Comments on justice league of america: JLA Satellite Interview with Gerry Conway

"but that's partly why i'm stopping with this seri...

2008-07-24T07:29:00.000-04:00

"but that's partly why i'm stopping with this series' final issue--the subsequent JLA books, as good they are/were/could sometimes be--are different books. there will only be one, original JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA title, and it ended with #261."

Any "argument" I might have offered Rob to continue just got defeated. Total agreement there buddy, total agreement there.

>>I think that another blog reader lives in my are...

2008-07-23T19:34:00.000-04:00

>>I think that another blog reader lives in my area because as soon as you review the issues, they disappear at the LCS.<<

wow, that's weird. shouldn't i be getting a kickback or something?

hatter, you mentioned something that's always been significant to me, for whatever reason--to me, as a kid and still to this day, starting a book over at #1 has huge psychic meaning to me. as a kid, i HATED when books were re-started, luckily by the time DC and Marvel started restarting nearly every title i was past the age where it really bothered me.

but that's partly why i'm stopping with this series' final issue--the subsequent JLA books, as good they are/were/could sometimes be--are different books. there will only be one, original JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA title, and it ended with #261.

Very insightful interview as always. It was inte...

2008-07-23T18:57:00.000-04:00

Very insightful interview as always. It was interesting to learn some of the "behind the scenes" goings on of the JLA at that time. Thanks again for all your time and effort in doing this for us (and yourself).

Sadly, during the 70s I lived in a "Marvel Comics town" which meant that DC comics were hard to come by. My personal back issue collection is very very limited. Thanks to your reviews, I feel like collecting these stories, but unfortunately I think that another blog reader lives in my area because as soon as you review the issues, they disappear at the LCS.

Sad that this blog will end, but I am an avid Aquashrine reader also. This original series will always be the one that I will go back to as THE JLA. The cartoon was a nostalgic nod to this earlier incarnation, and I found myself enjoying it quite a bit.

My family eventually moved, and I was able to pick up the entire Detroit era, but the art on the later issues was really not attractive to me at the time, so it was always a bittersweet moment for me to read the new issues. I also collected the JL, JLI, and JLE thanks to their newfound availability, but I never quite felt attached to them. The 90s era was also a big disappointment for me, and I'm really getting tired of a series starting over with a new #1 each decade. I do have to admit though that the current creative team on JLA has me hanging on every new issue, and I'm feeling that old nostalgia again.

"And you can't just throw out the fact that you're...

2008-07-23T18:22:00.000-04:00

"And you can't just throw out the fact that you're gonna start up a new blog focusing on another JLAer without giving us SOME clue it it'll be!"

bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

well, if all goes to plan, it will debut in october, it will be lesser in length than JLA, and, as far as i know, they don't have a blog devoted to them...yet.

Great stuff! I always love reading the "behind the...

2008-07-23T18:14:00.000-04:00

Great stuff! I always love reading the "behind the scenes" things that went on in the comics I read as a child. I was never really a fan of the Detroit JLA, but I do remember it being cool that Aquaman was finally taking a more prominent role in the group. Thanks for arranging that interview!

Redundant Man says, "Great interview, Rob." Wish ...

2008-07-23T18:09:00.000-04:00

Redundant Man says, "Great interview, Rob." Wish I had something more substantial to add.

And you can't just throw out the fact that you're gonna start up a new blog focusing on another JLAer without giving us SOME clue it it'll be!

Thanks for doing this, Rob! The interviews here a...

2008-07-23T17:33:00.000-04:00

Thanks for doing this, Rob! The interviews here are always a cool bonus!

That Conway wanted to change the book back to its old format after only a few months is STARTLING to me. I've always thought of him as the big booster for the Detroit JLA, because, hey, he co-created the team. I always thought it was odd that he wrote the book for years one way, and then did a big about-face & changed the format.

I now think part of the reason the Detroit experiment failed is because the JLA format was much more set in place. The Avengers lineup change happened in issue #16, pretty early on in the life of the book. Cast shakeups became a part of the Avengers tradition. But the JLA had more of a steady evolution of 20+ years -- the occasional member came on or left, but the core of the group stayed the same. I think this change was maybe too radical for the hardcore JLA fans to accept. I confess, it still doesn't feel like the JLA to me unless most of the original 7 are featured. Not to say that some of those other JLAs aren't entertaining, but that's just the core concept of the book, IMO.

Thanks to Gerry Conway for the intereview and all the great comics over the years! I agree with you on JLA #200, Rob. I'd love to see Conway come back and write some JLA for old time's sake!

Thanks Rob(and Gerry!) for a great interview! I'll...

2008-07-23T12:18:00.000-04:00

Thanks Rob(and Gerry!) for a great interview! I'll be exploring Gerry's blog later.
Gerry answered most of the questions I had about the creative process of the Detroit League. Interesting to discover that his second stint on the book apparently had a lot more internal creative issues. Certainly explains why Aquaman's departure didn't play very well in print, and why the 'reserve' status of the older memebers seemed so nebulous.
Gerry's comparing the Detroit League to the first revamp of the Avengers makes a lot of sense. I actually thought it was when the League LEFT Detroit after only a year(# 246) that the book really went downhil. Clearly, by that time, Conway must have thought so, too. Thanks to Gerry for his honesty, and willingness to discuss both the high and low points of his JLA work!
Again, great work, Rob!

Nice interview. I agree on JLA #200, that was a h...

2008-07-23T12:13:00.000-04:00

Nice interview. I agree on JLA #200, that was a huge part of shaping my understanding of comics as a kid.

thanks for your comments, everybody.i think i've g...

2008-07-23T10:25:00.000-04:00

thanks for your comments, everybody.

i think i've gotten better at interviewing, and like butch said i like to ask questions that i as a reader would want to know, but also ask stuff interesting for the subjects to answer (hence, no "why did superman use his telescopic vision on pg 6 when clearly his x-ray vision would have been more effective?" questions)

and butch, well, there's always the aquaman shrine, that will go on as close to forever as i can approximate.

and if the shrine doesn't do it for you, well, i do have another blog coming up that focuses solely on one JLA member. it will debut later in 2008.

seeing how well this JLA blog has worked, i've gotten more into the idea of "limited series" blogs--focusing on one character or series, doing my best to examine it/them, and then moving on.

Let me add to the Good Job Rob club and it was int...

2008-07-23T09:58:00.000-04:00

Let me add to the Good Job Rob club and it was interesting. I have to admit to being envious of you Rob, all these greats you get to meet and ask questions to. And you do it well, you ask the questions that (at least THIS fanboy) a fanboy would like to ask but they go beyond that and are intelligent. Very nice of Mr Conway to agree to your request. Thanks to him.

Now on a side note, when you finish the run what am I going to read in the morning when I get into work? (and that is meant in the nice, good way :) )

Great info Rob, good job on the interview man. Th...

2008-07-23T09:20:00.000-04:00

Great info Rob, good job on the interview man. This was really interesting!

Wow! Great interview, man! I always thought Gerry ...

2008-07-23T09:06:00.000-04:00

Wow! Great interview, man! I always thought Gerry Conway was trying to shy away from his comic writing past, but apparently I was wrong.

Wow, great interview, Rob! I've always liked Gerry...

2008-07-23T08:30:00.000-04:00

Wow, great interview, Rob! I've always liked Gerry Conway's writing, and now it seems like I would like him as a person, too!

Cool.

2008-07-23T06:07:00.000-04:00

Cool.