Justice Society, Vol. 1

Justice Society & the Super Squad

by Gerry Conway, Paul Levitz, Wallace Wood (Inker/Penciller/Plotter)

Collecting ALL-STAR COMICS #58-67, plus the origin of the JSA from DC SPECIAL #29! Witness the continuing adventures of The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Wildcat and the rest as they are joined by younger heroes Robin, Power Girl and Star-Spangled Kid!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Fiction, Comic Book, Science Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Gerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he is known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Justice Society members are feeling their age in these post WWII adventures, partly because of new members Star-Spangled Kid, the now adult Robin, and Superman's cousin, Powergirl!

I stumbled on this volume at the disappointing comic convention I went to not too long ago. I have some ragged copies of a couple issues in this run in a tote in the basement but I decided to snap it up anyway.

+This volume collects All-Star Comics #58-67 and DC Special #29. The stories are from 1976-77 and are fairly typical of the time period. The JSA battle Brainwave, Degaton, Vandal Savage, and the Injustice Society but most of the tension comes from within. Young upstarts Powergirl and Star-Spangled Kid upset the applecart a bit.

I didn't realize what an indepdendent streak Powergirl had at the time of her creation, much like Ms. Marvel. DC was pushing to do more relevant comics at the time so Powergirl's feminism was probably a product of that. The stories tended toward two-parters, something that slightly surprised me. They were pretty average in quality, although everyone except Powergirl looked like a chump more often than not, especially Wildcat. With all the tension within the team, it felt more like a Marvel book.

The art was good but the rotation of artists hurt it a little. Wally Wood, Keith Giffen, and Joe Staton all took a turn at the helm. I'm not sure which one of them designed Powergirl's costume with the boob window, though. Star-Spangled Kid wielding the cosmic rod and later the cosmic converter belt answered some questions I had from James Robinson's Starman run.

Justice Society volume 1 is an interesting trade that shows there have been a lot of times in DCs past that they just didn't know what to do with the Justice Society. I think Roy Thomas did a much better job with All-Star Squadron a few years later. Three out of five stars.

[Nate]

Collects the first ten issues of the JSA reboot from the mid-70s plus an origin special. The JSA had been appearing in JLA crossovers for over a decade, but this is their first ongoing series since 1951. The stories are very standard for the time. In fact, you could swap in the JLA or any other team of the era and these stories would make perfect sense. As a result, this collection isn't essential. Of note is Power Girl’s debut in issue 58 and the return of Star-Spangled Kid with Starman's cosmic rod. The villains range Vandal Savage to Psycho Pirate to the Injustice Society. There're some okay character beats, but nothing to write home about. The art looks decent - it's very much in the house style.

[Michael Emond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really more of a 2.5 but I bumped it up because I am so happy to have this collection. It is the first half of the 1970s run of All Star (starring the JSA) and it is not easy to find. Now there was a hardcover that collected the entire run (All Star Comics Only Legends Live Forever) but I missed out on that. This is a much cheaper version with newspaper quality pages. That used to bother me (cheaper paper in TPB) but one advantage is it allows the colours of the original comics to be more accurately captured. And since the art isn't amazing, having it on better paper wouldn't improve its look.

The basic premise is: Back in the 70s there were still multiple worlds in the DC universe. The main one we were following in the main comic line, but Earth 2 had the Justice Society heroes from the comics in the 1940's, the old Flash (Jay Garrick) the old Green Lantern (whose ring was mystic and couldn't work on wood). The Justice Society (old Justice League version on Earth 2) were printed in All Star Comics. DC decided to get the gang back together with some younger Earth 2 heroes (which they confusingly called the Super Squad...even though it was never called that in the comic...and one of the three super squad members (Robin) never joined the JSA except for a quick guest appearance. Nowadays they would have started at issue one and called it Justice Society but back in those days they would revive old comics lines...so we start at All Star Comics - where the old comic left off in the 50's (1951 to be exact) on issue 58 (stupid yes...but it was the 70s..we were stupid).

