Justice League of America #200 30th Birthday!

Today--December 3--is the 30th birthday of one of my all-time favorite comic books, Justice League of America #200, which hit the stands on December 3, 1981!

Not only is this book one of my all-time favorite comic books, in any genre, but its hands-down my favorite superhero comic, and I put it on my Top 10 list of Greatest Aquaman Stories Ever Told, since it features the Sea King drawn by my all-time favorite Aquaman artist, as well as (IMO) one his finest moments as a superhero.

While I had originally hoped to do an Aquaman 70th Birthday-styled celebratory post, I just couldn't pull it together in time. So I'm settling for this, a re-run of my original post on the book from back in 2008.

At the bottom of the post I added portions of the interviews I did with this book's writer, Gerry Conway, and editor, Len Wein. While talking to Gerry, I tried to remain as professional as possible, but by the end I couldn't help but completely geek out and blabber on about the book, since how many times would I get the chance to talk to the man who wrote it? Also, we have some scans of original JLA #200 art, plus some shots of a very special, one-of-a-kind copy, courtesy of a F.O.A.M. member.

So sit back and enjoy:

"A League Divided" by Gerry Conway, George Perez, Brett Breeding, Pat Broderick, Terry Austin, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Frank Giacoia, Brian Bolland, and Joe Kubert.

Welcome to the 200th issue of Justice League of America!

This mammoth, 72-page anniversary issue opens, after the wonderful three-page origin prologue, with Firestorm, bored out of his mind while on Monitor Duty.

Suddenly, founding member The Martian Manhunter comes smashing through the hull of the satellite!:

Firestorm, not having boned up on JLA history, has no idea who this guy is. At the same time, Manhunter is acting very strangely, even without all the satellite-smashing. He doesn't seem to know that this is the JLA satellite, even though he has been here before.

Firestorm manages to fend off Manhunter for a while, until his inexperience gives Manhunter the chance to knock him out and grab what he's there for--a small green meterorite residing in the JLA Trophy Room.

Minutes later, Firestorm wakes up amid the wreckage, and, not knowing what is going on, sends out a Triple Priority Signal to all members, past and present!

Soon the satellite is filled with JLAers Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Zatanna, and Green Arrow. They inform Firestorm who it was he faced, and alone among them its Green Arrow that seems to know what's going on, and why none of the original members--Superman, Batman, etc.--have answered the distress call!

They quickly figure out that all the original JLAers must be after the Appellax Meteors, relics of the JLA's first case.

Then another face from the past shows up--Snapper Carr! Green Arrow takes charge, breaks up the heroes into teams, ordering Firestorm to stay behind with Snapper. Pwned!

Next we find ourselves at the Indian Ocean:

Cut back to the satellite, where Reddy, unconscious, mysteriously appears from out of nowhere! Firestorm wonders aloud, "How did Reddy get up here, anyway?"

As the book says, "somewhere, a Stranger is smiling. His job is done."

Next we go to Paradise Island, where Zatanna is hoping to stop Wonder Woman before she performs her task:

Unfortunately, the Amazing Amazon beat her there, and Zatanna proves to be no match for her. She gets knocked out by Diana using one of Zee's own spells against her, and she wakes up, hours later, with the Amazons using their curative Purple Ray on her.

Next, in Zimbabwie, a local General receives a phone call, and is a little shocked to see who made the call:

The Atom finds Green Lantern, digging up one of the Appellax meteors. He momentarily knocks GL on his butt, and tries to reason with him, trying to make him remember who he really is.

It seems to be working, except that GL has just been sneaking up on Atom, and traps him with his ring. He grabs the meteor and takes off.

The Atom shrinks beneath the atoms of the ground, and slips out of the bubble, and heads back to the satellite. The Atom chalks up all their defeats to the "edge of experience" the others have, but Red Tornado theorizes that its because the original members are facing unknown opponents, while they are fighting friends.

