Time for another special, JLA-themed release, in this case a paperback book reprinting three JLA tales, as part of a line from Tempo Books, a division of Grossett & Dunlap.The Stories: "Skyjack at 22,300 Miles!", by Martin Pasko, Dick Dillin, and Frank McLaughlin(from JLA #130), "Takeover of the Earth-Masters" (from JLA #118), and "Winner Takes The Earth"(from JLA #119) both by Elliott S! Maggin, Dillin, and McLaughlin.
This was one of a series of paperback books released at the time, and heavily advertised in DC's titles. They starred Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Legion of Super-Heroes, and a few others.
These are some odd books, reprinting(in the JLA's case, at least) fairly recent stories in black and white and all cut up and re-pasted to fit the paperback format. But obviously both DC and Marvel thought this was a solid new venue for their comics, since they released a number of titles in this format.
As you can see, sometimes the cutting and pasting(and, since this was pre-desktop publishing, must have been a real bitch) makes for some awkward reading, like the opening splash page:
The cover is by Nick Cardy, from JLA #102. Which, ironically, is not reprinted in this book!
I remember these well!
ReplyDelete(Think I had the Supes, that I begged them to pull out of the window of the Grand Central drugstore for me.)
Weren't Marvel's in color?
Also, there had been an earlier attempt at this kind of pb during the '60's Batmania era, that I think even included pubs. like Tower's & Archie's hero lines?
Best,
-Craig W.
Yes, there were some Batman paperbacks like this in 66. I have one now.
ReplyDeleteI had the Batman volume from this series, bought off the racks. I used it as a coloring book!!!
Weird mix of Sheldon Moldoff "New Look" Batman and Adams Batman. The Batman of Two Worlds, and only about 5 years apart!
Chris
This paperback was my very first exposure to the JLA. I still have my copy, although after being with me for about 30 years, it's practically in liquid form. Even though I now own all the original issues it reprints, they still look a bit "wrong" to me in color.
ReplyDeleteThe cover added another level of intrigue. As a kid, I remember being confused that Wonder Woman did not appear in the book, and I had no idea who Dr. Fate & the Sandman were. I think I recognized Red Tornado, but I wondered why his costume was wrong (super heroes didn't change their costumes as much then).