Celebrating Artist Dave Gibbons

Celebrating the birthday of artist Dave Gibbons (April 14, 1949) with a pair of his JSA covers (JSA #70 and #71 from April and May, 2005), featuring pairs of heroes, the original and new Mr. Terrific and the Atom and Atom-Smasher!

Celebrating Artist Gene Ha

Celebrating the birthday of artist Gene Ha (August 19, 1969) with his covers to the 6 issue mini-series of JSA vs Kobra...

...featuring the legendary Justice Society of America fighting against the forces of Kobra.

JSA vs. Kobra #1 and #2 (August and September, 2009)

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JSA vs. Kobra #3 and #4 (October and November, 2009)

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JSA vs. Kobra #5 and #6 (December, 2009 and January, 2010)

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Remembering Artist George Perez

Remembering artist George Perez on his birthday (June 9, 1954-May 6, 2022) with a group of covers he did in his later years...

...working in the wake of the Infinite Crisis, which allowed access to some of the original Justice Society of America members, such as Superman (who now was a part of Power Girl's life again....well, the original Kal-L Superman) as the JSA dealt with the Gentleman Ghost!

JSA #82 and #83, (April and May, 2006)

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JSA #84 and #85, (June and July, 2006)

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JSA #86 and #87, (August and September, 2006)

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The Beginnings Of The Justice Society

Tracking the Justice Society of America down through the ages...

...here are a few of their biggest beginnings from the 20th Century...

...starting from the 1940s to the 1990s, with a little history behind each appearance...

The First Meeting Of The Justice Society Of America

The team first gathered in All-Star Comics #3 (Winter, 1940), with a cover by E. E. Hibbard, and main story by Gardner Fox and E.E. Hibbard, with chapters devoted to each of the individual members of the group who were in attendance at the meeting:  The Flash (Jay Garrick), Hawkman (Carter Hall), the Spectre (Jim Corrigan), Hourman (Rex Tyler), Sandman (Wesley Dodds), Dr. Fate (Kent Nelson), Johnny Thunder (a text story, as Johnny was not yet a member), the Atom (Al Pratt) and Green Lantern (Alan Scott), as well as an interlude with the Red Tornado (and hints that Superman and Batman were too busy to come).

Though the group had met before (though readers had yet to see that), the team just related individual adventures as they interacted and got ready for the next issue, where they would work as a team for the FBI!

This set the tone for many of their adventures, with team members coming (Johnny Thunder, Dr. Mid-Nite (Charles McNider), Starman (Ted Knight), Wonder Woman, Wildcat (Ted Grant), Mr. Terrific (Terry Sloane) and Black Canary (Dinah Drake), as well as two appearances over the decades by Superman and Batman), as the teams adventures ran until All-Star Comics #57 (February-March, 1951) (with a later adventure, detailing how the team had been convinced to retire).

Vengeance Of The Immortal Villain

The team resurfaced in Flash #137 (June, 1963) by Gardner Fox, Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella (with Infantino and Murphy Anderson supplying the cover).  Here, as old (like caveman old) Flash (Jay) villain, Vandal Savage (who was one of many members of the JSA's opposite number, the Injustice Society of the World, and using a few of their gadgets), plotted to capture the retired JSA members (at least close to the final line up of the team (Hawkman, Atom, Green Lantern, Johnny Thunder, Dr. Mid-Nite and Wonder Woman...), but hadn't counted on the interference of an alternate Earth Flash (Barry Allen) who crossed over to help Jay, and the two worked together to save team and defeat Savage.

This convinced the JSA members that they needed to gather occasionally, and they would find some Crisis that had them crossing Earths to meet their counterparts in the Justice League Of America, as the JLA/JSA team-ups began (with that first one giving readers the idea that the JLA was on Earth-1, and JSA was on Earth-2), adding new members of a grown up Robin and a new robotic Red Tornado, with the original heroes (well, at least Flash, Green Lantern and the Atom) occasionally teaming up with their counterparts away from their teams.