Over in Italy, The Elongated Man lays in wait for The Flash:

He gets the drop on The Flash, and feels sick about attacking his friend, but like Reddy guessed, the Scarlet Speedster has no such compunctions. One good super-speed punch, and The Flash has accomplished his mission.

Down at the original JLA Sanctuary, the original members start to talk, and can't figure out when all these changes--Wonder Woman's new uniform, the sancutary in ruins, Mars II--occurred.

On the North Carolina coast, Green Arrow joins Black Canary in searching for Batman:

The Batman, of course, gets the drop on both of them, and uses the tight, confined space to his advantage. Green Arrow fires off an arrow, which misses, bounces off a tree, and knocks out Black Canary!

As Green Arrow finds himself handcuffed, he yells at a departing Batman: "You can't do this to me!" To which a smart-ass Batman replies: "I already have."

Canary then wakes up, and Brian Bolland shows off his mastery of distinct facial expressions:

...I love Canary's annoyed, pursed face in panel four. They move on, thinking they've found Batman, but it turns out to be a decoy--Batman, and the Appellax meteor, are gone.

Last is what can only be the result of Hawkman drawing the short straw: he has to take on Superman!:

Hawkman figures Superman can't retrieve the Kryptonite-laden meteor himself, so he isn't surprised when he encounters several Superman robot duplicates instead. But the third one looks a little different--its actually Superman!

One punch, and its all over, ending with Hawkman being hit so hard he drifts into outer space. Superman, using a paper-thin lead alloy suit to cover himself, finds the meteor and heads off.

Hawkman wanders so far into space he hits an oncoming Zeta Beam, and disappears! He is then found by old JLA friend Adam Strange, who calls the JLA and tells them they plan to beam Hawkman back. The Elongated Man, stretching himself farther than he ever has, shoots himself out of an airlock, and retrieves The Winged Wonder.

Meanwhile, at the Secret Sanctuary, the JLAers notice that all the Appellax meteors are glowing, and they eventually explode open, releasing the seven Appellax warriors!

This obliterates the JLAers' amnesia, and they are told, years ago, the Appellax meteors put a post-hypnotic suggestion in them, triggered to go off, just as it did.

The JLAers attack the Apellax warriors, but they find themselves overwhelmed, one by one, until finally there is only Wonder Woman:

...that panel always felt so harsh to me. Yeah, I know Diana is nearly invulnerable, but taking a bunch of crystals to the face like that? Ow.

The Appellax warriors decide to pick up where they left off--that is, to fight one another, to see who will be the leader of their home planet!

Next, we see Batman and his fellow JLAers slowly waking up, but surrounded by their fellow heroes. Apologies are made, the heroes collect themselves, and head out to stop the aliens:

(click to JLAify!)

The massive group of heroes split up into teams, classic Gardner Fox style, and Batman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Zatanna head to Vermont to battle the Wood King, Crystal Creature, and Mercury Monster.

Unlike what defeated them before, the JLAer use teamwork, and after a well-placed Batarang shatters the Crystal Creature, its over.

Next, we go to the Irish Coast, where Aquaman, Elongated Man, Flash, and Red Tornado find the Glass Creature and the Fire Monster. The Flash tries a frontal assault, giving Aquaman the chance to sneak up from behind:

...this is one of my favorite Aquaman sequences of all time. I love the examination of Aquaman's ability to survive in depths that would kill almost anyone else, but holding the Glass Creature by the throat until he shatters into little bits is just hardcore.

In the meantime, Flash, Elongated Man, and Red Tornado take out the Fire Monster--mission accomplished.

Last, in the heart of New York City, The Atom, Firestorm, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter take on The Golden Roc and The Stone Creature.

Lantern pummels the latter into chunks of rock, and The Atom is fired directly into the head of the Golden Roc, giving Manhunter the chance to shatter it with a well-aimed punch. It's all over!

Back at the satellite, Green Lantern and Red Tornado shoot the aliens' remains into the sun, destroying them forever.

Then the three old JLA friends, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, and Snapper Carr take their leave...well, two of them do:

What to say about this issue? Its one of my all-time favorite comic books ever, and certainly my all-time favorite superhero comic, ever.

