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Showcase Presents: Justice League of America #2
Showcase Presents: Justice League of America, Vol. 2
Follows the adventures of the Justice League of America as they battle numerous villains, including Despero, Kanjar Ro, Dr. Destiny, Amos Fortune, and Felix Faust.
520 pages, Paperback
First published January 10, 2007
3 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Gardner Francis Fox
1,192 books90 followersGardner 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 14, 2021
The Justice League of America debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (March 1960.) It was a retread of the Golden Age Justice Society of America, teaming up several of DC Comics’ superhero characters to promote all of them. It featured Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the new versions of Flash and Green Lantern, and then-new character Martian Manhunter, plus cameos by Batman and Superman. The team soon got its own book, initially focusing on the first five characters, but Batman and Superman soon became full-time members. Sales were good as the market was ready for superhero comics again (and this also inspired the creation of the Fantastic Four over at what would become Marvel Comics.)
This volume contains JLA issues #17-36, all written by Gardner Fox, with pencils by Mike Sekowsky and inks by Bernard Sachs.
#17, “The Triumph of the Tornado Tyrant!” starts with the Justice League returning from their latest triumph over the rock people of Pluto…wait, I don’t remember that story. And the League is acting awfully smug about this, boasting of their flawless win record and looking forward to more menaces that they can prove their superiority over. Something fishy is going on here!
One of the less good aspects of the Justice League comics of this time period was a lack of personal characterization. The JLA characters are interchangeably brave, smart and heroic; their story functions were differentiated by their power sets. So any time a Leaguer suddenly shows personality, there’s something wrong.
In this case, it’s that they’re not actually the Justice League we know, but duplicates created by the Tornado Champion. Formerly the Tornado Tyrant, its defeat by Adam Strange and subsequent witnessing of the Justice League in action convinced the living weather phenomenon that good always triumphs over evil. So the Tornado Champion, in order to live a life of good, created a duplicate Earth (this has some disturbing theological implications) identical in every way except that the Justice League is actually autonomous fragments of the Tornado Champion.
But its evil side, the Tornado Tyrant, still exists, and tries to smash the ersatz leaguers to prove that evil can, in fact, triumph. Stymied, the Tornado Champion has to turn to the real Justice League of America for tips on how to beat this menace.
The pattern is well set by this point. A menace appears, the Leaguers individually or in small teams battle aspects of the menace as there is some reason they can’t just skip to the end, and at the end a Leaguer figures out the secret weakness or a clever ruse to overcome the problem. At the time, DC’s comic books were very much considered children’s fare, so writing to a repetitive formula was considered a good idea.
#21-22 have the first “Crisis” storylines crossing over the Justice League of America with the Justice Society of America. It had been established in the Flash comics that the stories printed in the 1940s and early 1950s took place on Earth-2, an alternate Earth with some small differences. In this story, three supervillains from Earth-2 discover how to get to Earth-1 (where the Justice League lives) and make a deal with three local supervillains. They’ll rob on their own Earths, then switch place so that they can spend their loot in peace with no one realizing that the crooks are wanted men.
The JLA and JSA don’t team up so much as coordinate world switches to catch their own villains. But it did establish a precedent that would become a huge part of DC continuity.
#25, “Outcasts of Infinity!” cuts down the number of members participating (with Atom and Green Arrow having joined, getting everyone in every story was getting unwieldy.) There’s a scene where Superman, Green Lantern and the Flash trade lower bodies–Wonder Woman is specifically excluded from this effect, presumably because it would have raised uncomfortable questions in young readers’ minds.
#29-30 have another crossover with the Justice Society, introducing the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3. At this point, Earth-3 isn’t the “evil” Earth per se, just one where certain historical events happened in reverse, and it just so happens that every superperson on the planet is a bad guy. With lack of real competition, the Crime Syndicate finds themselves losing their edge and in danger of becoming careless. They’re thrilled to learn of the existence of Earth-1 and the Justice League. The Syndicate will test their mettle against their good counterparts.
