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.

Justice League of America #49 - Nov. 1966

Ok, Batman's in the book! We get it!

The Story: "Threat of the True-Or-False Sorcerer!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. Felix Faust creates a duplicate of himself which could spend the end of the universe! Luckily, Snapper Carr is here to figure it all out.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern

Notable Moments: Aquaman? Who's Aquaman?

It's Goofy Demon Central this issue, with a plethora of funny-looking alien creatures(including a leprechaun!) courtesy the team of Faust/Sekowsky.

Justice League of America #49 Ad - Nov. 1966

Sure, all those characters could be in the book, but odds are you'll be getting Superman, Batman, Flash, and Green Lantern!

Justice League of America #48 - Dec. 1966

So Batman runs faster than the Flash, Superman, and Wonder Woman? Interesting...

Another 80-page Giant all-reprint issue. You'd almost feel ripped off if they hadn't released this plus a regular issue...

The stories: "Challenge of the Weapons Master!"(B&B #29), "Secret of the Sinister Sorcerers!"(JLA #2), and "Slave Ship of Space!"(JLA #3) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs.

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

Notable Moments: This issue affords founding member The Martian Manhunter a lack of respect usually afforded only Aquaman. Not only were his appearances becoming more and more scarce, but on the cover he's given blue gloves, something he's never had.

You'd think that Sekowsky, who penciled the cover, Murphy Anderson, who inked it, and whoever colored it, would've caught it at some point.

Justice League of America #48 Ad - Nov. 1966

This is another one of those ads promoting an earlier issue of the title the ad appeared in! No wonder DC needed the Crisis on Infinite Earths!

Designed by Ira Schnapp, so it's awesome. I like how it looks like this comic is as thick as a phone book!

Justice League of America #47 - Sept. 1966

Explain to me the phsyics of this cover, well-designed as though it may be.

The Story: "The Bridge Between Earths!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. It turns out all this Earth-One/Earth-Two hugger mugger is because of an experimental space-warping machine(!) that Ray Palmer's assistant has been working on! Dammit, if Ray didn't have to spend so much time at home with that nag Jean Loring, he'd have been on top of this!

The JLA and the JSA team-up to help defeat the (really cool looking)Anti-Matter Man who was using the effects of the machine to further his nefarious plan.

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

Notable Moments: As stated above, I love this cover--the design, the colors, all top-notch and exciting.

The Atom plays a huge role in this story, so Damian ought to be happy.

Justice League of America #46 - Aug. 1966

One of my all-time favorite covers, even if it is a fairly obvious attempt to ride that Batman TV show "Pop Art" wave.

The Story: "Crisis Between Earth-One and Earth-Two!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Sid Greene. People from Earth-One and Earth-Two are suddenly being transferred between Earths; The Spectre determines the evil Anti-Matter Man is behind it all, and if he continues he'll destroy both Earths!

Roll Call: Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman

Notable Moments: Another JLA/JSA team-up, this time featuring the least amount of JLAers possible without DC being accused of bait-and-switch. One less JLAer and you'd have Brave and the Bold.

The Spectre battles the Anti-Matter Man, and they're fight is awesomely literal. I simply love this panel of the Spectre's legs being pushed up into his body! It's the kind of thing that makes you want to, I don't know, turn some crooks into blocks of wood and run them through buzz-saws.

Both the Blockbuster and Solomon Grundy appear in this issue, which is almost one big dumb guy too many.

Sid Greene takes over the inking with this issue, and I always liked his smooth style, reigning Sekowsky in a little, making for a very attractive-looking book.

Justice League of America #45 - June 1966

Given the Shaggy Man's size, and that Batman looks so stiff, this cover always looked like The Shaggy Man was playing with Batman and Flash action figures to me. Is it just me?

The Story: "The Super-Struggle Against The Shaggy Man!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, Frank Giacoia, and Joe Giella.

When the JLA determine that the Shaggy Man is unbeatable(c'mon, unbeatable? Really?) they trap him underground with a rock creature(and a duplicate Shaggy Man--don't ask) so they will battle one another forever. Um, good, humane plan, Justice Leaguers!

