justice league of america

Justice League of America #10 Ad - Jan. 1962

2012-02-05T01:18:00.002-05:00

I found this full-page promo in a contemporary issue of Aquaman; I never get tired of finding "new" JLA ads!

The New Teen Titans #4 - Feb. 1981

2012-02-01T00:03:00.000-05:00

The New Teen Titans face off against...The Justice League of America?!?

The Story: "Against All Friends!" by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, and Romeo Tanghal.

This issue opens 22,300 miles in geosynchronous orbit above Metropolis, where some members of the Justice League of America are gearing up for trouble:

Three magical beings see the JLA approach, and fire a series of blasts at them, knocking them off their feet (metaphorically) for the moment. Some sort of gag appears over Zatanna's mouth, preventing her from casting a spell. Green Lantern attempts a direct assault, but a voice yells out, telling him to stop!

It's the voice of Raven, demanding that the JLA let the sorcerers perform their ritual. Green Lantern refuses, and tries to cage Raven, but she escapes. The three sorcerers expel even more energy, knocking the JLA out. Raven then disappears, transporting to another faraway, fantastical world. Waiting for her in one of the grand palaces is Raven's mother, who admonishes her daughter for coming here.

Raven's mother tells her she can do nothing to save the Earth, and with a touch sends Raven home, where she awakes:

Raven seems to remember a battle involving The Fearsome Five that none of her teammates can recall, which distresses her. We then see that this is all being watched by the FF, who are, as usual, squabbling among themselves. We learn this is a plot to destroy the JLA and the Titans--by pitting them against each other!

Raven learns that due to the inadvertent efforts of the JLA, the demi-god Trigon will be able to build a bridge to Earth. So Robin declares that the JLA must be stopped--any any cost!

Back at the satellite, the members of the JLA know nothing of any of this, so they aren't quite ready when they receive unexpected visitors:

The Titans watch the JLA disintegrate, but turns out its just an illusion of Raven's, who has put them all in stasis until she can figure all this out. Eventually, the Titans wake up and the JLA rejoins them to fight the three sorcerers. In the melee Trigon is set free, and the whole dimension seems to explode:

Eventually, a bigger truth emerges: that this new team of teen heroes has been formed partly due to lies and the magical influence of Raven, who has been using her powers for what she calls a greater purpose.

The Titans are enraged, and wander off--as does the JLA, leaving Raven alone, screaming to the heavens dire warnings about Triton, who is watching all this with delight. To be continued!

Roll Call: Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, Zatanna

Notable Moments: This story takes place between the two stories in JLA #188 (according to Mike's Amazing World, at least).

It's great seeing the JLA (or some of them, at least) drawn by George Perez, and battling some of their former sidekicks, to boot. Batman clocking Robin in the back of the head with his elbow is particularly wince-inducing...unless you've always thought the Boy Wonder deserved a rap in the head; then it's great.

Since I've made the decision to update this blog occasionally with original JLA content I want to cover, I thought taking a look at this team-up was long overdue. How I ever resisted that cover the first time around I'll never know!

Mystery In Space #75 - May 1961

2012-01-01T09:35:00.006-05:00

A classic tale of the Justice League versus one of its more fearsome foes!

The Story: "The Planet That Came To A Standstill" by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino, and Murphy Anderson.

Out story opens with honorary JLA member Snapper Carr relaying an adventure that starts in deep space:

While Kanjar Ro hatches another plan to defeat the JLA, Adam Strange and Alanna are enjoying themselves on Rann. Soon, though, they find themselves in another scrape, against some invaders atop giant birds!

One of them rings some sort of small crystal, which forces Adam and Alanna hurtling into space, where they are soon caught by the planet's orbit. Thanks to Adam's ingenuity, though, they manage to escape and fall over one of Rann's highest peaks, softening their fall.

Adam and Alanna re-engage the invaders, and pretend to be held captive so they can find out who is behind them--namely, Kanjar Ro! Thanks to Ro's experiments, he is now more powerful than ever, and tests his powers on some JLA duplicates:

Adam and Alanna escape, and Adam comes up with another plan, but one that involves him making a trip back to Earth. Adam grabs Ro's "Slave Ship of Space" and takes it to Earth, leaving it there before the Zeta Beam takes him back to Rann.

The Flash finds the ship, and calls in his JLA pals:

Adam and Alanna spy Kanjar Ro leaving his lab, so Adam grabs Ro's gong and strikes it so hard he paralyzes everyone on Rann, including Ro! Then another Zeta Beam brings Adam back to Earth, leaving his body back to normal (got all that?):

Kanjar Ro manages to defeat each of the JLAers, but is stopped by Adam Strange, who strikes Ro with the gong's mallet. Why does this stop him? Because Strange figured out that its made of metal from his home planet, Dhor, and that it would affect him the way Kryptonite does Superman. Flash is so impressed he thinks to himself "Terrific! I'm going to propose Adam Strange for membership in the Justice League at our next meeting!"

Later, Adam introduces the JLA to Alanna:

...The End!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter

Notable Moments: This story takes place between JLA #s 3 and 4, making it the last appearance of the original seven, in terms of publishing history.

This is a very fun story, but complicated as heck! A bunch of characters, with Adam Strange bouncing back and forth between Rann and Earth like a ping-pong ball. There's so much plot in this issue that if they did this story nowadays, it would take up six issues and be given its own trade paperback.

It was suggested at the time that JLA Satellite.com cover this issue, since its pretty much a direct sequel to issue #3, but I was just starting out and didn't feel the need to take even a momentary diversion into another title (plus I didn't have a copy of the book!). But now that I've decided to bring back this blog every so often, I thought why not start almost at the very beginning of the JLA's career!

Mystery in Space #75 Ad

2011-12-31T11:27:00.002-05:00

Be here tomorrow for the Justice League and Adam Strange in "The Planet That Came To A Standstill!"

Justice League of America #200 30th Birthday!

2011-12-03T00:03:00.002-05:00

Today--December 3--is the 30th birthday of one of my all-time favorite comic books, Justice League of America #200, which hit the stands on December 3, 1981!

Not only is this book one of my all-time favorite comic books, in any genre, but its hands-down my favorite superhero comic, and I put it on my Top 10 list of Greatest Aquaman Stories Ever Told, since it features the Sea King drawn by my all-time favorite Aquaman artist, as well as (IMO) one his finest moments as a superhero.

While I had originally hoped to do an Aquaman 70th Birthday-styled celebratory post, I just couldn't pull it together in time. So I'm settling for this, a re-run of my original post on the book from back in 2008.

At the bottom of the post I added portions of the interviews I did with this book's writer, Gerry Conway, and editor, Len Wein. While talking to Gerry, I tried to remain as professional as possible, but by the end I couldn't help but completely geek out and blabber on about the book, since how many times would I get the chance to talk to the man who wrote it? Also, we have some scans of original JLA #200 art, plus some shots of a very special, one-of-a-kind copy, courtesy of a F.O.A.M. member.

So sit back and enjoy:

"A League Divided" by Gerry Conway, George Perez, Brett Breeding, Pat Broderick, Terry Austin, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Frank Giacoia, Brian Bolland, and Joe Kubert.

Welcome to the 200th issue of Justice League of America!

This mammoth, 72-page anniversary issue opens, after the wonderful three-page origin prologue, with Firestorm, bored out of his mind while on Monitor Duty.

Suddenly, founding member The Martian Manhunter comes smashing through the hull of the satellite!:

Firestorm, not having boned up on JLA history, has no idea who this guy is. At the same time, Manhunter is acting very strangely, even without all the satellite-smashing. He doesn't seem to know that this is the JLA satellite, even though he has been here before.

Firestorm manages to fend off Manhunter for a while, until his inexperience gives Manhunter the chance to knock him out and grab what he's there for--a small green meterorite residing in the JLA Trophy Room.

Minutes later, Firestorm wakes up amid the wreckage, and, not knowing what is going on, sends out a Triple Priority Signal to all members, past and present!

Soon the satellite is filled with JLAers Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Zatanna, and Green Arrow. They inform Firestorm who it was he faced, and alone among them its Green Arrow that seems to know what's going on, and why none of the original members--Superman, Batman, etc.--have answered the distress call!

They quickly figure out that all the original JLAers must be after the Appellax Meteors, relics of the JLA's first case.

Then another face from the past shows up--Snapper Carr! Green Arrow takes charge, breaks up the heroes into teams, ordering Firestorm to stay behind with Snapper. Pwned!

Next we find ourselves at the Indian Ocean:

Cut back to the satellite, where Reddy, unconscious, mysteriously appears from out of nowhere! Firestorm wonders aloud, "How did Reddy get up here, anyway?"

As the book says, "somewhere, a Stranger is smiling. His job is done."

Next we go to Paradise Island, where Zatanna is hoping to stop Wonder Woman before she performs her task:

Unfortunately, the Amazing Amazon beat her there, and Zatanna proves to be no match for her. She gets knocked out by Diana using one of Zee's own spells against her, and she wakes up, hours later, with the Amazons using their curative Purple Ray on her.

Next, in Zimbabwie, a local General receives a phone call, and is a little shocked to see who made the call:

The Atom finds Green Lantern, digging up one of the Appellax meteors. He momentarily knocks GL on his butt, and tries to reason with him, trying to make him remember who he really is.

It seems to be working, except that GL has just been sneaking up on Atom, and traps him with his ring. He grabs the meteor and takes off.

The Atom shrinks beneath the atoms of the ground, and slips out of the bubble, and heads back to the satellite. The Atom chalks up all their defeats to the "edge of experience" the others have, but Red Tornado theorizes that its because the original members are facing unknown opponents, while they are fighting friends.

Over in Italy, The Elongated Man lays in wait for The Flash:

He gets the drop on The Flash, and feels sick about attacking his friend, but like Reddy guessed, the Scarlet Speedster has no such compunctions. One good super-speed punch, and The Flash has accomplished his mission.

Down at the original JLA Sanctuary, the original members start to talk, and can't figure out when all these changes--Wonder Woman's new uniform, the sancutary in ruins, Mars II--occurred.

On the North Carolina coast, Green Arrow joins Black Canary in searching for Batman:

The Batman, of course, gets the drop on both of them, and uses the tight, confined space to his advantage. Green Arrow fires off an arrow, which misses, bounces off a tree, and knocks out Black Canary!

As Green Arrow finds himself handcuffed, he yells at a departing Batman: "You can't do this to me!" To which a smart-ass Batman replies: "I already have."

Canary then wakes up, and Brian Bolland shows off his mastery of distinct facial expressions:

...I love Canary's annoyed, pursed face in panel four. They move on, thinking they've found Batman, but it turns out to be a decoy--Batman, and the Appellax meteor, are gone.

Last is what can only be the result of Hawkman drawing the short straw: he has to take on Superman!:

Hawkman figures Superman can't retrieve the Kryptonite-laden meteor himself, so he isn't surprised when he encounters several Superman robot duplicates instead. But the third one looks a little different--its actually Superman!

One punch, and its all over, ending with Hawkman being hit so hard he drifts into outer space. Superman, using a paper-thin lead alloy suit to cover himself, finds the meteor and heads off.

Hawkman wanders so far into space he hits an oncoming Zeta Beam, and disappears! He is then found by old JLA friend Adam Strange, who calls the JLA and tells them they plan to beam Hawkman back. The Elongated Man, stretching himself farther than he ever has, shoots himself out of an airlock, and retrieves The Winged Wonder.

Meanwhile, at the Secret Sanctuary, the JLAers notice that all the Appellax meteors are glowing, and they eventually explode open, releasing the seven Appellax warriors!

This obliterates the JLAers' amnesia, and they are told, years ago, the Appellax meteors put a post-hypnotic suggestion in them, triggered to go off, just as it did.

The JLAers attack the Apellax warriors, but they find themselves overwhelmed, one by one, until finally there is only Wonder Woman:

...that panel always felt so harsh to me. Yeah, I know Diana is nearly invulnerable, but taking a bunch of crystals to the face like that? Ow.

The Appellax warriors decide to pick up where they left off--that is, to fight one another, to see who will be the leader of their home planet!

Next, we see Batman and his fellow JLAers slowly waking up, but surrounded by their fellow heroes. Apologies are made, the heroes collect themselves, and head out to stop the aliens:

(click to JLAify!)

The massive group of heroes split up into teams, classic Gardner Fox style, and Batman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Zatanna head to Vermont to battle the Wood King, Crystal Creature, and Mercury Monster.

Unlike what defeated them before, the JLAer use teamwork, and after a well-placed Batarang shatters the Crystal Creature, its over.

Next, we go to the Irish Coast, where Aquaman, Elongated Man, Flash, and Red Tornado find the Glass Creature and the Fire Monster. The Flash tries a frontal assault, giving Aquaman the chance to sneak up from behind:

...this is one of my favorite Aquaman sequences of all time. I love the examination of Aquaman's ability to survive in depths that would kill almost anyone else, but holding the Glass Creature by the throat until he shatters into little bits is just hardcore.

In the meantime, Flash, Elongated Man, and Red Tornado take out the Fire Monster--mission accomplished.

Last, in the heart of New York City, The Atom, Firestorm, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter take on The Golden Roc and The Stone Creature.

Lantern pummels the latter into chunks of rock, and The Atom is fired directly into the head of the Golden Roc, giving Manhunter the chance to shatter it with a well-aimed punch. It's all over!

Back at the satellite, Green Lantern and Red Tornado shoot the aliens' remains into the sun, destroying them forever.

Then the three old JLA friends, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, and Snapper Carr take their leave...well, two of them do:

What to say about this issue? Its one of my all-time favorite comic books ever, and certainly my all-time favorite superhero comic, ever.

I love the scope of it, and the fact that Conway took the time to work in as many people from the JLA's past as he could--The Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Snapper Carr, Adam Strange, The Phantom Stranger...

Of course, the one glaring exception is Hawkgirl. Apparently over in the solo Hawkman feature in World's Finest running at the time, Hawkgirl was missing or something, hence her not being here.

As as kid, I loved internal continuity, and having all the characters work in a definable time line. But--in this instance, I wish Conway and whatever other editors would've made the call had forgotten that for a moment, and put Hawkgirl in here. This is the big JLA story, and Shayera definitely should've been included.

