Justice League of America #99 - June 1972

A nifty Day of the Triffids-esque cover by Nick Cardy!

The Story: "Seeds of Destruction!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. An alien named Ker Sed arrives on Earth and tells them that he and his father are here to help restore the ecological balance that earthlings have so carelessly destroyed.

Problem is, the two aliens planets they have brought with them seem pretty malevolent, as they attack both Green Lantern and Black Canary for just getting near them. The Flash and the Atom arrive to help, but they are helpless against these powerful alien lifeforms!

Meanwhile, Aquaman is facing a strange ecological phenomenon under the sea, and contacts the JLA to help investigate. They all arrive there together, to share individual stories of what's been happening around the globe. Batman figures out a plan, and they use their super-powers to go on a mass seed planting operation.

Everyone figures out this has all been a big misunderstanding--the aliens are trying to help, but didn't bother to check with the citizens of the Earth first, and the JLA came in swinging first, asking questions on page nineteen. The aliens decide to return home, with the JLA saying Earth will take care of itself...or will it?

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary

Notable Moments: It is mentioned that, between issues 98 and 99, Sargon was granted honorary membership in the JLA for his help against Starbreaker. I could make a joke about how much a step up the list of JLA Honorary Members took, going from Snapper Carr to Sargon the Sorcerer, but why kick a man when he's down?

This issue also comes with a Sandman reprint from Adventure Comics #51, and a solo Golden Age Atom tale from Flash Comics #98.

This was Mike Friedrich's last issue as JLA writer; for the most part I'd say his run was pretty successful--and I'm of course personally glad he brought Aquaman back into the book so forcefully, after his total absence from Denny O'Neil's run on the book.

This was also the last of the giant-sized DC issues. After this DC's books would go back to being 20 cents, long after Marvel had done so. During this time the relative upstart Marvel took the lead in sales from the legendary DC, a position they would hold for approximately the next decade and a half.


Tomorrow @ midnight is the deadline for our JLA Membership/New Frontier Contest. But if you have a candidate in mind and just need more time, please just let me know! Thanks!

Justice League of America #98 - May 1972

One of my favorite Neal Adams' covers--spooky and weird.

The Story: "No More Tomorrows!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. Sargon the Sorcerer shows up in the JLA Satellite, and informs them(after he holds off an attack by them, classic Marvel misunderstanding style) that the Starbreaker can defeat any physical attack by them, they need the assistance of magic!

He says they need two other magical talismans to go along with his Ruby of Life, and dispatches the JLA to retrieve them. Aquaman and Black Canary are sent to Sierra Verde, where they obtain the mystic ruby--but only due to the use of their very specific powers. Almost as if Sargon knew...

The same thing happens with Batman and Hawkman, and they all reconnoiter at the satellite, where Sargon enlists them all in a seance. He tells them "Within these mystic gems surgers the only force mankind can use to overcome its death-fears--love-power!" And this guy's a master sorcerer?

Anyway, he links up the power from GL's ring, the Hawks' futuristic weaponry, and the "myriad of alien power-banks " in Superman's Fortress of Solitude, featuring cameos by Hawkgirl and Supergirl. Hawkgirl is ok, but who the heck drew that Supergirl panel?:

Anyway, the JLA, with the addition of these magical energies, defeat Starbreaker(with the specific help of the Atom) and bring him back to the satellite. It's here that Sargon strips the cosmic vampire of all his destructive power, and the Guardians of Oa take possession of the unconscious Starbreaker.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary

Notable Moments: This was a real Sargon-centric(and when has that phrase ever been used before?) issue--not only does he guest-star and basically save the JLA's bacon, but this issue reprints a solo Sargon story from Sensation Comics #70. There's also a Starman story from Adventure Comics.

I'm not sure how Thanagarian futuristic weaponry helps with magic, but I supposed Sargon knows his business.
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Shameless Plug Department: Frequent commenter and regular contributor to the Rob Kelly Family of Blogs Vincent Bartilucci has a great story about this very issue of JLA over at Hey Kids! Comics!, go check it out!

Justice League of America #97 - March 1972

Hey, who's that on the bottom right of the cover?

The Story: "The Day The Earth Screams!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. Starbreaker arrives on Earth, and Superman, Flash, and Green Lantern go after him, to no avail.

Starbreaker then uses his powers to start dragging the entire Earth towards the sun, to steal its energy for himself. Meanwhile, the JLA licks its wounds back at the satellite, despairing that they can't beat the Starbreaker("We led with our aces..and were trumped!" Batman mutters, uncharacteristically).