The most interesting character here is Owlman, the Batman counterpart. His superbrain allows him to consider the possibility of defeat, so he always has contingency plans for that situation. The League wins the initial encounters, but find themselves trapped on Earth-3 where the Syndicate is more powerful. Then the Syndicate attacks the Justice Society on Earth-2 so they can use the “neutral” territory to determine who’s most powerful semi-fairly. (It’s the Justice League.)
#31 “Riddle of the Runaway Room!” inducts Hawkman on to the team (with a handwave as to why Hawkgirl doesn’t also get to join.) The opponent is Joe Parry, a minor criminal who gets hold of what is effectively a wishing machine. He does not use it wisely. Hawkman is featured heavily in the next few issues.
#32 “Attack of the Star-Bolt Warrior!” introduces new villain Brainstorm, who can use stellar energy to boost his brain power and create various nifty effects. He’s most interesting for his relationship to his petty criminal brother Fred, who he’s both protective of and condescending towards. Brainstorm thinks that Green Lantern has murdered Fred, so is out for revenge, but insists upon doing it the “right way” so that he can claim to be on the side of righteousness.
#34, “The Deadly Dreams of Dr. Destiny!” is a rematch with a villain that can make dreams come true; in this case he forces the League to dream of devices that give them different weaknesses which his dream menaces will then exploit.
This issue is special to me as it’s the first Justice League of America comic book I ever read, thanks to my cousin Patty lending me her stash. Despite the flaws I can now see, six year old me was overcome by the awesomeness, and I became a life-long comics fan.
#36. “The Case of the Disabled Justice League!” has our heroes visiting a hospital ward where several boys with physical disabilities are housed. The boys have lost hope that they can ever live fulfilling lives due to their handicaps. Brainstorm rigs it so that five of the Leaguers suddenly have similar disabilities. Superman’s blind, Green Arrow is without arms, and so forth. The heroes must fight Brainstorm’s dangerous creations by finding ways to work around their new issues.
By the end of the story, the Leaguers have been restored, but the boys are now filled with confidence that they too can succeed in life. Then Flash reveals that this story is a retread of one about the Justice Society, and there’s a special pledge about treating people with physical handicaps as equals.
This is a very shallow look at the realities of physical disability, and it’s never even suggested that the superheroes might be able to use their awesome powers to “cure” the children or otherwise make their lives easier beyond being inspirational. But for a 1965 comic book, progressive enough.
A character I should mention here is Snapper Carr. He was an editorially-mandated “kid appeal” character, a normal teenager who hung out with the Justice League, used “teen” slang, and snapped his fingers a lot. The writer seems uninterested in Snapper, having him left at the Secret Sanctuary or off taking tests in the majority of stories. Every so often he’ll mention that he’s been left out a lot lately, and be allowed on an adventure. (Marvel’s version of Snapper, Rick Jones, got much better treatment.) Eventually the neglect would be the focus of a story that got Snapper booted from the League for betrayal.
Despite the formulaic plots and cardboard characterization, there are a lot of cool ideas in this volume, and later writers were able to mine them for more modern stories with a rich history. The consistent art team gives this volume a clear identity. Recommended to Justice League fans, though you may want to check it out from the library rather than buy directly if you’re not a completist.
This volume contains JLA issues #17-36, all written by Gardner Fox, with pencils by Mike Sekowsky and inks by Bernard Sachs.
#17, “The Triumph of the Tornado Tyrant!” starts with the Justice League returning from their latest triumph over the rock people of Pluto…wait, I don’t remember that story. And the League is acting awfully smug about this, boasting of their flawless win record and looking forward to more menaces that they can prove their superiority over. Something fishy is going on here!
One of the less good aspects of the Justice League comics of this time period was a lack of personal characterization. The JLA characters are interchangeably brave, smart and heroic; their story functions were differentiated by their power sets. So any time a Leaguer suddenly shows personality, there’s something wrong.
In this case, it’s that they’re not actually the Justice League we know, but duplicates created by the Tornado Champion. Formerly the Tornado Tyrant, its defeat by Adam Strange and subsequent witnessing of the Justice League in action convinced the living weather phenomenon that good always triumphs over evil. So the Tornado Champion, in order to live a life of good, created a duplicate Earth (this has some disturbing theological implications) identical in every way except that the Justice League is actually autonomous fragments of the Tornado Champion.