So how was the run? Not great...it was cancelled 16 issues later. But I have fond memories of it because I liked the idea of getting the JSA back together. Geoff Johns would do it the right way decades later. The problem with the run was a) So-so art: Keith Giffen art was pretty average (he would hit greater heights drawing the Legion of Super Heroes but this was him starting out)...Wally Wood art issues were incomprehensible story-wise (I blame Wally because Paul Levitz is a pretty solid writer) and it was only when Joe Staton (love his art!! under-rated!!) took over the duties it finally got better.
b) Not enough character development c) Villains were hum drum d) The team was all over the place.

Now I did enjoy my read of this. The stories are a nice blend of action and the introduction of Power Girl was great (funny to be how her "chest window" on the costume disappeared after a few issues...nowadays artist LOVE drawing it). I loved seeing the old JSA characters.

What didn't I like? First and foremost the bickering was non stop. Especially between Power Girl and Wildcat (old man boxer). I don't mind some drama but omg...they would not stop getting angry with each other. Mainly Power girl was in the center. Paul Levitz even tried to get a romance going between her and Star Spangled Kid...awkward! I said there was no character development and I meant it. Yelling at each other ever second panel is not character development. And the little bit of character development we get was all negative. Hourman whining he gets left behind all the time. Green Lantern losing his radio station in bankruptcy. And I really wish their powers were used better. I get so tired of seeing Flash run into a fight and get knocked out instantly. He's super fast...maybe circle around? We had Green Lantern..but I struggle to remember his ring being used other than to blast someone.

Beyond that there were some weak stories. Not every one but the one with Vandal Savage was lame.

So, overall - stay clear if you are looking for great stories HOWEVER if you love the JSA...want to see Power Girl at her start...and want some silly 1970 goodness (and a few issues of Joe Staton art) this is worth it as a read.

[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of both the JSA and DC Bronze Age books in general, I really enjoyed this. Yes, the writing and art is far more simplistic than today, but that is part of the charm for me. Also, I don’t entirely agree. Gerry Conway launched the new JSA stuff in All-Star Comics, and created Power Girl while he was at it, and did a decent job. Paul Levitz took over afterwards and did a great job. The heroes are treated respectfully, which I like, and although at times Levitz’s writing is a little weak it’s usually entertaining.
For fans of a certain age, this is a great collection. It’s Volume 1, though, so no resolutions here, you’ll need Volume 2 for the whole story, but this can be enjoyed for what it is.
Great Bolland cover too.

[Devero · Rating 1 out of 5]

Non so perché la DC decise di pubblicare questa serie proseguendo la numerazione di quella originale degli anni '40, ma soprattutto non ho capito perché gli autori abbiano voluto mantenere il tono di ingenutà delle storie di quel periodo.
Ho trovato molto fastidioso il continuare a riferirsi al lettore da parte del narratore fuori campo come se fosse un bimbo pre-scolarizzato ed anche particolarmente stupido, solo come esempio di quanto male sono scritte le storie. Poi ci sarebbero le sottotrame senza senso, i buchi di trama e le dimenticanze di pezzi di questa. La caratterizzazione dei personaggi è un altro punto debole delle storie, così come l'insulsaggine degli avversari.
Disegni sufficienti, a tratti discreti, non migliorano particolarmente la resa.
1 stella e mezza.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though these comics are 10 years older than I am... and produced 20 years after I really got into comics... they hold up really well. I think if I had read these stories when I was first getting into super hero comics more than 25 years ago... I would have loved them almost as much as I do now.

I think as I've grown older... grim dark for the sake of grim dark doesn't appeal to me so much. Stories about heroes being heroes though... that's what it' all about.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think Levitz (and Conway) did a nice job introducing new heroes and establishing them, but I don't find any of the characters particularly likable. The stories are engaging, but the heavy-handed 70's writing chokes a lot of the life out of them. Solid art.

