Justice League of America #21 - What I Saved

 

   (Continuing the series about the comics I kept when I recently sold a large part of my collection.)

   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 He told me that the old term was outdated, but that kids were familiar with the term "League" from sports - there were football leagues, baseball leagues, etc.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

   

   

   

Justice League of America #144 - Classic Comics

     The team's first appearance in The Brave and the Bold in 1960 neglected to include an origin, something issue #9 of the Justice League of America (in 1962) finally resolved - or did it? 

   Jump all the way to 1977 for the team's real origin, in one of my all-time favorite issues of the JLA.

   Writer Steve Englehart's stay at DC Comics was short but stunning as he crafted some of the all-time best stories for both the JLA and Batman (in Detective Comics). 

   This issue was a love letter to fans of DC's Silver Age, because it managed to guest star almost every hero in DC's comics at the time. 

   One must assume that artist Dick Dillin (a vastly-underrated work horse who turned in an amazing 12 years drawing the JLA) must've fainted when he read the script, loaded with every hero under the sun circa 1959!

   The story has the Martian Manhunter revealing the true origin of the team - and the reason why it was kept a secret. It follows an alien attack on the Earth that draws the attention of - well, everyone. 

   To be specific: Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter, the Blackhawks, the Challengers of the Unknown, Congorilla, Robotman, Plastic Man, the Vigilante, Rex the Wonder Dog, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen!

   They split into teams to search for the menace - and the story that unfolds is both surprising and touching (and we'll not spoil it here). 

   Doing a retcon like this is a tricky bit of business, but Englehart was a master of such tales - and the whole issue is just a delight for long-time fans.

   And here we'll stop with the origins of the JLA. There would be more updates in the future, spinning out of the Crisis on Infinite Earths series and later reality-changing events, until the "New 52" tossed it all out for yet another fresh start.

   But this is "my" origin for the JLA - a story with heart and humor and heroes aplenty!

Grade: A+

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Justice League of America #9 - Classic Comics

   In our last post we talked about the first appearance of the Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28 - but though it was the team's first adventure, it did not explain their origin.

   Of course, in the early '60s there wasn't much concern about continuity - they were focused on delivering a monthly adventure to fill each issue.

    But two years after that first appearance, the powers that be must have tired of those pesky fan letters and finally delivered the origin of the team. 

   The team gathers at their secret headquarters (in a cozy cave somewhere) where, at Snapper Carr's request, they recount their first meeting exactly three years ago.

   Each member encounters a strange alien creature, who are fighting a war - with Earth as their battleground - in hopes of winning the throne on a distant planet. Each alien plans to transform Earth creatures into forms that mimic their biology - so the heroes must battle creatures made of stone, fire, wood, glass, diamond, mercury, and a giant yellow bird (?). 

   It's all pretty strange, and the heroes must face the creatures first singly, and then as a team. It's surprising how brutal the heroes are - after all, these are apparently alien forms, not robots - and more than one creature is destroyed by a League member.

   But let's not get caught up in the details - it's mostly a fun and imaginative series of challenges and puzzles for the League to face - oh, and Superman gets to deliver a classically bad joke. 

   Something I hadn't noticed before is: who actually names the League? I'll spoil this one point, as Batman suggests they form "a club or society" (a nice nod to their Golden Age predecessors), but it's the Flash who suggests, "A League against evil! Our purpose will be to uphold justice..."

   So there you go, the origin of the team is explained. They even sing "Happy Birthday" to the team at the end (like ya do). 

   But... that's still not the real origin of the team. We'll explain that... tomorrow.

Grade: A-

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The Brave and the Bold #28 - Classic Comics

   Although I've been reading comics for a long time, this issue predates my comics reading days (I was just 4 years old in 1960), but it's still one of my all-time favorites (I have it in more than one reprint version).

   The Brave and the Bold #28 marked the first appearance ever of the Justice League of America, and some 30 years later I had the chance to interview editor Julius Schwartz and I asked him why they changed the name of the team from the Golden Age version, the Justice Society of America.

   He said that they thought "Society" was too old-fashioned, but all kids knew what a "League" was, thanks to sports like the National Football League - so they went with that.

   Superman and Batman manage just the briefest of cameos in this first outing as they're off on other adventures, so the job of dealing with the powerful Starro (an alien starfish) falls to Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter (with help from Snapper Carr). 

   It's a fun issue that would serve as the template for JLA adventures for years (and decades) to come - the heroes face danger as individuals or small groups, then join together at the end for their ultimate victory.

   Snapper Carr is the obligatory kid sidekick, but despite his annoying speech pattern (to be fair, it was annoying in the '60s, too), he actually plays an important part in this story (if by accident). 

   Writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky are not always treated kindly by reviewers - but they managed to create fanciful, entertaining adventures with a small army of characters, stories always told with great skill and (this is much more important than most realize) they were on schedule - and there's an ability some modern creators could stand to learn.

   They brought a lot of joy my way as I grew up reading these adventures, and was I glad to finally read this issue in reprint a few years after it was originally published - even though it's not actually the first adventure of the JLA.

   How can that be? We'll talk about that in the next post.

Grade: A

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Justice League of America & Batman 100-Page Comic Giant #1

   There's a new source for comics in town!

   Starting this week, Wal-Mart has started distribution of four "new" monthly titles from DC Comics, each one sort of a throwback to the 100-Page Spectaculars so fondly remembered by longtime fans.

    They're apparently popular - I stopped by my local store and managed to pick up the last issue of both Justice League of America 100-Page Comic Giant and the issue dedicated to Batman - which means I've missed out on the issues starring Superman and Wonder Woman the Teen Titans.

   Like the classic versions, each issue is mostly reprints - but they're not "classic" reprints. They're actually reprints of the first "New 52" comics. The JLA issue includes the first Justice League "New 52" issue, the first Flash story, and the first Aquaman. 

   There is a new 12-page story included that features Wonder Woman and it's nice enough - but I admit, as a longtime reader, I was hoping for a wider range of reprints.

The Batman issue also includes a new 12-page story - this one featuring Batman, natch  - along with a reprint of the first issue of the beloved Hush series by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, and the first "New 52" issues starring Nightwing and Harley Quinn.

   At $4.99 a pop, you're getting a good bargain for your money - unless you already have those original stories, in which case it's a lot for a 12-page story.

   The trick, of course, is finding the comics. Happy hunting!

Grade: A-

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Justice League of America: The Atom Rebirth #1

   As a longtime fan of the Atom, I was glad to see him getting the Rebirth treatment - heck, I'm just glad to see him in a comic, period.

   Apparently he's going to be a member of the upcoming Justice League of America title (in some capacity), so DC is rolling out a series of one-shots focusing on the team's lineup.

   This isn't an origin story - not quite, anyway. It follows Ray Palmer, the scientist who created the shrinking process and the Atom costume, and it brings back (thankfully) Ryan Choi as his working partner / lab assistant / possible successor.

   And that's about all you get here - an introduction to both men, and a possible setup for the first JLA adventure.

   I was really hoping for much more - this issue just offers some backstory for those who came in late.

   For those of us who've been here a while, there's nothing new here.

   Darn it.

Grade: B-

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Justice League of America #10

   This was a series I expected to love - and this Bryan Hitch written and drawn version of the Justice League of America certainly started out strong - but it sputtered, fell way behind schedule and, with this issue, finally limps across the finish line.
 
   How late is it? It's been almost 17 months since the first issue appeared, and more than three months since the last one. (Not to mention the fill-in, cover-the-missed-deadline issue.)

   As a result, it's hard to remember the story points. As best as I can manage, the Kryptonian god Rao came to Earth promising to cure all ills - and he delivered, healing the sick, ending poverty and hunger, and so on.

   Of course, there's a secret agenda at work, and it soon became apparent that he was threatening all life on Earth.

   There were side stories, with the League split up and tackling different problems - and somehow Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) winds up on ancient Krypton, where he meets a younger Rao - and the entire planet is transported to our modern-day galaxy, where an army of 250,000 super-powered warriors threaten to destroy the Earth. Oh, and modern day Rao still plans his own brand of destruction.

   And on and on. The art in this final issue is by Tom Derrick, Daniel Henriquez and Scott Hanna, all doing a creditable imitation of Hitch's unique, larger-than-life style.

   With Hitch writing the new (regular) Justice League comic, this series was wrapped up with Tony Bedard providing the script - and it's a creditable job.

   But the series just became too big and too convoluted to end well - so we can be happy that we finally did get an ending. Thanks for that, DC.

   And I still think this was a great concept - a series using the top DC stars, placed outside of regular continuity (so no pesky problems with losing a star to some overarching story), written and drawn by one of the industry's top creators.

   It should have worked! But meeting those deadlines and keeping the story focused are vital parts of the equation.

   Maybe next time!

Grade: B-

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Justice League of America #9

   How far behind schedule is this issue of Justice League of America?

   The cover gives it away (well, the alternate cover) - it's obviously intended to promote the Batman v Superman movie.

   Fact is, it's been five months since the last issue of (what has presumably become) this limited series.

   The problem with that, of course, is remembering where we are in the rambling, larger-than-life story.