The art is of course fantastic--Aparo, Perez, Kubert, Bolland, and lots more, many of them working on their signature characters (Aparo even gets a two-fer). Having Perez do all the linking chapters gives the book a cohesiveness that improbably works, considering all the people involved.

(Fun Fact: The Superman/Hawkman chapter was lettered by The Joe Kubert School, the first time I can remember hearing of such a place. Little did I know I would be a student there, a little less than eight years later.)

As if all this wasn't enough, Gerry Conway gives us a two-page text piece on the history of the team, which is enormous fun. Click here to read it.

I remember buying this comic at the now forgotten-but-not-gone Voorhees Tobacco and News Shop, which had a huge selection of comics, many more than my local 7-11. To that end, I used to beg my Dad as much as I could to take me there.

Like I said, the place is still there:

The copy I have is the same one I bought in Dec. 1981--its beaten up, has brown pages, the binding is held together with high hopes and a lot of scotch tape. Yet if there was ever a fire in the house and I could only save one comic, this would be it.

To me, this book sums up everything that is fun about the world of superhero comics, and what drew me to the Justice League so passionately at such a young age--camaraderie, action, humor, plus a sense of enormous history. Not too long after this, the Crisis would take place, forever putting the DCU I knew and loved into the Past Tense. This book is one glorious 72-page tribute to what made DC so great for so long.

In regards to Aquaman, there was some debate on my JLA blog at the time about how it was disappointing that The Phantom Stranger had to "save" Aquaman from being defeated by Red Tornado, since of course us Aqua-Fans didn't believe Aquaman needed any such help.

And while I can see that point of view, I've always thought that it was worth it to have Jim Aparo draw both Aquaman and The Phantom Stranger again, after distinguished runs on both characters.

Also, Aquaman has, to me, one of his all-time best moments in later in the book, when he grabs the Crystal Apellax alien and crushes him to bits which, thanks to a random series of events, showed up as an example of Aquaman's amazing powers in the book The Physics of Superheroes:

So, in the end, I thought it was a good trade-off. I would never trade the above moment for anything--in a book full of great moments, Gerry Conway makes this scene unforgettable.

Here's some original art from the book. Man, I would kill to own some of these:

Speaking of art, F.O.A.M.er John Trumbull--also a huge fan of this comic--went on a crusade to get as many signatures from JLA #200's creative personnel as possible, and he's amassed quite a collection! John was kind of enough to provide some scans of all the John Hancocks, along with the story of how it all got started:

Wow--Perez, Broderick, Giordano, Kane, Infantino, Bolland, and Kubert! How'd you do it, John?:

"A little history of how I got started on this project: My original copy of JLA #200 went missing sometime back in the late 80s (I subsequently found it, so I have two copies now). Since, like you, this is one of my favorite comics of all time, I knew I had to get a replacement copy. I managed to pick one up at The Great Escape in Nashville, TN for $1.50. When I got it home & cracked it open, I discovered that the very first page was signed by none other than George Pérez! I'm sure the dealer hadn't noticed, or I would've paid a LOT more than $1.50 for that copy. I wondered for years if it was really a George Pérez signature, since it looked a bit different from how he traditionally signed his artwork. Thanks to Facebook, I was finally able to reach out to George personally in 2010 and verify that it was an authentic signature. Here's my correspondence with him:

'November 28, 2010
George Pérez

John: My autograph has mutated quite a bit over the many years and many times I've had to sign it. That is most definitely my signature-- before I developed a style wherein I seldom pick up my pen between signing my first and last names.

Take care,
GPz'

Needless to say, I was ecstastic to get this response. It was a thrill to correspond, even briefly, with one of my artistic idols, as well as get the answer to a question I'd had for nearly 25 years!

So the Pérez signature planted the seed in my mind that I should try and get the various artists who worked on JLA #200 to sign my copy as well. Dick Giordano, Gil Kane and Brian Bolland were all guests at the Atlanta Dragon Con in 1990, so I got all three in one fell swoop. I got Joe Kubert to sign it when I attended a weekend workshop the Kubert School did in Nashville in 1992, prior to my attending the school from '94-'97. I had a friend get the Carmine Infantino signature for me at a New York con in the early 2000s. I think I must've had my friend get the Pat Broderick signature for me at the same con, as I don't recall ever meeting him myself.

Sadly, I never had the chance to meet with Frank Giacoia, Jim Aparo or Adrienne Roy before they each passed away, which is too bad, because I was a big fan of all of their work. I'm still hoping to someday get signatures from writer Gerry Conway, editor Len Wein, inkers Brett Breeding & Terry Austin, letterer John Costanza and colorists Carl Gafford & Tatjana Wood to add to the book! I think it's safe to say that if this book hadn't engaged my imagination at age 9 the way it did, that I may not have grown up to be a cartoonist. So thanks, one & all who where involved with such a great comic book!"

Now we hear directly from two of the people involved in the making of this awesome comic. From my interview with Len Wein on 6/16/2008:

JLA Satellite: As editor [of JLA], you presided over my--and a lot of people's--favorite era of JLA, roughly issues 185-220, including the blockbuster 200th issue. Whose idea was it to have such a massive 200th issue, with so many characters and artists?

Len Wein: Oh, mine. After all, I had to come up with some way to top what I'd done with issue #100. As an editor, I'm incredibly proud of that issue. We had an amazing array of artists and Gerry Conway's script weren't exactly chopped liver neither.

Finally, from my interview with Gerry Conway on 7/23/2008:

JLA Satellite: I've mentioned here before, and on your blog, that--and I am barely kidding when I say--that I think that JLA #200 is the single greatest piece of literature ever produced by Western Civilization.

Gerry Conway: [laughs] Oh, wow. How old were you when that book came along?

JLA Satellite: Let's see...1981, so I would've been ten years old.

GC: I figured it would've been around that time.

JLA Satellite: This probably won't make the interview, but I have to mention this--years ago, I had a girlfriend who also read comics.

Now that's rare enough, but she didn't like superhero comics. I guess if you don't first find them as a kid, they don't resonate with you, so she couldn't understand why I liked them so much.

So one day we decide to exchange comics we each liked, and she asked me for one comic that summed up what I liked about superhero comics. So I bought her a copy of JLA #200.

GC: Wow.

JLA Satellite: So anyway, I give it to her, its in a bag and board, and she puts it off to side.

She lived in another part of the country, so we only saw each other every few months. I go back, a month or two later, and there's the book, in the same spot it was when I left, completely untouched.

And I thought to myself "This relationship's doomed! She can't find the time to read one measly 72-page superhero comic!"

And you know what? I was right! We eventually broke up.

GC: [big laughs].

JLA Satellite: I thought "How can you not read this?" Its so much fun, it moves so fast, the artwork is so nice..."

Really, I'm like, "If Gerry Conway only wrote one comic book in his life, this would be enough." This thing was the most tremendous comic ever.

GC: [laughs]

JLA Satellite: I'm going to leave it at that. I cannot express how much it means to me to get to talk to you. I appreciate all the work you did, its so beloved to me, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me for the blog.

GC: Oh, it's been a pleasure. Thanks so much for remembering.

Justice League of America #42 Ad - 1966

2011-08-27T19:50:00.002-04:00

I missed this ad during the blog's original run, and its too spiffy not to post--"Metamorpho Says No!"

DC letterer/designer Ira Schnapp (who most likely designed this ad) was a genius at cramming in a ton of text in a small space, yet making everything look clean and readable. An amazing talent!

DC Retroactive: 1980s Justice League of America

2011-08-13T00:03:00.000-04:00

The return of "Justice League Detroit"!

The Story: "Siege" by Gerry Conway and Ron Randall.

Deep inside the new HQ of the Justice League of America, we see our heroes and some civilians clearly the worse for wear:

Aquaman informs us this the work of the original JLA's old foe, Felix Faust. Aquaman, the team's new leader, tries to give his teammates an inspiring speech, intended to rally the troops, but it falls on deaf ears when Steel is openly contemptuous of it and, seemingly, Aquaman himself.

When Aquaman refuses to back down, Steel loses it and goes after the Sea King!

A loud "whomp" from outside the chamber focuses everyone's attention. As Aquaman formulates a plan, we flash back to ten hours earlier, as the JLA is giving a tour of their new HQ to local schoolchildren, as part of a plan to be part of the community.

Everyone seems up for the meet-and-greet, except Martian Manhunter, who feels a sense of unease. Good reason, since Felix Faust is nearby, watching his old foes. Using some sort of magical tablet (no, not an iPad), he calls forth massive black clouds which descend upon Detroit!

Meanwhile, Aquaman is defending the new JLA from one particularly snotty kid, who insists the team is now a bunch of nobodies. Another kid, in a Superman t-shirt, pipes up and defends the new group, much to the JLA's admiration. But just Zatanna is about to entertain the kids with some magic, there's an explosion, and the cause of it reveals himself:

The JLA fans out, taking on Faust's demonic creations. After Manhunter and Aquaman are knocked out, the team regroups in the medical lab, which is hermetically sealed behind them.

As Faust's minions pound their way in, the JLA forms a plan and, for once, acts as a team:

...except for Gypsy, who ignores Aquaman's order to help Elongated Man and Dale Gunn get the kids to safety. While Faust was distracted, she sneaks by and grabs the mystical tablet, breaking it in two over Faust's head!

As the demons fade into oblivion, Aquaman decides what to do about Gypsy's disobedience:

...the end!

Roll Call: Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: Like the Retroactive 1970s book, this story feels like a bit of a missed opportunity: this is the first time the JLD has been seen in years (and probably will be the last time, with the new DCU just around the corner), so I wonder why the story is so focused on the internal monologues of the characters, in that I mean we get a lot of dialogue with the JLAers (Steel mostly) yelling at each other, which was one of the things I think that sunk the team in the first place.

Also like the 1970s one-shot, its up to another character (in that book Adam Strange, in this one the young superhero fan named...Geoff) to sort of spur the plot and get the JLA moving. Since when can't the Justice League of America carry their own story?

All that said, of course its great to see the JLA--even this version--back again one more time. I still think the JLD could have worked, if given enough time, but editorial meddling kept that from ever really happening, so the team remains a mostly sad footnote to the legendary team's history.

Not to be too picky about this, but I'm not exactly sure when this story takes place. The story mentions (repeatedly) that the "Big Guns" are decidedly no longer part of the team, which places it after the events of JLA #239 (see below). But by JLA #241, Aquaman was already off searching for Mera, never to return. So I guess we'd have to say this is what the JLD was doing while the book was doing a sort of special "DC Retroactive" of its own.

This issue also features a reprint of Justice League of America #239, also by Gerry Conway.

We hope you JLA fans enjoyed this look back, both in the comics and on this blog! I know I did!

DC Retroactive: 1970s Justice League of America

2011-07-30T00:03:00.000-04:00

The original Justice League of America returns!

The Story: "Enter Justice League Prime" by Cary Bates, Gordon Purcell, Jose Marzan Jr., and Andy Smith.

In Creedvue Mental Hospital, two doctors are talking to a patient. This patient insists he is an interplanetary traveler, regularly visiting the planet Rann. Getting frustrated, the patient demands to talk to the Justice League of America.

One of the doctors is familiar with the Justice League, but not in the form the patient is:

Of course, the patient is Adam Strange--how did he end up here?

Six hours earlier, aboard the JLA Satellite, 22,300 miles above Earth, six members of the Justice League pick up a Zeta Beam headed their way. They figure its their old friend Adam Strange, and it is--locked in hand-to-hand combat with their mutual foe Kanjar Ro!

Suddenly the Zeta Beam splits into two, causing the JLA to go into action. Flash determines one of the beams went to Earth-Prime, "our" Earth, where superheroes only exist in comic books (and TV shows, and multi-million-dollar film franchises). The JLA splits up into two teams:

On Earth-Prime, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, and Zatanna attempt to rescue Adam Strange, except now Strange doesn't remember them either!

Turns out Strange has been receiving electro-shock therapy, which has screwed up his short-term memory. To help recover it, they turn to this world's foremost Adam Strange authority: DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz!

Meanwhile, on Earth-One, Green Lantern and Hawkman track down Kanjar Ro, who is more powerful than they remember:

Back on Earth-Prime, Schwartz jogs Strange's memory by showing him his comic book adventures as told in issues of Mystery in Space. This sets him straight, and they make their way back to the JLA Satellite.

As Kanjar Ro is making quick work of Hawkman, the other JLAers arrive, while Green Lantern and Zatanna execute another part of their plan--deflecting the Zeta Beam energy from hitting Earth, thereby depriving Kanjar Ro of his enhanced powers. With a well-placed punch by Adam Strange, Ro is defeated.

Wonder Woman decides this was a moment worth preserving. With the help of a camera inside her robot plane, the JLA snaps a picture and sends it to the person who will appreciate it the most:

...the end!

Roll Call: Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Red Tornado, Zatanna.

Notable Moments: When I ended the JLA Satellite blog back in August 2008, I truly never had any intention of bringing it back, even for a day. I liked ending with the conclusion to the original JLA book, I thought it gave the blog a nice, clean end.

But when DC announced their line of DC Retroactive one-shots, I immediately thought maybe, just maybe, it would be worth dusting off this old blog and giving it another spin--after all, this wasn't just a book starring the original JLA, it was being written by one of the classic JLA writers, Cary Bates! So here we are.

Overall, I have to say I was a tad disappointed with this issue's story--its mostly about Adam Strange, not the JLA. Add the fact that only a handful of members appear (don't even get me started on who I missed the most...), and how it becomes, IMO, a bit too in-jokey when they end up hanging with Julius Schwartz.

The plot is fine, very classic JLA, but there's almost no tension or menace. Also, there are little in-jokes to later stories, which to me broke the spell of this adventure's (heck, the whole DC Retroactive line) conceit that its set in the past--we're referencing Identity Crisis, wink wink. Which makes this a missed opporunity: as any die-hard JLA fan knows, Cary Bates could write a Justice League story with the best of 'em.

It's also too bad the whole JLA couldn't have appeared here--if you're going to bother doing this book, why feature just a handful of members and give Adam Strange so much to do? Even with all that said, it was great to see the classic JLA one more time!

Judging by Zatanna's costume and Green Arrow's presence, this story takes place somewhere between Justice League of America #s 161 and 180.

This issue also features a reprint of Justice League of America #123, also by Cary Bates, and also "stars" Julius Schwartz.