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

Notable Moments: Debut of the Shaggy Man, one of the JLA's goofiest, yet long-lasting, bad guys.

Justice League of America #44 - May 1966

One of the strangest JLA covers ever, courtesy Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson.

The Story: "The Plague That Struck the Justice League!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Frank Giacoia. Some of the JLA start growing in size, and they just happen to be the same ones who fought the Unimaginable two issues back. When the mysterious Bendorion shows up to cure them, Batman smells a rat!

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

Notable Moments: For the first time ever, Bernard Sachs doesn't ink Sekowksy's pencils; instead we get Frank Giacoia, who adds(to my eye) a pleasant smoothness to Sekowsky's rougher-style pencils.

This is right about the time the Batman TV show debuted, so for the next dozen or so issues, this comic would start to look like Batman and His Justice League(it's not that obvious here, but just wait a few issues). If Batman was so dang popular, why not just give him another solo book? Damn those expensive first-class mailing permits!

Also, story credits start appearing for the first time. Did DC finally have to give in after Marvel made such a big deal about its writers and artists?

This story features one of the more unintentionally funny splash pages, the kind of thing that probably got Frederic Wertham aroused with anger:
When the bad guy mentions the people the JLAers have touched are now in danger, all of them worry about their wives, except for Batman, who worries: "Robin--what have I done to you?"

...Now, of course, that makes total sense and Fox was not trying to be funny. Of course he's come into physical contact with Robin. But after all the other heroes immediately think of their wives or girlfriends, it just reads really funny.

Justice League of America #43 - March 1966

The debut of the Royal Flush Gang!

The Story: "The Card Crimes of the Royal Flush Gang!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The JLA fights a team of bad guys, the stellar-powered Royal Flush Gang.

The RFG uses their powers to affect the JLAers moods, so that they become despondent over their losses and start to give up. Luckily Snapper Carr is there to give them a pep talk, and he helps them defeat the Royal Flush Gang. Wonder Woman makes him a jester's costume so he can go with them to fight the RFG, making him more of a horse's ass than he was already.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hawkman

Notable Moments: Hawkgirl guest stars again, Snapper gets a large role, and the Royal Flush Gang debuts. A pretty big issue.

...but all that pales in comparison to the really big deal with this issue--the debut of DC's Go-Go checks! Yeah, dig it, baby! It's a happening!

Also, we get for the first time a new JLA logo, which I admit is pretty spiffy. The old one is almost mythic in its iconic-ness, so I'm glad they went back to it, but I thought this one was pretty cool, too.

Justice League of America #42 - Feb. 1966

One of the most famous JLA issues ever!

The Story: "Metamorpho Says No!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The JLA decides to induct new hero Metamorpho into the League("Yay, another Ramona Fradon hero!" Aquaman is overheard to say), but he and the League are attacked by the Unimaginable, a formless creature who demands to be a inducted as a member instead.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, and new member Meta...oops! Spoke too soon!

Notable Moments: This was a pretty surprising development--the JLA was the Knights of the Round Table of the DCU, so it seemed, er, unimaginable that someone would say no, especially when Hawkgirl nagged Hawkman every day, asking when she was going to get to join.

But say no Metamorpho did, and even though he looks good working with the JLA(there aren't too many orange and purple superheroes), he doesn't join. No other hero would turn down membership until a decade and a half later, when Black Lightning would have the same answer(hmm, Batman must have been making notes for possible members of a new team he wanted to start up...)

Justice League of America #41 - Dec. 1965

The debut of the Key--one of the JLA's most deadly, yet goofy-looking, foes!

The Story: "The Key-Master of the World!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The Key slips the JLA a mickey which messes with their heads and renders them unable to detect his henchmen who are committing a series of robberies. Luckily, guest-star Hawkgirl uncovers the plan and helps the JLA defeat him.

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

Notable Moments: Like I said above, the debut of the Key, one of the JLA's long-running foes. The character design is Out There, but his creepy face makes you sorta forget the weird head gear.