But its evil side, the Tornado Tyrant, still exists, and tries to smash the ersatz leaguers to prove that evil can, in fact, triumph. Stymied, the Tornado Champion has to turn to the real Justice League of America for tips on how to beat this menace.
The pattern is well set by this point. A menace appears, the Leaguers individually or in small teams battle aspects of the menace as there is some reason they can’t just skip to the end, and at the end a Leaguer figures out the secret weakness or a clever ruse to overcome the problem. At the time, DC’s comic books were very much considered children’s fare, so writing to a repetitive formula was considered a good idea.
#21-22 have the first “Crisis” storylines crossing over the Justice League of America with the Justice Society of America. It had been established in the Flash comics that the stories printed in the 1940s and early 1950s took place on Earth-2, an alternate Earth with some small differences. In this story, three supervillains from Earth-2 discover how to get to Earth-1 (where the Justice League lives) and make a deal with three local supervillains. They’ll rob on their own Earths, then switch place so that they can spend their loot in peace with no one realizing that the crooks are wanted men.
The JLA and JSA don’t team up so much as coordinate world switches to catch their own villains. But it did establish a precedent that would become a huge part of DC continuity.
#25, “Outcasts of Infinity!” cuts down the number of members participating (with Atom and Green Arrow having joined, getting everyone in every story was getting unwieldy.) There’s a scene where Superman, Green Lantern and the Flash trade lower bodies–Wonder Woman is specifically excluded from this effect, presumably because it would have raised uncomfortable questions in young readers’ minds.
#29-30 have another crossover with the Justice Society, introducing the Crime Syndicate of Earth-3. At this point, Earth-3 isn’t the “evil” Earth per se, just one where certain historical events happened in reverse, and it just so happens that every superperson on the planet is a bad guy. With lack of real competition, the Crime Syndicate finds themselves losing their edge and in danger of becoming careless. They’re thrilled to learn of the existence of Earth-1 and the Justice League. The Syndicate will test their mettle against their good counterparts.
The most interesting character here is Owlman, the Batman counterpart. His superbrain allows him to consider the possibility of defeat, so he always has contingency plans for that situation. The League wins the initial encounters, but find themselves trapped on Earth-3 where the Syndicate is more powerful. Then the Syndicate attacks the Justice Society on Earth-2 so they can use the “neutral” territory to determine who’s most powerful semi-fairly. (It’s the Justice League.)
#31 “Riddle of the Runaway Room!” inducts Hawkman on to the team (with a handwave as to why Hawkgirl doesn’t also get to join.) The opponent is Joe Parry, a minor criminal who gets hold of what is effectively a wishing machine. He does not use it wisely. Hawkman is featured heavily in the next few issues.
#32 “Attack of the Star-Bolt Warrior!” introduces new villain Brainstorm, who can use stellar energy to boost his brain power and create various nifty effects. He’s most interesting for his relationship to his petty criminal brother Fred, who he’s both protective of and condescending towards. Brainstorm thinks that Green Lantern has murdered Fred, so is out for revenge, but insists upon doing it the “right way” so that he can claim to be on the side of righteousness.
#34, “The Deadly Dreams of Dr. Destiny!” is a rematch with a villain that can make dreams come true; in this case he forces the League to dream of devices that give them different weaknesses which his dream menaces will then exploit.
This issue is special to me as it’s the first Justice League of America comic book I ever read, thanks to my cousin Patty lending me her stash. Despite the flaws I can now see, six year old me was overcome by the awesomeness, and I became a life-long comics fan.
#36. “The Case of the Disabled Justice League!” has our heroes visiting a hospital ward where several boys with physical disabilities are housed. The boys have lost hope that they can ever live fulfilling lives due to their handicaps. Brainstorm rigs it so that five of the Leaguers suddenly have similar disabilities. Superman’s blind, Green Arrow is without arms, and so forth. The heroes must fight Brainstorm’s dangerous creations by finding ways to work around their new issues.
By the end of the story, the Leaguers have been restored, but the boys are now filled with confidence that they too can succeed in life. Then Flash reveals that this story is a retread of one about the Justice Society, and there’s a special pledge about treating people with physical handicaps as equals.
