Justice League of America #93 - Nov. 1971

The return of the (sort of) 80 Page Giant!

The Stories: "Riddle of the Robot Justice League" (JLA #13) and "Journey Into The Micro-World" (JLA #18) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs, with an all-new cover by Dick Giordano.

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

Notable Moments: The last time DC would issue an all-reprint issue of JLA, released the same month as a regular one. The cover format this time is a little ungainly, and what's with that ancient Wonder Woman head-shot?

The letter page features a missive from a young man named Bob Rozakis.

Justice League of America #85 - Dec. 1970

The JLA versus Sorcery, in another 80...er, 64-Page Giant.

The stories: "The Fantastic Fingers of Felix Faust!" (JLA #10), and "One Hour to Doomsday!"(JLA #11) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs.

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

Notable Moments: Cover by Curt Swan (who you didn't see draw the JLA much) and Murphy Anderson--I especially think the cobwebs are a nice touch.

DC had a couple extra pages, so this book also features a Knights of the Galaxy story, "Lives of a Rocket Lancer!" by Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino, and Bernard Sachs, from Mystery in Space #8.

If you look at the ad for the book below, either the cover was originally going to have a black background or it's just a mistake. I think I like the black better...

Justice League of America #76 - Dec. 1969

Batman looks really angry here...maybe because he and Superman didn't participate in these stories?

The stories: "The Cosmic Fun House!" (JLA #7), and "The Last Case of the Justice League!"(JLA #12) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs.

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

Notable Moments: DC made a subtle change to their 80-Page Giants--i.e., making them 68-Page Giants! Yep, from now on these Giants were twelve pages shorter. Damn inflation.

Along with these two stories, this issue comes with a JSA pin-up and a Seven Soldiers of Victory pin-up, both by Murphy Anderson, plus a text history of bpth teams.

Hey, at least Aquaman got to be in an issue of JLA, even if it is in just reprints!

Justice League of America #67 - Dec. 1968

Rarely does the phrase "all-reprint issue" get one excited, but when a package is put together as cool as this, it doesn't matter that you've read these stories before!

It was a great idea for an 80 Page Giant, to run all the new member-issues all together, and Neal Adams' cover is about as good as you can get.

The stories: "Doom of the Star Diamond!"(JLA #4), "Menace of the 'Atom' Bomb!"(JLA #14), and "Riddle of the Runaway Room!"(JLA #31) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs.

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

Notable Moments: Hey, who's that weird green guy next to Aquaman? Oh! It's founding member the Martian Manhunter! Kind of like skipping high school all year then showing up for yearbook photos.

As I said above, the cover by Neal Adams is a classic--fun and celebratory; it makes it really feel like the JLA is a family, and that being asked to join that family was a Big Deal. In fact, the cover was so well received it's been homaged by no less than Gil Kane and Jerry Ordway...

Justice League of America #65 - Sept. 1968

I've had dreams like this, except the JLAers were happy.

The Story: "T.O.Morrow Kills the Justice League--Today!" by Gardner Fox, Dick Dillin, and Sid Greene. Part Two of yesterday's JLA/JSA team-up, it opens with some of the JLA's spouses(Jean Loring, Hawkgirl, Mera, etc.) showing up and planting big wet ones on their partners, which renders the heroes immobile!

Turns out they were anti-matter duplicates made by Morrow in an attempt to get to the other members, where Morrows uses his futuristic abilities to make elements of the JLA Souvenir Room come alive and attack them!

Eventually, its Red Tornado who finds a way to defeat T.O.Morrow, just as his supercomputer predicted might happen!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: In an attempt to rescue the immobile JLAers, Red Tornado calls on the real better halves, figuring a real kiss would undo what the anti-matter kiss did:
...lordy, what a weird panel. Wonder Woman looks totally bored, Red Tornado staring, and the odd, fan-fic-esque feeling you get watching Jean Loring kiss a tiny Ray. *shudder*

The bigger news is that this is Gardner Fox's last issue as writer of the Justice League. Obviously, change was in the air, since longtime artist Mike Sekowsky left just two issues earlier.