Hawkgirl guest stars in this issue, another of her many appearances in the book. I haven't counted(though I guess I should; that's the kind of obsessive detail blogs are for), but I think she guest-starred more than any other superhero--yet her induction into the League took another twelve years, for some reason.

Justice League of America #40 - Nov. 1965

Watch where you're going, Superman! Think first, fly and punch later!

The Story: "Indestructible Creatures of Nightmare Island!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. Ambitious--but woefully misguided--philosopher Andrew Helm creates a machine which will affect the conscience of every person on Earth to insure World Peace.

Of course, it all goes wrong, and it creates chaos instead! The JLA, also of course, gets involved.

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

Notable Moments: Features historical cameos by Moses, Christ, Confucius, Mohammed, and Buddha, who were briefly considered to get their own Showcase tryout.

Some classic DC villains show up, like Captain Cold, The Shark, Mirror Master, and the Penguin. And the letters page informs us that Hawkman "has all earthly knowledge implanted in his brain." Good to know!

Justice League of America #39 - Nov. 1965

Ah, the classic 80-Page Giants...

The stories: "Starro the Conqueror!"(B&B #28), "Case of the Stolen Super-Powers"(B&B #30), and "When Gravity Went Wild!"(JLA #5) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs.

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

Notable Moments: When I first came across these all-reprint issues, I assumed they were placeholders in the regular series to give Fox, Sekowsky, et al, time to catch up. But closer examination reveals these 80-Page Giants came out the same month as one of the regular issues--kids got two issues of the JLA in one month! Sa-weet!

Justice League of America #39 Ad - Nov. 1965

This ad ran in JLA #40, promoting JLA #39, which will show up tomorrow. This is the rare ad that promotes a previous issue of the title the ad ran in.

Like all DC ads of the time, it was produced--beautifully--by in-house designer Ira Schnapp.

Justice League of America #38 - Sept. 1965

All I know is, there better be some damn JLAers in this issue...

The story: "Crisis on Earth-A!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The JSAers defeat the evil JLA rather easily, so Johnny Thunder from Earth-Jackass has the Thunderbolt create several creatures to try and beat the JSA, which doesn't work either!

Johnny Thunder concedes defeat and has the T-Bolt turn time back so he never even heard of him! So, basically, the whole thing never happened. Sorry you wasted your twenty-four cents, kids!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Atom, and Hawkman all appear in one panel at the end of the story

Notable Moments: What a strange two issues! Maybe they were testing the sellability of a new JSA comic. And apparently, Johnny Thunder's T-Bolt can do anything, at any time, at least according to Gardner Fox.

By the way, I love Sekowsky's Evil Flash...

Justice League of America #37 - Aug. 1965

Where the heck is my Justice League?!?

The story: "Earth--Without a Justice League!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The Earth-One Johnny Thunder--who's even a bigger jerk than Snapper Carr--commands the Thunderbolt to rid Earth-One of superheroes, so he goes back and time and does just that. Done and done!

The JSA tries to impersonate the JLA and defeat Johnny and his Thunderbolt, but it doesn't work and the evil Johnny creates a new JLA, made up of bad guys! To be continued!

Roll Call: No JLAers appear in this issue at all, only JSA members Atom, Dr.Fate, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, and Mr. Terrific!

Notable Moments: The sequence where the Thunderbolt prevents the creation of the various Justice Leaguers is classic--why didn't half the supervillains of the world think of this? And the Batman sequence is especially wild:
...I love Sekowsky's gloss on the Bob Kane Batman, and Bats' thought-balloon in the second panel is so hysterically deadpan I can't tell whether Fox was trying to be funny or playing it totally straight.

Justice League of America #36 - June 1965

One of my all-time favorite issues of the JLA!

The story: "The Case of the Disabled Justice League!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. Some of the JLAers stage a mock battle with a giant alien to entertain some handicapped children.

While battling, they find themselves handicapped--Superman goes blind, Hawkman develops asthma, etc. They learn to overcome their handicaps to face several other attacks. Turns out its all a plot of the evil Brainstorm, who ends up controlling them with his mind powers. The other Leaguers show up and help defeat them and then Brainstorm.

