One of the things that inadvertently became a running theme with this blog was the evolution of the JLA Mail Room header. I guess it was neat to ponder because, at any given moment, it gave you in one shot who was in, who was out.
Of course, after the League grew to thirteen members, someone at DC realized it was getting so crowded it went to the generic Satellite shot, which I never thought was as fun--I was glad to see it make a belated return with the JLA Detroit era.
So here's a quick rundown of the JLA Mail Room headers through the ages:
Of course, after the League grew to thirteen members, someone at DC realized it was getting so crowded it went to the generic Satellite shot, which I never thought was as fun--I was glad to see it make a belated return with the JLA Detroit era.
So here's a quick rundown of the JLA Mail Room headers through the ages:
Usually, DC was on top of changing these the minute someone came or went; except for this last one, which hung around long after Aquaman had quit the team. Maybe by then the writing was on the wall, and no one really wanted to bother.
I miss DC's letter pages; I understand with the internets the notion of waiting two or three months to comment on an issue seems like something from the Paleozoic Era, but I think they were a vital part of comic books, and I think DC's books are missing something from their absence.
Tomorrow: Your favorite issues!
I miss DC's letter pages; I understand with the internets the notion of waiting two or three months to comment on an issue seems like something from the Paleozoic Era, but I think they were a vital part of comic books, and I think DC's books are missing something from their absence.
Tomorrow: Your favorite issues!
10 comments:
Yet another reason why I like this blog so much. Rob & I seem to have enjoyed many of the same things about JLA. I was sadden by the choice to resort to just the satellite rather than a group shot. Like Rob says, it was easy to tell who was in & who was out. But by the end of the satellite era, that would have been a bugger to draw.
It's interesting that the Detroit era got their own new artwork for a mailroom header, since at that time just about every DC letter page had a header culled from Garcia Lopez Style Guide artwork.
Any idea on th credits of the header directly proceeding the satellite shot? Looks like Dillin's art mostly, but the inking seems quite different, and the Superman looks almost Sekowsky-like in some ways.
Chris
That art was by Dick Dillin and Tex Blaisdell (sp?) per the issue Wonder Woman came back and Red Tornado "died."
Yeah, Blaisdell. That makes perfect sense now, thanks.
Chris
I miss the letters page too. The message boards on the DC website just aren't the same and are a poor substitute. I find all they are good for are fanboy bickering, especially the Aquaman page for a while there. I just plain stopped reading them.
I totally agree. Comics just aren't the same without the letters page. I especially loved when they were used as text pages for first issues to explain histories of the characters and the creators.
I still love rereading Roy Thomas' text pages from All-Star Squadron, Young All-Stars and Secret Origins.
Plus, if you got your letter published, you were part of that comic. When fans dug through back issues 20 years later, there your name was, and maybe a comment back from the editor or assistant. Now your comments roll of the board into oblivion.
I dug Roy's winded letter columns too. Always full of great info. It's why I like his All-Star Companion books so much!
Chris
I also miss the letter pages in comics. Back then, it seemed impossible to think of comics without them, but times change. To their credit, DC never shied away from publishing letters with negative comments.
Some of the today's kiddie comics have the letters page, like Super Friends.
It's not quite the same, because instead of an editor writing replies, it's their kiddie mascot 'Johnny DC'. And some of the letter writers are very young kids who say 'I like Wonder Woman', but it's still a nice link to the past.
Plus, seeing a 6-year-old send in their drawing of Batman and have it published in the letters page is pretty cool.
I never noticed that Aquaman was the only hero in every mail room shot. That's cool. I'll bet he was happy to finally rest his feet in that last one. Also nice that J'onn got his seat back after all those years of Batman keeping it warm.
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