One final thing--yes, JLASatellite.com will be back once more to recap DC Retroactive: 1980s Justice League of America!

Justice League of America #258: Kubert School Edition

2008-08-30T00:08:00.001-04:00

"Ok, what the hell is this?" I can sense you wondering.

Well, back in 1987, I was busy preparing as much portfolio-level art material as I could, since late in 1988 I would be showing my book to *the* Joe Kubert, and see if I could get into the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.

So while I had lots and lots of single-page illustrations that I deemed worthy of inclusion, I wanted something special...something impressive.

So I decided I would draw my own version of a comic book--the entire book--and ink it, color it, and bind it, virtually guaranteeing my admission. No way would Joe Kubert be able to turn someone one down who had this much passion for the art of comic book storytelling!

So let's take a look at few pages of this masterpiece:

...how Joe, upon seeing this, didn't call DC and tell them he was sending this prodigy over right then and there, I don't know.

Many of you must be wondering, how the hell did I get into the Kubert School with this level of work in my portfolio? Well, first off, there was a sharp improvement between the material I was putting together in 1987/1988 and when I finally arrived at the school, in September 1989.

Also, the rumor about the school was they would take nearly anyone, as long they seemed to have the passion to do the work, since the workload would be so heavy. So while I didn't have very much natural drawing ability (I still don't), I certainly did have the passion.

(Its kind of funny, considering how much I loved the JLA, that I chose this issue to draw, not one featuring Superman, Batman, and of course Aquaman--I'm guessing it was because it was easier to draw this story, which centers around a tiny group of people. I was no Dick Dillin.)

Clearly, I couldn't do a better job than original artist Luke McDonnell, but I thought maybe I could find a way to tell the story in a different way. Looking over it, there are a couple of sequences that I think are well laid out. Designing has always been my main artistic passion, much more so than drawing. It was like that in 1988, its like that now.

So while I can goof on this book all I want, it did get me into the school, so I guess it wasn't a wasted effort.

Ok, so after ten months, around 300 posts, a few fascinating talks with JLA writers and artists, and a lot of fun, JLA Satellite has come to end.

When I first came up with the idea for this blog, I rejected it because I knew the blog would have to come to an end--this wasn't Action Comics: The Blog, or anything, so why start a blog that I knew would end less than a year later?

But over time, the thing I thought was the blog's main weakness started looking like a strength to me--I wouldn't have to desperately contrive material to have something to post, it would focus solely on the book--it would be a "limited series" blog. I liked that idea--let's do 'er!

I deeply appreciate all of you who stuck with me during this blog's run, especially during its rough first month or two, where my general lack of passion for those early issues I think came through in the summaries. I think it wasn't until we hit one of my favorites eras of the book--the mid-1960s--that I think the blog really took off.

If I was to participate in a little armchair psychology, I would say, as a kid, I was attracted to comics--and specifically superhero comics--because of the adolescent power fantasies contained therein, like most little boys who discover comics, I'm sure.

But it was the Justice League of America--the concept and the book--that really became the center of my comic book world, because it seemed like a group of people I would want to hang out with--brave and courageous, but also a nice, friendly group of people. And they get to hang out in outer space! What's not to love?

I hope that anyone in the future who wants to find out more about the original JLA can use my blog, and it will certainly stay here on the internets in perpetuity. I wanted to pay tribute to my childhood heroes, and I like to think I did a pretty good job.

Thanks, everyone!

Your Favorite Issues

2008-08-29T00:07:00.004-04:00

Over the course of this blog, we've covered what were my favorite issues, so now let's talk about yours! After all, this blog wouldn't have amounted to much if so many of you didn't feel about the JLA the way I do.

Here are some of the answers I received from you JLA fans:

Randy M: "My #1 pick would have to go to JLA 100-102. It's where the JLA and the JSA team up to rescue the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The digest that reprinted it was the very first comic book ever bought with my own money. I was ten years old, and my life-long obsession with the JLA and the JSA and the Law's Legionnaires was born from this.

Next, would have to be JLA #200. The two-month long quest I went on to find this sucker and to have the good pay-off that it WAS totally worth the wait, makes this one a no-brainer.

Next is going to be another JLA/JSA crossover. This one involves the All-Star Squadron. Both books were my favorite reads way back when. So to see a story that involved all three teams and time travel, to boot? Another no-brainer."

Butch R: "The Manhunters issues--Dick Dillin at the top of his game, galactic scale, good storyline and we see some DC History revealed (always wondered what the GL writer at the time thought of this, I'm guessing it was ran by the GL Editor(s) at the least).

JLA Origin Minus 1--The fact the actual publishing date was considered the heroes debut was interesting and we got to see so many "forgotten" heroes. It really did feel like a "secret" we were seeing.

JLA/JSA/Legion of SuperHeroes team-up--Probably my favorite "big" team up, and part of why I liked Pre-Crisis DC so much. How many corners of the DCU did this touch? And again, Dillin art still looking good.

The Ultraa storyline--Being born in 1969, I was too late for the Earth-2 to Earth-1 change over and there weren't too many new heroes being created. I felt like I was there when Earth Prime's Superman was "born". Even though the later introduced an Earth Prime Superman, we were there for the first "native" hero.

JLA/JSA team up against Jonah Hex & Co.--I never cared for Elongated Man but this story told me anyone could be a hero, even people/characters you didn't think could."

Vince Bartilucci: "You knew you’d be hearing from me, didn’t you?

Here are my favorite issues of the Justice League of America. I made it an even (?) 5.

5. #193. As a kid, I always had a soft spot in my heart for Red Tornado, a fondness that I couldn't explain then and can't really explain now. Perhaps there was a part of me that related to his feelings of inferiority. Regardless, I love this issue featuring Reddy's untold origin.

There is something strangely satisfying about the new recruit, Firestorm, being the only person privy to the whole story. Again, I can't really explain it but it just felt right that Ronnie should be the one to know Reddy's secret.

And I can't mention this issue without bringing up the remarkable opening sequence. Aquaman attacking T.O. Morrow in his lair is capital "C" cool! The George Perez artwork depicting Aquaman smashing through that window is absolutely stunning.

4. #142. Unlike most team books, the classic satellite-era JLA almost never ran stories spotlighting individual members. This issue, focusing on three of the more under-used Leaguers, was about as close as the book got.

Arthur and Ralph counseling the engaged Ray to be open and honest with his wife-to-be Jean Loring, Ray's insecurity about his effectiveness in the League, and his subsequent defeat of the Construct are all handled wonderfully.

Plus we get one of my top 10 favorite Aqua-moments when Ralph momentarily considers assisting the Sea King with a pack of robot henchmen (henchrobots?) then decides, nah, he's Aquaman. His muscles are designed to survive the ocean's depths. He can handle it. Damn right, he can handle it!

3. #200. A great, action-packed story harkening back to the League's origin coupled with fantastic art by some of the best artists to ever work in comics. This issue is so very nearly perfect. It could have been honest-to-gosh, no qualifiers perfect, too. But, unfortunately, "get over it" is simply not an option when you're talking about a slight, unintentionally or not, to my boy, Aquaman!

2. #144. I wasn't born when The Brave and the Bold #28 hit the stands. Ditto for JLA #1. And JLA #21? That celebrated first JLA/JSA meeting was pre-Vinnie, too.

But I was around for this issue with the untold "real" origin of the JLA and, being ten years old at the time, it seemed incredibly historic to me. Sure, I had missed those other seminal League events but now those older JLA readers had nothing on me! I was in on the secret, too!

Little did I know that this tale within a tale would never be referred to again. Oh well, it was still cool seeing all those characters that I had never been exposed to before like the Blackhawks and Rex the Wonder Dog and Congorilla. How awesome was Congorilla?!?! Plus, I can"t possibly express how much I love Green Arrow's reaction to discovering this untold tale in the JLA log books. It's so out of proportion, so over the top. It's like he just found out Hal was sleeping with his mom. Jeez Ollie, try decaf!

1. #139. The JLA's first double-size issue and the issue that started my unbroken run on the title. In later years, I tracked down back issues and completed a JLA run that reached back to #98, the first ish of the League that I ever bought.

But there's something special about those collections that grow month after month, issue by issue, you know what I mean? That's why this will always remain my favorite single issue of JLA. With a fantastic cover by Neal Adams cover and Dick Dillin at the top of his game on the interior art, how can you go wrong?

And the lead story? This is exactly the kind of tale that illustrates the difference between the DC and Marvel comics of my youth. Marvel stories were basically soap operas with slugfests while DC stories always seemed to feature some sort of weird obstacle or condition that the hero had to overcome in place of, or sometimes in addition to, the villain of the piece.

Sure, you can argue whether or not Marvel heroes battled more powerful menaces than their DC counterparts. But there is no doubt that DC heroes faced more interesting predicaments. Marvel heroes worried about the rent when they weren't worried about being killed by Dr. Doom or Kraven the Hunter. DC heroes worried about being turned into puppets, or infants, or, as in this case, Zeta-beam phantoms."

Russell Burbage: "Okay, I've been thinking about it, and I'm not sure if I should list "issues" or stories, so I'm going with stories. In no particular order: JLA 13 "Riddle of the Robot Justice League"--Gardner Fox tried very hard to show that every member was useful, and in this one he proved that "they also serve who also stand and wait." Besides, Aquaman saves the galaxy. Awesome.

JLA 103 "A Stranger Walks Amongst Us"--Is he or isn't he? Phantom Stranger, Felix Faust, and sorcery in JLA were never used better. JLA 111 "Balance of Power" and JLA 112, "War With the One Man Justice League"--First appearance of Injustice Gang, beautiful Dillin-Giordano art, re-appearance of Amazo, all members featured. What's not to like???

JLA 139 "The Ice Age Cometh" --All the JLAers (huge plus) actually doing things, cool villains, great personalities. Probably my all-time favorite JLA story. Either that or...

JLA 146--The Return of the Red Tornado and the Induction of Hawkgirl/Woman. The JLAers' personalities ring through, and the two most maligned members both get their moments to shine. If every JLAer had been present, this would be my number one.

How's that??? :-)"

One of the more unusual lists came from Chunky B: "Okay I'm going to attack this assignment in a different manor then probably the rest of your readership, so sit down as you learn the truth of having never read an issue of JLA! Bum, bum, buuuumm!

That's right I've never read an of the classic run of JLA, sure I've picked up a few of the modern versions of the team, but none of the classics. (I think I asked you at one time if they made compilation reprints). So how am I going to pick my top ten must read/have/favorites? Like any kid would, the cover. I'm going to pick them like they were all on the news stand.

1) Brave and the Bold #28 - there's a reason why this is such an iconic image, earth's mightiest heroes doing battle against an overwhelming beast, Starro!
2) JLA #7 - This one is just an eye catcher, cosmic fun house, what has happened to the Flash!
3) JLA #14 - Why are our heroes watching as that tiny man in the bubble is suffering?

4) JLA #25 - Has Superman turned evil, is he training the league, has the comic world turned upside down?
5) JLA #81 - I know, I know it's crazy, but aren't you just a little curious as to what happened to them?
6) JLA #87 - Batman has always been king of the world, right? Plus look at that cool kryptonite looking robot!

7) JLA # 94 - It looks like Aquaman is done for, it can't be...even Superman looks worried, here's my quarter, let's see what happens!
8) JLA #110 - I'm a sucker for Christmas super hero stories, and I can't believe Santa is dead! Lucky the League is on the case and Batman can put those detective skills to good use!
9) JLA #136 - Okay maybe my adult mind is having an influence on this one, but the white space of this cover is so appealing, I think younger Charles would appreciate, plus he likes Batman and the Joker!
10) JLA #217 - Just because it's got a lot of heroes on it! Seriously though it doesn't speak of any event, they just look iconic running at you!"

John Trumbull: "Here you are, Rob, my favorite JLA issues!

Justice League of America #140--March 1977--Steve Englehart's first full issue as JLA writer, and what an issue it was! Englehart's clever story ties together Jack Kirby's Manhunters with the Green Lantern mythos.

Englehart also includes some refreshing characterizations among the team. I love the easy camaraderie the JLAers have here --it reminds you that they're not just teammates --they're friends! Too many writers these days forget that. This storyline is so good it served as the basis for the first regular episode of the Justice League cartoon.

Justice League of America #192--July 1981--A wonderfully atmospheric opening, a look at a "typical" meeting of the JLA, 6 of the 7 original members (plus "new kid" Firestorm), tremendous artwork and the beginning of new revelations about the Red Tornado's origins. All wrapped up with one of George Perez's strongest covers. What more could you ask for?

Justice League of America #195--October 1981--This was the very first issue of my subscription to JLA in 1981. My very first exposure to the concept of "Earth-2." My very first exposure to the Justice Society of America. AND my very first exposure to George Perez, still one of my artistic faves. And that gorgeous JLA/JSA pinup in the center of the book!

Justice League of America #200--March 1982--Like you, Rob, I think this issue is just about the greatest thing since the invention of the Gutenberg press. This is the very first place I ever learned the origin of the JLA. A great story filled with wonderful moments throughout.

The collection of amazing artists in this issue still gives me tingles when I think about it: George Perez, Brett Breeding, Pat Broderick, Terry Austin, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Frank Giacoia, Brian Bolland and Joe Kubert! I'm proud to say that over the years I've gotten 6 of the 11 artists to sign my copy.

Honorable mentions go to The Seven Soldiers of Victory story from #100-102, The Freedom Fighters story from #107-108, "Takeover of the Earth-Masters" from #118-119, the Atom's wedding from #157, the Fourth World story from #183-185, the Starro story from #189-190 and the Paragon story from #224."

Thanks to everybody who sent in their lists--and some interesting choices too!

Notice how all but one of you picked at least one story from Steve Englehart's run--a damn good batting average for a guy who only wrote the book for a year.

Tomorrow: One Last Thing.

JLA Mail Room: 1960 - 1987

2008-08-28T00:06:00.000-04:00

One of the things that inadvertently became a running theme with this blog was the evolution of the JLA Mail Room header. I guess it was neat to ponder because, at any given moment, it gave you in one shot who was in, who was out.

Of course, after the League grew to thirteen members, someone at DC realized it was getting so crowded it went to the generic Satellite shot, which I never thought was as fun--I was glad to see it make a belated return with the JLA Detroit era.