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

Notable Moments: This issue ends, of course, with the handicapped kids learning that since the JLA overcame their handicaps, they can too! Flash then tells them that this case was very similar to an adventure the JSA had(in All-Star Comics #27), and they make the same pledge the JSAers did:
...sure, this story is about as subtle as getting whacked by a two by four, but its heart is so firmly in the right place that it doesn't matter.

This story was reprinted in the classic Super Friends treasury comic, and that's where I first read it--a perfect story to represent the inherent goodness and decency of the Justice League of America.

Justice League of America #35 - May 1965

Having spent some time in my life having to learn to draw accurate folds in clothes so they look like real garments, I feel for Sekowsky having to draw a cover like this--Fold City!

The story: "Battle Against the Bodiless Uniforms" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The Demons Three--Abenegazar, Rath, and Ghast are back!

To get themselves free from the prison they were left in(JLA #11), they mystically take control of some of the JLA's costumes and use them to create duplicates of some of the JLA's villains(what??).

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

Notable Moments: There's a really dynamic sequence with Aquaman fighting a creature named Dagon, ending with this striking panel:
...wham-o!

Of all the various Batman villains the Demons Three had to choose from, they pick Killer Moth?

Justice League of America #34 - March 1965

You generally didn't--and still don't--see a lot of white on comic covers, and I always thought it frequently made for a nice cover.

The story: "Deadly Dreams of Doctor Destiny!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. Several JLAers have strange dreams where they are stuck with odd accessories, like a metal face mask or a mysterious ring--and then they are defeated by some of their foes. I wonder if this is a plot by the nefarious Dr.Destiny?

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Atom, Hawkman

Notable Moments: The first time the Joker showed up in the pages of the JLA; Sekowsky makes him look paunchy and old--not exactly terrifying.

I always liked Dr.Destiny; he seemed like a great villain for the all-powerful JLA, even if he still is just a regular guy in prison greys.

Justice League of America #33 - Feb. 1965

Once again, Superman and Hawkman get the lion's share of the cover. Hmm...

The story: "Enemy From the Timeless World!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. Some of the JLA are unable to get into the Secret Sanctuary because a strange barrier is blocking the entrance!

That barrier was made by a man from the future, who puts the remaining JLAers through a series of death-traps to test them. When they succeed in beating the traps, they are told that a group of future men have gone into the past to have them fight the Alien-Ator, who is trying to take them over!

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

Notable Moments: I've only explained about a third of this issue's plot, I bet Fox and Schwartz needed a flow chart to follow it all.

As I've said before, Sekowsky drew great aliens. It must have been tough coming up with new designs for the approximately fifteen-hundred new alien races Fox came up with during their run.

Justice League of America #32 - Dec. 1964

Hawkman and Superman learn a lot about each other in this issue. Welcome to the JLA, Carter!

The story: "Attack of the Star-Bolt Warrior!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The debut of a new villain, the goofily-attired Brainstorm, who forces the JLA--or some of it, at least--to watch as he executes Green Lantern for the murder of this brother!

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

Notable Moments: Brainstorm debuts in what will be the first of many appearances in the DCU.

I think Fox felt a lot more comfortable writing Hawkman, since he appeared a lot in subsequent issues, much moreso than a lot of the older members.

The letters page header changes again. Atom is still not re-drawn, but Hawkman has been added, by what looks like Murphy Anderson:
...it's getting crowded in there!

Justice League of America #31 - Nov. 1964

Hawkman joins the JLA!

The story: "Riddle of the Runaway Room!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. Two-bit crook Joe Parry finds a device that came from outer space which pretty much creates anything one asks of it. He tries to commit crimes with it which gets the JLA involved. Luckily new member Hawkman saves the day!

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

Notable Moments: The JLA has already decided to induct Hawkman by the time the issue opens, so we are spared Flash's tiresome proposal of Adam Strange as the new member.