   We have the visit of a seemingly-benevolent Kryptonian god who turns out to be more interested in tapping into the life force of his followers than actually helping people. We have the JLA scattered across time and space, each fighting their own fights (and in one case, losing their life in the process). We have some powerful cosmic stones and a few other mysteries to unravel.

   This chapter moves the story along a bit, includes some terrific art by artist / writer Bryan Hitch, and has nothing to do with that cover over there.

   It's a solid issue and I'm enjoying the story (what I can recall of it), but I hope it all wraps up during my lifetime.

Grade: B+

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Justice League of America #7

    Six issues in (don't let the number on the cover fool you) and this Bryan Hitch written-and-drawn series continues to percolate nicely.

   It features the Justice League of America fighting an impossible fight against a god-like figure of incredible power. The story mingles in some mythology, time travel and the early history of the planet Krypton.

   And just when you think Hitch is just lifting freely from Childhood's End, he gives it a different spin - and a surprising sequence at the end of the issue.

   The art, of course, is tremendous - both for the fresh and heroic characters and the incredible settings.

   So far, this has been a strong series (missed issue aside), and it's great to see the "classic" team (with Cyborg replacing the Martian Manhunter) unencumbered by continuity concerns - just like the classic series!

Grade: A-

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Justice League of America #6

      After last issue's fill-in issue, it's nice to see Bryan Hitch back in the saddle, writing and drawing this ever-growing story about the Kryptonian god Rao and his attempts to change the Earth.

   Of course, the Justice League of America figure out that this would-be savior isn't all he seems - but they're scattered across time and space, and there are many mysteries to solve.

   As always, the art is "wide screen" with some amazing, powerful sequences.

   The story's still a bit of a slog - we can see where it's heading (more or less), but it seems to keep veering off-course, as we duck down side alleys. (Why is the Flash in 1961? Why the attack on Olympus?)

   Of course, it might all pull together by the end - but there are lots of loose threads to gather.

   Oh, and ignore that cover - there's no Batman in this story.

Grade: B+

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The Classics - Justice League of America #9

   The Justice League of America first appeared in 1960 as a tryout in Brave and the Bold #28 - it was another reboot effort from DC, bringing back the classic Justice Society of America team.

   But editor Julius Schwartz didn't like the word "Society" - in an interview with him in the late 1980s, he told me that kids didn't know what a "Society" was - but they knew what a "League" was, thanks to the National Football League and Little League - so he made that change.

   So they created the JLA, and the team soon graduated into its own title. But there was something Schwartz, writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky forgot: an origin story!

   The first issue doesn't bother to mention how the team was formed - it simply existed.

   So nine issues into the regular series, they corrected the oversight by telling honorary member / sidekick Snapper Carr (and new member Green Arrow) the story of how they first gathered.

   The flashback starts with individual adventures, as each hero encounters a different alien that crash-lands in a meteor - each alien is made of a different substance, including stone, glass, mercury, and wood! The creatures were sent to Earth to wage war - against each other!

   The aliens try to build an army by converting the local animals into matching substances, but the individual heroes manage to stop them - until they converge on another meteor, and they're all transformed into walking trees!

   It's interesting that the story focused on the five "secondary" heroes - Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter. Superman and Batman are included, but only make a cameo of sorts at the end, though Superman manages to contribute a classically bad pun.

   Superman confronts a diamond creature, and using super-pressure he converts it back to coal. Snapper is puzzled - Superman typically could turn coal into diamond with super-pressure - so how did he reverse the process? Superman replies, "Quite simply, Snapper... I simply rubbed the Diamond being -- the wrong way!"

   (Well, I laughed.)

   As the heroes gather at the end of the adventure, Batman suggests they form a club or society. Flash adds, "A League against evil!"

   But there's actually another origin for the JLA - in the late '70s, writer Steve Englehart created a terrific addition to the mythos - but that's a review for another day!

Grade: A-

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Justice League of America #5

   I'm throwing the B.S. flag on this issue.

   The Justice League of America series was established as a showcase for the art and story by Bryan Hitch.

   But instead of the continuation of the story he's telling, this month we get a fill-in issue!

   When I saw it at the comics shop I thought I had picked up the wrong issue. This issue barely contains any JLA at all - it's all about the Martian Manhunter tracking down a killer alien.

   Rather than guiding us to picking up the new comic series featuring that character, this issue should convince anyone to stay far away.

   DC long ago ruined J'onn J'onzz as a character, changing him from the powerful, good-hearted founding member of the JLA and making him a grim, relentless engine of destruction who looks and acts strangely - they apparently don't want you to sympathize with him or, you know, actually like him.

   Here he fights a brutal alien who tears flesh and splashes blood around in a fashion that should warm the heart of any horror fan - but the violence will leave many superhero fans (like me) cold, and it's definitely not an issue for kids.

