Justice League: The New Frontier DVD - 2008

*We interrupt our regularly scheduled JLA blog to bring you this commercial announcement*

Ok, as anyone who bothers to read this blog knows, the animated adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's superb DC: The New Frontier mini-series hits DVD shelves on Tuesday the 26th.

Even though the series is one long tribute to the classic Silver Age-era of DC Comics, I didn't think to talk about it here since it fell outside of what I set out this blog to be about.

But! Just the other day, I was contacted by a marketing arm of Warner Bros., maker of the DVD, asking me if I was interested in talking about the DVD on the blog, in exchange for two free copies of the movie--one for myself, and one for a JLA Satellite reader that I could give away in some sort of contest. How long do you think it took me to answer?

So that's what we're gonna do! Cooke's series was such a love letter to the DCU--and the original JLA specifically(notice how the DVD has been rechristened Justice League: The New Frontier)--that this contest will give all you JLA fans a chance to win the New Frontier DVD, courtesy of Warner Bros. and the JLA Satellite!

I think if there's one thing all JLA fans have opinions on, it's who exactly should have been in the JLA. The book's letter pages--from the beginning until practically the final issue--always had at least one or two letters from some irate fan demanding to know "How could you not have fill-in name of favorite hero in the JLA?"

So to win a copy of the DVD, all you have to do is send in your choice as to what hero should have walked the hallowed halls of the Secret Sanctuary and/or the JLA Satellite, but never did. But you must show your work!

That means you have to explain why your choice is clearly, without a shadow-thief of a doubt, the best choice. For those of you who are writers, doing so in text is of course the way to go. Those of you out there who are more artistically inclined, feel free to whip up a "JLA Hereby Enrolls ______________" pin-up of said character if you get so inspired. Email me your entries here, or leave a comment.

The contest ends in one week, on Tuesday the 26th--though I may extend that if I get a lot of submissions. Requests for more time will be considered, unless your choice is something stupid, like "Snapper Carr, but with super powers." The judges decision is final, and the best(or maybe all) suggestions will get posted here so everyone can get a chance to see what everybody else thought.

Have fun everybody, thanks for reading and loving the JLA like I do, and be sure to buy the DVD next Tuesday!

*End commercial announcement*

Justice League Toys by Ideal - 1968

Bizarre records weren't the only products the JLA got its logo slapped on in 1968!

I thought before we moved into JLA comics released in 1969, we'd take a moment to talk about some of the actual Justice League of America products that hit the shelves in 1968.

Ideal Toys created several different JLA-related pieces, usually focusing around one member. The above Batman/JLA playset is uber-rare and ridiculously expensive, partly because of its fairly flimsy packaging and that it is so damn cool. Look at this thing--it comes with the Secret Sanctuary for pete's sake!

The company Multiple Toys did a similar one for Aquaman, a piece that still eludes my collector's grasp and haunts my dreams:

What Aquaman needs an AquaSub for, I have no idea, but it's so cool looking I don't care. I've seen this surface(sorry) once or twice on eBay, but for like eight or nine grand(!) so until I become a millionaire this will remain one of my Aquaman Holy Grails.

I've never seen whether Ideal (or Multiple) did one for Superman, but someone must have, right? Supes, Bats, and Aquaman were the three cartoon show headiners, so it only makes sense.

Another product, as dear to my heart but one that I actually do own, is this gen-u-ine Aquaman board game:

It's a pretty boring game(you move around the board, then...you're done), but the box art is so awesome it doesn't matter. And how many times did you see the Martian Manhunter on anything? Clearly, Ideal thought the JLA was a major selling point, since its logo is almost as big as Batman and Aquaman's.

I have never been able to find any existence of a Green Lantern or (the mind reels!)Martian Manhunter game, but I have seen a Flash one, but was unable to find a picture of it at press time(I love that phrase--makes me feel like a journalist).

Until the debut of DC Direct, the JLA was never the subject of this much merchandising attention again after their banner year of 1968.

Songs and Stories About The Justice League of America - 1968

Just as we're about to head into another era of the JLA comic, I thought we'd pause again to talk about this rarely-seen item--the Songs and Stories About The Justice League of America LP, from Tifton Records.

It seems improbable that the meager amount of JLA cartoon episodes that aired during the Superman/Aquaman Hour from Filmation could be so popular that they would inspire tie-in merchandise; and yet all the JLA-related stuff all comes from 1968, the same year the cartoons aired, so...

I have yet to find a copy of this record for myself--it's criminally hard to find on eBay, even thought almost all of its contents were later repurposed for Power Records' Justice League LP in 1975. So the big attraction must be the sleeve, which I understand, since it's awesome!

The art looks a bit Infantino/Anderson-ish, but I'm not totally sure, and I absolutely love the coloring--there's a softer edge to the palette than you normally see in comics, I find it quite appealing. Plus the design is just nifty.

One question should--nay, must--be asked--whose idea was it to include Plastic Man and, even more improbably, Metamorpho, in the Justice League? I can see why Superman and Batman weren't included(because they each got their own records), but why not Green Lantern, Hawkman, or (just to get Damian riled up) The Atom? They were all colorful, fun members of the JLA.

I'm not complaining, mind you; I love both Plas and Rex, but even as a kid I kept wondering why they were included. And jeez, Metamorpho gets the whole back cover to himself!

I'm not including all the records' audio tracks here (though if you want to download them, you can go to a site called Way-Out Junk, or if you just want to listen to them, you can visit my Power Records blog post about the 1975 version), but I couldn't pass up ending this with the records' classic, yet totally goofy, theme song, sung by the JLA itself. Take it away, JLA!:

Update: Literally seconds after posting this, pal Damian(he of the Tiny Titan blog) sent me this ad, one I've never seen before, from a DC book promoting their TV/media tie-ins:

...as you can see from the bottom of the ad, Plastic Man and Metamorpho were planned to be animated characters, either as part of the Superman/Aquaman show, or maybe on their own? You could certainly see why an animation company would think those two would lend themselves well to animated adventures(and of course Plastic Man would get his own show, about a decade later).

But I don't remember ever seeing Plas or Rex ever show up in the Filmation shows, did they ever appear?

This ad also answers the question--this album was clearly meant as a tie-in piece of merchandising! Thanks Damian!