There's a charming-in-its-out-of-date-ness scene where the Atom has to carefully explain to Hawkgirl why Hawkman is being invited to join, but not her. She cheerfully says its ok because, since Hawkman is the leader of their team, it counts as a honor for both of them. Now go home and bake some cookies, Shayera! You know what they say--tie a woman to the bed with just enough room to get to the Absorbascon.

I would argue that with this issue, the JLA really was the cream of the crop of the DCU--each member had his own book(s) or strip, and each of them were iconic in their own way. The membership at this point would stay consistent for the next forty issues or so.

Nothing against future members Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Hawkgirl, Zatanna, and Firestorm, but I think by the time the JLA got to them, the JLA itself was legendary in the DCU, and by adding a new member, the team bestowed prestige upon the newly-chosen hero, not the other way around.

Justice League of America #30 - Sept. 1964

Part Two of the second JLA/JSA crossover!

The story: "The Most Dangerous Earth of All!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The JSA fights the Crime Syndicate, but is tricked by them and they get transported to Earth-Three. So the JLA then goes to Earth-Two, and defeats them there.

Realizing they can't return them to their homeworld, Green Lantern uses his ring to place them in an inter-dimensional prison bubble, all alone, covered in warnings to potential visitors(?). When last we see them, they have no water, no food, no beds...the five of them are just in a small bubble. This would inspire the later Marvel series Crime Syndicate Zombies.

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern

Notable Moments: The JLA and JSA barely interact in this story; in fact they only share a few panels together, and most of those are on view-screens, ala Kirk and Khan in Star Trek II.

Justice League of America #29 - Aug. 1964

The JSA is back!

The story: "Crisis on Earth-Three!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. We are introduced to the Crime Syndicate and the concept of Earth-Three, a world where all the major events of our Earth are different--Abe Lincoln shot Pres. John Wilkes Booth, England won freedom from the United States, etc.--and there are no superheroes, only villains!

The Crime Syndicate and the JLA square off twice, once on Earth-One, where the JLA wins, and once on Earth-Three, where the Crime Syndicate wins. Since they are evenly matched, they decided to fight on neutral ground--Earth-Two! When the bad guys discover that world has superheroes, they decide to take them on instead!

Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern

Notable Moments: The JSA returns in what will be a yearly event--the JLA/JSA team-up, one of Fox and Schwartz's most ingenious plot devices.

The Crime Syndicate was another neat idea, though I never understood why there wasn't an evil duplicate of Aquaman. Hmmph.

Justice League of America #28 - June 1964

One of the best, goofiest JLA covers, ever. I saw Hembeck do a repro of this in one of his books long before I saw the actual comic, and it made me want it so bad.

The story: "The Case of the Forbidden Super-Powers!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The villainous (and unfortunately-named) Headmaster Mind creates a device causes natural disasters whenever the JLA uses their powers.

He enlists the Top, Matter Master, and the Tattooed Man(who now has his own show on TLC, I think), and when Batman and Green Arrow--who of course have no super powers--try to defeat them, it inspires the rest of the JLA to do the same, just without using their powers.

The cover is inspired by the moment in the story when the U.N. issues an injunction against the JLA from using their powers, so the JLA does what any group of masked heroes would do--form a picket-line outside the building!

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

Notable Moments: Martian Manhunter does not appear, or is even mentioned, at all in this story.

Again, Aquaman takes a fairly substantial role. Nice.

Justice League of America #27 - May 1964

Great, 50s sci-fi movie poster-ish cover!

The story: "The 'I' Who Defeated the Justice League!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. An inter-galactic being simply named "I" sends anonymous letters to members of the JLA to draw them out and defeat them, since he discovers their success as a team is draining his life force(huh?).

Snapper Carr figures out(yeah, ahead of Batman) that if they use the handy Amazo, residing in their sanctuary's trophy room, they can overload "I" and defeat him. Ginchy!

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

Notable Moments: There's a giant full-page illustration(which Sekowsky didn't do much) of the JLA beating the circuits out of Amazo, which is fun.

Aquaman gets a fairly big role in this story. I'm always happy about that.

Justice League of America #26 - March 1964

Despero is back!

The story: "Four Worlds to Conquer!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. Despero is Back! Oh, wait, I said that...

