwartz’s avowed intent with his new Superteam was to eventually include every costumed adventurer in the DC pantheon, but he limited himself – or was resisted by other editors – to his own stable after the introduction of Green Arrow in #4 (see Justice League of America: Archive Edition Volume 1 ISBN: 1-56389-043-7). ‘The Menace of the “Atom” Bomb’ in issue #14 was a clever way of introducing the next member The Atom whilst showing a fresh side to an old villain with a new gimmick, and is a fine tale to end this volume on.

These classic superhero tales are some of the finest to come out of the 1960s and are still as fresh and engrossing today as they ever were. That they are also perfect fare to introduce new and especially young readers to our world is an added and invaluable bonus.

© 1961, 1962, 1993 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-043-7

After the actual invention of the comicbook superhero – for which read the launch of Superman in 1938 – the most significant event in the industry’s progress was the combination of individual sales-points into a group. Thus what seems blindingly obvious to us with the benefit of four-colour hindsight was proven: a plethora of popular characters could multiply readership by combining forces. Plus of course, a whole bunch of superheroes is a lot cooler than just one – or even one and a sidekick.

And so the birth of the Justice Society of America in the winter 1940 issue of All Star Comics is rightly revered as a true landmark in the development of comic books, and when Julius Schwartz revived the superhero genre in the late 1950s, the key moment came with the inevitable teaming of his reconfigured mystery men.

And that was issue #28 of The Brave and the Bold, a swords-and sandals classical adventure title that had recently become a try-out magazine like Showcase. In 1959, just before Christmas, the ads began running: “Just Imagine! The mightiest heroes of our time… have banded together as the Justice League of America to stamp out the forces of evil wherever and whenever they appear!”

Released with a March 1960 cover-date, that first tale was written by the brilliant and indefatigable Gardner Fox and illustrated by the quirky, understated Mike Sekowsky with inks by Bernard Sachs, Joe Giella and Murphy Anderson.

‘Starro the Conqueror’ saw Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and J’onn J’onzz, the Manhunter from Mars defeat a marauding alien starfish whilst Superman and Batman stood by just in case (in those naive days editors feared their top characters could be “over-exposed” and consequently lose popularity). The heroes also picked up a typical American kid as mascot. Snapper Carr would prove a focus of controversy for decades to come.

Confident of his material and the superhero genre’s fresh appeal Schwartz had two more thrillers ready for the following issues. B&B #29 saw the team defeat a marauder from the future in ‘The Challenge of the Weapons Master’ (inked by Sachs and Giella) and #30 saw their first mad-scientist arch-villain in the form of Professor Ivo and his super android Amazo. ‘The Case of the Stolen Super Powers’ by Fox, Sekowsky and Sachs ended their tryout run. Three months later the new bi-monthly title debuted.

Although somewhat sedate by modern standards, the JLA was revolutionary in a comics marketplace where less than 10% of all sales featured costumed adventurers. Not only public imagination was struck by hero teams either. Stan Lee was apparently given a copy of Justice League by his boss and told to do something similar for the tottering comics company he ran – and look what came of that!

‘The World of No Return’ in issue #1 introduced trans-dimensional tyrant Despero to bedevil the World’s Greatest Heroes, and once again the plucky Snapper Carr was the key to defeating the villain and saving the day. The second issue, ‘Secret of the Sinister Sorcerers’, presented an astounding conundrum when the villains of Magic-Land transposed the location of their dimension with Earth’s, causing the Laws of Science to be replaced with the Lore of Mysticism. The true mettle of our heroes was shown when they had to use ingenuity rather than their powers to defeat their foes, and by this time Superman and Batman were allowed a more active part in the proceedings.

Issue #3 introduced the despicable Kanjar Ro who unsuccessfully attempted to turn the team into his personal army in ‘The Slave Ship of Space’, and with the next episode the first of many new members joined the team. Green Arrow saved the day in the science-fiction thriller ‘Doom of the Star Diamond’, but was almost kicked out in #5 as the insidious Doctor Destiny inadvertently framed him ‘When Gravity Went Wild!’