So here's a quick rundown of the JLA Mail Room headers through the ages:

Usually, DC was on top of changing these the minute someone came or went; except for this last one, which hung around long after Aquaman had quit the team. Maybe by then the writing was on the wall, and no one really wanted to bother.

I miss DC's letter pages; I understand with the internets the notion of waiting two or three months to comment on an issue seems like something from the Paleozoic Era, but I think they were a vital part of comic books, and I think DC's books are missing something from their absence.

Tomorrow: Your favorite issues!

Hey Kids, JLA!

2008-08-27T00:05:00.001-04:00

Early on in the blog's run, I would devote a whole day's post to any and all house ads DC ran for Justice League, since I have a love for those old ads that knows no bounds.

Over time, I didn't like how the ads "broke" the momentum of the blog as it went from issue to issue, so eventually I downgraded them to being at the end of a regular post.

But I still love them, so here are all the ones I collected since last November, including a few I found since:

...it was a fun ride, wasn't it?

JLA Who's Who Entries - 1986/1987

2008-08-26T00:19:00.001-04:00

The Classic JLA got two listings over the first two volumes of Who's Who, a series I never missed.

The first appeared in the Feb. 1986 issue, drawn by then-penciler Luke McDonnell:

...a nice shot.

The Classic JLA got one last bite at that Who's Who apple, in Oct. 1987, drawn by then-Justice League penciler Kevin Maguire:

...I love how he got everybody's personality in this crowded shot. Arrow and Canary's PDA, Vibe's attitude, Superman's pride, the Hawks' quiet dignity.

And even though by this time the original JLA--team and book--were gone, they all got lumped together in this "class photo." The next JLA listing in WW would concentrate solely on the JL team, and its then-current membership, which was a totally different animal.

Secret Origins #32 - Dec. 1988

2008-08-25T00:02:00.001-04:00

The secret origin of the JLA!

The Story: "All Together Now" by Keith Giffen, Peter David, Gardner Fox, and Eric Shanower. On the distant planet Appellax, we see seven would-be leaders--all of whom claim to have assassinated the previous leader--being sent off to Earth to fight to the death.

Whoever is the winner of this battle royale will return to Appellax and claim the throne. Simple, no?

One of them has the temerity to ask, but what if they are overcome by someone, say, from Earth?

The judge says this is absurd: "You are the best Appellax has to offer. If they defeated all seven of you, we'd never go near Earth again."

And so it begins:

The first hero who will meet these would-be Appellax conquerors is the Martian Manhunter:

He faces the giant stone creature, but in the melee his power of invisibility turns off, revealing him to the local citizens. They think he's a special effect from a movie.

Next up is the King of the Seven Seas:

...he encounters the Mercury creature, and with the help of his finny friends, keeps it from turning him permanently into a blob of mercury.

He then hears of a strange meteor that landed in the Florida Everglades, and heads there. Once he arrives, he sees someone else...

But before we find out who, we see the next hero up to bat is Black Canary:

She takes on the Glass Creature, and a well-place Sonic Cry reduces him to bits.

She also hears the story about Florida, and heads there, too. She meets others who have arrived there ahead of her.

Next up is Green Lantern:

He takes on the Golden Roc (of course its yellow!), and then heads to Florida. He gets too close before he can be told he stay away, so...

Last is The Flash:

He fights the Fire Creature, defeats him, and likewise heads to Florida.

He is the last to arrive, and suffers the same fate as the other heroes:

...of course, you all know the story form here...sort of. The heroes use teamwork to defeat the Wood Creature, and the head for Antarctica, where there were reports of one last meteor.

Except when they get there, Superman is already mopping up. He takes no notice of the star-struck heroes, and flies off.

Flash liked how they worked together, and proposes forming a club, or a society? Howabout calling it The Avengers, after that TV show?

No, wait, howabout The Justice League:

...not the end!

Roll Call: Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary

Notable Moments: There were a couple of reasons not to include this book on the blog: one, it was published outside of the run of the original JLA book, and two, it features the dreaded ret-conning, where classic stories are rewritten to match current storyline concerns.

Normally that stuff make me roll my eyes, since I think a lot of damage can be done to great, classic concepts for the sake of momentary necessity.

This is such a case--the JLA was and is the big seven of the DCU circa 1960, and suggesting the Big Three weren't part of that seems so silly.

Complicating that even further, was replacing Wonder Woman with a later member, Black Canary, which disrupts even more classic JLA stories--every one for the first eight years, actually. I understand the need to have at least five members, and one of them be a woman, and DC had a real lack of heroines from this era--who else was available--Miss America? Firebrand? Phantom Lady? But having Black Canary in here just seems...wrong.

All that said, I included this because this retelling--changes and all--is so darn fun. Its got a good sense of humor, the heroes are real people, and Giffen and David wisely don't mess with the basics of Gardner Fox's immortal story. Plus, the art is gorgeous--Eric Shanower wasn't someone who you saw do a lot of superhero work, so his take on the World's Greatest Superheroes is a real treat.

JLA Satellite Interview with J.M. DeMatteis

2008-08-24T00:02:00.000-04:00

I couldn't let this blog wrap-up without a talk from the man who, after 261 issues and 27 years of continuous publication, wrote the final chapters in the story of the original Justice League of America, J.M. DeMatteis:

JLA Satellite: How did you end up writing JLA?

J.M. DeMatteis: DC editor Andy Helfer, one of the best editors I've ever worked with, said, "Hey, Gerry Conway just left Justice League and I need a writer. Want to help me out?" As I recall, I'd just left Marvel after being under contract there for a number of years and was happy to have the work.

JLA Satellite: When you took over the book, did DC already have its cancellation scheduled, and it was just a matter of getting to that point?

JMD: I believe the cancellation was already in the works. My job was to finish up the Conway story that was in progress, then go in and write the final storyline.

JLA Satellite: To me, one of the hallmarks of your writing is an inherent gentleness, even when there's lots of super hero fisticuffs going on (there have been some exceptions of course, like the "Kraven's Last Hunt" storyline). Was it difficult writing stories that were so grim and violent, like when Vibe and Steel were murdered?

JMD: Violence in super hero comics has always been a problem for me. I love the characters, I love the genre, I love the metaphorical power of the super hero; but there are times I've been incredibly uncomfortable with the "smash and punch and kill" aspects of the genre. (In fact I've got a new series coming out next year from IDW, The Life and Times of Savior 28, that faces the Super Hero Violence issue head on. It's a piece of work I'm very proud of.)

As for JLA: I suspect, although, honestly, I don't remember, that the discomfort was a little less so with that final storyline because I had very little connection to those characters. I never quite made an emotional link with Vibe and Steel. As I recall, the characters I was emotionally hooked into were J'onn (this was my first time writing him and he immediately became an all-time favorite) and Gypsy (primarily because of J'onn's emotional connection to her). Happily, they both came out alive.

JLA Satellite: Was it your choice as to which of the new characters got bumped off, or did DC say "Save Vixen and Gypsy, kill off the other two"?

JMD: My memory is that I was told which characters had to go and which would stay.

JLA Satellite: Was it difficult writing a book that featured mostly new characters, none that you created, that didn't have a lot of history behind them?

JMD: I suspect that, if I'd had more time to get to know the characters, I could have found the emotional hooks I was talking about earlier; but jumping in just to wrap things up made it much harder for me. So, yes, it was difficult.

That story was much more about my technical skill than emotional investment. Not my favorite way to write. That said, I tried my best to put as much genuine emotion into the story as I could.

JLA Satellite: As a writer, did writing the final issue of JLA have any impact on you (in terms of making comic book history--"Wow, I'm writing the very last issue of Justice League!") or were you mostly concerned with just getting to the end so the new book could be started?

JMD: I never thought of it as the "final issue" because, by then, I knew the relaunch was in the pipeline. What I didn't know was that I'd be an integral part of that relaunch and that it would be the beginning of a partnership with the great Keith Giffen that would still be going strong more than twenty years later. If there's one great thing that came out of the JLA assignment for me, it's that.

As a teenager, buying the final issues of my all-time favorite comic, I wondered just what the behind-the-scenes stuff was, so I'm jazzed that I got to finally find out from the man who was at the helm for the final case of the Justice League of America.

Of course, J.M. DeMatteis would go on to make an even greater contribution to the history of the team, but that's for another day and another blog. Thanks J.M.!

Justice League of America #261 - April 1987

2008-08-23T00:05:00.001-04:00

It all ends here--the final issue of the Justice League of America.

The Story: "Last Stand" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Bob Lewis. We open on Professor Ivo, laying on his side in an insane asylum.

Even here, in a straightjacket, he has dealt a blow to the JLA that all its other foes could only dream of--killing two of its members.

He ruminates on his history with the League, and is conflicted by the impulses in his mind. He wants revenge, but murder is wrong. But Martian Manhunter killed one of his "sons." But...

Ivo blows up his last therapist, still unable to deal with the conflicting thoughts on his mind.

Meanwhile, Vixen--to hell with the Presidential order--is on the hunt:

In Detroit, Manhunter is having a drink with Hank Heywood and Dale Gunn, but he is so racked with anger that he swears Steel will be avenged.

Dale warns him that that's revenge, not justice:

Vixen uses her animal powers to sniff out Ivo, and she finds him waiting for her, with dinner, no less! But Ivo is also in a mental institution, so...

Vixen goes along with this fake civility for a few moments, and then attacks Ivo. Ivo in turn calls out a mob of his androids, who attack Vixen. She's able to fight most of them off, but there are too many of them!

Then Martian Manhunter bursts in, and starts busting more android head. He then grabs Ivo, ready to kill him, but finds he can't.

Vixen is not so squeamish, but:

They find the real Ivo, locked up. Turns out Ivo escaped Arkham Asylum, built the androids, who in turn committed Ivo, realizing their creator was insane. But since they were built from his mind, he could still control them from afar, and his madness led to all this.

Manhunter and Vixen talk at the Secret Sanctuary. Manhunter says that for their deaths to have any meaning, the League must continue in some form, Presidential orders be damned.

Vixen agrees, but says she can't continue with him. This road is too violent, too bloody, and she just doesn't want to keep going. They say goodbye:

...and that is the end of the Justice League of America.

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Vixen

Notable Moments: Well, this is it--the last issue of Justice League of America.

While I understand the business end of this--that this book had to be cleared out to make room for the all-new (and immediately big-selling) Justice League book, I wish that Justice League of America--one of DC's flagship books--had been given more of a royal send off.

The cover is fine, except as the last JLA cover ever, and I still--all these years later--hate the fact that the book ends 27 years of JLA adventures with essentially a plug for another book. Jeez, DC, the corpse isn't even cold yet! Would it have killed you to coral George Perez to do a "classic JLA" pin-up or something?

But I got to give them credit--this was a ballsy, gripping way to end the series. Ivo's revenge plan is sinister to the nth degree, and I bet to this day he still brags to other villains that he killed not one, but two members of the JLA. Luthor's been trying to kill one hero for like 20 years.

Goodbye, Justice League of America.

So now what? Is this blog over?

Well, not quite--as I've mentioned a few times before, I've got about a week's worth of fun posts to come. A few sort of "greatest hits" style ones, an interview or two, another special JLA comic that falls outside my timeline but I felt had to be included, all concluding with a final post that I guarantee none of you will expect.

But before we get to all that, be here tomorrow for a chat with the fine writer who brought the original JLA to a close--J.M. DeMatteis!

Justice League of America #260 - March 1987

2008-08-22T00:13:00.000-04:00

Professor Ivo's plan of revenge continues!

The Story: "Flesh!" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Steve Montano. Ivo's android--the one that save Gypsy-- reverts to its original programming when confronted by an angry Martian Manhunter, and a battle ensues.

Manhunter tries to see inside the mind of the android, but is repulsed by all the contradictory impulses he finds there.

The battle continues, with neither side giving in, until Manhunter gets so mad he ends up ripping the android's arms off, and then punching its head off!

But he's not done--enraged over Vibe's death, he pounds the still-talking android head into little bits, smashing it into the ground:

Meanwhile, Vixen and Steel are at her apartment. Steel is infuriated he can't go hunt for Vibe's killer, but Vixen admonishes him to listen to Manhunter--the two of them need to lay low for a while.

Steel won't listen, so he suits up and heads out, daring Vixen to stop him. Guess which hero went on to a further career in the DCU?

While Ivo struggles with this sanity, Steel draws attention being out on the streets in his costume. He sees one of the police officers surrounding him is, in fact, one of Ivo's androids!

Meanwhile, Gypsy learns from Manhunter that Vibe is dead. She, too, wants revenge, but he tells her to stay with her family, and go back to the normal life she deserves. She tearfully agrees, and they part.

Back with Steel, we see him threatening the android cop. Not knowing the truth, the local citizenry start taunting Steel, demanding him to let the cop go.

Realizing this was a trap, he drags the cop off to a secluded spot--big mistake. Its here that the android lets loose on Steel, blasting away parts of his skin until a lot of Steel's internal robotic systems are showing through.

Steel staggers to the main drag, followed by the android. No longer caring about the illusion, he blasts Steel unmercifully, until he is almost dead:

Manhunter arrives to see his friend in agony, and carries him off to his grandfather's headquarters, the original home to JLA Detroit.

Hank Heywood Senior says there's nothing he can do, and takes Steel off of life support. The machine beeps a few times, until it stops. Steel is dead.

Meanwhile, Professor Ivo sits in a padded room, muttering "I'm sorry."

To be concluded!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Vixen, Steel, Gypsy

Notable Moments: Another nasty end to a JLA member--he should have listened to the Martian Manhunter.

JLA Mail Room editor Greg Weisman reveals that, yes, the next issue of JLA will be the last.

*sniff*

Justice League of America #259 - Feb. 1987

2008-08-21T00:07:00.000-04:00

Professor Ivo continues his revenge on the Justice League!

The Story: "Homecoming!" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. We open on the lifeless face of Vibe, after he was murdered by one of Professor Ivo's androids.

The body is found by Manhunter, Vixen, and Steel, who are so enraged that Vixen threatens the life of a bystander who she thinks is involved.

Given the current feeling about superheroes, Steel convinces her to calm down, while Manhunter tells them--Vibe is dead.

He touches the weird mask on Vibe's face, lifts it off, and stares at it for a moment, thinking:

The police arrive, but the heroes pay them no heed, and carry Vibe off.