Hawkman is disgusted at all this negative talk, and attempts to rally the troops by telling them they need to "examine our origin, the spirit that first united the Justice League." The JLA then decides to go their library to watch a tape telling the story of how the JLA came together:

Sure, I could see why that would...wait--what?!?

We then enter a weird section of the book, where new origin story material drawn by Dillin and Giella is mixed with a reprint from JLA #9, with art by Sekowsky and Sachs, of course.

It does the trick, and the JLA is reinspired not to give up, with Batman saying he's come up with a possible solution to defeat Starbreaker. But just then someone unexpected arrives--Sargon the Sorcerer! To be continued!

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

Notable Moments: The cover is supposedly by Neal Adams and Murphy Anderson, though I don't see much Adams there.

I can only assume that Dick Dillin needed a small break from the massive amount of pages DC was demanding from him every month, so they had to shoehorn this reprint in the book. Friedrich tries his best to make it as unobtrusive as possible, but it reads really odd, to have a bad guy dragging all of Earth towards the sun, and the JLA decides to take in a movie--about themselves.

Justice League of America #96 - Feb. 1972

The JLA versus the Cosmic Vampire!

The Story: "The Coming of Starbreaker!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. Superman arrives at alien planet, as missing JLAers Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman are getting attacked by giant insects. It's always something...

Turns out these insects are robots, which frees Superman to use lethal force on them, wrapping up the fight by page six. GL then explains that the beam transporting them to JLA HQ was intercepted by the Zeta Beam, where they found the planet Rann under attack by a a baddie named Starbreaker!

Turns out Starbreaker uses these robot insects to move these planets into the sun(!) releasing their energy, which he collects and uses to make him more powerful, hence the "cosmic vampire" moniker.

The Starbreaker has split himself into multiple beings, and the JLAers split up. Green Lantern and Flash defeat their Starbreaker, and Superman and Hawkman do the same for theirs. They all meet up on Rann, where Adam Strange is their to meet them.

Then the Zeta Beam wears off, transporting Flash, GL, and Hawkman home. Strangely, though, the Starbreakers disappear too! We follow them "home", as well, where the original Starbreaker dissolves his duplicates, and swears revenge on the Justice League...and on Earth!

Roll Call: Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman

Notable Moments: This issue also features two Golden Age tales, an Hourman one from Adventure Comics #48, and a Wildcat one from Sensation Comics #84, drawn by Bernie Krigstein! Wow!

I like Starbreaker as a villian--he's a classic, mustache-twirling bad guy, and after so many issues of the JLA facing more social, earth-bound threats, it's nice to see them doing what they do best--beating up bad guys bent on world domination.

Justice League of America #95 - Dec. 1971

Guest-starring...Jimi Hendrix, apparently.

The Story: "The Private War of Johnny Dune!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. On the JLA Satellite, Black Canary explains that as Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman teleported in, they were suddenly whisked away without a trace!

We then cut to the story of Johnny Dune, a Vietnam vet who has just returned home, but found it frustrating to readjust into civilian life. He finds solace in music, but that quickly turns to anger when he learns that his bid to become mayor--to help people--is being trashed in the proverbial smoke-filled room.

Green Arrow and the Atom, attending the concert(in costume yet), find themselves the focus of all that anger, and the concert crowd turns into a mob and attacks them. While the JLA gets a distress signal from Green Lantern, they also get one from Arrow and Atom. Aquaman takes charge(!) and splits them up into two teams.

Batman and Black Canary arrive the concert, only to have Green Arrow and the Atom attack them, under the mysterious influence of Johnny Dune. He then ties them all up and leads a victory march through the streets.

The heroes find a way to fight off Dune's influence, and the mob grows even more unruly, so much so that even Dune realizes its gotten out of hand(he's just realizing that now?). He orders the mob to attack him, to quell their anger, and they d,o, nearly killing him.

The JLAers take him to the hospital, where he recovers. Turns out Johnny Dune was a bona-fide mutant, who had the ability to control people through his words. He realizes the error of his ways, and resolves to work harder for change, but realizing isn't going to happen overnight.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary

Notable Moments: This issue ends with picking up the other story thread, as we follow Superman chasing after Green Lantern's distress signal.

This issue also features two Golden Age tales, a Dr.Mid-Nite one from All-American Comics #25, and a Dr.Fate one from More Fun Comics #67.

