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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 15, 2014 23:50:00 GMT -5
Oh, yay! Here come the Freedom Fighters!
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 17, 2014 21:51:00 GMT -5
 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #107 On sale June 5, 1973 Written by Len Wein Penciled by Dick Dillin Inked by Dick Giordano Edited by Julius Schwartz Cover by Nick Cardy JLA ROLL CALL: Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Elongated Man and Red Tornado JSA ROLL CALL: Superman, Flash, Dr. Fate, Hourman and Sandman (Starman pokes his head in by mistake on page 4) FREEDOM FIGHTERS ROLL CALL: Uncle Sam, Ray, Human Bomb, Black Condor, Doll Man and Phantom Lady and now... "CRISIS ON EARTH X" The JSA is in the HQ on Earth Two finishing up a machine that will allow the JLA and JSA to travel to each others' Earths at will instead of just during the summer or whenever Bob Haney feels like it. The JLA is also finishing up their device in the satellite and Red Tornado wants to use it to go home. The rest of the team tells him no and he goes off to a corner to sulk. Batman, Elongated Man and Green Arrow get in the machine. The JSA is sending Superman, Dr. Fate and Sandman. Ollie feels an odd breeze and the devices on two Earths are activated. However, neither team arrives. They have vanished, lost in the multiverse. Our six heroes find themselves on some Earth and Red Tornado reveals himself as the cause. He had stowed away spinning at great speeds (and at small size) to keep himself invisible. But his presence threw the machines off kilter transporting them to this world. Suddenly our heroes spy Nazi war tanks coming right for them. The JSAers are thrilled to fight Nazis again, but when Dr. Fate attempts to take out a tank, his spell backfires on this strange world and takes out Superman. The other five continue to do well until the Nazis bring out the Cerebro Gun and out heroes fall to the ground. Fortunately, the Freedom Fighters show up and take out the Nazis. Uncle Sam grabbing one tank by the turret and smashing another is a great visual. They grab our fallen heroes and make their way to their hidden rebel base. Uncle Sam explains that on this Earth the Nazis got the A-bomb too and World War II never stopped. Over the years, heroes such as Plastic Man and the Blackhawks died in the cause. However, five years ago, the Nazis developed a mind ray and took over the world. 1968 just wasn't a good year no matter what planet you were on I guess. While the Freedom fighters have an immunity to the mind ray, there is a secondary beam that creates a mental block on everyone to hide the location of these mind control devices. Dr. Fate uses a crystal ball to learn the location of the mind control machines. Batman advises everyone to split up into teams, except Red Tornado who's been a bad little android, and we're off! Batman, Dr. Fate, The Ray and The Human Bomb find themselves in Paris and their target is naturally at the top of the Eiffel Tower. The Ray flies up to the top and hits the two lookouts, but one alerts and entire team of Nazis to the platform. Overwhelmed by the numbers, the Ray falls until a batarang hits one of the Nazis. Lieber Gott! Es ist Die Fledermaus! Dr. Fate feels up to flying and then a frustrated Human Bomb helps save the day as well. He gets to release that frustration on a steel door and our heroes make their way to a chamber with a giant machine inside. The machine creates four creatures that are designed to target each heroes weakness. The heroes change opponents and the creatures are defeated. The machine eliminates our heroes' brain activity and seemingly has won. However, they move forward anyway and destroy the machine. Batman deduces that they overcame the machine by reflex action. But the mind ray still controls Europe, our heroes haven't won yet. Jay and Hal chit chat across dimensions and Hal worries our missing heroes just might be dead! To be continued! JLA Mailroom: One writer started reading JLA back with B&B #28 and enjoyed JLA #104. Mike W. Barr comments that Len Wein is handling the Gardner Fox characters almost as good as Fox himself. Story: B+ Lots of great action and a good showcase for the new team. Art: A- Kal-L is starting to go grey, Jay isn't yet Cover: B+ very JLA #21 Historical Significance: B+ More Golden Agers coming back, this time the Quality Comics wing of DC Comics. The Blackhawks and Plastic Man were in between series at the time, but got cameos. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,865
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Post by shaxper on Aug 17, 2014 21:54:09 GMT -5
This thread is giving me a burning desire to read this run.