This is a very shallow look at the realities of physical disability, and it’s never even suggested that the superheroes might be able to use their awesome powers to “cure” the children or otherwise make their lives easier beyond being inspirational. But for a 1965 comic book, progressive enough.
A character I should mention here is Snapper Carr. He was an editorially-mandated “kid appeal” character, a normal teenager who hung out with the Justice League, used “teen” slang, and snapped his fingers a lot. The writer seems uninterested in Snapper, having him left at the Secret Sanctuary or off taking tests in the majority of stories. Every so often he’ll mention that he’s been left out a lot lately, and be allowed on an adventure. (Marvel’s version of Snapper, Rick Jones, got much better treatment.) Eventually the neglect would be the focus of a story that got Snapper booted from the League for betrayal.
Despite the formulaic plots and cardboard characterization, there are a lot of cool ideas in this volume, and later writers were able to mine them for more modern stories with a rich history. The consistent art team gives this volume a clear identity. Recommended to Justice League fans, though you may want to check it out from the library rather than buy directly if you’re not a completist.
January 10, 2024
Justice League is easily the weakest silver age DC comic. The issues are too long for the stories especially when other series often have multiple stories an issues except for big stories. The character roster has also become incredibly bloated at this point and there's not enough for each member to do. These stories are also not as ambitious as most of the other silver age comics I've read. That being said the 'Crisis on Earth One/Two/Three' stories are a high point of the silver age and somehow feel perfect in length.
July 13, 2018
This was great took me back when I first started reading comics
April 10, 2016
Lovely reprints! Yes, the stories are a bit nonsensical--particularly the "science"--by modern standards but these are still classic stories by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. The silver age of comics was still picking up steam when these were originally published and it's amazing they hold up as well as they do. The artwork suffers a tad for not being in color; I didn't even recognize The Joker at first until he was identified in a caption. But black and white keeps these affordable, keeping these wonderful stories accessible to the casual reader.
After reading it for the second time, I'm fascinated by how long these stories seem to be. I don't mean that in a bad way, like they're interminable or something, but they're very densely packed. Even at normal comic book lengths, Fox often subdivides into three or even four distinct chapters. Yes, these stories are more nonsensical and old-school than what was happening over at Marvel in the mid 60's, but there's still a vitality and sense of fun to them that seems to be unique to 60's DC. I note that, in one story, Superman deals with an invulnerable alien by throwing him off into space, "... on an eternal journey around our galaxy! Your invulnerability will do you no good here--except to keep you alive on your trip which will last until the end of time!" --Justice League of America #20, "The Mystery of Spaceman X" Harsh, man. And you thought he was just a big blue boy scout...
After reading it for the second time, I'm fascinated by how long these stories seem to be. I don't mean that in a bad way, like they're interminable or something, but they're very densely packed. Even at normal comic book lengths, Fox often subdivides into three or even four distinct chapters. Yes, these stories are more nonsensical and old-school than what was happening over at Marvel in the mid 60's, but there's still a vitality and sense of fun to them that seems to be unique to 60's DC. I note that, in one story, Superman deals with an invulnerable alien by throwing him off into space, "... on an eternal journey around our galaxy! Your invulnerability will do you no good here--except to keep you alive on your trip which will last until the end of time!" --Justice League of America #20, "The Mystery of Spaceman X" Harsh, man. And you thought he was just a big blue boy scout...
September 4, 2016
This book collects Justice League of America Issues 17-36.
The book is chock full of Silver Age silliness and there's no Silver Age silliness like DC Silver Age silliness. The book isn't quite as fun as many of the heroes' own books because of the lack of differentiation of personalities. There are silly ideas like an evil tornado being who decides to turn good and then creates duplicates of the Justice League to fight his evil side to prove whether good is really better than bad.
However, there are some good stories in here. At this point, the Justice League has developed a solid line up and would add Hawkman to the mix in here. Heroes would rotate whether they'd be in the book or not which gives heroes more time to showcase their unique powers and abilities. Kanjar-Ro and Doctor Destiny are two of the villains that make return appearances, already beginning the Justice's League rogue's gallery shape.