This first deluxe hardcover concludes with ‘The Wheel of Misfortune’ a mystery thriller that introduced the pernicious and persistent master of wild science Professor Amos Fortune, who would return time and again to bedevil many incarnations of the League, and is perhaps their most underrated foe.

These tales are a perfect example of all that was best about the Silver Age of comics, combining optimism and ingenuity with bonhomie and adventure. This slice of better times also has the benefit of cherishing wonderment whilst actually being historically valid for any fan of our medium. And best of all the stories here are still captivating and enthralling transports of delight. This is a glorious “must-have-item” for every fan and thrill-seeker whatever their age.

© 1960, 1961, 1992 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Gail Simone & José Luis Garcia-López (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-732-7

Gail Simone once again proves her sheer class as mainstream comics writer in this compellingly effective epic which was originally serialised in issues #16-21 of JLA: Classified. With the legendary José Luis Garcia López providing his customary magnificent artwork, as always, this tale examines the deadly ramifications when the World’s Greatest Heroes are deputised by the United Nations to remove a despotic General from power in a Third World nation.

By stepping beyond their usual police role the League are susceptible to politics’ oldest power-play. The defrocked dictator uses their actions against them to create a coalition among many equally-dubious regimes. Fearful that the superheroes may be turned upon them next, these nations put the vengeful General Tuzic in charge of all their metahuman and Special Resources.

What follows is a charged and telling drama as the counter-attack of the General threatens the entire world with plague and conquest and that even before his deployment of the uniquely powerful Hypothetical Woman…

Simone has a superb grasp of the dynamics of superhero storytelling and a wonderful ear for dialogue. Coupled with Garcia López’s astounding drawing the result is an old-fashioned “goodies-and baddies” delight. Fans of the form can take comfort that the Good Old Days aren’t quite over yet!

© 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Peter Milligan & Carlos D’Anda (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-733-4

Here’s a short, pithy and fun little adventure that originally appeared in the highly underrated JLA: Classified monthly (issues #37-41, to be precise) from those inventive stalwarts Peter Milligan and Carlos D’Anda.

Frank Halloran is a pretty average guy, at least for Berkeley. But the stressed and testy philosophy student is going through a few changes, so he’s not quite sure how to respond when the Justice League come rampaging through the campus fighting a huge robotic guy dressed in a green bathing suit.

He’s even more nonplussed when the robot comes back later and explains that he/it is Frank’s real father. Frank is in fact an artificial construct of bio-plasm and mechanisms designed to be the next generation Amazo; an android designed to mimic the powers and abilities of the World’s Greatest Superheroes and programmed to do evil…

The themes of teenaged rebellion and isolation are taken to stunning extremes as Frank struggles to overcome his hardwiring and be his own person, but even with all his new abilities he is unaware of the lengths that Amazo has gone to in order to ensure his son follows in his footsteps.

And all the while the Justice League is watching to ensure Frank makes the Right Choice…

Free will and paranoia wrestle in this bizarre and enjoyable coming-of-age tale and casual readers needn’t fear as back-story knowledge requirements are kept to the barest minimum possible. This is light, fun and very pretty …and well worth a little of your time.

© 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Alan Grant & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-84023-449-0 (Softcover) ISBN13: 978-1-5638-9867-9 (hardback)

The Justice League franchise lends itself to a lot of different interpretations, but this peculiar jam-session, taking its lead from the world fantasy boom triggered by the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, is perhaps one of the wildest.

Elfin Robin Drake, son of a dead hero, lives in the idyllic village of Haven and simply wants to marry his sweetheart and live a long life. But when the arachnoid seer The Riddler prophecies the return of The Beast his old life vanishes forever in flame and blood and a sea of devils.

One generation ago a monstrous evil conjured by a wizard nearly destroyed The World and only the entire force of the united Kingdoms and great heroism defeated it. Now those kingdoms are at each other’s throats and Robin must gather and reunite them if they are to have any chance against an evil that apparently cannot die.

This is a rather formulaic saga-quest, given a boost by the character designs of Michael Kaluta, with the painted artwork parcelled out amongst Andrew Robinson, Hermann Mejia, Carl Critchlow, Alex Horley, Liam McCormick Sharpe, Martin T Williams, Glenn Fabry, Doug Alexander Gregory, Rafael Garres, Jon Foster, Saverio Tenuta, Jim Murray, John Watson, Gregg Staples and Simon Davis. Some of Kaluta’s designs are also included at the back.

