COMIC BOOK COVER OF THE WEEK

COMIC BOOK COVER OF THE WEEK 


Hiya, kids!  Welcome back to our Comic Book Cover of the Week!  I apologize for not having a cover ready to go last week, but I got busy (it happens).  But I am back, determined to make sure THIS little feature appears every Saturday/Sunday (depending on WHERE in the world you are).  This week, in the wake of the big CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS crossover on the WB (you can read my review of the crossover on this very blog, check it out!), and the formation of the CW Justice League, I thought we'd take a look back to the past about 50 plus years to a time when the ORIGINAL comics version of the Justice League of America first formed.  In the wake of then-editor Julis Schwartz of DC Comics' "reboot" of the super hero genre, with new versions of The Flash and Green Lantern, he continued to help shape what would become the Silver Age of Comics by reviving an old idea from the early days with the Justice Society of America, which had appeared in ALL STAR COMICS back in the 1940's, by creating a NEW super team---The Justice League of America.  This proved to be wildly successful, bringing together not only the new modern heroes like the Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman---stalwarts Superman and Batman would join to round out the legendary team.  Here, we're going to talk about their first appearance in a team up series called THE BRAVE & THE BOLD.



THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD  #28


COVER:  Mike Sekowsky, Jack Adler, Murphy Anderson
WRITER:  Gardner Fox
ARTIST:  Mike Sekowsky
INKS:  Joe Giella, Bernard Sachs, Murphy Anderson
COLORS:  Unknown
LETTERS:  Gasper Saladino
EDITOR:  Julius Schwartz
COVER DATE:  March 1960
PUBLISHER:  DC Comics


TAGLINE:  The World's Greatest Heroes Team Up to battle Starro the Conqueror!


STORY TITLE:  "Justice League of America"


The Brave and the Bold #28 was an important comic for it's time back in 1960.  As we moved out of the 1950's and into a new decade, America had been trying to put World War II AND the Korean War in their rearview mirror.  It was still a prosperous time in our country as a brand new President had made the proclamation of wanting to put man back into the stars, and on the moon.  In the late 50's, National Comics editor (DC Comics before it was really KNOWN as "DC Comics"), Julius Schwartz had wanted to go back to the super hero genre after nearly a decade away, albeit with the exceptions of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, who were still the only true hero comics in publication at the time with any consistency.  Schwartz saw the sci-fi "boom" in film and tv, and decided to tap into that to give DC a jumpstart.  He hired John Broome and Carmine Infantino to revive The Flash, and Broom and Gil Kane brought us a brand new Green Lantern, with a cosmic sensability.  With some added new characters such as Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter, Schwartz, along with longtime scribe Gardner Fox, who had given us the Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick, as well as the Justice Society of America, revamped the superhero team for this new "Silver Age of Comics".  What we got was the Justice League of America, which featured not only the above mentioned characters, but Superman and Batman as well.  And while the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader did not actually appear in this issue, nonetheless, they were added as the original charter members of the team.  They made their first appearance in this book, and became so popular, new appearances were ordered, and they eventually got their own series.  It also got the attention of Timely Comics' editor, Martin Goodwin, who had tapped HIS top writer, Stan Lee, to create a book that was selling like the JLA were...and in 1961, Lee produced a team called the Fantastic Four, and Timely was rechristened Marvel...and we know where the story goes from there.  



THE STORY:   Aquaman gets a telepathic message from one of the sea fairers about an attack on Earth by an alien starfish named Starro the Conqueror.  Starro alters three normal starfish into his lieutenants, and they wreak havoc.  Aquaman alerts his friends Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and the Martian Manhunter about the impending threat.  They then break up in order to stop the other rogue starfish before taking on Starro himself.  We are also introduced to a hip sidekick character named "Snapper" Carr.  Superman and Batman don't make an appearance with the team, they are mentioned, as they were too busy elsewhere to help out.  This story is separated into 5 parts:

I - Starro the Conqueror!
II - Starro vs. Green Lantern
III - Starro vs. Wonder Woman & John Jones
IV - Starro vs. The Flash
V - Starro vs. Justice League of America

All the heroes take down Starro's lieutenants before teaming up to battle Starro himself.




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This comic proved to be one of the biggest moments in comics history, as it teamed up the World's Finest of DC's superhero line into a superteam, much like they did their Golden Age heroes of the Justice Society back in the day.  Gardner Fox, who helped shape the JSA in his youth, but this group together, and the JLA took off, getting their own series in the process.  This is one of THE key comics of the Silver Age, and gave the superhero genre a HUGE shot in the arm, with the FF and eventually Marvel's own super team, The Avengers, to follow.  Sekowsky does a fine job of his interpretation of these characters, and Murphy Anderson, Joe Giella, and Bernard Sachs all add a nice finishing touch to the book.  It was bold telling that many chapters in a 36 issue story.  For a true comics enthusiast and collector, this is a must have for your collection.  You can see the impact, importance, and eventual influence the JLA had on future artist, writers, and creators who would go on to create super teams of their own.  But this is your first appearance of the JLA.  It's a must have issue for the true diehard collectors.