They don't realize Ivo is watching them, and he moves to phase 2 of his plan--kill Gypsy. He has realized the best revenge is to kill these innocent heroes, make them pay for the crimes of the original League, hurting them in a way that just killing them never could.

But he is conflicted over Gypsy, because even to him, she seems so young and innocent. He consults another android therapist, but gets mad when it agrees with him. He quickly changes course and orders the hit on Gypsy.

Gypsy decides to head home--to her real home--and hitchhikes a ride with a creepy, dead-eyed guy.

Meanwhile, Vixen and Steel want to know who this "Ivo" character is Manhunter keeps muttering about, and he tells them about his and the League's history. He figures out Ivo's sick plan and heads out to search for him.

Meanwhile, Ivo's android reveals himself and attacks Gypsy, who manages to defend herself for a little while. Finally, though, the android delivers the "killing" blow, leaving Ivo racked with guilt.

But all is not what it seems:

The android explains he and his brothers were made from Ivo's brainwaves...his thoughts and feelings. Ivo's doubts about murdering Gypsy simply manifested themselves in this android, who realized it was wrong to kill. He drives Gypsy home, who has a tearful reunion with her parents.

As he watches the scene from outside, a hand grabs his shoulder--a hand belonging to the very mad Martian Manhunter.

To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Vixen, Steel, Gypsy

Notable Moments: ...and then there were four.

I'm glad whoever at DC decided who would live and die chose to spare Gypsy. As Ivo said, she was so sweet that killing her would've been so grim it might've been unbearable.

The deck was stacked with Vibe--he was written by several writers as a jerk, so he was first on the chopping block. But Gypsy, thankfully, was spared.

JLA Mail Room editor Greg Weisman hints at the identity of #255's co-writer Michael Ellis, but doesn't say who he is exactly.

Justice League of America #258 - Jan. 1987

2008-08-20T00:47:00.001-04:00

The final case of the Justice League of America!

The Story: "Saving Face!" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Bob Smith. We open on the monstrous face of Professor Ivo, as he is undergoing psychotherapy.

He is telling his therapist about how the Justice League ruined his life, by turning him into a monster!

The therapist tells Ivo he knows that's not true, that it was he who attacked the League--

Ivo cuts him off, and then turns him off. We see that the therapist is nothing more than a robot, built by Ivo to have someone to talk to.

Back at the Secret Sanctuary, the JLA is dealing with their failure to help Firestorm defeat the villain Brimstone (in Legends #1). As usual, Vibe makes a bad situation worse:

This quickly degenerates into name-calling, and then even a fight breaks out between Elongated Man and Vibe!

Manhunter breaks it up, but says that, following the President's order that all super-heroes withdraw from public life, he is disbanding the Justice League.

Gypsy tries to argue, but Vixen says J'onn is right. Elongated Man agrees, saying they've all got personal lives to deal with. He apologizes to Vibe, but Vibe blows him off.

There's not much left to say:

After Manhunter leaves the room, the rest of the heroes decide to head back to Vixen's apartment to talk. They invite Vibe, but he turns against them, sulking.

Meanwhile, we see that Ivo has built dozens of androids, and sends one of them out to find its "intended victim."

Later, we see Vibe aimlessly wandering his hometown streets. He runs into a little boy who worships Superman. Vibe is angry the kid doesn't know about his own people's superhero--him--but then dejectedly walks off.

He then runs into Ivo's android, who immediately attacks him!

With the kid watching, Vibe uses his powers to fight him off, telling himself he won't be defeated, won't let the kid down.

He hits the android over and over again with his powers, until it falls over and stops moving. The kid is thrilled, and runs off, desperate to tell his friends and family about their homegrown superhero, Vibe.

Vibe then decides to call the League about this, and realizes he was wrong to dismiss his teammates. But then:

Vibe is dead.

The android's mission completed, it walks off, leaving a member of the Justice League lying dead on the street like so much garbage:

To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: This story--both this issue and eventually the entire four parts--blew my mind. I couldn't believe what I was reading--not only were they killing off a member of the JLA, but they were doing it in such a nasty way. Vibe learns the error of his ways just before he is strangled to death. Ouch.

The new-ish JLA logo used since the second JLA Annual is replaced by the old school, mid-60s one.

Justice League of America #257 - Dec. 1986

2008-08-19T00:14:00.000-04:00

The final showdown with Adam!

The Story: "Coming Down!" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Bob Smith. Picking yup from last issue, Martian Manhunter is desperately trying to reconnect the mental link he had with Zatanna and Gypsy as they toured Adam's psyche.

While he tries, we Zatanna wake up on some sort of beach, followed by Gypsy, who is unconscious.

Zatanna realizes she insisted Gypsy come along to teach her a lesson; feeling she was too naive in wanting to help people like Adam, even after all he has done.

Realizing that was wrong, she uses her powers to send Gypsy back to reality, where she arrives safe and sound.

Still in Adam's psyche, though, Zatanna has a troubling encounter:

While in the embrace of Adam (eww), her father Zatara resurfaces, and shows Zatanna who Adam really is, turning him into a type of demon, a representation of Adam's lust!

She runs away, and finds even more bizarre psychic landscapes, with seemingly no way out:

Zatanna then comes across the God-Head itself, as it begins to devour Adam's psyche. She flings herself into the God-Head, after getting a message from her father, saying to come find him. She does, and then the God-Head promptly spits her out!

Manhunter is furious with Zee, thinking she gave up trying to save Adam, but actually the opposite is true--while being one with the God-Head, she saw "the plan". She takes Adam's hand, and he wakes up!

They both start to talk that the God-Head wanted this to happen, wanted them to be bonded like this and take this trip together. After calming down a hysterical Pam, Zatanna and Adam depart, Zee nonchalantly resigning from the Justice League and maybe even Reality itself:

Later, Manhunter and Gypsy tell the rest of the team what has happened, none of them liking what they hear. But they don't have time to discuss it for long, since Firestorm suddenly arrives, needing their help!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: This story continues in Legends #1, and then dovetails back here, for the next issue of JLA.

At some point, not sure when, but I guess Batman resigned from the League, since he makes no more appearances in the book after #254.

The end to the Zatanna story is weird and abrupt, and certainly partly dictated by DC's plans for the League. But its weird in a sort of compelling way--you don't know what the hell Zee is talking about, which gives the thing a loose end, which isn't always a bad thing.

Justice League of America #256 - Nov. 1986

2008-08-18T00:09:00.000-04:00

The JLA faces the awesome power of Adam!

The Story: "Back to Godhead" by J.M. DeMatteis, Luke McDonnell, and Bob Smith. Last issue, John Jones (aka Martian Manhunter) caught a few slugs while investigating a murder.

Of course, that doesn't do much to him, but ending up in burning building did!

While Manhunter struggles to get out the flames, he begins to hallucinate(?), and he sees H'Ronmeer, who is nothing less than the God Martians pray to! He reaches out to J'onn, and is instantly transported away!

The same thing happens to Gypsy during a run-in with a homeless woman, and both of them realize they've undergone illusions, courtesy of Zatanna, who is currently on the floor of Adam's secret headquarters, nearly unconscious:

Manhunter tries to reach into her mind to communicate with her to wake her up, which works. Manhunter is skeptical when Zee tells him her father--her late father--is the one who brought them both here to help her.

Suddenly, the four of them (Gypsy's friend Pam is along for the ride) start tripping through different dimensions, none of them knowing what if any of this is real.

Staggering into the room is Adam, who looks lost and in utter agony.

Zatanna tells them that Adam has forcibly achieved in one day what other mystics spend a lifetime trying to reach--transcending the ego and "merging with the godhead." Without preparation, it simply brings madness.

Manhunter asks Zatanna to try and help Adam come back from the edge of madness, which she reluctantly does. To do so, she has to go into Adam's psyche. Which she does, and how:

Zatanna and Gypsy travel through Adam's psyche, where they are attacked by a horde of demons (as Zee explains it, transferring thoughts in Adam's head into something they could comprehend), which pull them down into the murky ground.

Manhunter, who has been the anchor point for this trip, loses the connection, and begs Adam to help them. But how can he, when he can't even help himself?

To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, Gypsy

Notable Moments: J.M. DeMatteis may have only had the steering wheel of the JLA for a few months, but he certainly floored it once he took the wheel!

Even though this isn't very "Leagueish", I'm kind of glad he didn't cram the other members into this story--there's just no room for them in this issue.

Justice League of America #255 - Oct. 1986

2008-08-17T00:11:00.000-04:00

Zatanna in the fight of her life!

The Story: "Rising" by Gerry Conway, Michael Ellis, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. When we saw Zatanna last, she was a captive of the mysterious Adam, who seems to be the god-like figure in a cult that Zee's friend Sherri is a part of.

Zatanna is tied down a grimy mattress, which a tough-looking nurse watching over her. She dreams(?) she is talking to her late father, the master magician Zatara.

Zatanna and Zatara squabble over what is real and what is not, and Zatanna starts to recall the events leading up to where she is now.

She sees herself on the yacht, sees her friend Sherri, except she remembers events as different than what we saw last issue. Instead of getting hit on the head, Zatanna remembers it as:

She then remembers being put under Adam's creepy operating machine, which he wants to use to steal Zatanna's genetic code, so he can become one of the Homo Magi.

Zatara leaves her with promise that she won't be hurt again, which wakes Zee up. The nurse sees this and tries to ply her with more tranquilizers, but Zee uses her magic powers to throw the woman across the room and free herself from her constraints.

Zatanna, as she is escaping, runs into Sherri, and then is blasted by Adam, dressed in a costume befitting a would-be demi-god. He uses his powers to trap Zatanna in some magical bonds.

Zee managed to hit her JLA signal device, but Adam is powerful enough to "see" the signal arrive at JLA HQ, where the team regroups and heads out to find Zatanna.

Meanwhile, John Jones. P.I., works on the murder case he's been framed for, which leads him to the real culprit--the woman's husband's mistress, who claims it was he who "made her do it."

The adulterous husband loses control and fires a few slugs into John, which of course doesn't hurt him. What does is when the force of the bullets knock him into a fire raging in a fireplace! The man and woman leave Jones to die.

Later, we see the JLA arrive at the building where Zatanna is. But when they get there, she's waiting there for them, telling them it was all a false alarm:

To be continued!

Roll Call: Batman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: This is Gerry Conway's last JLA issue. Too bad it was such an ignominious end--after almost eight uninterrupted years of writing the World's Greatest Superheroes, DC yanked Conway off the book in the middle of a story.

Also--I don't know who this Michael Ellis guy is. I assume its some form of pseudonym, since this is Ellis' only DC comic book credit. Weird that this credit would appear on Conway's final issue, with Ellis credited for the script, as if Conway needed help with that.

I find the sequence of Zatanna trying to recall what happened truly disturbing. Maybe I'm reading into it, but Zee's prone position in the second panel I posed, surrounded by faceless, threatening men, has a dark, disturbing subtext to it, only exacerbated by the fact that Zee is stripped naked and has her body violated by Adam's creepy machine.

Again, maybe I'm reading into it.

Justice League of America #254 - Sept. 1986

2008-08-16T00:03:00.001-04:00

The final battle with Despero--will the new Justice League be up to the task?

The Story: "Desperate Climax" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. Picking up from last issue, we open on Batman, grimly staring into the Fire of Py'Tar, trying to figure out a plan.

Despero experiences another agonizing renewal of his power, and walks out of the fire, only to be temporarily blinded by an explosive gas pellet thrown in his eyes by Batman.

Despero chases after Batman, blasting away at everything in sight, enraged more at Batman's guts than the explosion itself.

Meanwhile, Vixen tires to wake up the other JLAers, knocked out by Despero's last attack. They finally do, and Vixen tells them of Batman's plan.

When Vixen tells Vibe Batman is in there, fighting Despero alone, he basically gives up and says they have no hope of stopping him. But Steel doesn't want to hear it:

The JLA heads toward Despero's temple, and Vibe initially starts to walk away. Finally, he realizes his cowardice, and turns out to join his friends.

Inside, we see Batman has been captured again by Despero, but he's still trash-talking him anyway. This drives Despero nuts:

Batman even goes so far to call Despero "a pathetic little loser"(!), which distracts Despero long enough for the JLA to sneak in and hit him with a series of blows, courtesy Vixen and Steel.

Vixen then frees Batman, and they and the rest of them fight the various stone demons Despero has created. Despero then blasts at Steel, which infuriates Gypsy, who uses her hallucinogenic powers on Despero, causing him to go completely berserk.

Vibe then uses his powers on the Flame of Py'Tar, causing the effect on Despero that Batman guessed it would:

Everything Despero created disappears into nothingness, and Batman credits Vibe with the final blow.

Vibe is touched by Batman's compliment, and asks if they can double-date. Batman's answer: "Don't press your luck."

Roll Call: Batman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: Maybe the new JLA's finest moment, sad to think this was Gerry Conway's last story line with the team he wrote for so long. Despero is defeated by teamwork and logic, not some deus ex machina event at the end. I think, over time, if just a couple older JLAers had returned to the team, this could've been a workable concept. But of course, it wasn't to be.

This issue's cover is inked by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, another unusual choice as inker.

Justice League of America #253 - Aug. 1986

2008-08-15T00:06:00.000-04:00

Despero takes on the entire JLA!

The Story: "Pyre" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. The JLA is stunned to see their old foe, Despero, in a new, more powerful form, as well as their teammates Batman and Vixen trussed up.

While most of the team don't know who this guy is, Martian Manhunter sure does, and he keeps repeating, solemnly, "Despero", as if he can't believe it.

Despero explains he is here for revenge, and uses his power to turn a nearby skyscraper into a giant stone dragon, based upon a beast from Despero's home planet.

Steel tries to subdue the creature, but it doesn't work. This is something they've never encountered before.

My favorite part of this whole story line is that, even through all this, Batman still manages to play mind games with Despero:

The combined powers of the JLA find a way to smash the dragon into bits, which seems to pain Despero greatly, causing him to lash out and cause the ground beneath the JLA's feet to shake and shatter.

Despero then moves Batman and Vixen inside his stone temple, where Batman--of course--starts to form a plan.

Despero then joins them, and tells them how all this came to be, and how he came to battle the Justice League:

Even during this whole soliloquy, Batman stays focused, and gets Despero to tell him about the Flame of Py'Tar, which Bats believes is the source of Despero's newfound power.

