This was one of the first back issues I ever bought. A little while after we moved to New Jersey in 1979, I discovered a honest-to-gosh comics store near our house, named El Dorado, and I begged my Dad to take me.Once I got there, looking at an entire store filled with old comics nearly gave me a heart attack(in a good way). I checked out all the JLAs and this one was the oldest issue I could still afford. It was in better condition than this when I got it...what can I say? As a kid I was a little more careless with my books...
The story: "The Riddle of the Robot Justice League!" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs. An alien named Sforll(don't laugh, he's sensitive about that) kidnaps the JLA to enlist them to help him take on another alien, named Zed Brann(who later went on to star in NBC's Scrubs)who is attempting to steal a vital force of energy that helps run the universe!
For some reason, this leads to the JLA fighting robot duplicates of themselves, except for Aquaman. Since there is no water on the planet of Skarn, they didn't bother to make one of him(??). That leaves Aquaman to be the one-man cheering section for the JLA, which actually works out, since he each gives the JLAers subtle ideas how to defeat their robot challengers. Again, yay Aquaman!
Roll Call: Superman, Batman Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow
Notable Moments: As an Aquaman fan, I have to give Garnder Fox credit--he always managed to give Aquaman something vital to do, and while the stories were a bit formulaic, I appreciate his ability to tell a huge, planet-spanning story in just twenty pages or so, and still give each JLAer a moment to shine.
2 comments:
When I read this story it was the reprinted version in JLA 90whatever it was. This was in the midst of Aquaman being basically ignored in the pages of JLA, so when it got to the point of the aliens telling Aquaman he had to sit this one out I thought, "Typical!" Imagine my surprise as he became the cheer leader, and then actually SAVED THE UNIVERSE! Yes, Aquaman saved the entire universe. I had a grin on my face for hours, and smile every time I think of it. (Like now!) Another one of my all-time favorite stories, not least of which is because of the reason Rob mentions: Gardner Fox didn't make these scenes seemed forced in any way. He was a pro.
The scene of Aquaman sitting in his kiddie pool being told to be their "Cheering Squad" had me thinking "He's gotta be pissed"
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