Rarely does the phrase "all-reprint issue" get one excited, but when a package is put together as cool as this, it doesn't matter that you've read these stories before!It was a great idea for an 80 Page Giant, to run all the new member-issues all together, and Neal Adams' cover is about as good as you can get.
The stories: "Doom of the Star Diamond!"(JLA #4), "Menace of the 'Atom' Bomb!"(JLA #14), and "Riddle of the Runaway Room!"(JLA #31) by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, and Bernard Sachs.
Roll Call: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman
Notable Moments: Hey, who's that weird green guy next to Aquaman? Oh! It's founding member the Martian Manhunter! Kind of like skipping high school all year then showing up for yearbook photos.
As I said above, the cover by Neal Adams is a classic--fun and celebratory; it makes it really feel like the JLA is a family, and that being asked to join that family was a Big Deal. In fact, the cover was so well received it's been homaged by no less than Gil Kane and Jerry Ordway...
I'd never seen the Digest version, but I came across the Trade Paperback version recently. I don't like how Aquaman isn't featured on the cover, since he was in the Red Tornado and Hawkgirl(woman) stories, at least. Replaced by Elongated Man? Really? My favorite part of that cover was Black Lightning walking away. Too funny! (although the story where that happens has to be one of the all-time worst JLA stories ever IMHO)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love the presentation of the JLA as a family, but more in the Animated Series way, in which it really is a family, but it's got a lot more personality and narrative draw than the old stories. Timm and co. even manage to do it without just injecting random tension and friction into the group.
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