The letters page features missives from a Bob Rozakis and a Mark Gruenwald!

Justice League of America #94 - Nov. 1971

Guest-starring Deadman!

The Story: "Where Strikes Demonfang?" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. As we left them at the end of issue #92, we see Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Batman in the crosshairs of an assassin's rifle!

Luckily for them, the sun reflects off the rifle, alerting the three JLAers to his presence, and they are able to get out of the way in time and apprehend theri would-be assassin. They try to find out who sent him and why, but he won't answer.

We cut to the mysterious League of Assassins, where we see the master archer Merlyn being given to succeed where the previous attempt failed. While Merlyn is tracking Green Arrow--the seeming target--he comes across Superman and the Atom, and manages to subdue them(!) with his his trick arrows(!!).

Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Batman then discover the first assassin has been murdered--by this Merlyn character. The three of them start to track Merlyn, and find their way to a creepy haunted house-type place. They spring some sort of alarm, and various death-traps are sprung, trapping Green Arrow!

Meanwhile, Batman wants to know who Aquaman "really" is--because earlier he off-handedly mentioned Nanda Parbat, a location only two people in the outside world know about! Turns out that Aquaman has been taken over by Deadman, who needed to contact the Justice League when he discovered the League of Assassin's plan to bump off Green Arrow.

Superman and the Atom show up, help free Green Arrow, and fight Merlyn, who manages to escape. Deadman informs Bats that Ra's Al Ghul is gunning for Batman, as well, where it is suggested this story will continue in Batman and Detective Comics.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary

Notable Moments: This issue features four pages of art by Neal Adams--which makes sense, given Deadman's guest-spot, but they fall on pages 1, 5, 20, and 22--huh? Did someone at the DC offices spill coffee on Dillin's originals and they called Neal in at the last minute?

In any case, Neal wanted to knock the reader's socks off right off the bat, so we're treated to this superb portrait splash page:

And this page, also by Neal, features two of the three DC characters I'd argue Neal is most known for, Batman and Deadman, with his superb Aquaman thrown in:

This is also features two Golden Age reprints, the first appearances of The Sandman(from Adventure Comics #40) and Starman (Adventure Comics #61).

This issue is cover-dated November 1971, which means it was on sale in August, 1971--the month I was born. Hmm...I just happened to be born the month my eventual all-time favorite comic features an uber-rare Aquaman-centric cover? Coincidence...or destiny?

Justice League of America #92 - Sept. 1971

It looks pretty bad for the JLA and the JSA here!

The Story: "Solomon Grundy--The One and Only" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. When last we left the, Solmon Grundy was about to break Green Lantern' back, and using Superman's invulnerable body to do it!

Luckily Supes wakes up, boxes Grundy's ears, which of course makes everyone's favorite Cajun Zombie even madder. A-Rym--absolutely terrified over the continuing separation from his pet, Teppy--somehow feels that "the Green one" can unite them, so he attacks Grundy!

The two teams try to subdue Grundy, but he fights them off(wow, when did Grundy get this powerful?), and A-Rym runs off.

Meanwhile, the two Robins are comparing notes back at the Earth-2 Batcave, and the elder Robin gives the younger a new costume, since his was torn up fighting A-Rym:

So Neal Adams is in the DCU? Shouldn't he have gotten a listing in Who's Who?

Meanwhile, Black Canary is back at the JLA satellite, tending to the wounded and still unconscious Flash. Some of the other heroes reconnect there, as well.

Also meanwhile, the heroes find a way to trap Teppy, harmlessly, until they can figure out what to do. They receive a signal from the Robins who have found A-Rym, and the two Hawkmen head there, with the Lanterns off to stop a now loose, rambling, and very angry Solomon Grundy.

The Earth-1 Robin, after a brief fight, sees that A-Rym is near death, and not a real threat. They round up Teppy and put them together, and they see that instantly both of them revive and are no longer any problem! The spaceship featuring the other two joyriding aliens come by, pick up their friends, and take off. Just another day for the Justice League of America!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary

Notable Moments: The issue ends with a teaser for the next, where we see Batman, Aquaman, and Green Arrow in the crosshairs of an armed assassin!

This issue also features a solo Flash story, the appropriate "The One-Man Justice League" by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino, and Joe Giella, and "Space-Enemy Number One", by John Broome and Infantino, from Mystery in Space #29.

Justice League of America #91 - Aug. 1971

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say I don't think Batman is telling the truth.

