Justice League of America Archives, Vol. 5

Justice League of America Archives #5

by Gardner Francis Fox, Bernard Sachs (Illustrator), Mike Sekowsky (Illustrator)

Contains the continuing adventures of the Justice League of America, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and the Green Lantern.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

Gardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic book historians estimate that he wrote more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics.
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"

Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Post JFK-era comics starring America's favorite superhero supergroup the Justice League of America. Gardner Fox's scripts alternate between science-fiction existentialism and New Frontier liberal ideals, so our heroes navigate between issues like runaway satellites and racial unrest.
There's even an episode where our heroes become handicapped and learn to overcome their disabilities. Instead of weeping about it like crybabies a la Stan Lee our badass gladiators man-up, and in the case of Wonder Woman, woman-up and win in the end. This edition also scores points for reviving those bad motherfuckers, the Justice Society of America.

[J. Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't possibly be objective about the Gardner Fox / Mike Sekowsky Justice League...reprints of these stories were some of the first comics I ever read as a kid. And I still love 'em now, despite (or perhaps because of) the minimal characterization and unlikely plot contrivances. It's all about watching Fox pull the most bat-sh*t crazy ideas out of his considerable imagination, and then seeing how the heroes cope with them. One villain gives the heroes disabling handicaps (Superman goes blind! Green Arrow's arms disappear! Hawkman gets asthma!). Another bad guy brings the heroes' own costumes to life to fight them. Perhaps my favorite is the story where a genie alters history so that the Justice Leaguers never gain their super-powers...and a group of two-bit crooks get them instead (the image of "Batman" as a sleazy thug with five-o-clock shadow is hilarious). Mike Sekwosky's artwork can sometimes be awkward or simplistic, but he conveys the action well, and there's something downright charming about his squat, beefy heroes. This JLA isn't a bunch of Greek gods or neurotic whiners -- they're just a bunch of regular guys who happen to have crazy powers and enjoy doing good deeds with them. These collections are pure joy.