At the same time, the book also features the first two big team ups with the Justice Society of America on Earth 2 and we're introduced to Earth 3 where the only superbeings are villains who take on the Justice League for "reasons," in a somewhat contrived story that's still fun. Another favorite in here is, "The Mystery of Spaceman X," which is surprisingly good.
Overall, despite a few stupid moments, this is a very fun book and it lays out some core ideas that would define the DC Universe to this day.
The book is chock full of Silver Age silliness and there's no Silver Age silliness like DC Silver Age silliness. The book isn't quite as fun as many of the heroes' own books because of the lack of differentiation of personalities. There are silly ideas like an evil tornado being who decides to turn good and then creates duplicates of the Justice League to fight his evil side to prove whether good is really better than bad.
However, there are some good stories in here. At this point, the Justice League has developed a solid line up and would add Hawkman to the mix in here. Heroes would rotate whether they'd be in the book or not which gives heroes more time to showcase their unique powers and abilities. Kanjar-Ro and Doctor Destiny are two of the villains that make return appearances, already beginning the Justice's League rogue's gallery shape.
At the same time, the book also features the first two big team ups with the Justice Society of America on Earth 2 and we're introduced to Earth 3 where the only superbeings are villains who take on the Justice League for "reasons," in a somewhat contrived story that's still fun. Another favorite in here is, "The Mystery of Spaceman X," which is surprisingly good.
Overall, despite a few stupid moments, this is a very fun book and it lays out some core ideas that would define the DC Universe to this day.
February 15, 2017
Highlights of this read are the meetings with the Justice Society for the first time and the introduction of hawkman into the team but some of the stories were a little weak.
December 17, 2010
The Atom joins the League and they team up with Adam Strange again in this volume.
Many, many crazy stories. Often only cleaned up in the end by the incredible powers of Green Lantern's ring. (He'll make everyone on Earth (including the League) forget their secret identities, or move the entire Earth back to it's solar system where it belongs; whatever it takes to reset universe).
There is a 3 part arc in here where the heroes team up with the golden age heroes from Earth Two and even fight the villains of Earth Three. My favorite part of this was Starman tricking the evil Ultraman into holding a piece of antimatter (that he just created out of nothing with his cosmic rod). Not only does Ultraman have time to realize what he is holding and remark on it, he survives!
Many, many crazy stories. Often only cleaned up in the end by the incredible powers of Green Lantern's ring. (He'll make everyone on Earth (including the League) forget their secret identities, or move the entire Earth back to it's solar system where it belongs; whatever it takes to reset universe).
There is a 3 part arc in here where the heroes team up with the golden age heroes from Earth Two and even fight the villains of Earth Three. My favorite part of this was Starman tricking the evil Ultraman into holding a piece of antimatter (that he just created out of nothing with his cosmic rod). Not only does Ultraman have time to realize what he is holding and remark on it, he survives!
June 26, 2013
These books are a sheer joy to read. The artwork alone is worth the price. What I especially like about these stories is the teamwork involved among the Justice League members in overcoming the evil that is plaguing Earth or another planet. I'm no superhero, but I well remember my days playing baseball or other team sports, and the satisfaction I got from being a part of a group effort. And, just the idea of people from such disparate backgrounds bringing all their talents together to solve a big problem is very, very appealing to me.
March 13, 2015
Classic Silver age comic book adventures featuring the all stars of DC comics. Super hero action with a dash of Sci-Fi, and a touch of scientific fact. Adventures written by Gardner Fox. Highlights of this volume include, the first ever Justice League/ Justice Society team ups.
Most under used Justice League member, Martian Manhunter. Most annoying aspect of these stories; Justice League mascot/ sidekick Snapper Carr. There are quite a few outlandish adventures in this volume, but most of them are entertaining. I also enjoyed the various science trivia factoids featured throughout the book.
Most under used Justice League member, Martian Manhunter. Most annoying aspect of these stories; Justice League mascot/ sidekick Snapper Carr. There are quite a few outlandish adventures in this volume, but most of them are entertaining. I also enjoyed the various science trivia factoids featured throughout the book.
May 17, 2014
Following on from what we saw in the Flash, this is where DC's Multiverse really begins to take shape. There are still a lot of silver age hangovers but it is a lot of fun.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews