Justice League: Part I The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February/March 1960), the Justice League originally featured Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash (Barry Allen), Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman (Arthur Curry), and the Martian Manhunter. The team roster has been rotated throughout the years with characters such as Green Arrow, Captain Marvel, Black Canary, the Atom, Hawkman, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, Firestorm, Zatanna, Hawkgirl, Cyborg, and dozens of others. The team received its own comic book title in October 1960, when the first issue was published. It would continue to #261 in April 1987, which was the final issue. Throughout the years, various incarnations or subsections of the team have operated as Justice League America, Justice League Europe, Justice League International, Justice League Task Force, Justice League Elite, and Extreme Justice. Background Various comic book series featuring the Justice League have remained generally popular with fans since inception and, in most incarnations, its roster includes DCs most popular characters. The Justice League concept has also been adapted into various other entertainment media, including the classic Saturday morning Super Friends animated series (1973–1986), an unproduced Justice League of America live-action series (for which the pilot film exists), the animated series Justice League (2001–2004) and Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006). A live-action film was in the works in 2008 before being shelved. On June 6, 2012, Warner Bros. announced a new live action Justice League film was in development with Will Beall hired as screenwriter. Publication history Silver and Bronze Age / Justice League of America Having successfully reintroduced a number of DC Comics (then known as National Periodical Publications) Golden Age superhero characters (Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) during the late 1950s, editor Julius Schwartz asked writer Gardner Fox to reintroduce the Justice Society of America. Schwartz, influenced by the popularity of Major League Baseballs National League and American League, decided to change the name of the team from Justice Society to Justice League.[2] The Justice League of America debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February–March 1960),[3] and after two further appearances in that title, got their own series which quickly became one of the companys best-selling titles. Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky were the creative team for the titles first eight years. Sekowskys last issue was #63 (June 1968) and Fox departed with #65 (September 1968). Schwartz was the new titles editor and oversaw it until 1979. The initial Justice League lineup included seven of DC Comics superheroes who were regularly published at that time: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Wonder Woman. Rarely featured in most of the stories, Superman and Batman did not even appear on the cover most of the time. Three of DCs other surviving or revived characters, Green Arrow,[6] the Atom, and Hawkman[8] were added to the roster over the next four years. The titles early success was indirectly responsible for the creation of the Fantastic Four. In his autobiography Stan Lee relates how in 1961, during a round of golf, DC publisher Jack Liebowitz mentioned to Marvel-Timely owner Martin Goodman how well DCs new book (Justice League) was selling. Later that day Goodman, a publishing trend-follower aware of the JLAs strong sales, told Lee, his comics editor, to come up with a team of superheroes for Marvel. According to Lee in Origins of Marvel Comics: Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called The [sic] Justice League of America and it was composed of a team of superheroes. ... If the Justice League is selling , spoke he, why dont we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes? Goodman directed his comics editor, Stan Lee, to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. Lee and Jack Kirby produced the Fantastic Four. Other versions of the story suggest that it was Irwin Donenfeld, rather than Liebowitz, who bragged. However, film producer and comics historian Michael Uslan partly debunked the story in a letter published in Alter Ego #43 (December 2004), pp. 43–44: Irwin said he never played golf with Goodman, so the story is untrue. I heard this story more than a couple of times while sitting in the lunchroom at DCs 909 Third Avenue and 75 Rockefeller Plaza office as Sol Harrison and [production chief] Jack Adler were schmoozing with some of us ... who worked for DC during our college summers.... [T]he way I heard the story from Sol was that Goodman was playing with one of the heads of Independent News, not DC Comics (though DC owned Independent News). ... As the distributor of DC Comics, this man certainly knew all the sales figures and was in the best position to tell this tidbit to Goodman. ... Of course, Goodman would want to be playing golf with this fellow and be in his good graces. ... Sol worked closely with Independent News top management over the decades and would have gotten this story straight from the horses mouth. The Justice League operated from a secret cave outside of the small town of Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. A teenager named Lucas Snapper Carr tagged along on missions, becoming both the teams mascot and an official member. Snapper, noted for speaking in beatnik dialect and snapping his fingers, helped the group defeat the giant space starfish Starro the Conqueror in the teams first appearance. The supervillain Doctor Light first battled the team in issue #12 (June 1962.) Justice League of America #21 and #22 (August–September 1963) saw the first team-up of the Justice League and the Justice Society of America as well as the first use of the term Crisis in reference to a crossover between characters.[12] The following years team-up with the Justice Society introduced the threat of the Crime Syndicate of America of Earth-Three. The character Metamorpho was offered membership in the Justice League but declined.