Although not to everyone’s taste – and certainly not mine – this tale is full of wizards and heroes, and the fantasy analogues of the World’s Greatest Superheroes ranges from inspired to just plain daft, but all concerned give it their creative best and as such tales go it really isn’t as bad as it could be. You could do much worse. Professor Dumbledore’s School for Gifted Mutants; any takers?

© 2001 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Christopher Moeller (DC Comics)
ISBN 1-84023-575-6

This slight but satisfying fantasy romp is actually a Wonder Woman vehicle with the rest of the World’s Greatest Superheroes reduced to the roles of bit-players and hostages for the body of the action but is still nonetheless a pretty good blend of angst and adventure, and well leavened with some fine tongue-in-cheek comedy touches.

In 1348AD the last Dragon is defeated by Christian Knights and the modern Age of Man begins. But the Queen Wyrm is not dead, and sleeps beneath the Swiss Alps until awakened by Gnomes, whom she subjects to her will as she plans to devastate the Earth.

After a busy tour of duty with her fellow Justice Leaguers, Princess Diana returns to Greece for a break and hears a prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi. The mystic seer declares the menace of the last Dragon and warns that it will be defeated by the JLA – but only at the inevitable cost of their lives. Although the Oracle is never wrong, she can be open to interpretation, so if the team only has one member only one member has to die…

Beautifully painted art and a solid, if not too fresh plot makes this a plain-and-simple fun book to read and the themes, light touches and deft avoidance of continuity means that new readers and old fans can enjoy this modern fairy tale equally.

© 2000 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Jim Krueger, Alex Ross & Doug Braithwaite (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-630-6

The Big Finale to the epic battle between the Super Powers of the DC universe reveals the dastardly master-plan of Lex Luthor and the alien computer intelligence Brainiac as the resurgent heroes – each clad in personalised Battle Armour (Gotta Collect ‘Em All!) – go into concerted action to save the world not just from the depredations of the desperate villains but also the now real imminent threat of nuclear destruction.

Thrilling and sumptuously fulfilling it should nevertheless have been with us a lot sooner in this overlong and meanderingly padded tale that comes so close to being great comics but instead looks like a wish list for a toy-factory or DC Direct.

I truly understand that it’s a tough commercial world and that lots of fans love the toys, gadgets, statues and what-nots that are part-and-parcel of modern comics publishing. I just worry that when peripherals begin to dictate the content of your product then you have a product that’s no longer able to sustain itself.

In this case that translates into three superb creators spending a lot of time getting it almost right, but failing to make the kind of magic that inspired them to get into the business in the first place… and surely that’s a long term goal comics can’t afford to lose or forsake?

© 2007 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Jim Krueger, Alex Ross & Doug Braithwaite (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-444-9

Warning: This is the middle part of one long story. It has no beginning and it doesn’t end here.

With the superheroes compromised and defeated, the lesser heroes of the DC Universe come into play as the triumphant villains divvy up their spoils. As the forces of good begin their fight back it becomes increasingly clear that Lex Luthor and Brainiac have their own agenda, and that it doesn’t include their erstwhile allies and pawns. Also, the supremely insane Joker is loose and he’s very unhappy about being excluded from the alliance of villains…

Once again this volume includes additional artwork, illustrated fact-files on the huge cast of characters and some of Doug Braithwaite’s pencilled pages before Alex Ross applied colours. Justice was originally published as a twelve issue maxi-series (this volume collects issue #5-8).

Visually spectacular, in story-terms this overly complex and convoluted tale falls far short of the halcyon material it references, possibly because the target audience is assumed to be too mature for the clear-cut simplicity of those child-friendly days and tales. There’s also a little too much of the Toys, Action Figures and Collectables catalogue about the whole affair, for my liking.

© 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

By Jim Krueger, Alex Ross & Doug Braithwaite (DC Comics)
ISBN13: 978-1-84576-350-3

Set outside of regular DC continuity (which is much easier to do since 52 and Countdown I suppose) this tale begins with dreams of Nuclear Armageddon and the failure of Earth’s heroes to save the world. These dreams plague many of Earth’s super-villains, and overcoming a natural distrust of each other they unite under Lex Luthor to finally overcome their arch-enemies.