As good and enjoyable as it was, Fox's "Monster of the Month" style, filled with mostly interchangable heroes, was starting to look old hat in the age of Marvel and it's very specifically characterized heroes. And we'd see that in the JLA, but soon!

Justice League of America #64 - Aug. 1968

The JSA returns, again shunting their hosts off the to the side! For the love of Snapper Carr, where are my Justice Leaguers?!?

The Story: "The Stormy Return of the Red Tornado!" by Gardner Fox, Dick Dillin, and Sid Greene. We open on Earth-2, where a JSA meeting is interrupted by the Red Tornado, who insists he is a member of the team! Problem is, no one can remember who this guy is!

While they try to figure this out, Hourman's newest invention, a machine that predicts crime(somebody call Spielberg and Cruise!), warns the JSA of some upcoming shenanigans!

Turns out this is all a plot by T.O.Morrow, a villain from the future whose supercomputer told him that the JSA will stop him, and the only thing that can prevent that is to infiltrate the team with a new member plant, the Red Tornado!

Roll Call: Absolutely no JLAers appear in this issue; instead we get the JSA consisting of Black Canary, Dr.Fate, The Flash, Hourman, and Starman

Notable Moments: Another issue where the JLA doesn't appear. Whose comic is this anyway?
Several important debuts are in this issue. The Red Tornado--future JLA member and punching-bag, and his creator, T.O. Morrow, show up for the first time. I always liked Morrow's creepy supercomputer that could tell him anything.

The bigger news, of course, is that this issue marks the debut of Dick Dillin as penciller, who would go on to become the JLA artist for the next decade plus, making Sekowsky's sixty-three issue run look like a walk in the park. Under Sid Greene's heavy inks, there wasn't a huge visual change from Sekowsky, but over time Dillin's style would emerge and he would establish his own distinctive look for the World's Greatest Super-Heroes.

Justice League of America #63 - June 1968

This what I think Superman's dreams are like sometimes.

The Story: "Time Signs a Death Warrant for the Justice League!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and George Roussos. This story opens with a bunch of people from the future spying on a May, 1968 meeting of the Justice League!

Turns out that lockpick of licentiousness, the Key, has found a way to have complete mental control over the JLA! He sends a command to them in their Secret Sanctuary instructing them they are trapped, and in one hour they will all fight one another! For some reason, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern are the least concerned.

Turns out a future Superman is in this meeting, not the "current day" one, so he...man, does this get complicated. Suffice it to say, Superman fights off the rest of the JLA, escapes the Sanctuary, and they go all fight the Key. Whew!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: Another time when there's no appearance--of even mention--of the Martian Manhunter. Weird.

The time travelling historians plot is cute, and was homaged by Gerry Conway fifteen years later, in JLA #206. But that's a little ways away...

This is Mike Sekowksy's last issue as penciller of the Justice League of America. Sixty-three(plus three Brave and the Bolds) straight issues, an amazing run, even moreso considering how dense a lot of these issues were. Sekowsky may not have had the polish and the brilliance of a Jack Kirby(who does?), but I think the sheer consistency gave the JLA a solid identity that helped establish the team and the book as one of the mainstays of the DCU.

Of course, sixty-three issues would look like nothing compared to what was next...

Justice League of America #62 - May 1968

This was one of the first back issues of the JLA I ever bought, at "El Dorado", my first-ever comic book store. As you can see, it's Near Mint.

The Story: "Panic From a Blackmail Box!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and George Roussos. The JLA get involved in a mysterious gang war between two super-powered gangs, the Bulleteers and the Pyrotekniks.

The gang's leader, Leo Locke, finds some helpful info buried in a box he found while fishing(!) and he uses it to trap the other gang. Since all this hugger-mugger takes place in Central City, it gets noticed by local police scientist Barry Allen...

Roll Call: Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: A change of pace issue--the story is small in scope, a vast change from the universe-shattering adventures the JLA usually finds itself involved in.
This issue (and the next) were inked by George Roussos, not Sid Greene, and while Sekowsky's normally excellent storytelling and layout shows through(like this Hawkman panel, which I think has superb draftsmanship and an interesting angle), I think Roussos was not the best inker for "Big Mike."
Roussos' loose inking style wasn't enough to "reign" Sekowsky in a little, so you end up with panels like this, where even as a kid I wondered "Why does Green Lantern look so weird?"

Justice League of America #61 - March 1968

A very fun issue, one of my all-time favorites. I first discovered via the Super Friends treasury comic, that probably had a lot to do with it!

The Story: "Operation: Jail the Justice League" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Green Arrow arrives at a JLA meeting to tell them he is quitting the JLA! (While Wonder Woman protests "No one's ever resigned from the JLA!", Flash quietly thinks to himself "Now's the time to call Adam Strange.")

He warns them that some disastrous fate awaits them, and they should all quit superheroing. Surprisingly, the JLA doesn't listen and they all decide to pose as the Emerald Archer to find out just what's going on. While they each fight their respective villains as Green Arrow, they are all defeated and mysteriously change bodies with their foes! Then the "bad guys" are jailed while the real bad guys get to go out and commit crimes.

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

Notable Moments: This is an extraordinairily fun story--goofy but without the (at times) lugubrious plotting that Fox stories sometimes had.
As the JLAers dress up as Green Arrow, Fox decided to have little ironic distance and just be up front with the readers that Wonder Woman couldn't quite pull it off.

...this is probably the very first time any sort of irony appared in the JLA, after sixty plus issues. Kind of remarkable, really, since comics now are almost all irony.

At the end, all the JLAers and all the bad guys end up in the same place, so of course they decide to beat the crap out of each other. Sekowksky gives us a classic two-page donnybrook:
...Superman really took the easy way out, didn't he? And how humiliating was it for The Tattooed Man that he's taken out by Snapper Carr?

Justice League of America #60 - Feb. 1968

A return appearance by the sexy...er, villianous Queen Bee!

The Story: "Winged Warriors of the Immortal Queen!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. The Justice Leaguers lose control of their bodies(particularly bad for Green Arrow) and suddently sprout wings!

Turns out they are now under the control of the Queen Bee, who now has control of the (don't laugh) Magno-Nuclear Rod, which enables her to take control of the JLA and have them help her conquer the universe! Luckily guest-star Batgirl is here to help the JLA defeat her.

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

Notable Moments: A rare story for this period featuring every member of the JLA, plus guest-star Batgirl! I know she wouldn't have added that much, powers-wise, to the team, but I think Babs does look good among the JLAers:
Sekowsky and Greene's rendering of Batgirl is quite nice. I found this issue a little too much to handle reading it for the first time as teen--Batgirl and Queen Bee? I've always had a thing for redheads...

This story is a few pages short, so the book is filled up with a Captain Comet reprint, "The Seeing-Eye Humans!" by John Broome and Murphy Anderson.

Justice League of America #59 - Dec. 1967

A nice, dynamic cover by Sekowksy and Greene; with a touch-up by Wayne Boring on Superman's face. What the...?

The Story: "The Justice Leaguers' Impossible Adventure!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Five members of the JLA are trasnported to another planet, where they are told they are to be stripped of their super powers! As if!

The planet's rulers do, in fact, take away the JLAers powers, just in time for the planet to be attacked by invaders, who the JLAers decided to take on--sans powers!

Roll Call: Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Martian Manhunter

Notable Moments: Aquaman and Martian Manhunter playing large roles in a JLA story! I woulda thought that was impossible!

The second set of aliens in this story don't exactly inspire terror...I love Manhunter's thought balloon here. What might it be like to be killed by a guy with a flower for a head? Maybe it was one too many cases like this that made J'onn question his role JLA membership.