I love the scope of it, and the fact that Conway took the time to work in as many people from the JLA's past as he could--The Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Snapper Carr, Adam Strange, The Phantom Stranger...

Of course, the one glaring exception is Hawkgirl. Apparently over in the solo Hawkman feature in World's Finest running at the time, Hawkgirl was missing or something, hence her not being here.

As as kid, I loved internal continuity, and having all the characters work in a definable time line. But--in this instance, I wish Conway and whatever other editors would've made the call had forgotten that for a moment, and put Hawkgirl in here. This is the big JLA story, and Shayera definitely should've been included.

The art is of course fantastic--Aparo, Perez, Kubert, Bolland, and lots more, many of them working on their signature characters (Aparo even gets a two-fer). Having Perez do all the linking chapters gives the book a cohesiveness that improbably works, considering all the people involved.

(Fun Fact: The Superman/Hawkman chapter was lettered by The Joe Kubert School, the first time I can remember hearing of such a place. Little did I know I would be a student there, a little less than eight years later.)

As if all this wasn't enough, Gerry Conway gives us a two-page text piece on the history of the team, which is enormous fun. Click here to read it.

I remember buying this comic at the now forgotten-but-not-gone Voorhees Tobacco and News Shop, which had a huge selection of comics, many more than my local 7-11. To that end, I used to beg my Dad as much as I could to take me there.

Like I said, the place is still there:

The copy I have is the same one I bought in Dec. 1981--its beaten up, has brown pages, the binding is held together with high hopes and a lot of scotch tape. Yet if there was ever a fire in the house and I could only save one comic, this would be it.

To me, this book sums up everything that is fun about the world of superhero comics, and what drew me to the Justice League so passionately at such a young age--camaraderie, action, humor, plus a sense of enormous history. Not too long after this, the Crisis would take place, forever putting the DCU I knew and loved into the Past Tense. This book is one glorious 72-page tribute to what made DC so great for so long.

In regards to Aquaman, there was some debate on my JLA blog at the time about how it was disappointing that The Phantom Stranger had to "save" Aquaman from being defeated by Red Tornado, since of course us Aqua-Fans didn't believe Aquaman needed any such help.

And while I can see that point of view, I've always thought that it was worth it to have Jim Aparo draw both Aquaman and The Phantom Stranger again, after distinguished runs on both characters.

Also, Aquaman has, to me, one of his all-time best moments in later in the book, when he grabs the Crystal Apellax alien and crushes him to bits which, thanks to a random series of events, showed up as an example of Aquaman's amazing powers in the book The Physics of Superheroes:

So, in the end, I thought it was a good trade-off. I would never trade the above moment for anything--in a book full of great moments, Gerry Conway makes this scene unforgettable.


Here's some original art from the book. Man, I would kill to own some of these:

Speaking of art, F.O.A.M.er John Trumbull--also a huge fan of this comic--went on a crusade to get as many signatures from JLA #200's creative personnel as possible, and he's amassed quite a collection! John was kind of enough to provide some scans of all the John Hancocks, along with the story of how it all got started:

Wow--Perez, Broderick, Giordano, Kane, Infantino, Bolland, and Kubert! How'd you do it, John?:

"A little history of how I got started on this project: My original copy of JLA #200 went missing sometime back in the late 80s (I subsequently found it, so I have two copies now). Since, like you, this is one of my favorite comics of all time, I knew I had to get a replacement copy. I managed to pick one up at The Great Escape in Nashville, TN for $1.50. When I got it home & cracked it open, I discovered that the very first page was signed by none other than George Pérez! I'm sure the dealer hadn't noticed, or I would've paid a LOT more than $1.50 for that copy. I wondered for years if it was really a George Pérez signature, since it looked a bit different from how he traditionally signed his artwork. Thanks to Facebook, I was finally able to reach out to George personally in 2010 and verify that it was an authentic signature. Here's my correspondence with him:

'November 28, 2010
George Pérez

John: My autograph has mutated quite a bit over the many years and many times I've had to sign it. That is most definitely my signature-- before I developed a style wherein I seldom pick up my pen between signing my first and last names.