[The other John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've stopped reviewing comic reprint collections that I've borrowed from the library, but I think I'll make an exception with this one. The writing is somewhat awful, but I'd like to buy it someday.... Perhaps I should explain. I've been a fan of comic books on and off since childhood. Back in the eighties, when I was in an "on" period, I had a serious collector's mentality. No, not the type that would move me to buy a comic book, seal it in plastic, and monitor the Tokyo Comics Exchange for just the right time to sell. I was more of a comics archivist. If I discovered a title or character that I liked, then I would suddenly want to accumulate all the stories of said character. It was through this practice that I discovered that just because one writer and/or artist can create magic with a particular character, it doesn't mean that every writer and/or artist has done so. In fact, since the cheapest back issues were usually the klunkers of the series, I discovered this aspect of comics history relatively quickly. I didn't care, though. I just wanted to fill up all the spaces in my little comics ledger. Anyway, when I fell in love with Roy Thomas' All-Star Squadron back then, I found myself seeking back issues featuring the Justice Society of America. That proved to be a rather frustrating quest. The original Golden Age comics, of course, were way out of my price range. On the other hand, amassing the All-Star Squadron issues I had missed was an easy task. In between were JSA guest appearances, Golden Age reprints, and the short lived revival of All Star Comics in the mid-seventies. The latter was the source of my frustration. I could get a random issue here and there, but rarely could I get many issues in a row. All I had were sporadic glimpses at the overall story, making for a awkward and uneven reading experience.

Finally, in this era of trade paperback reprints, I have been able to achieve my dream of fully experiencing the 1970s JSA. Unfortunately, it's still an awkward and uneven reading experience. The plotline jumps around from subplot to subplot. The writers seem to want to include all of the JSA members, but not at the same time. So, characters come and go, sometimes in the middle of a story. The attempts at personal drama make the heroes seem like high school kids, rather than the mature, "old guard" of super herodom. Objectively, the only redeeming qualities of the issues collected here is the artwork by Wally Wood and Keith Giffen and the character of Power Girl, who, despite her stilted, stereotypical characterization, adds some life to the drab storytelling. (Of course, there's also the eye candy factor, but I'm too old for that sort of thing...) In the end, this collection is pretty bad. But, doggone it, I still have empty spaces in my comics ledger....

[Zack! Empire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard someone talking about this collection on a podcast, and I've liked other work they have mentioned, so I thought I'd check it out. Through a bit of good fortune, I was able to read it for free, because they actually had it at the local library! I think that is the first time I've heard mention of a comic, and was then able to get it at my library!
Any way, what did I think of the book itself? it was somewhat up and down book for me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it. Many of the characters seem to just bitch and whine and that's about it. I don't know much about any of these guys. I did read the JSA title in high school, but those versions of the characters are from a different continuity, and a different earth (Thanks for all the confusion DC) so they can't be compared to these versions. Regardless, I don't want to read a story about a group of heroes who just whine all the time. It's like reading a comic about the people you work with. The only work they seem to get done is working out their bitch muscle.
It also sucked that they took the writer and artist credits out of the title pages of the individual issues, and simply put them at the beginning of the book. But they don't tell you which artist drew which story, only that they worked on the book. I really hate when they do that. I like to know who the artist is. I'm a artist guy and if I find an artist I like, I'll seek out other work they've done. If I don't know which one it is, I have to go through the pain of looking them all up. Not very hard with the internet, but still annoying.
Now that I've done all that bitching I should probably talk about the few things I did like. This is an interesting concept for a series. The easiest way to describe it is that in the world the book takes place in, time moves forward the same way it does in ours. That means that characters, like Batman and Superman, are allowed to grow old, get married, have children, or even retire! I don't see much of that happen in the regular DC universe. That was what I liked most about the book. I particular liked the stuff with an older Bruce Wayne, who has retired as Batman, and has become the commissioner of Gotham City. This isn't really played with too much in the book, but I would love to read more stories about that.
There is a volume two for this series, but there is also a Showcase collection that collects the two books into one, although in black and white. I'm not sure i'll be getting the two color collection, but it might be worth getting the cheaper showcase edition.

[Lionel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first half of the JSA's '70s revival, plus the "Untold Origin" from DC Super-Stars or somewhere. The latter story, by Levitz & Staton, would probably rate a solid three stars by itself. Maybe even three and a half. It's a fairly solid done-in-one superhero story, with bonus nostalgia points for being Earth-Two and JSA.

