Reprinting stories from:
Justice League of America #19
W: Gardner Fox/P: Mike Sekowsky/I: Bernard Sachs
Justice League of America #77
Denny O’Neil/Dick Dillin/Joe Giella
Justice League of America #122
Martin Pasko/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughin
Justice League of America #166-168
Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
Justice League of America #200
Gerry Conway/George Perez/Brett Breeding
Justice League #1
Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis/Kevin Mauire/Terry Austin
JLA Secret Files #1
Grant Morrison & Mark Millar/Howard Porter/John Dell
JLA #61
Joe Kelly/Doug Mahnke/Tom Nguyen
Pub: DC Comics/Titan Books (ISBN 184576305X)
Price: $19.99 USD
“Great” is a relative term. This is more like a sampling of the history of the Justice League. We have a classic Silver Age story by Gardner Fox, a shocking story from Deny O’Neil, and a humorous take by Giffen & DeMatteis. ‘Identity Crisis’ seems to have influenced the choices of the editors. Most of these stories involve the JLA revealing or protecting their secret identities. One story has Dr. Light making the heroes think they have each other’s secret identities. Another is a three-part tale with the Secret Society of Super-villains swapping bodies with the JLA. This story was referenced in ‘Identity Crisis’, and continued in ‘JLA: Crisis of Conscience’. Other stories include the idea of false identities. A disguised Joker tricks Snapper Carr who wants to forge a new “identity” other than the JLA’s mascot. ‘JLA’ #61 shows what the heroes do in their normal lives before they’re called into action. And ‘Justice League’ sees the new Dr. Light approached in her civilian identity by the secretive Maxwell Lord.
One of the things I liked best about DC’s old ‘Greatest Stories Ever Told’ books was how they demonstrated the evolution of comics over the 20th century. The stories collected here are good examples of how comics storytelling and art styles changed over the decades. Issue #19, from 1963, has the simple storytelling, high-stakes, wild coincidence, and basic cartooning of DC’s Silver Age. 6 years later, #77 demonstrates the influence of naturalistic art styles used by Neal Adams and Gene Colan. Panel arrangement and composition also grows more complex, with irregular panel shapes, and a two-page splash with panel inserts. The story also deals with how ordinary people may resent superhumans and sees long-time ally Snapper Carr leave the team. ‘Justice League’ makes use of storytelling techniques similar to film and TV. ‘Secret Files’ and #61 reflect the modern styles of heavy action “widescreen” shots. They also reflect the stronger continuity among DC titles, and the generally darker tone of superhero comics. It’s like getting a core sample of the comics industry for the last 40 years.
Most importantly, the stories are entertaining. You don’t need to know a lot of JLA continuity to follow the stories. The quality is high throughout the book. I do wish they’d chosen a different Giffen/DeMatteis comic to include. ‘Justice League’ #1 has been reprinted often enough. It’s great to see the series evolve from stories where everything just works itself out to more nuanced tales of human emotion.
Long-time fans of the JLA will enjoy reading comics they might not have seen for years. Newer fans can read stories that still have resonance today, and learn more about the roots of their favorite team. Best of all, you get to see that bitch Snapper get smacked down! I never get tired of that!
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