Take care,
GPz'

Needless to say, I was ecstastic to get this response. It was a thrill to correspond, even briefly, with one of my artistic idols, as well as get the answer to a question I'd had for nearly 25 years!

So the Pérez signature planted the seed in my mind that I should try and get the various artists who worked on JLA #200 to sign my copy as well. Dick Giordano, Gil Kane and Brian Bolland were all guests at the Atlanta Dragon Con in 1990, so I got all three in one fell swoop. I got Joe Kubert to sign it when I attended a weekend workshop the Kubert School did in Nashville in 1992, prior to my attending the school from '94-'97. I had a friend get the Carmine Infantino signature for me at a New York con in the early 2000s. I think I must've had my friend get the Pat Broderick signature for me at the same con, as I don't recall ever meeting him myself.

Sadly, I never had the chance to meet with Frank Giacoia, Jim Aparo or Adrienne Roy before they each passed away, which is too bad, because I was a big fan of all of their work. I'm still hoping to someday get signatures from writer Gerry Conway, editor Len Wein, inkers Brett Breeding & Terry Austin, letterer John Costanza and colorists Carl Gafford & Tatjana Wood to add to the book! I think it's safe to say that if this book hadn't engaged my imagination at age 9 the way it did, that I may not have grown up to be a cartoonist. So thanks, one & all who where involved with such a great comic book!"

Now we hear directly from two of the people involved in the making of this awesome comic. From my interview with Len Wein on 6/16/2008:

JLA Satellite: As editor [of JLA], you presided over my--and a lot of people's--favorite era of JLA, roughly issues 185-220, including the blockbuster 200th issue. Whose idea was it to have such a massive 200th issue, with so many characters and artists?

Len Wein: Oh, mine. After all, I had to come up with some way to top what I'd done with issue #100. As an editor, I'm incredibly proud of that issue. We had an amazing array of artists and Gerry Conway's script weren't exactly chopped liver neither.


Finally, from my interview with Gerry Conway on 7/23/2008:

JLA Satellite: I've mentioned here before, and on your blog, that--and I am barely kidding when I say--that I think that JLA #200 is the single greatest piece of literature ever produced by Western Civilization.

Gerry Conway: [laughs] Oh, wow. How old were you when that book came along?

JLA Satellite: Let's see...1981, so I would've been ten years old.

GC: I figured it would've been around that time.

JLA Satellite: This probably won't make the interview, but I have to mention this--years ago, I had a girlfriend who also read comics.

Now that's rare enough, but she didn't like superhero comics. I guess if you don't first find them as a kid, they don't resonate with you, so she couldn't understand why I liked them so much.

So one day we decide to exchange comics we each liked, and she asked me for one comic that summed up what I liked about superhero comics. So I bought her a copy of JLA #200.

GC: Wow.

JLA Satellite: So anyway, I give it to her, its in a bag and board, and she puts it off to side.

She lived in another part of the country, so we only saw each other every few months. I go back, a month or two later, and there's the book, in the same spot it was when I left, completely untouched.

And I thought to myself "This relationship's doomed! She can't find the time to read one measly 72-page superhero comic!"

And you know what? I was right! We eventually broke up.

GC: [big laughs].

JLA Satellite: I thought "How can you not read this?" Its so much fun, it moves so fast, the artwork is so nice..."

Really, I'm like, "If Gerry Conway only wrote one comic book in his life, this would be enough." This thing was the most tremendous comic ever.

GC: [laughs]

JLA Satellite: I'm going to leave it at that. I cannot express how much it means to me to get to talk to you. I appreciate all the work you did, its so beloved to me, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me for the blog.

GC: Oh, it's been a pleasure. Thanks so much for remembering.

Your Favorite Issues

Over the course of this blog, we've covered what were my favorite issues, so now let's talk about yours! After all, this blog wouldn't have amounted to much if so many of you didn't feel about the JLA the way I do.