   The art is good (bloodletting aside), but the story is weak, even for a fill-in issue.

   My advice: if you don't have Bryan Hitch work to publish, then don't print the next issue until you do.

Grade: D+

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Justice League of America #4

   This issue of Bryan Hitch's Justice League of America is reassuring.

   Up to this point, the story of the arrival on Earth of the Kryptonian "god" Rao has been following standard science fiction tropes: the visiting alien seems to be benevolent, solving all mankind's ills - but he (it?) actually has an underlying scheme.

   But the members of the JLA finally start unraveling the mystery here, and the secrets have some interesting twists to them - so I feel a bit better that this isn't going to be the "same old" take.

   Maybe.

   Hitch's art is impressive as always, with Daniel Hernriques providing the inks. A few pages are almost too much (what is going on in that lab on page two?), but, perhaps, better too much than not enough.

   So I'm cautiously optimistic that the story is going to new and interesting places. Certainly that last page has upped the ante.

Grade: A-

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Justice League of America #3

   There's a lot to love about this new series (and a few things to not be so crazy about).

   Under writer / artist Bryan Hitch, we're seeing the "real" Justice League of America - which is to say, a team that, like the original version of the team, is absolutely unencumbered by continuity concerns.

   The original "New 52" cast is in place - who cares if Batman is now someone else in an exoskeleton? Or if Green Lantern is off world? Or Superman is back to wearing jeans and a T-shirt?

   None of that impacts this series, which apparently operates away from day-to-day continuity. Good for them!

   The art is very impressive, as Hitch (with inker Daniel Henriques) manages to create amazing panoramas, loaded with a cast of (literal) hundreds. The character designs are spot on, and the environments are incredible. Dramatic layouts, stunning actions sequences - there's a lot going on here.

   The only stumbling block is the story, and the only real problem there is the decompressed storytelling. We have the Earth being visited by a godlike being who seems to be curing the world's ills - but there's an undercurrent that leads the reader to believe that all is not well.

   This issue kicks off with the Flash and Green Lantern being hurled through a wormhole / Boom Tube / whatever into another world - and I have to admit I don't remember why that's happening. (Though I love seeing those two team up again, if just briefly - it's like old times!)

   But then Flash disappears, and Batman is doing... something, and Wonder Woman is stranded... and it's difficult to see how it all fits together.

   It's all playing out on a big stage, and it's pretty compelling - but we're going to have to be patient to see how it all fits together.

   Still, I'm enjoying this stand-alone series. I just hope the story catches up to the level of the art.

Grade: A-

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Justice League of America #2

   It takes a big opponent to match up to the Justice League of America, and the team may face such a challenge in the form of a Kryptonian god, Rao.

   But as this issue progresses, the threat seems to be non-existent.

   Rao's followers heal illness and offer to bring the Earth into a new era of peace and love (it's all so 1960s)!

   Of course, we've heard this story before - aliens pretend to be good but they're not - and all is (apparently) not as it seems. As the issue begins, three members of the team are missing - and Superman seems to be behaving out of character.

   It's not a bad story at all, it's just a well-worn concept. It's interesting to see how the heroes (and supporting cast) react to the implications of a deity on Earth, and Bryan Hitch the writer is redeemed by the excellent work of Bryan Hitch the artist.

   He fills the pages with stunning, larger-than-life images, and oh, that last page is amazing.

   So, two issues in and this series is still impressive (though not perfect) - and it'll be interesting to see where it all goes from here.

Grade: A-

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Justice League of America #1

   Bryan Hitch has been one of the industry's hottest artists for years, but only in recent years has he actively tackled writing.

   His specialty is the wide-screen, larger than life adventure, which is a perfect fit for his amazingly detailed, hyper-realistic style (which owes a lot to Neal Adams).

   He delivers that in spades in his first writer / artist effort for DC, as they create a new Justice League of America title just for him.

   And it certainly pays off!

   Operating outside that pesky thing known as continuity, he focuses on the primary team (as established since the "New 52)  - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Cyborg.

   The first half of the book actually feels more like a Superman comic, but that opening sequence is stunning - if you haven't seen Hitch's work before, it'll show you why he's considered the master of stunning visuals.

   This is an oversized issue, which gives him room to run with wild action sequences, a mysterious (and potentially catastrophic) threat, and great interaction between the team members.

   This is just the beginning, and it's impressive. We would expected the art to be outstanding, but the story also has several great hooks in there, puzzles to sort out, and shocking revelations.

   It's a series that takes advantage of the larger-than-life playing field Hitch's work is suited for.

   Impressive!

Grade: A

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