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 17, 2014 22:41:17 GMT -5
 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #108 On sale August 2, 1973 Written by Len Wein Penciled by Dick Dillin Inked by Dick Giordano Edited by Julius Schwartz Cover by Nick Cardy JLA ROLL CALL: Batman, Elongated Man, Green Arrow and Red Tornado (Green Lantern cameo) JSA ROLL CALL: Superman, Dr. Fate and Sandman (Flash cameo) FREEDOM FIGHTERS ROLL CALL: Uncle Sam, Ray, Human Bomb, Phantom Lady, Doll Man and Black Condor and now... "THIRTEEN AGAINST THE EARTH" Uncle Sam gives a recap to those of us just joining and we're off to Japan. Superman, Green Arrow, Phantom Lady and Doll Man are climbing Mt. Fuji with a Japanese guide. After the war, the Nazis turned on Japan as well and their guide is quite happy to help our heroes. They reach the rim of the volcano and dispatch the guards. They find another hidden giant chamber complete with evil machine. This machine is aware of what happened in Paris and threatens to sink Japan if attacked. Superman calls his bluff and punches it, but the machine makes good on its threat. Superman flies off to keep Japan from sinking and the machine thinks the rest of the heroes will cause little trouble. Green Arrow and Phantom Lady distract the machine while Doll Man sneaks in and turns the machine off. Still no effect on the mind control though and our heroes ponder what it going on. Uncle Sam, Black Condor, Elongated Man and Sandman arrive at an Adolf Hitler adorned Mt. Rushmore. Our heroes gleefully take out the Nazi guards and spy another machine. they overcome a couple of flimsy defenses, but they are unable to make a dent in the machine. Ralph's nose goes off and he deduces that they have been fighting a mirage. He thinks the real machine is in Hitler's head and lowers Uncle Sam down to its nose. He smashes the whole thing to bits in one punch, but still the world is under the thrall of the mind control devices. Out heroes return to the secret base and Red Tornado. Suddenly, the JLA and JSA members accuse the Freedom Fighters of trying to take over the world. Red Tornado is immune to the mind control and uses his android abilities to trace the source of the beam and he flies up into space. There he finds a giant Nazi satellite and he's invited inside. There he is met by Adolf Hitler himself! And he's looking pretty good for being 84 years old. Hitler asks Red Tornado to join him, but gets a punch in the face instead! Hitler is actually and android and Red tornado is confronted by the last machine. The Nazis really aren't running the world, but it is the machines and their superior intelligence that have taken over. It will take another fifty years for this to happen on our world. Red Tornado fights off attackers and his powers destroy the satellite's ability to stay in orbit. It falls into the ocean and Red Tornado joins his friends. Red Tornado tells his friends what happened and Uncle Sam is happy his world is saved. Red Tornado also got a piece of the machine that will allow the JLA and JSA to contact their home Earths. Jay and Hal appear overhead and tell the heroes they can return shortly. As they leave they wonder if perhaps they will meet again. The End! JLA Mailroom now with added Red Tornado and Elongated Man: One reader implores everyone to buy JLA because it is now on a bi-monthly schedule and he's afraid it will be cancelled like All-Star Comics. Overall readers are in favor of Elongated Man joining by a four to one margin. Story: B+ A little rushed as the page count drops from 23 to 20 pages, but the main parts were fine. art: A- This combo is really good on Uncle Sam Cover: B+ a classic super hero cover, the X in the background is a nice touch Historical Significance: B+ The Freedom Fighters would return in 1976 with their own series that lasted 15 issues. Up next... a member quits! I hope it's Green Arrow, but I expect to be disappointed. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
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Post by shaxper on Aug 17, 2014 22:43:46 GMT -5
The man is on a roll!
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 17, 2014 23:03:01 GMT -5
However, before that issue arrives, a very important thing happens in the realm of the JLA.
On September 8, 1973 this debuts on ABC.
For those of us of a certain age, this is the dawn of our love of super heroes, DC Comics and the JLA.