Here are some of the answers I received from you JLA fans:

Randy M: "My #1 pick would have to go to JLA 100-102. It's where the JLA and the JSA team up to rescue the Seven Soldiers of Victory. The digest that reprinted it was the very first comic book ever bought with my own money. I was ten years old, and my life-long obsession with the JLA and the JSA and the Law's Legionnaires was born from this.

Next, would have to be JLA #200. The two-month long quest I went on to find this sucker and to have the good pay-off that it WAS totally worth the wait, makes this one a no-brainer.

Next is going to be another JLA/JSA crossover. This one involves the All-Star Squadron. Both books were my favorite reads way back when. So to see a story that involved all three teams and time travel, to boot? Another no-brainer."

Butch R: "The Manhunters issues--Dick Dillin at the top of his game, galactic scale, good storyline and we see some DC History revealed (always wondered what the GL writer at the time thought of this, I'm guessing it was ran by the GL Editor(s) at the least).

JLA Origin Minus 1--The fact the actual publishing date was considered the heroes debut was interesting and we got to see so many "forgotten" heroes. It really did feel like a "secret" we were seeing.

JLA/JSA/Legion of SuperHeroes team-up--Probably my favorite "big" team up, and part of why I liked Pre-Crisis DC so much. How many corners of the DCU did this touch? And again, Dillin art still looking good.

The Ultraa storyline--Being born in 1969, I was too late for the Earth-2 to Earth-1 change over and there weren't too many new heroes being created. I felt like I was there when Earth Prime's Superman was "born". Even though the later introduced an Earth Prime Superman, we were there for the first "native" hero.

JLA/JSA team up against Jonah Hex & Co.--I never cared for Elongated Man but this story told me anyone could be a hero, even people/characters you didn't think could."

Vince Bartilucci: "You knew you’d be hearing from me, didn’t you?

Here are my favorite issues of the Justice League of America. I made it an even (?) 5.

5. #193. As a kid, I always had a soft spot in my heart for Red Tornado, a fondness that I couldn't explain then and can't really explain now. Perhaps there was a part of me that related to his feelings of inferiority. Regardless, I love this issue featuring Reddy's untold origin.

There is something strangely satisfying about the new recruit, Firestorm, being the only person privy to the whole story. Again, I can't really explain it but it just felt right that Ronnie should be the one to know Reddy's secret.

And I can't mention this issue without bringing up the remarkable opening sequence. Aquaman attacking T.O. Morrow in his lair is capital "C" cool! The George Perez artwork depicting Aquaman smashing through that window is absolutely stunning.

4. #142. Unlike most team books, the classic satellite-era JLA almost never ran stories spotlighting individual members. This issue, focusing on three of the more under-used Leaguers, was about as close as the book got.

Arthur and Ralph counseling the engaged Ray to be open and honest with his wife-to-be Jean Loring, Ray's insecurity about his effectiveness in the League, and his subsequent defeat of the Construct are all handled wonderfully.

Plus we get one of my top 10 favorite Aqua-moments when Ralph momentarily considers assisting the Sea King with a pack of robot henchmen (henchrobots?) then decides, nah, he's Aquaman. His muscles are designed to survive the ocean's depths. He can handle it. Damn right, he can handle it!

3. #200. A great, action-packed story harkening back to the League's origin coupled with fantastic art by some of the best artists to ever work in comics. This issue is so very nearly perfect. It could have been honest-to-gosh, no qualifiers perfect, too. But, unfortunately, "get over it" is simply not an option when you're talking about a slight, unintentionally or not, to my boy, Aquaman!

2. #144. I wasn't born when The Brave and the Bold #28 hit the stands. Ditto for JLA #1. And JLA #21? That celebrated first JLA/JSA meeting was pre-Vinnie, too.

But I was around for this issue with the untold "real" origin of the JLA and, being ten years old at the time, it seemed incredibly historic to me. Sure, I had missed those other seminal League events but now those older JLA readers had nothing on me! I was in on the secret, too!