The Story: "Earth--The Monster-Maker!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. As was shown at the end of last issue, Batman shows up in the JLA satellite with a dead...er, near-dead Flash in his arms!

We then cut to a spaceship hurtling through space. Inside it are some gentle-looking beings, panicking because a third of their party, A-Rym, and his pet, Teppy, have been sucked through the hold out into airless space. Before they can be rescued, they disappear into separate dimensions!

We follow each of them to where they landed, and they experience severe mental and emotional distress at being separated. So much so they cause destruction wherever they go!

A-Rym has appeared on Earth-2, and the JSA attempts to apprehend him, and Hawkman dispenses in a little condescension towards former teen hero Robin:

Maybe it's the costume?

Anyway, meanwhile on Earth-1, the JLA is investigating an emergency call, and on the way they spot their Robin doing the same thing! Once again, it's Hawkman that belittles the Teen Wonder: "Well, as long as Batman isn't here, you might help out a little.."

Green Lantern's power ring receives a distress call from Earth-2, and the two teams compare notes, breaking into smaller teams to investigate. One team--consisting of both Robins, both Hawkman, and the E-1 Green Lantern, find A-Rym, sitting on a log sobbing. They try to communicate, but the E-1 Robin gets too close and A-Rym, feeling threatened, attacks!

Meanwhile, the same thing happens with Teppy, but with different results--they find a way to trap Teppy, harmlessly, until they can figure out what to do.

We go back to A-Rym, who is met in the swamp by a new friend...Solomon Grundy! A-Rym immediately accepts Gruny as his new "pet"--of course, this pet goes nuts when the JLA and JSA show up, and the issue ends just as it looks as though Green Lantern is about to be smashed by Grundy, using an unconscious Superman as the weapon! To be continued!

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

Notable Moments: I love Dick Dillin's work; always have, but during the sequence with Grundy, he can't quite seem to get a grip on just how big Grundy is. Sometime's he's Hulk-sized, other times he's as big as King Kong.

This is the first issue of JLA representing DC and Marvel's escalating price wars, where each company increased the page counts and cover price to match. This issue also features a Knights of the Galaxy story, "The Day The World Melted", by Robert Kanigher, Carmine Infantino, and Joe Giella, plus an Hourman tale, "The Hour Hourman Died" by Gardner Fox, Dillin, and Sid Greene.

Justice League of America #90 - June 1971

Oh, if it's an undersea story, you can bet Aquaman's gonna shop up! This cover is by Infantino and Anderson, giving Neal Adams the month off(I guess he only had to draw thirty-seven DC covers this month).

The Story: "Plague of the Pale People!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. A woman, almost unconcious muttering in Atlantean, is found on the beach by Batman(looking a bit out of place). He calls in the JLA.

We cut to a city beneath the sea, called Sareme, the domain of the Pale People, who are mighty sick of the all the poison and trash dumped into their water by the Surface World. Once their way of life is threatened, they resolve to attack Atlantis. They actually kill a few Atlanteans in a sneak attack!

Their leader confronts Aquaman, who demands he surrender. Aquaman does, to stall for time while he figures out how to defeat the Pale People and the gas weapons(!) they have built from all the pollution dumped by humans.

The JLA gets involved, and the Pale People attack, but of course the JLA defeats them. They congratulate themselves on a Job Well Done, but Aquaman disabuses them of that notion:

Aquaman performs the grim service of burying the lost Atlanteans, and the JLA help the Pale People restore the life-giving "Proof Rock" that helps feed them that was seemingly destroyed by all the pollution.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: The Pale People, it is noted, first appeared way back in The Flash #109.

Even though Aquaman is a little harsh to his fellow JLAers, I like that his particular POV is highlighted here.

The issue ends with an epilogue, which is a teaser for the next issue, where Batman beams aboard the satellite carrying...a seemingly-dead Flash! To be continued!

Justice League of America #89 - May 1971

But what if I wanna be Aquaman?

The Story: "The Most Dangerous Dreams of All!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. Aquaman is chairman of the monthly JLA meeting, where he suggests there should be more water-based adventures.

No, I'm kidding--actually, after the meeting, where they note the absence of Arrow and Canary, the JLA transports down to Earth. It's here that writer Mike Friedrich appears(!) telling us of the story we're about to read...

Black Canary is hit on by the smooth talking Hollywood writer Harlequin Ellis, and as they have a cup of coffee, Green Arrow shows up and threatens to put a boxing glove arrow where the sun don't shine. Ellis laughs this off and splits, telling Canary where she can meet him if she "wants to dump this crude bozo."