 

The Untold Origin Of The Justice Society

Now, in the midst of the decades of JLA/JSA team-ups, the JSA was revived in a new All-Star Comics, adding a time-tossed Star-Spangled Kid and Power Girl, Superman's cousin to the team.  Halfway through that run, in DC Special #29 (August-September, 1977) by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton and Bob Layton (behind a Neal Adams cover), the origin of the team was revealed as the team was gathered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a top secret mission to stop Adolf Hitler from invading England in November, 1940.  FDR was able to get Batman, Flash and Green Lantern, and sent them, but they were not entirely successful, with Hitler planning to execute them with the Spear of Destiny (a magical item purporting to be the spear that was used against Jesus).  

Dr. Fate recruited Hourman to help him and save the trio...but that didn't quite work, with Hitler invoking some of the mystic power of the spear to summon the Valkyries (but additional heroes Dr. Fate summoned arrived...Sandman, Hawkman, Atom and the Spectre).  The Spectre especially was able to stop Hitler's sea fleet and disperse the Valkyries...and Hitler used them to guard an experimental plane he had to bomb the United States capital, and would have been successful if not for the last minute appearance of Superman.  After the Atom saved FDR from a rogue Valkyrie, the president suggested the heroes should form a team...and they did.

The Huntress joined the team during the remainder of the JSA's All-Star revival, and into their short run in Adventure Comics (the last of which had Huntress reveal to Power Girl what she knew of how the JSA retired in the 1950s....with the team's loyalty being called into question by Congress, and instead of revealing their identities, the team disappeared for a time).

This time, the team continued at least as part of JLA/JSA team-ups, as well a (sort of) revival in All-Star Squadron (which was 1980s adventures featuring the JSA, but set in the 1940s), which led to Infinity, Inc. (a group of heirs to the JSA as a team, with the JSA as supporting characters), and even another trial in America Vs. the Justice Society....all before the Crisis on Infinite Earths set in motion the events that led to the Justice Society being sentenced to limbo in Last Days Of The Justice Society Special, fighting a never-ending Ragnarok to keep the universe from ending, with only Power Girl, Dr. Fate, Star-Spangled Kid and the Spectre not being trapped in that limbo on the now (supposedly) one and only Earth.

The Gathering Of Heroes

But, you can't keep good heroes down, as in Armageddon: Inferno #4 (July, 1992) by John Ostrander, Dick Giordano, and Frank McLaughlin (and a few other artists like Tom Mandrake, Art Adams and Walt Simonson, with Mike Netzer and Joe Rubinstein on the cover), the JSA returned.  

In the previous issue (with art by Luke McDonnell and Bruce Solotoff), Spectre related to Waverider how the JSA was out of time due to the Spear of Destiny (and Kobra's attack on the Spectre) leading to near Ragnarok, but that combining their power, they could take the JSA out of the loop, and use them to fight Abraxis (an invader from another dimension, who was summoned to Earth, and empowered his minions, getting the time travelling Waverider to recruit heroes to fight him...but all this made time fragile, leading to extraordinary measures).

Still, this returned the JSA to fight Abraxis in his home dimension, where the JSA also empowered to the locals with their Ragnarok energies to help in the fight...and the nameless residents of Abraxis' hopeless dimension found hope with their power, and, replaced the JSA in their endless time loop (after the defeat of Abraxis), resulting in the JSA (plus Hawkgirl and Sandy, partners of Hawkman and Sandman) to be returned to the modern day.

The team had a few adventures (mostly Flash and Green Lantern, with their counterparts), and a slight JSA revival, before the disruption of Zero Hour (which sidelined the team for a time, until it's revival in 1999, leading the team to one of its most successful times)...but, that's a tale for another day....and later in the 21st century....

But, if you have been lucky enough to find this, make sure to check out many other articles and podcasts on the many years of the Justice Society, as we celebrate 85 years of the JSA, and you can find out where to find them checking the #JSApril hashtag, as well as a list at fireandwaterpodcast.com/JSApril.

Planet DC JSA And Batman

Here are the last two of the 8 Planet DC Annuals of 2000, focusing on heroes you know meeting heroes from foreign lands...

...this time around, the new heroes are Nemesis and the Boggart, who meet with the JSA and Batman.