Justice League of America #58 - Dec. 1967

Beautiful cover by Carmine Infantino and Sid Greene, featuring a fairly pissed-off looking JLA. Doesn't DC pay the JLA reprint fees?

The stories: "World of No Return!" (JLA #1), "Wheel of Misfortune!"(JLA #6), and "For Sale--The Justice League!"(JLA #8) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs.

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

Notable Moments: These 80-Page Giants are so much darn fun, not to mention a real value, then and now. For a 1967 quarter you got three whole comics, and even nowadays I find these issues (relatively) cheap to get because they're all-reprint. If I ever want to re-read JLA #1, I read it here instead of risking my already-fragile original copy.

I could be wrong, but I believe this is the first time the JLA is referred to as "The World's Greatest Superheroes", a moniker that would eventually adorn the book on a regular basis.

Update: I am incorrect directly above. Actually, the phrase is first used on the cover to #39, the first 80 Page Giant issue of JLA!

Justice League of America #57 - Nov. 1967

One of the most famous, and most unusual, issues of Justice League ever!

The Story: "Man, Thy Name is--Brother!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Some of the JLAers decide to get involved in the lives of three young men(one black, one Native American, one Indian) who want only to make their respective worlds better, but whose efforts are continually thwarted by circumstances. In doing so, they end up needing the help of these young men, who are in turn inspired not to give up.

Roll Call: Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman

Notable Moments: Definitely an unusual issue, and while the motivations and results are a bit simplistic, Fox is so clearly impassioned here that the story still works. No crazy super-villains or aliens from the 65th century, just the JLA trying to make the world a better, more understanding place.

It must have been considered quite a sales risk to not feature Superman or Batman, so props to Fox and Schwartz for doing it all. The beautiful, poster-like cover is by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson.

Justice League of America #56 - Sept. 1967

How could you not buy a comic with a cover like this? By the way--all the JSAers except Hawkman are about to receive a historic butt-whipping.

The Story: "The Negative-Crisis on Earths One-Two!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Picking up where we left off last issue, some of the heroes get infected by the same radiation that's in the spheres and turn them evil!

Hourman tries to punch out Superman; luckily Superman doesn't pick up Rex Tyler and throw him into the sun. Of course, eventually the radiation wears off and everybody comes to their senses!

Roll Call: Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow

Notable Moments: Gardner Fox used Johnny Thunder's T-Bolt as a guy who could do anything at any time; even as a kid I never understood why he was stuck with Johnny Thunder, who was always written as a goofy idiot.

Justice League of America #55 - Aug. 1967

Behold--the single ugliest superhero costume of all time!

The Story: "The Super-Crisis That Struck Earth-Two!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Ordinary citizens who absorb mysterious spheres end up with super powers that they use for evil!

The JSA is unable to stop them, so Johnny Thunder(who's like Snapper Carr but with super powers) unwittingly commands his T-Bolt who corral some Justice Leaguers to help out. Strangely, the same exact thing is happening on Earth-One!

Roll Call: Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow

Notable Moments: The JLA are barely in this issue; they only show up at the very end, and even then it's only a few of 'em.

While the move to have the now-adult Earth-Two Robin join the JSA is good, who the hell designed that suit? It's comically, tragically bad.

And for the first time in a dozen issues, Batman is not ridiculously overly cover-featured. The TV series craze had died down, so all other DC titles could go back to looking like they might feature other characters. Weird, though, Batman isn't even in this issue--you'd think teaming him with the newly-adult Robin might've afforded some fun story moments.

Justice League of America #54 - June 1967

The Royal Flush Gang is back!

The Story: "History-Making Costumes of the Royal-Flush Gang!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Hal Jordan lays dying, and the clues to who do it lead to crooks dressed as historical figures like Queen Elizabeth and Alexander the Great! Turns out it's actually the Royal Flush Gang, so you've got people wearing costumes inside other costumes.

Roll Call: Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Atom

Notable Moments: Flash visits Hal Jordan in the hospital, and immediately lays his hand on the power ring so it can telepathically tell him what happened to his friend. They don't really explain that, which I thought was a nice, subtle touch of characterization--Barry and Hal are close friends, so Barry knows how the ring works.