The book strips out all the individual story credits in favor of a block credit at the front of the book, which doesn't break down which creator worked on which stories. Nevertheless, even without checking the GCD, I'm pretty sure that all the All-Star stories were by Conway, and Levitz was responsible only for the origin story. The All-Star stories are, unfortunately, pretty pedestrian stuff. Some nice art by Wally Wood, and some early work by Keith Giffen, can't make up for some terribly generic super-hero stories. Power Girl's ERA-era dialog is frequently awful (an unfortunate truth about many '70s super-heroines who got their start in this decade and were almost uniformly written by men trying to sound hip). The generation gap stuff and the gender equality conflicts just ring hollow. Artificial conflicts in an effort to create artificial tension and drama within the team just don't hold up at all well.

Again, bonus points for being the JSA/Earth-Two stuff, and mild historical curiosity for the intro of Power Girl and for being the JSA's first ongoing revival series just aren't enough to make this recommendable to anyone who isn't already pre-disposed to like it.

[Karl Kindt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great classic super hero action, but even more than that. This is really the first post-modern super hero tale, as the old guard starts to question and is overtaken by the old guard. I can picture Alan Moore reading this and getting inspired with ideas for WATCHMEN. No--really, I am serious! Listen to this excerpt.

HOURMAN: I only wish all men could live so nobly...and die in as good a cause.
DR. MIDNITE: There are no good deaths, Hourman...no good causes in which to die. In the end, there's ONLY death...and that's what we've fought so hard to prevent.

And then later.
SUPERMAN (keeping in mind this is the Earth-2, gray-templed Superman who started in the 1940s, but now speaking in 1976): It never ends. No sooner do we stop one lunatic from wrecking the world than another rises out of obscurity.
GREEN LANTERN (gain, this is the orignal GL): Sort of makes you wonder if it's worth it--especially when all you get is a chance to be killed!

Pretty heady stuff for 1970s DC super hero comics, eh? Plus it has Power Girl fighting for women's rights and for space between her and her super cousin Superman, all the while her rad costume has a circular opening that just screams, "Look at my cleavage!"

[Clinton Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the JSA then you will love this trade. Granted, you have to love the CLASSIC characters, but I do so it was fun. If you are familiar enough with the characters you will probably do like I did and start noticing very quickly that many of them do not act like you remember. There is a reason for it, so don't worry. You'll just need to get volume 2 to see how it all turns out.

Over all this is a fun read. It's always nice to see Earth-2 again. Golden Age heroes, while sometimes quite ridiculous, as usually story driven, especially in these issues from the 1970s. Nothing really new here, but it's comics. Superheroes fight supervillains. What do you expect?

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints All-Star Comics #58-67 and DC Special #29. The Justice Society is back and bringing new members. The original super hero team of the Justice Society got a big relaunch, but never really latched on. This series introduced Power Girl who acted as the Superman of Earth-2's cousin (as opposed to Supergirl of Earth-1). It also brought in Star-Spangled Kid as a member. The series initially tried to kind of write out some of the original characters, but they just keep coming back (which is a good thing because the team needed them to make it interesting).

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of classic JSA stories from the seventies, featuring the introduction of Power girl, the Huntress and grown up Robin.
Tries a little too hard to be angsty, like the X-men, but there's still enough cool super action, beautiful Wally Wood art and old school ideas to get you through the melodrama.

There's a time travel story and a multi-part story featuring the Injustice Society and some evil mole men.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this collection, but mostly for nostalgic reasons. It's terribly overwritten and character conflict is exaggerated to the point of absurdity. Even Wally Wood's art is below his usual high quality. The art doesn't really get good until Joe Staton takes over the pencils. Still, I love the Justice Society and I love Earth-Two, so this collection holds a special place in my heart.

[Kurt Rocourt · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a fun read. It tales off at the end but that's alright. The thing to remember is these stories were written in an era where campy dialogue was the norm in comics. It does come across as cheesy but that's only part of the charm.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to see DC's revival of the Justice Society in the mid-70s, when the JSA and JLA still belonged to different earths. But it's a little too corny and unsophisticated for it's own good, even for the time it was made.

[Sven-marcus · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good, with a few quirks. I'll try to write a more detailed review later.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent adventures of the first superhero team. Very recommended

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of stories from the All Star Comics of the 1970's that brought in newer blood with Power Girl, Star Spangled Kid, Robin and Huntress. Lots of classic villains and team dynamics of family and squabbles. A must for anyone interested in the classic heroes.