I've been reading DC Comics since I first started reading comics (in the early '60s), and I've had different "favorites" over the years, including The Flash, Green Lantern, Adam Strange and Hawkman - but the book I've probably enjoyed the most for the longest time is the Justice League of America.
The team was based on the original Justice Society group from the 1940s, during an interview I asked Julius Schwartz why they changed "Society" to "League." He told me that the old term was outdated, but that kids were familiar with the term "League" from sports - there were football leagues, baseball leagues, etc.
Whatever the name, the idea of gathering all the biggest superheroes into a "knights of the round table" gathering was a hit - and a great bargain for kids, since you got so many heroes in one comic.
This issue was the one that really knocked it out of the park for me. (The picture here is of my actual copy, which was obviously read and re-read into tatters.)
The story brings together the JSA and the JLA - heroes of two versions of the world (Earth-1 and Earth-2) for the first time, although the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick) had crossed over with the Earth-1 Flash (Barry Allen) before this.
To young readers, here was a treasure trove of "new" heroes to meet - and yes, as a kid I had no trouble understanding the idea of a parallel Earth (it was an old science fiction trope, after all), and it just added more depth to DC's arsenal.
Eventually I would become more of a fan of Marvel's comics, and my old DC favorites would fall by the wayside - but the JLA never faltered, and I kept buying it until... well, actually, I'm still buying it.
This issue was a pivotal event in DC's history - and for this young reader.
I'll keep reading this one until it returns to the dust.
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Grade: A
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