Little did I know that this tale within a tale would never be referred to again. Oh well, it was still cool seeing all those characters that I had never been exposed to before like the Blackhawks and Rex the Wonder Dog and Congorilla. How awesome was Congorilla?!?! Plus, I can"t possibly express how much I love Green Arrow's reaction to discovering this untold tale in the JLA log books. It's so out of proportion, so over the top. It's like he just found out Hal was sleeping with his mom. Jeez Ollie, try decaf!

1. #139. The JLA's first double-size issue and the issue that started my unbroken run on the title. In later years, I tracked down back issues and completed a JLA run that reached back to #98, the first ish of the League that I ever bought.

But there's something special about those collections that grow month after month, issue by issue, you know what I mean? That's why this will always remain my favorite single issue of JLA. With a fantastic cover by Neal Adams cover and Dick Dillin at the top of his game on the interior art, how can you go wrong?

And the lead story? This is exactly the kind of tale that illustrates the difference between the DC and Marvel comics of my youth. Marvel stories were basically soap operas with slugfests while DC stories always seemed to feature some sort of weird obstacle or condition that the hero had to overcome in place of, or sometimes in addition to, the villain of the piece.

Sure, you can argue whether or not Marvel heroes battled more powerful menaces than their DC counterparts. But there is no doubt that DC heroes faced more interesting predicaments. Marvel heroes worried about the rent when they weren't worried about being killed by Dr. Doom or Kraven the Hunter. DC heroes worried about being turned into puppets, or infants, or, as in this case, Zeta-beam phantoms."

Russell Burbage: "Okay, I've been thinking about it, and I'm not sure if I should list "issues" or stories, so I'm going with stories. In no particular order: JLA 13 "Riddle of the Robot Justice League"--Gardner Fox tried very hard to show that every member was useful, and in this one he proved that "they also serve who also stand and wait." Besides, Aquaman saves the galaxy. Awesome.

JLA 103 "A Stranger Walks Amongst Us"--Is he or isn't he? Phantom Stranger, Felix Faust, and sorcery in JLA were never used better. JLA 111 "Balance of Power" and JLA 112, "War With the One Man Justice League"--First appearance of Injustice Gang, beautiful Dillin-Giordano art, re-appearance of Amazo, all members featured. What's not to like???

JLA 139 "The Ice Age Cometh" --All the JLAers (huge plus) actually doing things, cool villains, great personalities. Probably my all-time favorite JLA story. Either that or...

JLA 146--The Return of the Red Tornado and the Induction of Hawkgirl/Woman. The JLAers' personalities ring through, and the two most maligned members both get their moments to shine. If every JLAer had been present, this would be my number one.

How's that??? :-)"

One of the more unusual lists came from Chunky B: "Okay I'm going to attack this assignment in a different manor then probably the rest of your readership, so sit down as you learn the truth of having never read an issue of JLA! Bum, bum, buuuumm!

That's right I've never read an of the classic run of JLA, sure I've picked up a few of the modern versions of the team, but none of the classics. (I think I asked you at one time if they made compilation reprints). So how am I going to pick my top ten must read/have/favorites? Like any kid would, the cover. I'm going to pick them like they were all on the news stand.

1) Brave and the Bold #28 - there's a reason why this is such an iconic image, earth's mightiest heroes doing battle against an overwhelming beast, Starro!
2) JLA #7 - This one is just an eye catcher, cosmic fun house, what has happened to the Flash!
3) JLA #14 - Why are our heroes watching as that tiny man in the bubble is suffering?

4) JLA #25 - Has Superman turned evil, is he training the league, has the comic world turned upside down?
5) JLA #81 - I know, I know it's crazy, but aren't you just a little curious as to what happened to them?
6) JLA #87 - Batman has always been king of the world, right? Plus look at that cool kryptonite looking robot!