Despero escapes the prison he was put in(at the end of JLA #1) and uses a ray to accelerate the age of some JLA members, while trapping the rest in some deathtraps. He then poses as an aged Superman and sneaks into the Secret Sanctuary, but Wonder Woman sees through that and captures him.

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

Notable Moments: Sekowsky excelled at drawing older people, so seeing old versions of some of the JLA is fun.

The story ends with Despero standing off to the side as the JLA decides what to do with him. How humiliating.

Justice League of America #25 - Feb. 1964

One of the earliest JLA back issues I ever bought--as you can see, this book is Near Mint. Ok, Near Mint-minus.

The story: "Outcasts of Infinity!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The JLA(well, some of them) get involved with a fight on the alien planet known as Sfarl. There, a bad guy with a lot of weapons named Kraad uses a beam to disintigrate the JLAers(!!), but Atom uses GL's ring to reconsitute them, albeit all mixed together. And Ray is the scientist on the team?

Roll Call: Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, The Atom

Notable Moments: This is the first issue to feature just a small fraction of the JLA's membership, something that would continue to grow as did the team's roster.

Like I said at the top, I bought this copy simply because I could afford it--but even though it was already pretty beat up, I had to make things worse by letting a piece of tape rip off the cover(see by Diana's lasso), marker-color some pages, and fill out a form for a collector's book of stamps. Huh?

The three little Sfarlians who start the ball rolling are some of Sekowsky's best-designed aliens. Since they're not the bad guys in the story, they're given a cute look, as distinctive as any big Hollywood movie:
...somebody call Rankin-Bass!

Justice League of America #24 - Dec. 1963

One of my favorite covers. Even though they're under a bad-guy's control, I always like the Heroes Running At The Reader covers.

The story: "Decoy Missions of the Justice League!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. Kanjar Ro and his pointy face is back, in some crazy scheme involving his aural form, and trapping the JLA's aural forms, which traps their real bodies...luckily, always-a-bridesmaid Adam Strange guest-stars and helps the JLA defeat Ro.

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

Notable Moments: Even though I understood why Adam Strange never joined, I always enjoyed his guest-appearances in the JLA.

The letters page features missives from Roy Thomas(him again!) and one Dave Cockrum, who suggests a new character named "Nightcrawler" joins the JLA. No, I made that up.

Justice League of America #23 - Nov. 1963

Even though she's sorta goofy looking, I always liked the Queen Bee. Super-villainesses were rare enough, but one powerful enough to take on the whole JLA?

Plus she was kinda hot. Have I said too much?

The story: "Drones of the Queen Bee!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The Queen Bee uses her powers to force the JLA to procure elements that when combined will produce an immortality serum for her!

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

Notable Moments: Even though Superman, Batman, and Aquaman are listed in the Roll Call, they play no part in this story and show up only as the very end.

Also, the Atom misses the story entirely, because he was off having another adventure in his own book(appearing in The Atom #8, Julius Schwartz helpfully informs us), so the issue ends with Atom about to regale the JLA with the story. Weird!

Justice League of America #22 - Sept. 1963

Part Two of the exciting first JLA/JSA crossover!

The story: "Crisis on Earth-Two!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. The JLA and the JSA break up into teams and take on the villains of two worlds, but when they capture them all, a magical trap sprung by Felix Faust ensnares them all in jail cells floating in space!

With the help of the two Flashes and Green Lanterns, they escape and dole out another around of super-team butt-kicking, this time defeating the bad guys for good. As they stand around six beaten, unconcious bad guys, the two teams promise to stay in touch.

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

Notable Moments: After the JLA and JSA break free, they get the drop on the bad guys and all the fighting is condensed into two beautifully crafted, clean pages:
...some of Mike Sekowsky's best work, I think. Simple yet exciting as heck.

I bought this back issue at the aforementioned "El Dorado" comic book store, sometime around 1983 or so. Yet I still went ahead and filled out the coupon for the "Task Force" toy soliders kit(only 69 cents!), as if the offer was still valid twenty years later. Kids are so literal.