Not only do they hunt down and deal with Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League, but they also begin a public charm offensive, whilst changing the world in ways the heroes never have. As the deserts are made to bloom, the crippled cured and the hungry fed, the world is oblivious to the fact that their erstwhile heroes are being brutally murdered…

This first volume also contains additional artwork, illustrated fact-files on the huge cast of characters and some of Doug Braithwaite’s pencilled pages before Alex Ross applied his magic brushes.

Ross’s faux-realist painting style has carved him a unique place in modern comics and led to a number of high-profile successes. This latest project, a twelve issue maxi-series (this volume collects issue #1-4), is a tribute to the big Goodies Vs. Baddies sagas of his own childhood, both in 1970s DC Comics and also the animated Super-Friends and Challenge of the Super-Friends TV shows.

Although a beautiful and visually compelling series it could have greatly benefited from a little of the clear, clean simplicity of those long-ago stories. And while I’m kvetching, I can’t see any benefit to the faithful readership, let alone any new fans, to collect the series into three expensive hardback editions when it could comfortably and handily fit into one. If we keep treating product as artefact we’ll stop being a popular or mass medium and become just another clique market like Collector Plates or Toby Jugs…

© 2006 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved

 

By Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, Al Gordon & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-039-9

The follow-up volume (see Vol 1) of the (then) All-New, All-Hilarious Justice League completes the year long story-arc that introduced businessman and 1980’s archetype Max Lord, who reshaped the World’s greatest super-team for his own mysterious purposes.

The stories themselves (Justice League Annual #1 and issues #8-12 of the monthly comic book) are taken from a period when the major comics publishers were first developing the marketing strategies of the “Braided Mega-Crossover Event” – basically a story involving every publication in a company’s output, for a limited time period – so a compilation like this perforce includes adventures that seem confusing because there are “middles” with no beginnings or endings. In this case the problem is deftly solved by inserting (mercifully) brief text pages explaining what’s happened elsewhere. It also doesn’t hurt that being a comedy-adventure, plot isn’t as vital as character and dialogue in this instance.

‘Germ Warfare’ from the annual, is drawn by Bill Willingham and inked by Dennis Janke, P. Craig Russell, Bill Wray, R. Campanella, Bruce Patterson and Dick Giordano. It is an uncharacteristically grim horror tale involving inhuman sacrifice and sentient Germ-warfare. It is followed by ‘A Moving Experience’, where the heroes take possession of their various new UN embassy buildings, possibly one of the funniest single stories in American comic book history.

‘Seeing Red’ is the first of two episodes forming part of the Millennium crossover alluded to above. Broadly, the Guardians of the Universe are attempting to create the next stage of human evolution, and their robotic enemies the Manhunters want to stop them. The heroes of Earth are asked to protect the Chosen Ones, but the robots have sleeper agents hidden among the friends and acquaintances of every hero on the planet. Millennium was DC’s first weekly mini-series, so the monthly schedule of the other titles meant that a huge amount happened in the four weeks between their own tied-in issues: for example…

The Rocket Red attached to the JLI is in fact a Manhunter, who first tries to co-opt then destroy the team with an oil refinery, but by the second part, ‘Soul of the Machine,’ the team are in space attacking the Manhunter home planet as part of a Green Lantern strike force. Nevertheless, the story is surprising coherent, and the all-out action is still well-leavened with superbly banter and hilarity.

The volume ends by resolving all the mysteries of the first year by exposing the secret mastermind behind the League’s reformation. With ‘Constructions!’ and ‘Who is Maxwell Lord?’ the series comes full circle, the whacky humour proves to have been the veneer over a sharp and subtle conspiracy plot worthy of the classic team, the action kicks into high gear and the characters are seen to have evolved from shallow, if competent buffoons into a tightly knit team of world-beating super-stars – but still pretty darned addicted to buffoonery.

Great art, superb action and a light touch mark this series as a lost classic. Read these and agitate for further compilations to be released.

© 1987, 1992 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.