We follow Ellis back to his office(though it looks like a house, it has his secretary and some other guy, so I'm not sure), and we find that Ellis' feelings for Dinah are so deep, that the very barrier between the real and the unreal begins to break down!

Here we start bopping around the time stream, with the various JLAers appearing all over the place, fighting a giant cyclops, Aquaman dying(!), and Superman blaming himself. What the holy heck is going on here??

Superman then turns into Ellis, and Arrow and Canary find themselves transported back to the coffee shop where they were last. Ellis heads back out, Batman fights a Minotaur, then Batman turns out to be Ellis as well, Black Canary then finds Ellis, they go to a concert together, and Canary lets him down easy.

Mike Friedrich reappears at the end of the book to explain what we just read:

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary

Notable Moments: This issue can be read along with Pink Floyd's The Wall.

Justice League of America #88 - March 1971

One of my favorite JLA covers by Neal Adams--I especially like the color contrast between the heroes and the regular people. Plus we have Mera!

The Story: "The Last Survivors of Earth!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. A spaceship heads towards Earth filled with people who call themselves...you guessed it, the last survivors of earth!

We cut to Carter and Shayera Hall, and Hal Jordan on some sort of expedition. Shayera discovers a mysterious stone tablet, and she tries to decipher it, a bolt of energy comes from the sky and knocks her out!

Hal signals the JLA, and, for once, all of the members(plus Mera) show up. Aquaman explains weird things like this have been reported all over the world, all of them having to do with the legends of a pacific continent that sank beneath the waves. The JLA splits up to investigate, but soon after GL is felled by the same mysterious energy that knocked out Shierra!

Meanwhile, Green Arrow is noticing that Batman and Black Canary seem oddly distracted, and he doesn't like it! He tries to pull Dinah off with him, but she blows him off and has a talk with Batman. This where they discuss "the kiss" (JLA #84), and Black Canary says Bats is...ugh..."like a brother" to her. Batman sucks it up, and walks off, but the caption informs us "The seed of bitterness is planted in the Batman this day!" So we have Dinah to thank for all the grim n' gritty Batman stories to date.

It turns out in the three spots around the world, it is "ordinary" citizens that inadvertantly eliminate the problem by destroying the three tokens left there by the beings in the spaceship--a medallion, a stone tablet, and...well, I'm not exactly sure what happens at the end here. The ship tries to grab an ordinary beach bum, he somehow throws a wrench into the ship's controls...I dunno, I read it like three times and I couldn't quite figure out what happened!

All I know is, each of the JLA thinks the others eliminated the threat, until they compare notes and admit they don't know what happened, either! Aquaman says they'll write this case up as...unexplained!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary

Notable Moments: Mera doesn't really play any part in this story...she shows up at the beginning and at the very end. Still nice to see her.

This story feels like a companion piece to JLA #57's "Man...Thy Name is Brother!" in that it contrasts the superheroic goings-on with the just-as-important action taken by regular humans, and ones of diverse ethnicities at that.

Justice League of America #87 - Feb. 1971

Another knockout cover by Neal Adams---he was on a real roll here. How could you not plunk down the fifteen cents it took to get this? (I love how evil Batman took the time out to paint a bat on the back of his chair)

The Story: "Batman--King of the World!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. We open with an unconcious Batman and a wounded Hawkman saying to an unseen enemy that he will never give up! He gets blasted by someone, but not before he hits his JLA transmitter.

We then see the bad guy is some giant robot, who awaits the other JLA members to destroy them! Uh-oh!

We cut to Superman en route to the JLA satellite, where the fishnet-bedeckd Zatanna is surprisingly waiting for him! As Superman talks with her, he finds himself strangely...calm: "Just by being near her, I feel so comfortable...at ease..." And Lois is always worried about Lana!

Anyway, this is when Superman receives Hawkman's signal, and the JLA(plus Zatanna) arrive at the source, only to find this robot, alongside a seemingly-fine Batman and Hawkman! Batman tells some story about Carter Hall finding the robot underground(I always just found bottlecaps) but Superman senses that Batman's heart rate is way above normal. Hmm...

Bats tells the JLA they can split, but the refuse, and then Batman wigs out and orders the robot to kill the JLA!

The robot has many powers and defenses, and manages to take out Superman, Flash, Atom, Green Lantern, and Zatanna! He then offers them up to King Batman, who has gone completely bonkers, wearing a crown and carrying a scepter. While Batman cackles madly, the robot walks off taking about transmitting information to..."The Corporation"!