[14] Following the departures of Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky, writer Denny ONeil and artist Dick Dillin became the new creative team. Dillin would draw the title from issue #64 (August 1968) through #183 (October 1980.) ONeil reshaped the Justice Leagues membership by removing Wonder Woman in issue #69 and the Martian Manhunter in issue #71.[16] Following the JLA-JSA team-up in issues #73-74 and the death of her husband, the Black Canary decided to move to Earth-One to make a fresh start, where she joins the Justice League. The following issue saw the character develop the superpower known as her canary cry. In issue #77 (December 1969), Snapper Carr is tricked into betraying the cave headquarters secret location to the Joker, resulting in his resignation from the team. Satellite years In need of a new secure headquarters, the Justice League moved into an orbiting satellite headquarters in Justice League of America #78 (February 1970.) The Elongated Man, the Red Tornado, Hawkwoman, Zatanna, and Firestorm joined the team, and Wonder Woman returned during this period. Len Wein wrote issues #100–114, in which he and Dillin re-introduced the Seven Soldiers of Victory in issues #100-102 and the Freedom Fighters in issues #107-108. In the fall of 1972, Wein and writers Gerry Conway and Steve Englehart crafted a metafiction an unofficial crossover spanning titles from both Marvel and DC. Each comic featured Englehart, Conway, and Wein, as well as Weins first wife Glynis, interacting with Marvel or DC characters at the Rutland Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. Beginning in Amazing Adventures #16 (by Englehart with art by Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin), the story continued in Justice League of America #103 (by Wein, Dillin and Dick Giordano), and concluded in Thor #207 (by Conway and penciler John Buscema). As Englehart explained in 2010, It certainly seemed like a radical concept and we knew that we had to be subtle (laughs) and each story had to stand on its own, but we really worked it out. Its really worthwhile to read those stories back to back to back — it didnt matter to us that one was at DC and two were at Marvel — I think it was us being creative, thinking what would be really cool to do. Justice League of America #103 also featured the Justice League offering membership to the Phantom Stranger. Len Wein commented on the Phantom Strangers relationship with the JLA in a 2012 interview stating that the character only sort of joined. He was offered membership but vanished, as per usual, without actually accepting the offer. Over the years, other writers have just assumed [he] was a member, but in my world, he never really said yes. Libra, a supervillain created by Wein and Dillin in Justice League of America #111 (May–June 1974,) would play a leading role in Grant Morrisons Final Crisis storyline in 2008. Writers Cary Bates and Elliot S. Maggin wrote themselves into the 1975 JLA-JSA crossover in issues #123 and 124 with Bates becoming a supervillain. Wonder Woman rejoined the team following a major two-year story arc, largely written by Martin Pasko. To prove her worthiness to rejoin the JLA, Wonder Woman voluntarily underwent twelve trials analogous to the labors of Hercules, each of which was monitored in secret by a member of the JLA. After the conclusion of the storyline in Wonder Woman #222, the characters return to the JLA occurred in a two-part story in Justice League of America #128-129 (March–April 1976.) Steve Englehart wrote the series beginning with issue #139 and provided another unofficial crossover with Marvel Comics in issue #142 by reworking his character Mantis into the DC Universe as a character named Willow. Englehart left the title with issue #150. From issue #139 to #157 the issues were giant sized. Writer Gerry Conway had a lengthy association with the title as well. His first JLA story appeared in issue #125 (December 1975) and he became the series regular writer with issue #151 (February 1978). With a few exceptions, Conway would write the teams adventures until issue #255 (October 1986.) Julius Schwartz, who had edited the title since the first issue, left the series with issue #165 (April 1979.) The 1979 crossover with the Justice Society in issues #171 and 172 saw the death of the original Mister Terrific. After Dick Dillins death, George Pérez, Don Heck, and Rich Buckler would rotate as artist on the title. The double-sized anniversary issue #200 (March 1982) was a jam featuring a story written by Conway, a framing sequence drawn by Pérez, and chapters drawn by Pat Broderick, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Brian Bolland, and Joe Kubert. Bollands chapter gave the artist his first stab at drawing Batman. Pérez would leave the title with issue #200 to concentrate on The New Teen Titans although he would contribute covers to the JLA through issue #220 (November 1983). The 1982 team-up with the Justice Society in issues #207-209 crossed over with All-Star Squadron #14-15.[42][43] A Justice League story by Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler originally intended for publication as an issue of All-New Collectors Edition saw print in Justice League of America #210-212 (January 1983-March 1983.) Detroit Seeking to capitalize on the popularity of their other team books, which focused upon heroes in their late teens/early 20s, Gerry Conway and artist Chuck Patton revamped the Justice League series. After most of the original heroes fail to help fend off an invasion of Martians, Aquaman dissolves the League and rewrites its charter to allow only heroes who will devote their full time to the roster. The new team initially consists of Aquaman, Zatanna, Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, the Vixen, and a trio of teenage heroes Gypsy, Steel, and Vibe. Aquaman leaves the team after a year, due to marital problems, and his role as leader is assumed by the Martian Manhunter. The final storyline for the original Justice League of America series (#258-261), by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Luke McDonnell, concludes with the murders of Vibe and Steel by long-time League nemesis Professor Ivo, and the resignations of Vixen, Gypsy, and the Elongated Man during the events of DCs Legends miniseries, which sees the team disband. Source: Wikipedia Article of the same name.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 17:28:21 +0000
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