JSA Annual #1 (October, 2000)

First up is Nemesis (Soseh Mykros) in a story by David Goyer, Uriel Caton and Wade von Grawbadger, as she fights the clones of Sportsmaster (an old JSA foe) as a way to battle the Council.  Soseh was the daughter of Dr. Anatol Mykros (who worked with the Council, which were thought to be defeated by Batman and the Mark Shaw Manhunter long ago.  Mykros experimented and had two daughters, Soseh and Ellina, both of whom had incredible regeneration abilities, as well as Eidetic Kinesthesia (the ability to duplicate any fighting style she encountered).  Meant to lead the Sportsmaster clones, Soseh felt what her father was doing was wrong, and opposed him, drawing her into battle with her sister.  While Soseh defeated Ellina and got away, she was injured and floated away in the Aegean Sea...

...where, in the second story in the annual (by Geoff Johns, Buzz and Jim Royal, as Buzz did the cover as well), Soseh ended up on Themyscira, home of the amazons, where, at the time, Hippolyta was acting as Wonder Woman, and training newer JSA members Black Canary, Star-Spangled Kid and Hawkgirl.  There, she related her tale and, having encountered the Sportsmaster clones before, the JSA decided to help, going to the back to the secret facility in Greece where the Council was cloning Sportsmaster, and destroyed it, with Soseh killing her sister along the way (a setback for the Council, who was allied with JSA foe, the Ultra-Humanite as well).  Nemesis continued fighting the Council with the help of the JSA, but ended up allying with Black Adam, where she was killed by Eclipso (all in the next few years of JSA books).

Batman Annual #24 (October, 2000)

The last of the new heroes from the Planet DC was the Boggart, as detailed in this story by John Ostrander, Jim Aparo and Sal Buscema (with a cover by Michael Kaluta).  On a rare vacation to England, Alfred Pennyworth ran into the beast...leaving him comatose, inviting a visit by Bruce Wayne (and Batman) to investigate.  Going to the place Alfred last was, Elsbeth Fields (call her Gran Puddin) was set to give Bruce her granddaughter, Rosemary....until Bruce was chased from the house by the Boggart.  Having Rosemary calm the Boggart, Gran Puddin explained that her son Harry, and new bride, Diana, had Rosemary with help from Lord Malvern, who, now claimed Rosemary.  

Bruce went to confront Geoffrey, Lord Malvern, who directly shooed Bruce from his mansion and made light of claims of the beast.  Going back as Batman, Bruce encountered security guard Grayle, as Rosemary and the Boggart went to the mansion as well.  When the girl and her imaginary friend got in, they found other children who also had imaginary friends, and found that Lord Malvern was experimenting to give children telekinetic powers....which manifested as imaginary friends.  Grayle, as a security guard representing other interests, tried the formula on himself, manifesting the beast.  Lord Malvern had a cure for the formula, but needed Batman to distract Grayle, and the Boggart to distract the beast, wherein Malvern gave Grayle the cure, and the beast disappeared.  Realizing Malvern was not malevolent, Gran Puddin gave her blessing for Rosemary to be trained at the mansion (with the Boggart reluctantly agreeing).

In the second story, also by Ostrander, Aparo and Buscema, Rosemary (and the Boggart, the manifestation of her powers) met Roland Royce, who was to study the Boggart (but the Boggart would have none of that).  The Boggart manifested badly, and, after being admonished by Rosemary, disappeared for a while.  Rosemary learned why Malvern was so intend on protecting children, having lost his son, William, who was the first recipient of the experiment, and killed himself because he couldn't handle the power.  With the help of the Boggart, Malvern and the spirit of his son reconciled.  Sadly, Rosemary and the Boggart never reappeared.

Time For The JSA

As time ticks down, like the sands of an hourglass, so too do the variations of a classic cover, featuring the Justice Society.

Take a look below, as we head down covers featuring the Justice Society Of America, and their timely foe, Per Degaton.

All-Star Companion #4 (April, 2017)

Jerry Ordway supplied this cover for a publication covering the history of the Justice Society, with this volume focused on other teams inspired by the Justice Society, like the Seven Soldiers of Victory and the Invaders, as well as a little on Earth-2 in the 1980s with Infinity, Inc. and a look at the 1980s version of Secret Origins.