Despero says, in the Flame of Py'Tar, his entire being was atomized and he was reborn in this new body, one capable of amazing, god-like power.

As Despero renews himself in the Flame, Batman slips one hand out of his stone manacle, freeing himself, and then Vixen. He then tells her that the JLA needs to destroy the Flame, which should stop Despero.

Vixen tries to argue, but Batman is already off to distract Despero. Vixen heads outside, and runs into a problem:

To be continued!

Roll Call: Batman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: A lot of the letters in the JLA Mail Room ask for Aquaman to come back. And while I've said before that I wouldn't want to lose the Neal Pozner/Craig Hamilton 1986 mini-series for anything, you have to think DC made a mistake dropping him from the JLA so abruptly. Maybe it's because he's still pictured in the letters page header.

I love, love, love that, even amid all this unbelievable power, Batman is still not all that impressed by Despero, and how much that pisses Despero off. It must be really fun to write Batman sometimes.

Justice League of America #252 - July 1986

2008-08-14T00:03:00.002-04:00

All hell breaks loose as Despero arrives on Earth, looking for the Justice League of America!

The Story: "Arrival" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. As we saw last issue, Despero makes his way to Earth, enveloped in a giant ball of fire.

Despero doesn't have much time for niceties, as we see him use his mental powers to extract from a human he stumbles upon where the Justice League is. Once he gets what he needs, he immolates the poor sap (and his dog, the bastard).

While he is disappointed to learn the Justice League he last fought and imprisoned him is no more, he is more than happy to go after the new one, since it is led by one of his old enemies, Batman:

Meanwhile, we see Zatanna try and escape from the hospital bed the megalomanic Adam has put her in, but some sort of electronic headband keeps her from going too far, but not before she sees Adam putting himself through some sort of bizarre experiment, starting with an electronic arm cutting him open with a scalpel!

Later that night, Bruce Wayne and Mari McCabe are having dinner. But of course, the dinner is interrupted by big trouble:

Bruce turns to Batman before Mari even has time to think, but she quickly changes too into her superhero togs and they see who's the cause of all this destruction.

Batman is a little unprepared for the sheer amount of power Despero is now showing, as the ground shakes and breaks open, with demons spewing forth.

Despero grabs Bats, who gets a punch in, which infuriates Despero for the sheer effrontery. Vixen then knocks Despero into a pit of fire, but that only makes him angrier, so angry that he shoots himself into the sky, causing a massive ball of fire to explode in the night sky!

Back at the Secret Sanctuary, the League has assembled, Batman having sent a JLA distress signal. They head to New York, and they don't like what they see:

To be contnued!

Roll Call: Batman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: This issue's cover is inked by Kyle Baker, of all people. I wonder how that came about.

Luke McDonnel gives this battle a real sense of scope--he doesn't skimp on shots of lots of lots of buildings surrounding this massive conflagration caused by Despero.

Elongated Man's new costume makes its first appearance in the book.

Justice League of America #251 - June 1986

2008-08-13T00:03:00.002-04:00

Despero returns to exact his revenge on the Justice League!

The Story: "Hunters and Prey" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. We see the all-new Despero making his way with only one thing on his mind...revenge.

Meanwhile, the new JLAers are being put through their paces by Batman (Ha! and they thought Aquaman was a hard-ass!).

As he tries to teach Vibe to concentrate and hone his powers, Vibe gets fed up and walks off, throwing insults as he leaves. You gotta say this--Vibe has guts. No brains, but guts.

In another part of the Secret Sanctuary, Martian Manhunter works on the murder case he stumbled upon (back in JLA #248), and Gypsy tags along when Manhunter leaves to follow up on the trail.

In Manhattan, we see what grim events have taken over Zatanna since getting knocked out:

...it's here she meets Adam, a slick, nice-looking man who the rest of the group talk about as if a god.

Adam takes a blood sample from Zee, with the goal of injecting into himself, so he has enough power to "fulfill his dream." Uh-oh...

While Manhunter and Gypsy make progress in the investigation, and Steel goes on a date with a woman named Robin, Vixen and Batman spend some private time together:

...I love the moody art on this page, and how cool Bats looks, panel four in particular.

Back with Despero, we see him reach the burned out hull of the JLA satellite, only to find it, well, burned out and empty. He turns his attention toward Earth...that's where they must be.

To be continued!

Roll Call: Batman, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: Elongated Man (and Sue) makes no appearance in this issue, the first time since JLA Detroit started where not all of the members made at least a cameo appearance.

I think this issue reveals--retroactively--the idea that Gerry Conway mentioned in our interview, in that he originally intended to Aquaman stay around a lot longer. He and Vixen formed an interesting friendship, which she immediately then transfers to Batman.

Justice League of America Index #1 - April 1986

2008-08-12T00:25:00.000-04:00

Before we move on to seeing the new, all-new, all-badass Despero kick the JLA's butt, we need to take a moment to talk about another JLA series that started around this time.

Eclipse Comics, via their Independent Comics Group imprint, started producing a whole series of indexes for long-running DC titles, like All-Star Comics, Doom Patrol, Hawkman, and Justice League of America.

As a kid obsessed with every bit of JLA minutiae I could get my hands on, seeing this first issue on the stands was like manna from heaven--as a kid (heck, even now) I think enjoying talking about a comic, a TV show, or a movie almost as much as the thing itself. And as if to ratchet up the excitement even more, its got a George Perez cover! Yes!

While it confused me why DC was outsourcing these books out to another company (and Eclipse, no less), I didn't care. I grabbed this first issue, putting back some other books so I could afford it on my 15-year-old budget.

Unfortunately, the cover turned out to be the most exciting thing about these books--no offense to those who worked on these things, but the text is so dry in that it basically just recites the events of the first 19 issues, nothing more. I bought one or two more of these, then gave up.

In addition to cataloging the first bunch of issues of the book, this first volume gives us a rundown of all of the JLA members, including this:

...so the Phantom Stranger is an official member? At 15, this kind of inconsistency drove me nuts!

There are also some mistakes in the text (Aquaman is still listed as a current member, even though, by this point, Batman had already taken over in #250, which is mentioned here), and many of the covers used are beat-up; couldn't DC even provide some nice clean scans?

Like I said, it was the covers Eclipse put together that remain for me the nicest part of the series, starting with George Perez (though this is piece is credited as 1983, maybe it was intended for something else?), and then moving onto Stan Woch, Joe Staton, Jerry Ordway, and Luke McDonnell:

...I didn't want to catalog each issue of this series, because then I'm indexing an index; and that seemed kinda insane to me. So I thought this was enough before we move onto JLA #251...

Justice League of America #250 - May 1986

2008-08-11T00:03:00.002-04:00

The JLA's 250th anniversary issue, and a new leader takes charge!

The Story: "The Return of the Justice League of America" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. Picking up from last issue, Sue Dibny managed to hit the JLA Distress Signal, just as she is blasted by a strange being who has sprang forth from the alien stowaway known as "Junior."

We see who is receiving the signal--first up, its Batman, who is in the process of stopping some kidnappers from getting away with their hostages. After punching out most of them, he ends the melee simply by staring down the last one. Nice.

He is shocked to hear his JLA signal device go off, as is Superman, who finishes putting out a wildfire and then heads off to the source of the signal.

The same thing happens to Green Lantern, currently out in space, and Green Arrow and Black Canary, a little closer to home. Alas, the signal does not make it to everyone:

Back at the Secret Sanctuary, we see who this intruder is--a golden skinned man, who short circuits the JLA computer with his touch. He knows more are coming, and he will be ready...

Next, we find ourselves in a bucolic neighborhood, as the girl we know as Gypsy is coming from school. She has a Mom, a Dad, a little sister, and all seems to be well. Is this a dream? A flashback?

She enters a typical teenaged girl's room--stuffed animals, messy bed, Madonna poster on the wall. No, wait, it's a poster of...Vixen?:

Gypsy is pulled into the wall, then watches all her JLA friends start to wither away to nothing, all of them telling Gypsy she is next.

Of course, this is all a hallucination, and Gypsy wakes up from it screaming, in the arms of Black Canary and her fellow former Justice Leaguers:

Gypsy explains what happend, and Batman immediately takes charge. The heroes split up to search the Sanctuary to find the creature that did this.

Meanwhile, Zatanna is continuing her search for her friend Sherri. The trail leads her to a marina, where she assumes regular clothes and finds her way to a docked yacht. Amid weird questions about whether she is "part of the group", across the yacht she sees...Sherri!

As she approaches her, Sherri can only offer "I'm sorry" before one of them hits Zee over the head, knocking her out. To be continued...

Back at the Sanctuary, Green Lantern and Green Arrow run into the mysterious alien attacker, who blasts Hal, aging him the same way the others are! Green Arrow gets an arrow into the baddie's chest before he runs off.

He then runs into Superman and Batman, and they figure out that this alien is "carrying" their friends' life energies in him, and if they destroy him, they do the same to their friends!

The JLAers lure Junior from room to room, until he dives for Batman, misses, and plunges into a web of high voltage wires! Superman then grabs the wires, and, using his own body as conduit, transfers the energy to the unconscious JLAers, restoring them to normal. As Batman says, "It's over."

As the heroes celebrate, Martian Manhunter makes a plea to Batman--he should leading the League. At first he demurs, but finally:

In an epilogue, we see the strange alien from the previous issues has survived the trail of fire, and emerges reborn, as...Despero the Destroyer!

To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: The story a lot of JLA fans were waiting for, if a little dishonestly sold--you got the sense from the ads that Superman, Green Lantern, et al, were rejoining the League, when it was just Batman. Still, progress!

This issue has a two-page JLA Mail Room, now back under the aegis of Alan Gold. Gold had a nice habit of printing the names of every person who sent in a letter, even if he didn't print the letter. To that end, here's the one moment he original JLA book and I converged:

...yep, that's me heading the list. My letter writing at that time was atrocious, and it doesn't surprise me that none of my letters ever got printed. Getting mentioned at all was a total thrill--and in the 250th issue yet!

Ok--we're now a year's worth of issues away from the final issue of JLA. As I have mentioned before, I'm planning about a week or so of posts after that before officially turning out the lights on JLA Satellite.

One of themes I've covered since starting this was naming my favorite issues, whenever they came down the pike.

But what I'd like to hear before we go are your choices for favorite issues. This blog has never enjoyed the (relative) popularity of The Aquaman Shrine, but its audience has remained remarkably consistent--each post of this blog has almost the exact same number of hits each day--which leads me to think those of you who stuck with me through this long, strange trip are, deep down, big fans of the JLA.

So, if you are so inclined, email me a list of your three or four favorite issues, with maybe a few sentences as to why you like them so much, and I'll post everyone's choices!

Justice League of America #249 - April 1986

2008-08-10T00:05:00.001-04:00

Things get worse with the mysterious alien visitor Junior!

The Story: "All Fall Down!" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. The JLAers are stunned to see what has happened to Vixen--she is suddenly aged to the point of near death, and they don't know why!

Meanwhile, Steel and Vibe want to imprison Junior, but Gypsy is having none of it. She insists Junior means no harm; a point that takes a beating when Junior zaps Steel when he tries to touch it!

Then Vibe inadvertently causes a small cave in when he tries to use his powers, trapping him and Steel inside, leaving Gypsy and Junior outside.

While all this is going on, Manhunter and Elongated Man try to figure out what's wrong with Vixen:

As Manhunter finds a piece of Junior's skin on the floor, Ralph starts to feel woozy and weak. Steel and Vibe find them, and he tells them they must find Junior--now.

Meanwhile, Zatanna is on the search for her missing friend, which involves consulting a fortune teller named Mama Larue. She tells Zee about a "voodoo man" who came to town recently, and uses something called Graveyard Dust, the stuff that Zee found in her apartment.

Back at the Secret Sanctuary, Sue Dibny is driving there to meet up with her husband, when she runs into Gypsy and Junior, and we see now Gypsy is starting to age just like Vixen!

On planet Kalanor, however, we see the mysterious alien undergoing a ritual with The Flame of Py'Tar, which, if it doesn't destroy you, leaves you with great powers. He enters the flame, and screams.

Back on Earth, Manhunter consults the JLA's computer memory banks and learns that Junior came from a spore that attached itself to Superman many years ago when he visited an alien planet, and landed in the Secret Sanctuary when he got back. It has been living here all these years, unbeknownst to anyone.

Turns out the Junior is unknowingly sucking the life energy out of the people around it, and we see that this is now happening to all the JLAers!

Sue Dibny sees all this, and then sees Junior start to glow, and crack open. A shadowy, energy-draped figure emerges:

To be continued? Yes, To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: It was good this Junior storyline started to ramp up; after a few issues it kind of got like "Is this going anywhere?"

I also like that this whole thing sprang from a mission Superman went on years ago? Doesn't he check himself before he returns to Earth?

The art team of McDonnell and Wray are exceptional at rendering withered old people--they look like actual old people, not the people you know but with some extra lines on their faces.

Justice League of America #248 - March 1986

2008-08-09T00:02:00.000-04:00

J'onn J'onzz, Manhunter for hire!

The Story: "Interweavings" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. Picking up from last issue, Elongated Man, Vixen, and Gypsy are wondering what to do with this new alien resident of their Secret Sanctuary.

They also wonder if there are any other surprises awaiting them, something J'onn might be able to help with.

Unfortunately for them, J'onn is a little busy in his i.d. of John Jones, who is involved with a murder case as a private eye.

He's staking out a woman when he hears a scream coming from her apartment. He rushes in to find her dead, and then is followed by some cops who think he did it!

He smells a frame up, and uses his invisibility to get away, resolving to solve the case himself.

Meanwhile, in deep space, the mysterious magenta-skinned space traveler who we saw last issue arrives at his destination, the planet of Kalanor. He gets out of his ship, where the people there worship him like a God:

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Zatanna continues her quest to find her missing friend Sheri. She collects some mysterious ash on the floor of the apartment they shared, and then finds a note with "Westside Marina 9:00" scribbled on it. She takes the note and heads out.

While Steel and Vibe go through their respective dramas, back at the Secret Sanctuary, the three JLAers are trying to communicate with the alien they have come to call "Junior."

Junior makes it outside, only to be met by Manhunter, Steel, and Vibe. They try and prevent it from getting away and heading to the city, but it zaps Steel, causing the other two to knock it out with a combined Manhunter/Vibe attack.