Turns out, though, Green Lantern and Atom were playing possum, deciding to try and find out who built this thing. He transports the Atom across the galaxy(!) to the world where it came from. He then sends for the the rest of the JLA(Superman and Hawkman taking Batman off to come down off his high), and they find a ravaged world, filled by three strangely familiar superhero-types: Jack B.Quick, Blue Jay, Silver Sorceress, and Wandjina.

We learn that the Corporation on another planet was in dire competition with another evil-type group, so much so that it led to atomic war! The robots were built to help collect raw materials from other worlds, and it was left to these four heroes to fight it off! When they come across the JLA, they of course assume they are bad guys, just like they would in a Marvel comic. Hmm, again...

When they do, we're met with a little fanciful note from the editors, explaining how we can understand these guys' language:

The battle is standstill, until a stray piece of debris hits Blue Jay, nearly killing him. This prompts Zatanna to stop fighting and save him, which makes the other three realize these strangely-dressed people maybe aren't so bad. They stop fighting, and take off to continue the war with the Corporation.

But the JLA stays behind, and thanks Zatanna for saving them.

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

Notable Moments:Why Zatanna wasn't inducted to the JLA after this issue is a total mystery to me--the story almost revolves around her, and even Green Lantern asks(after showing up midway through, having been away on the Hard Traveling Heroes thing) if the reason Zatanna is there is because she is now a member.

Obviously, this was part of that unofficial JLA/Avengers crossover going on in both books at the time, with the Avengers meeting the Squadron Supreme and he were have versions of Thor, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Yellowjacket.

These heroes had a lot less longevity than the Squad did, and I think never appeared again, at least before they were brought back in the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire Justice League book.

Justice League of America #86 - Dec. 1970

An absolutely superb cover by Neal Adams, one of his best, and that's saying something. And...wait--who's that guy in the orange shirt next to Batman? Could it be...?

The Story: "Earth's Final Hour!" by Mike Friedrich, Dick Dillin, and Joe Giella. The story opens with...yes, Aquaman!--Aquaman discovering that all the plankton on the ocean floor is being stripped away.

As he tries to discover why this is happening, a mysterious figure hits a button on a machine causing a rock slide, crushing Aquaman, but note before hitting his JLA transmitter.

We then flash back to the story of our bad guy, named Theo Zappa(!), whose inventions made him a billionaire industrialist(I wonder if Bruce knows him). His ultimate goal, though, is to run the world, of course! He is met an by an alien named Panja Darr who asks him for help, since his world has destroyed all of its plankton due to pollution, and asks Zappa to build an invention to take it from Earth and give it to them. Zappa agrees, but secretly decides to play both ends against the middle.

Anyway, we go back to the JLA, who are responding to Aquaman's signal. He explains to them that without plankton for sustenance, all the fish in the world will go mad, then beach themselves and die, leading to a chain of events that could destroy the world! Arthur is a real glass half-empty kind of guy.

The teams of Superman and Aquaman, and Hawkman and Flash, are stymied by Zappa's machines, but when Batman and Atom investigate Zappa's lab, they run into the alien who started all this in the first place. He has discovered Zappa's true plan(to "hold" the plankton hostage, blackmailing both worlds) and asks our two heroes for help.

The Atom decides its his skills as a scientist that are needed, and reverts back to being Ray Palmer to examine the machine that Zappa is going to use for his plan. They need a power source for it, and Darr tells them they have some on their planet, so they teleport to it, where Zappa has already declared himself the boss! Luckily, even with some cockamamie ray gun, he's no match for them, and Atom knocks him out.

It's now up to the JLA--Superman specifically--to talk to the people of this world and tell them what has happened, and that they have to save their own planet from their own short-sightedness, not simply poach from another world. Superman offers them temporary help, but also they must come up with their own plan to save their world...just like Earth does!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: Of course, it's great to have Aquaman back. In Michael Eury's super-fun JLA Companion book(Volume One), he asks Friedrich why Aquaman was back, after being out entirely during O'Neil's run. No big mystery, Friedrich just figured, hey, he's a member, why not use him? This AquaFan thanks you, Mike!

This issue has an unusual ending, what with with Superman's sober speech about pollution rather than having him whip up some Super-Solution. Denny O'Neil is listed as "Script Consultant" and at the end Neal Adams is thanked for his special help with this story.