7) JLA # 94 - It looks like Aquaman is done for, it can't be...even Superman looks worried, here's my quarter, let's see what happens!
8) JLA #110 - I'm a sucker for Christmas super hero stories, and I can't believe Santa is dead! Lucky the League is on the case and Batman can put those detective skills to good use!
9) JLA #136 - Okay maybe my adult mind is having an influence on this one, but the white space of this cover is so appealing, I think younger Charles would appreciate, plus he likes Batman and the Joker!
10) JLA #217 - Just because it's got a lot of heroes on it! Seriously though it doesn't speak of any event, they just look iconic running at you!"

John Trumbull: "Here you are, Rob, my favorite JLA issues!

Justice League of America #140--March 1977--Steve Englehart's first full issue as JLA writer, and what an issue it was! Englehart's clever story ties together Jack Kirby's Manhunters with the Green Lantern mythos.

Englehart also includes some refreshing characterizations among the team. I love the easy camaraderie the JLAers have here --it reminds you that they're not just teammates --they're friends! Too many writers these days forget that. This storyline is so good it served as the basis for the first regular episode of the Justice League cartoon.

Justice League of America #192--July 1981--A wonderfully atmospheric opening, a look at a "typical" meeting of the JLA, 6 of the 7 original members (plus "new kid" Firestorm), tremendous artwork and the beginning of new revelations about the Red Tornado's origins. All wrapped up with one of George Perez's strongest covers. What more could you ask for?

Justice League of America #195--October 1981--This was the very first issue of my subscription to JLA in 1981. My very first exposure to the concept of "Earth-2." My very first exposure to the Justice Society of America. AND my very first exposure to George Perez, still one of my artistic faves. And that gorgeous JLA/JSA pinup in the center of the book!

Justice League of America #200--March 1982--Like you, Rob, I think this issue is just about the greatest thing since the invention of the Gutenberg press. This is the very first place I ever learned the origin of the JLA. A great story filled with wonderful moments throughout.

The collection of amazing artists in this issue still gives me tingles when I think about it: George Perez, Brett Breeding, Pat Broderick, Terry Austin, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Frank Giacoia, Brian Bolland and Joe Kubert! I'm proud to say that over the years I've gotten 6 of the 11 artists to sign my copy.

Honorable mentions go to The Seven Soldiers of Victory story from #100-102, The Freedom Fighters story from #107-108, "Takeover of the Earth-Masters" from #118-119, the Atom's wedding from #157, the Fourth World story from #183-185, the Starro story from #189-190 and the Paragon story from #224."


Thanks to everybody who sent in their lists--and some interesting choices too!

Notice how all but one of you picked at least one story from Steve Englehart's run--a damn good batting average for a guy who only wrote the book for a year.


Tomorrow: One Last Thing.

Justice League of America #223 - Feb. 1984

The brutal conclusion to the JLA versus Maximus Rex and his Beast-Men story!

The Story: "Blood Sport" by Gerry Conway, Chuck Patton, and Romeo Tanghal. We are back at Rex's coliseum of death, where the guards are surprised to see Reena right in front of them. She demands to be taken to Rex--now.

At the moment, Rex is busy slaughtering half a dozen humans, and his brutal tactics seem to turn the crowd even more wild.

When Rex sees Reena in custody, he takes his rage out on the last two hapless humans in the ring. Good thing we don't get to see what actually happens.

Rex slaps Reena around a bit, while she demands Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl be set free. As his beast-men debate amongst themselves what their boss should do with her, we see she is carrying a small tracking device in her ear, letting the JLA know where Rex is!

We also see that Reena is still with the JLA--and that the Reena that surrendered herself is Zatanna, using her magic to make herself look like Rex's former love. She's got guts, Zee does.

The JLAers are joined by Flash and Elongated Man, bruised and bandaged, but well enough to see if they can help out. They sit down, and plan their assault.

A group of Rex's armored guards and Dr. Lovecraft are nabbed by Firestorm, Elongated Man, and Reena, who loses her grip on humanity and is caught by Firestorm nearly ripping Lovecraft's throat out.

Ralph asks Lovecraft where the anti-toxin needed for Hawkman is, but only answers when Ralph suggests maybe Reena should ask...?