Justice League of America #53 - May 1967

Guest-starring Hawkgirl!

The Story: "The Secret Behind the Stolen Super-Weapons!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. The accessories of Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow suddenly disappear! Is it the handywork of the mysterious Treasure-Thief, or the even more terrifying Johnny Marbles?

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: Johnny Marbles and his cronies are your basic small-time crooks, perfectly rendered by Sekowsky.

Hawkgirl is the one who ultimately solves the case, and the story ends with a sweet panel showing Carter and Shayera as the loving couple they are:

"If I could find a girl like you, Hawkgirl, I'd get married myself!", Green Arrow says. Did he believe that when he said it, or was he just trying to fit in with his fellow, more straight-laced JLAers?

Justice League of America #52 - March 1967

Is this an issue of World's Finest?

The Story: "Missing in Action--5 Justice Leaguers!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Several different menaces attack the JLA at the same time, so that they are missing in action when they are called to action to fight the Lord of Time(JLA #50).

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: The story is told entirely in flashback by Snapper Carr. It happens concurrently with the events of JLA #50, a fairly unusual touch for the time.

All the JLAers appear in the final panel, ready to head off to Eddie Brent's medal ceremony, from the last page to #50.

Justice League of America #51 - Feb. 1967

The concluding chapter of Zatanna's search for her father, Zatara!

The Story: "Z--As in Zatanna--and Zero Hour!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. After enlisting the help of Hawkman, Green Lantern, the Atom, and the Elongated Man in their individual strips, Zatanna's search for her father ends here, with her coming to the entire(well, some of it) JLA for help.

Roll Call: Batman, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: Sekowksky and Greene's Zatanna is wonderfully sexy; about as sexy as 1967 DC comic could get away with. She's just adorable, so it's probably a good thing Green Arrow didn't appear in this issue.

The Elongated Man guest-stars, so this issue looks a little like a much one, just ten years early. After all, you've got two future members guest-starring in the same issue!

Zatara is resuced at the end, and while of course things were a little more innocent back then(in comics, at least) this final panel always seemed a little creepy to me:

It's not so much the dialogue, it's the addtion of the hand stroking the cheek, and the fact that Zatanna is one of the hottest babes in the JLA, who are all crammed in the background watching a little hesitantly.

Justice League of America #50 - Dec. 1966

That is one goofy-looking Lord of Time! It looks like Batman could swing right into his mouth if he's not careful.

The Story: "The Lord of Time Attacks the 20th Century!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Vietnam vet(!) Eddie Brent becomes a pawn of the Lord of Time, and has him use futuristic weapons to take on the JLA. Luckily the JLA figures out the Lord of Time is duping Brent.

Roll Call: Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow

Notable Moments: Hey, Gardner Fox remembered Aquaman is in fact a member of the JLA!

This issue guest-stars Robin for no real good reason, maybe with the Vietnam angle they thought they needed a younger POV, and Snapper Carr, being a total a-hole, didn't count.

The story opens in the jungles of Vietnam: "'Somewhere in the central highlands of Viet Nam, an automatic rifle chatters in flaming fury...' 'This is as far as you get, V-Cs!' Vatta-Vatta!" I'm sure actual Vietnam vets talked like that.

At the end of the story, the JLA literally gangs up on the Lord of Time, in a panel I found a tad distubring to look at:

...not only is it a little unfair, but the combination of the JLAers looks of glee with Lord of Time's look of pure misery makes me feel like this isn't one of their most heroic moments. The Lord of Time was such a pansy you could've just had Green Arrow take him out.

The story does have a nice ending, though--Eddie Brent is cleared of all charges, and receives a medal from an off-panel President Lyndon Johnson. It's a genuinely well-intentioned moment, marred only slightly by the fact that there are gaudily-costumed superheroes(including Superman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantrern, The Atom, and Hawkman) in the background.