History in the pages!

JSA #72 (June, 2005)

Alex Ross supplied this stunning cover for the JSA, as the original team and the modern team work together to fight the time machinations of Per Degaton, including members like Power Girl, Jakeem and Johnny Thunder, the original Atom and Flash and more!

An epic battle for the ages!

America Vs. The Justice Society #4 (April, 1985)

Back to Jerry Ordway again, with the stunning conclusion to a historical look back at the career of the Justice Society, framed on with a court trial from accusations made in the dead Batman's diary, with Huntress and Robin leading the investigations to disprove what he did.

All while Per Degaton rages!

 

 

All-Star Comics #35 (June-July, 1947)

The original. by Irwin Hasen, wherein the Justice Society of America has their first battle with Per Degaton, the master manipulator of time, who would spent many decades just washing those test tubes as his attempted manipulations of time would fail.

See you in the funny pages!

Request For Injustice Society Collections

One of the most persistent foes of the Justice Society of America has been the Injustice Society of the World.  Premiered in All-Star Comics #37 (October-November, 1947) by writer Robert Kanigher and artists Irwin Hasen, Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, John Belfi and Alex Toth, this group of villains has unleashed havoc across the world, as well as having grown in size (here by George Perez)....

...and while the group's Golden Age appearances have been reprinted a few times, many individual members are far from having their appearances visible since their first printings.

That needs change....and, here's a way to do that in three tradepaperback volumes!

ISW Volume 1

The first volume should include:

Wizard (William Asmodeus Zard) All-Star Comics #34 (April-May 1947):  "The Wiles Of The Wizard" Brainwave (Henry King Sr) All-Star Comics #15 (February-March 1943): "The Man Who Created Images" Gambler (Steven Sharpe) Green Lantern #12 (Summer 1944):  "The Gambler" Green Lantern #20 (June-July 1946): "The Gambler Comes Back" Green Lantern #27 (August-September 1947): "The Gambler Bets His Life" Per Degaton All-Star Comics #35 (June-July 1947):  "The Day That Dropped Out Of Time"

Thinker (Clifford DeVoe)

All-Flash #12 (Fall 1943):  "Tumble Inn To Trouble" All-Flash #14 (Spring 1944):  "The Man Who Unleashed The Past" Vandal Savage Green Lantern #10 (Winter 1943): "The Man Who Wanted The World"

...and the team appearance from All-Star Comics #37, "The Injustice Society of The World", for a wonderful collection of 319 pages (with appropriate covers, with sadly, the Thinker not appearing on any, and the Gambler only making one of his cover), with many All-Star Comics issues, and a few Golden Age Flash and Green Lantern tales.


Still, this does collect all of Per Degaton and Vandal Savage's Golden Age appeaerances, and at least the first two appearances of every charter ISW member except for Brain Wave.


Leaves some Brain Wave, Thinker and Gambler stories uncollected, but....read on!

ISW Volume 2

The second volume should include:

Icicle (Joar Makent) All-American Comics #90 (October 1947): "The Icicle" All-American Comics #92 (December 1947): "The Icicle Goes South" Fiddler (Isaac Bowin) All-Flash #32 (December 1947-January 1948):  "Duet Of Danger" Flash Comics #93 (March 1948): "Violin Of Villainy" Comic Cavalcade #28 (August-September 1948): "The Flash Concerto"

Sportsmaster (Crusher Crock) All-American Comics #85 (May 1947): "The Rise And Fall Of Crusher Crock" Green Lantern #28 (October-November 1947): "The Tricks Of The Sportsmaster" All-American Comics #98 (June 1948): "The End Of Sports"

Huntress (Paula Brooks) Sensation Comics #68 (August 1947): "Wildcat -- Former Crime Fighter" Sensation Comics #69 (September 1947): "Follow The Leader" Sensation Comics #71 (November 1947): "The Count That Never Ended" Sensation Comics #73 (January 1948): "Murder Masquerade" Sensation Comics #75 (March 1948): "The Snare That Backfired" Sensation Comics #76 (April 1948): "The Wildcat Ride" DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular #6 (1971): "Crime Wore A Costume"

Harlequin (Molly Mayne) All-American Comics #89 (September 1947): "The Harlequin" All-American Comics #91 (November 1947): "The Wedding Of The Harlequin" Green Lantern #29 (December 1947 - January 1948): "The Challenge Of The Harlequin" and "The Harlequin Haunts Green Lantern"

All-American Comics  #93 (January 1948):  "The Double-Crossing Decoy" All-American Comics #94 (February 1948): "Partners In Peril" All-American Comics #95 (March 1948): "The Unmasking Of The Harlequin" Green Lantern #31 (March-April 1948): "The Terror Of The Talismans" Green Lantern #32 (May-June 1948):  "The Case Of The Conscience Fund"

....and, with the Wizard's gathering of these villains from All-Star Comics #41 (June-July, 1948), this gives all the Golden Age appearances of these villains from the various Flash comics, Green Lantern comics and even Wildcat appearances (though he never made the covers of Sensation Comics).



Except for some of Harlequin's appearances, all of these characters Golden Age tales are here (about half of all of these stories hadn't been reprinted), with this being the largest volume, at 330 pages.

ISW Volume 3

The third volume should include Golden Age tales of the Bronze Age additions:

Shade (Richard Swift) Flash Comics #33 (September 1942): "The Man Who Commanded The Night" Solomon Grundy (Cyrus Gold) All-American Comics #61 (October 1944): "Fighters Never Quit" Comic Cavalcade #13 (Winter 1945): "And Then There Was One" All-Star Comics #33 (February-March 1947): "The Revenge Of Solomon Grundy" Comic Cavalcade #24 (December 1947-January 1948): "The Case Of The Withered Flower"

Missing stores of other ISW members from the Golden Age:

Brain Wave (Henry King Sr) All-Star Comics #17 (June-July 1943): "Brain Wave Goes Berserk" All-Star Comics #30 (August-September 1946)" "The Dreams Of Madness Gambler (Steven Sharpe) Green Lantern #30 (February-March 1948): "The Fatal Chance" Green Lantern #35 (November-December 1948): "Perfect Crimes For Sale"

Thinker (Clifford DeVoe) Flash Comics #65 (June-July 1945): "Adventure Of The Thinking Cap" All-Flash #27 (February-March 1947): "The Thinker Cooks With Gas" Comic Cavalcade #22 (August-September 1947): "Beware The Ice Age" Comic Cavalcade #23 (October-November 1947): "The Sleeping City" All-Flash #32 (December 1947-January 1948): "Crime, Incorporated" Flash #214 (April 1972): "The Tale Of Three Tokens"

Harlequin (Molly Mayne)

Green Lantern Vol. 1 #33/3 (July-August 1948): "The Harlequin's Leap Year"

Green Lantern Vol. 1 #34 (September-October 1948): "Harlequin's Secret Revealed"

Other villains, who joined even later or were related to the ISW:

Rag Doll (Peter Merkel) Flash Comics #36 (December 1942): "Tale Of The Treasure Hunt" The Mist (Kyle) Adventure Comics #67 (October 1941): "The Menace Of The Invisible Raiders"

The Shade joined during a JLA/JSA adventure, Solomon Grundy during the 1970s run with Star-Spangled Kid and Power Girl, Rag Doll VERY much later, in JSA All-Stars, and the Mist, because his second appearance was in the Wanted collection, and this gives more than Flash and Green Lantern (and JSA stories) with a Starman story, giving 328 pages (and hope that a collection with Hawkman's Gentleman Ghost and Monocle and a few others can materialize somewhere).

A fanciful wish from someone who knows the Flash, Green Lantern, Wildcat, Hawkman and Starman stories reprinted from the Golden Age, and would like to see more, with Wizard, Brain Wave, Per Degaton, Vandal Savage, Gambler, Thinker, Icicle, Sportsmaster, Huntress, Fiddler, Harlequinn and the rest serving as a nice conduit to a forgotten era!