Aquaman is met in the ocean by Firestorm and Ralph, and they hand him the anti-toxin. He is warned that the Beast-Men are suffering from progressive deterioration--they are losing more and more of their humanity. Aquaman takes that info in stride, and dives back into the water.

Superman rips a hole in the side of Rex's mountain retreat, but is blasted by some sort of energy gun. Firestorm and Ralph see that he has then been crucified for the crowd's entertainment, but when they try to free him, they see it was all a hologram, designed to trick them. Firestorm is hit, and as he fades from consciousness, he sees Rex standing over him.

Meanwhile, Aquaman runs into the whale-man, who is trying to stop the Sea King from sneaking in to the base via a water tunnel.

But Mama Curry didn't raise no fools, and Aquaman (via Gerry Conway) brings out the big guns, using his powers in the most bad-ass manner I had ever seen up to that time:

...that vacant look on the whale-guy creeps me out. Whale-Guy Shanks, anyone?

Meanwhile, above ground, all Hell has broken loose. Ralph is trying to keep Rex distracted, and Zatanna finally drops the disguise. Reena takes this opportunity to paste one on Rex, just as he has all his Beast-Men flood the arena and attack.

Watching all this on the monitor, another one of the Beast-Men, a snake-man, trash-talks Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl, telling them to watch their friends die.

Except, there's Aquaman:

...I love that panel on the right. We don't get to see what happened, but I bet Aquaman treated the snake guy no better than Moby Dick a few pages back.

As Superman and Firestorm are helplessly trussed up, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Elongated Man, and the Hawks start kicking some Beast-Men butt, knocking them out one by one. The last shot is delivered by Wonder Woman, who delivers a jaw-shattering shot to the rhino-man.

They then see that all of them have started to devolve into just animals, all of their humanity--if they had any in the first place--now gone.

They notice that Rex and Reena are gone, and they follow a trail of footprints, but to no avail:

While Firestorm is sad for Reena, Hawkgirl tells him that she was doomed all along, the minute she fell in love with Rex, and let him dominate her life.
Roll Call: Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Flash, Hawkman, Elongated Man, Hawkgirl, Zatanna, Firestorm

Notable Moments: A rousing ending, one of my all-time favorite "final chapters" of any JLA story. Aquaman gets a lot to do, and he gets to be a bad-ass while doing it.

I never forgot the "turning the whale-guy into a vegetable" bit, and it remains one of my favorite Aquaman moments ever. Sure, he could come back and de-vegify the guy, but anybody want to lay money down that he bothered? I think he left the guy there, and he became the victim of a shark feeding frenzy soon after. Nasty.

I was a little worried, when I first read #s 221 and 222, that Reena was going to join--it seemed like the story might be going there. Luckily, she didn't, and the story has a creepily satisfying ending, as Rex and Reena went off somewhere, possibly together. As far as I know, they've never reappeared, and I hope they never do. It works better this way.

Usually silhouettes is a way for an artist to cheat, and bang out a panel (I overdid the ink in many a panel back while I was at the Kubert School), but Chuck Patton used them very effectively.

The "the end, reptile" sequence was of course part of the plot, but I like Patton's use of silhouettes at the end, with all the JLA standing around talking. It feels like the end of a very long day, and the heroes somehow look even more iconic just as those flat shapes.
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The JLA also guest-appeared in this month's 300th anniversary issue of World's Finest, along with the Outsiders and the Teen Titans!

The story, "A Tale of Two Worlds! or: Planets of Peril!" is by David Anthony Kraft, Mike W. Barr, Ross Andru, Mark Texiera, and Sal Almendola, with the Titans sequences by Marv Wolfman and George Perez! Wow!

The JLA line-up consists of Supes, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Zatanna, and Firestorm. The big event in this issue is that it resolves (sort of) the ongoing dispute between the Big Two, since Batman had left the JLA just a few months earlier.

I didn't own this issue, luckily the uber-generous Russell Burbage sent a copy to me. Thanks Russell!