Gypsy is mad that they did this, saying Junior means no harm. But as we see, that may not be true:

To be continued!

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: Kind of a meandering issue, the cover promises us an all-Manhunter issue, which could have been fun; instead this is mostly a bunch of random plot lines.

But I remember enjoying the build-up--slow and meticulous--to the return of Despero.

Justice League of America #247 - Feb. 1986

2008-08-08T00:03:00.000-04:00

The new JLA returns to an old home...but not everything they find there is good!

The Story: "...There's No Place Like Home" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. We open late at night, by a mountainside hiding a huge steel door.

We see inside, and its the Justice League draped in darkness. Zatanna casts a spell, filling the place with light. We see they are in...the Secret Sanctuary, the original HQ for the League!

Manhunter marvels at how well the place has held up, which is partially thanks to the Injustice Gang, who used the place as a hideout way back in JLA #158.

Vibe thinks the place is a dump, but Gypsy loves it, loves the whole mystery/fairy tale aspect to it. She gets so mad she uses her powers on Vibe, who for a moment thinks he is about to plunge into a pit of fire and lava.

While Gypsy goes exploring, Steel and Manhunter set out to start up the base's generator:

After Gypsy comes back with a family of rats she's found, Vixen senses another presence there along with them.

Meanwhile, at a spaceport across the galaxy, a magenta-skinned alien steals a spaceship, thinking nothing of killing some other aliens in the process...

Back on Earth, we see Steel possibly land a job in the movies, and Zatanna starts to investigate her friend Sherri's abrupt disappearance. Back at her apartment, she finds a small pile of...is it dust?...on the floor.

Back at the Secret Sanctuary, Vixen is attacked by some sort of alien creature, which then turns its attention to Gypsy:

Gypsy tries to fight the creature, but then it suddenly stops, plops itself on the ground, and begins to...cry?

To be continued?

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: I thought it was a cool idea to return the JLA to its original base. Back when we talked to Gerry Conway, he mentioned wanting to, at some point, returning the JLA to look more like what it once did, and its a shame in a lot of ways that didn't get to happen.

A old/new JLA hybrid operating out of the original Secret Sanctuary might have been a really interesting thing to follow.

Justice League of America #246 - Jan. 1986

2008-08-07T00:08:00.001-04:00

The JLA gets thrown out onto the street!

The Story: "Be It Ever So Humble..." by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Bill Wray. Steel returns from his adventure in the future (last issue), only to see that his grandfather has kicked him and his fellow JLAers out of their Detroit HQ!

Steel doesn't want to hear about his grandfather having a legal right to do so--he's mad, so he does what he does best--smash stuff!

He smashes his way into the HQ, where he is met by his old friend Dale Gunn, who makes a half-hearted attempt to stop him.

As Steel searches for his grandfather, Dale is comforted by the rest of the League, and Martian Manhunter ponders the team's fate:

Steel's grandfather, once Steel finds him, explains that he wants to give his grandson and the JLA a fresh start, one without the black mark of Commander Steel's actions hanging over them. Instead of another argument, it ends with a hug.

The JLA, homeless, decides to head for New York, where Vixen, in her civilian life as Mari McCabe, has an apartment. Zatanna and J'onn talk amongst themselves, and their thoughts turn dark:

The JLAers decide to resume their civilian identities in the Big Apple--Manhunter, as John Jones, becomes a private investigator, Steel tries his hand at being a personal trainer, and Vibe gets sticker-shock from the price of New York apartments.

Zatanna takes up residence at an old friend's home, and is a little worried to find her mysteriously gone...

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: Things take an extraordinary dark turn with this issue--the JLA, homeless? Having to get jobs? Now that they don't have the ability to live and train together, the whole reason Aquaman formed the new League in the first place is gone.

There's a real melancholy to the stories from this period, the kind of feeling you get when you're working for an employer who keeps laying people off until there's only a small group of you working in a space that used to be bustling with life. You wonder, should I jump ship before its too late? You have to think people like Ralph and Zee looked at each other, wondering where the heck the JLA they called home for so long has gone.

Part of the feeling derives from Luke McDonnell's work--its very well done, but most of the scenes takes place at night, drenched in shadow, and it gives a sort of gloomy feeling to the proceedings.

Justice League of America #245 - Dec. 1985

2008-08-06T00:05:00.000-04:00

Steel in an adventure all his own--with an old foe of the Justice League!

The Story: "The Long Road Home" by Gerry Conway, Luke McDonnell, and Mike Machlan. We open with Steel, beaten and dazed, wandering a strange, unfamiliar land. Is this even Earth?

Steel is so tired he falls over onto the ground, but learns this is no time for a rest--he is immediately attacked by a horde of giant insects!

Luckily, instinct and training kicks in, and Steel makes short work of his attackers, punching and throwing them off him.

We see that Steel is being watched, by a mysterious group of people drenched in shadows. They resolve among themselves to capture Steel and bring him to them.

After smushing most of the giant bugs with a giant rock, Steel runs into a beautiful stranger (aren't they always?):

As this Olanda woman carries Steel off, she is attacked by the "killer bot" ordered by the shadowy group to do the same job. Olanda fires a weapon from her ship, blowing the robot up.

This group watches what happened, and talks of "The Progenitor" and how he/she/it will "learn the intruder's secrets." They also claim this Progenitor brought Steel here in the first place.

Back on our Earth, the JLA explain to the wounded, elder Hank Heywood that his grandson is gone, and they have no idea where he is!

Back to with Steel, we see him in an opulent bedroom, with Olanda bringing him food and drink. When he mentions he is part of the Justice League, she is startled, and storms out.

Steel follows Olanda, and sees her talking to a disembodied voice. She tells Steel this is the year 1,000,000,000 A.D., and asks what he remembers before he came here.

Turns out (in Crisis on Infinite Earths #9) Steel was separated from the rest of the League, and caught in some sort of explosion, which knocked him into another dimension, and, apparently, into the far future.

They are then suddenly attacked by a group of "kill bots" from outside their base, but Steel makes quick work of them. He then meets who the disembodied voice is:

...the Lord of Time!

Turns out the Lord of Time eventually gave up his super-villainy, and decided, using cloning techniques, to create a family for himself, including his beloved daughter Olanda.

But the other clones rebelled, and stole the Lord of Time's Chrono-Cube, which allows him to travel through time. Without it, he is stuck here, at the end of the world, suffering their attacks.

At the clones' base, we see they are split as to what to do. Most of them want to attack their "father" one more time, once and for all. But one of them is afraid of this new addition, who ca destroy their robots at will. He suggests taking the cube and moving to another time, leaving the Lord of Time behind.

As the clones dicker, Steel comes crashing through a wall, tossing kill bots left and right!

Olanda grabs the Lord of Time and throws him into the cube, so he disappears, taking the cube with him.

Steel suddenly sees all the clones and bots disappear, and the Lord of Time returns, explaining he went back in time and stopped himself from creating all the clones in the first place...but not Olanda.

The Lord of Time offers to return Steel to his own time, but he grabs Olanda's arm, and says, what's the hurry? He's got all the time in the world...

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: A really interesting story...I like the idea of one of the JLA's most indefatigable villains finally giving up and creating a life for himself away from the rest of humanity.

There's very little mention of the LOT's history with the JLA, I wonder how this story would have read if it had been written a lot earlier, and it had been one of the original Leaguers taking this trip? I'm not saying it would have been better, just different.

This is the debut of Luke McDonnell as the JLA's last regular penciler, and I enjoyed his work quite a bit. It would get a bit loose and cartoony at times, but under inkers like Machlan and later Bill Wray, he gave the book a nice smooth (if frequently dark) look.

I'm guessing DC wouldn't have allowed the JLA to not appear at all in their own book, so they make a one-page cameo here. Might've been neat to never see the JLA at all.

Justice League of America Annual #3 - 1985

2008-08-05T00:12:00.000-04:00

The final JLA Annual as they meet the Crisis head on!

The Story: "Force of Nature" by Dan Mishkin, Rick Hoberg, and Mike Gustovich. We open in a way a JLA comic hasn't opened in a long time--the JLA satellite!

Former member Red Tornado is there, amid the wreckage, using his powers in conjunction with the (still functioning) JLA computers to try and find out more about himself. He was intrigued when (in Crisis on Infinite Earths #5) the Anti-Monitor called him "More than machine...more than man."

But a giant bolt of energy hurtles through space, hitting the satellite, knocking it out of its orbit, sending it heading towards the Earth below!

Meanwhile, other former JLA members Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Firestorm have teamed up to help keep a local auto plant safe from the falling satellite debris.

Martian Manhunter takes to the skies to help out, too, and drafts Steel and Vibe to assist him. Manhunter and Firestorm help deflect a giant fireball, keeping most of Detroit safe.

Vibe takes that as his cue to relax, which irks Green Arrow to no end:

Firestorm plays referee, and then Manhunter discovers a troubling piece of wreckage: the Red Tornado's head!

Meanwhile, in New York, Reddy's love, Kathy Sutton, returns home to her apartment, and is startled when she sees Red Tornado show up on her television, asking for her help!

At the same time, Zatanna and Elongated Man are at S.T.A.R. Labs, where they are asked to help secure the Golden Gate Bridge, which is in danger of being damaged--not by all the anti-matter energy flying around due to the Crisis, as Ralph thinks--but by S.T.A.R. itself!

A S.T.A.R. scientist reveals that the crazy weather happening is due to some weather-control satellites they have been testing, and have lost control of, due to some unknown force. These satellites are affecting weather all over the world!

Back at the JLA's Detroit HQ, Manhunter and the rest communicate with Zee and Ralph, who explain what's happening and why.

Meanwhile, Kathy Sutton arrives in Gotham City, as per Reddy's instruction. We see that Reddy's powers have increased greatly as he touches base with Kathy again:

Batman and the Outsiders stumble across Kathy on a windswept Gotham bridge, and she tells Batman that Reddy told her to meet him there.

Superman is also on hand, and he spies a massive warp in the sky--he tries to enter it, but it tossed to the ground. Geo-Force then tries to use his powers to try and close the warp, but he fails, too.

The warp then sucks Green Arrow, Black Canary, Firestorm, and Kathy Sutton into it, closing itself before Batman can tell Geo-Force to turn off his powers and let the rest of them get sucked in, too.

Our heroes are then dumped by the warp on the other side of the country, where the rest of the League are.

Up in space, Manhunter and Superman discover one of the rogue satellites, and use their combined muscle to smash it to bits. Whoever or whatever has taken control of them transfers "itself" into another one of the satellites, and talks of running out of time to "collect the energy it needs."

The weather has calmed down, and the heroes pause to try and figure out what's going on. Vibe takes five, which sends Green Arrow into another rage:

...I think a lot of us had been waiting for this moment.

Arrow informs Vibe that this is life and death, and his friends like Red Tornado and Supergirl are dead, so he better wise up.

Meanwhile, Superman and Manhunter keep smashing satellites, the last one releasing a giant...tornado?!?

The tornado starts talking about finally being "free!", but promises the heroes it means no harm. To prove that, it assumes a form they all know--their friend, the Red Tornado!

Reddy explains that when the JLA satellite got hit, all he could do was transfer his consciousness into the nearest electronic system, which was one of S.T.A.R.'s satellites.

The JLA is a little non-plussed, telling Reddy he's responsible for a lot of destruction, but Reddy claims he is now a "force of nature", with power to "re-make the world!" Uh-oh!

Kathy Sutton can't accept this, and concludes that some of part of the man she loved is still in there, that's why he called her to come to him! She jumps into the giant tornado (brave girl, that Kathy) where she talks to Reddy, who tells her that he will show people "a new light" and she "will always be at my side." Double uh-oh!

Kathy still doesn't buy this, and tells Reddy that to be accepted as a savior, he has to approach humans as one of them, not above them. Reddy assumes his more superhero-like shape, and is in the middle of giving up his lust for control, when the Man of Steel uses his super-breath to encase Reddy in a block of ice!

Turns out this was all a plan, the JLA using Kathy to get Reddy to pull back from the edge. The JLA congratulates her for doing what was necessary, but Kathy feels like she betrayed the man she loves.

Of course, Supes' block of ice can't hold a force of nature, and Red Tornado breaks free of it, re-assumes his massive tornado shape, castigates Kathy, and disappears, promising one day "...there will be a reckoning!"

All the heroes are left with is a rainbow...

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: What a sad story!

I don't "sad" as meaning "bad" necessarily, I just mean that Red Tornado was a punching bag in the DCU for so long, it seems...wrong, somehow, to have his story end this way. Unfortunately, Reddy was just another casualty of the Crisis going on at the time. Some of the changes that occurred because of the COIE were good, some...not so much.

It was fun seeing Green Arrow slap Vibe around a bit, especially since Vibe is written here as real uncaring jerk. Maybe he wouldn't have been so capricious if he knew he'd live through the Crisis, but not DC's next big crossover event.

Justice League of America #244 - Nov. 1985

2008-08-04T00:07:00.000-04:00

The final JLA/JSA team-up!

The Story: "The Final Crisis" by Gerry Conway, Joe Staton, and Mike Machlan. Following events in Infinity Inc. #19, the JLA has been kicked out of their Detroit headquarters by its owner, Hank Heywood, Steel's grandfather.

So the JLA, under the leadership of the Martian Manhunter, is making a trip to their old, ruined satellite.

Vibe wants to know why they've made this loooong trip, and why, in his eyes, they are "running" from those kids in Infinity, Inc.

Manhunter says the JLA needs assistance (in fighting Infinity, Inc.? Oh, how the mighty have fallen...) and gets busy culling information from the JLA's computers.

Vibe asks Elongated Man who they're supposedly getting help from, and Ralph explains the whole Earth-1/Earth-2 thing:

That Vibe, he's a charmer.

Meanwhile, back the JLA's Detroit HQ, Infinity Inc. investigates the place, and can see no evidence of what Commander Steel told them--namely, that the JLA were bad guys, planning some sort of insurrection.

As Northwind and Silver Scarab head off to do some more investigating, Fury heads a different way, and discovers something horrible--the robot known as Mekanique (first seen in All-Star Squadron) seemingly torturing a young man (who we recognize as Steel)!

Commander Steel gets the drop on her, though, and knocks her lights out.

Back up in space, Manhunter has Zatanna use her magic to power up the JLA's transmatter tube, which carries them to Earth-2. At the same time, Commander Steel and Mekanique attack all of Infinity Inc., and with the element of surprise, buries them in rubble.

Commander Steel has been driven quite mad--he sees this new JLA as outlaws and traitors, and not worthy of his grandson, his superhero namesake.

In the midst of his tirade, he is surprised by the sudden appearance of the Justice Society--Dr. Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Flash, Hawkman, and Wonder Woman--who are shocked to see what has happened to the man they knew.

Using Mekanique as a decoy, Commander Steel manages to escape, only to find himself in an underground basement, where Fury and the JLA are waiting for him!

Steel says this is between him and his grandfather, and they begin a knock-down, drag-out fight, while the red skies of the Crisis loom ominously outside.

Mekanique vanishes, and Dr. Fate warns something worse is coming. The JLA and Infinity Inc. meet up and team-up to fight off the disasters raging outside:

...I like that top panel. Very "chaaaarrrrge!"

While the heroes save lives, the battle between the two Steels ends. It seems Commander Steel is...dead?...as Hank stands over him, his eyes filled with tears.

Roll Call: Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: A nice fill-in job by Joe Staton, drawing what would be the last ever JLA/JSA team-up, at least as they were classically defined.

I noticed the "jerk" quotient of Vibe got ramped up here, both from Conway and from Dan Mishkin, who wrote the third JLA Annual, which came out this same month (and we'll see here tomorrow).

This is editor Alan Gold's final issue as editor, handing the reins over to Andy Helfer. Unless I'm very careless, I can't find any mention of why Chuck Patton left the book. Weird!

Justice League of America #243 - Oct. 1985

2008-08-03T00:06:00.000-04:00

Aquaman returns, and the final chapter of the Amazo story!

The Story: "Storm Clouds" by Gerry Conway, George Tuska, and Mike Machlan. Continued from last issue, we see Aquaman--with Mera--return to the JLA's Detroit headquarters. He isn't relieved when he sees its empty.

Using the JLA computers, he sees the JLA headed for the Canadian Northwest, and he gets a feeling in the pit of his stomach--a bad one. Has he abandoned his friends when they needed him most?

Back in the Yukon, we see most of the JLA, unconscious and trussed-up, as they remain trapped in a pitch-black pit, put there by Amazo.

Vixen suffers from claustrophobia, but she finds it in herself to stay calm, and the power of her Tantu Totem allows her to break free of her rope bonds. Now...to dig herself and her friends out!

Meanwhile, Manhunter and Dale Gunn have arrived at the Fortress of Solitude, which was, before the melee in the Yukon, Amazo's last known address, as it were.

Vixen does manage to move the rock Amazo left there and dig herself out, helping her teammates out of the pit. She is met by another JLA shuttlecraft, and she is shocked to see it's Aquaman, and he's not alone:

Back at the Fortress, Manhunter finds what he was looking for: how Amazo escaped. Turns out it was an errant meteor that crashed and freed Amazo, not some supervillain or Amazo himself. To Manhunter, that means that all this destruction he is causing is from whatever human he first encountered, whose personality he assumed.

While Mera tends to the wounded JLAers, Aquaman tracks Amazo, who has made his way to Vancouver, and is ripping up the town!

They fly the shuttlecraft over him, and Aquaman dives out, getting a few good shots in on Amazo before he knew what--or who--hit him.

Back in the small town where all this started, Manhunter finds out that Amazo has been calling himself "MacGregor." Who's MacGregor? The local constable tells him:

...Tuska may not have been the best choice for superhero slugfests like this, but I simply adore that portrait of MacGregor--its so perfectly realized. Cartoony yet real--many artists tend to draw heavy people so they look grotesque, like Jabba the Hut, but Tuska nails it.

Anyway, back to Vancouver (where I'm sure all the destruction is causing the many, many movies always being shot there to halt production), Steel recovers enough to try again with Amazo. Amazon responds by throwing an unconscious Vixen at him.

Amazo is then confused when he meets--himself, Slick Jake MacGregor! But...how can that be?

Amazo is distracted long enough for Aquaman to deliver a two-handed, knockout wallop upside Amazo's head. MacGregor reveals himself, of course, to be Martian Manhunter using his shape-shifting powers.

Aquaman is happy, but Manhunter demands and explanation. He gets one, but probably not the one he wanted or expected:

Roll Call: Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: And with that abrupt ending, Aquaman's quarter-century career with the Justice League comes to an end.

At the time, I was furious that this story ended like this--I had been waiting for the eventual payoff to Aquaman being such an AquaJerk these past few months, but instead he ditches the JLA, gets back with the wife who seems to leave him every few months (I know she's hot an all, Arthur, but there are plenty of fish in the sea!), and leaves the JLA. I was fifteen, and the word "stricken" comes to mind as I recall reading this comic for the first time.

Of course, I now know some of the external forces that caused this, and while I wouldn't trade the superb Neal Pozner/Craig Hamilton Aquaman mini-series for anything, I really wish a better compromise could have been worked out between what Gerry Conway was doing here and DC's plans for Aquaman.

Also, this cover marks JLA Detroit co-creator Chuck Patton's final work on the book. After a fill-in next issue by Joe Staton, a new regular penciler takes over, the last one the book would ever have.

Interesting tidbit: on the JLA Mail Room page, letter writer Kent A. Phenis (who seemed to get more letters printed in DC books than anyone save T.M. Maple) wonders if the Phantom Stranger is still a member, since he wasn't around to be forced to make a choice.

Editor Alan Gold isn't sure, but I think its a safe bet that if Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman, et al, showed up too infrequently for Aquaman's tastes, then the Stranger was definitely out. He probably would've sent the Stranger his JLA membership card torn up into little bits, if he had known where to send it.

Justice League of America #242 - Sept. 1985

2008-08-02T00:05:00.000-04:00

Part of the new JLA vs. Amazo, plus Aquaman's search for Mera!

The Story: "Battle Cry" by Gerry Conway, George Tuska, and Mike Machlan. Picking up from last issue, we see Aquaman as he begins his search for his wife, Mera. He asks some of his finny friends, who tell him they saw her "Southeast--place of dark currents."

Meanwhile, the JLA is in the Yukon searching for the rampaging Amazo.

The Elongated Man and Gypsy are the next JLAers to run afoul of the super-powered android, and then soon after Zatanna uses her powers to conjure an image of what's happening to her friends and teammates. She and Steel take off to find them.

By this time, Martian Manhunter (and Dale Gunn) have awakened after their beat-down by the hands of Amazo. Manhunter takes a cool drink from a nearby stream, and something clicks in his head--"that's the answer--water."

Back with Aquaman, we see him reach "the place of dark currents"--off the continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean, a crevice as vast as the Grand Canyon. Arthur senses his wife is near:

Back in the Yukon, Steel is going after Amazo, and has just as tough a time as Manhunter did. Meanwhile, Zatanna has rounded up Vixen and Vibe (yeah, they'll be a lot of help) when Amazo gets the drop on them, too!

Laying on the back of a softly swimming whale, Aquaman and Mera discuss their differences, and when Aquaman admits he inadvertently cut himself off emotionally from his wife, Mera welcomes him "home."

We see that Manhunter and Dale Gunn are on their way to Superman's Fortress of Solitude, claiming the solution is there. Manhunter told the rest of the team not to engage Amazo, only to keep an eye on him.

But obviously that hasn't worked out, because we see Elongated Man, Gypsy, and Vixen trussed up and dropped in a hole, which Amazo attempts to seal forever:

To be continued!

Roll Call: Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: I absolutely love the old-timey cover by Chuck Patton, even if it strikes me as odd--first off, why is Patton still doing covers even after he left the book so unceremoniously?

And second, the JLA was in dark period here, and the cover's light-hearted tone doesn't really match the events inside. But what the hey, its still nicely composed, and this Aquaman fan is happy to see Arthur happy, if only for a moment.

Justice League of America #241 - Aug. 1985

2008-08-01T00:05:00.001-04:00

An old foe returns to face the new JLA!

The Story: "Sea Change" by Gerry Conway, George Tuska, and Mike Machlan. We open in the the Yukon, where we see a drunken, staggering man named Slick Jake MacGregor cursing the small town he's stuck in.

Jake gets caught in a blizzard and bumps into an ice-encrusted, strangely dressed stranger, who grabs MacGregor and starts to shake him, his hands heating up, until MacGregor screams in agony!

Cut to: the JLA's Detroit headquarters, where Aquaman is taking a swim while talking to Vixen.

Vixen is trying--again--to convince Arthur to go search for his wife, Mera. Aquaman is having none of it, saying she left him, her choice, and he wants to respect that decision. Vixen calls shenanigans:

While Vixen rejoins the rest of the League in preparing a meal, Aquaman sits in his quarters and broods. He told Vixen his mind is made up, but we see he's anything but sure.

Back in the Yukon, we see the local sheriff as he staggers out of a local bar. He can barely drive his truck, but that's the least of his troubles, as he runs into the same mysterious stranger, who picks up the sheriff's car, tosses it, and then blows it up with...heat-vision?!?

Meanwhile, we see Steel, Vibe, and Ralph and Sue out on the Detroit streets together, when they get a JLA distress signal. Vibe says this is his chance to try on his "new suit":

I'm not sure who designed it, but I do like this new costume of Vibe's much more than his original. And even though my...uncertainty about Tuska's work on the JLA has been said before, what he was best at sometimes came through: I just love the look on Gypsy's face in the second panel there.

Anyway, Manhunter explains they have two problems--news of what's happening in the Yukon has reached them, and the fact that their leader, Aquaman, is missing!

Manhunter figures out, based on what kind of destruction this stranger is wreaking, that it is their old foe, the one-man JLA, Amazo!

The JLA arrives in the Yukon, and they split up to search for Amazo. Its Manhunter who finds him, who alone proves no match for the super-powered android.

Meanwhile, we see where Aquaman went:

To be continued!

Roll Call: Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Zatanna, Vixen, Steel, Vibe, Gypsy

Notable Moments: After one issue by Mike Sekowsky, having a major story line drawn by George Tuska, instead of regular artist Chuck Patton, was disorienting as heck.

I never understood why Aquaman just took off, as opposed to telling Manhunter--or at least Vixen--where he's going. It seems as irresponsible as the JLAers he railed against for not showing up during the Earth-Mars war.

JLA/Aquaman fan Vince Bartilucci generously sent me a scan of a page of original Tuska artwork from this issue that's in his collection:

I'm struck at how much nicer Tuska's work looks to me in the original black and white. Colorists tended to color Tuska's work in day-glo, coloring book-style colors, so I guess its no surprise that it looks better like this.

Thanks Vince!

Justice League of America #240 - July 1985

2008-07-31T00:02:00.002-04:00

A blast from the past for the JLA!

The Story: "The Future Ain't What It Used To Be!" by Kurt Busiek, Mike Sekowsky, and Tom Mandrake. Early morning at S.T.A.R. Labs, Temporal Research Division (of course they have one of those), we see two scientists, named, er, Fred and Daphne, discover something amazing--a human figure trapped in the timestream!

They use a handy (very handy) machine to get information on this time traveler, "viewing" events from his life, and they learn this man is Dr. Phineas Quayle, one of the world's leading physicists.

One day, in 1932, he came home to find an armed man waiting for him, who demands money! Dr. Quayle is no easy mark, however, and he quickly knocks the man upside the head with his umbrella, knocking him over.

But the doctor is also a kind man, and offers the disheveled man a meal and a few bucks to tide him over.

The man accepts, but Quayle realizes something bigger must be done, something to help all the people in the grip of this countrywide depression. He decides to build nothing less than a time machine, to go into the future, find a solution to the depression, and bring it back to his time!

He actually succeeds at this, landing in the mid-1960s. Scenes of an assassinated president, campus unrest, and riots in the streets horrify him. How did all this happen?

He determines its because of all these so-called "super-heroes":

A malfunction with his time machine makes Quayle realize he cannot return to 1932, stranding him in his horrible new time.

He can, however, look into the future, and sees that things only get worse--an endless war in Southeast Asia, a president who resigns in disgrace, and this "Justice League" living in an orbiting satellite, like overlords. Enough!

He decides to fight the JLA in their own terms, as a supervillain, Dr. Anomaly!:

He then goes about capturing each of the JLAers, using weapons derived from the future. In short work he captures Superman, then Aquaman, then Hawkman, then Batman, condensing them all and placing them in tiny colored jars!

The rest of the JLA arrives at their Secret Sanctuary, wondering where everyone else is. Suddenly Anomaly attacks them in their own HQ, and the JLAers seem no match for him!

The Flash tries to run rings about Anomaly and trap him in a super-speed vortex, leading to this hilarious pay-off:

...I love how GL and Wonder Woman don't even bother to help as their friend hurtles past them.

While the others try and stop Anomaly, we see the Superman jar start to wobble, toppling itself over onto the floor, where it cracks!

Anomaly's lab explodes, as we see the trapped JLAers, now reformed, burst forth! Anomaly is trapped, realizing even he can't fight them all at once. He only has one option--to disappear into the timestream!

Back with Fred and Daphne, who reason that Anomaly didn't follow a specific path in the timestream, so he couldn't be followed. But that left him stuck there, until an explosion rocks their lab, and there before them is...Dr. Anomaly!

Anomaly gets his bearings--its 1985--and says if he is to save the world, he "better get cracking!" He disappears once again.

Fred and Daphne are stunned, and leave their lab. Over the course of this, the two have let on they have feelings for one another, so they decide to have dinner and talk about...the future.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman (all in flashback)

Notable Moments: I am of two minds about this issue.

First, its a delightfully charming story, capturing a lot of the goofy fun of the 60s JLA stories, but with a modern slant. And having the JLA's original artist, Mike Sekowsky, return to the book after almost 20 years was an ingenious touch.

My only problem is, I think they couldn't have run this at a worse time. The new JLA was a wobbly contraption at best, and they had just finally wrapped up the last loose end (i.e., the departure of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Flash). Now was the time to plunge straight into a new JLA-only tale, one that might've helped establish these new heroes are the rightful heirs to the JLA legacy.

Instead, we get a jokey story, featuring nothing but the biggest names in the DCU. As a reader at the time, I felt like the new JLA's momentum--such as it was--was stopped dead in its tracks.

Coming to think of it, this would've made a great issue of JLA: Classified.