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 17, 2014 23:06:03 GMT -5
It might slow up a bit as we hit the 100 pagers, because I just know I'm going to reread the reprints. The reprints will be mentioned, but there won't be a full writeup. |
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 18, 2014 21:37:57 GMT -5
 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #109 On sale October 2, 1973 Written by Len Wein Penciled by Dick Dillin Inked by Dick Giordano Edited by Julius Schwartz Cover by Nick Cardy ROLL CALL: Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Elongated Man, Black Canary and Red Tornado and now..." THE DOOM OF THE DIVIDED MAN" A special meeting has been called on the JLA satellite. Hawkman announces that he is resigning from the JLA. His superiors back home on Thanagar have called Hawkman and Hawkgirl home as their mission to learn about Earth law enforcement is over. Suddenly, the missing Red Tornado and another man beam into the satellite and Red Tornado doesn't look to be in good shape. Red Tornado explains that he had been working as a lab assistant for this man, Dr. Bruce Gordon. During a recent light transmission experiment there was an overload and three creatures emerged from Dr. Gordon. Red tornado attempted to stop them, but he was no match for Eclipso! Dr. Gordon reveals that his is Eclipso to the JLA and recounts his origin. Batman reveals that the extra two Eclipsos are drawing on the energy of the planet itself and if they aren't stopped in six hours the Earth will be torn apart! Chairman Batman seems to be in his extra bossy mode this issue. Hawkman has some time to kill before leaving so he volunteers to help one last time and Green Arrow insists on being in Hawkman's team. The damaged Red Tornado stays on the satellite with Dr. Gordon, teams are made and we're off! Atom and Black Canary are diving in the ocean in special suits to find the first Eclipso. They find his ocean lab as his flunkies come after them. Atom bounces like a pinball to take a few, but Black Canary can't use her judo in the ocean. Suddenly, Aquaman appears to save the day. He fights the flunkies while the other two make their way inside. Black Canary finds Eclipso and sets off a bright light above him, but it has no effect. Aquaman directs a flying fish to grab the black diamond and he KOs the villain. Yes, Aquaman pretty much took out Eclipso by himself. Batman and Flash make their way to Death Valley with Batman riding in Flash's wake. Batman ordered Aquaman to join our first team and he's also ordered Superman and Green Lantern to stay out of his way... I mean stay on planetary patrol in case of giant disasters happening. The tower of the lab is connected to Eclipso's black diamond and is firing at our heroes. Flash forces the beam to try to hit him while Batman takes the tower out. The rush inside where old friends Eclipso and Batman exchange pleasantries. Batman tries a flash grenade, but Eclipso's force field cancels out its effects. Eclipso's flunkies attack, just as Batman knew they would. He tells Flash, "Chum, in my end of the business, you don't reach retirement age if you don't always know everything." Grant Morrison read this comic book. While Batman deals with the flunkies Flash runs around Eclipso's force field until it implodes. Elongated Man, Hawkman and Green Arrow have found Eclipso's final lair in the sky and all three members are flying. Hawkman's giving out anti gravity belts as parting gifts it seems. They take out the flunkies and attack Eclipso. He knocks Ralph off the platform, but Ralph stops himself from falling. Hawkman is caught in the blinding black light ray, but his avian friends stop that. Eclipso turns on his force field and now there's no way he can be caught. No way unless being called a coward by Ollie causes him to drop the field and get hit by a trick arrow. The Eclipsos have been gathered together in the satellite along with their black diamonds. Suddenly, they merge into a giant Eclipso and grab the diamonds! He swats down the JLA and prepares to destroy them with a beam through the diamonds. However, he is consumed in a giant flash of light and disappears. Naturally, this was Batman's plan all along. He deduced that only the merged Eclipso could produce a light beam strong enough to return Elipso to Gordon's body. A chemical coating on a diamond and leaving them where Eclipso could snatch them was all part of his master plan. Dr. Gordon vows to find a way to get rid of him for good and spends the next few decades doing a really lousy job of it. In our epilogue Hawkman is leaving and most of the team is there to say goodbye, except Green Arrow. Black Canary finds Ollie elsewhere in the satellite and he's sad that Hawkman is leaving. Meanwhile, I'm wondering where Hawkman's real best friend on the team, The Atom, is. Maybe they had a falling out after their comic was cancelled, I don't know. The End! JLA Mailroom: The readers liked issue #106, but I'm not seeing a lot of enthusiasm for Red Tornado joining the JLA. It wasn't mentioned that much. Story: C I don't enjoy Eclipso that much and only one of the teamups really worked for me. Art: A- Eclipso did look better than usual with this art team Cover: A- DC delivers again! When they promise one of the heroes quits or dies on the cover, it happens! Another Cardy cover I really like. Historical Significance: C+ It's been eight years since Eclipso last appeared, but he'd be back to menace the Metal Men in just two years. Hawkman's vacation wasn't a long one. Up next...100 pages, John Stewart and Santa! |
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 22, 2014 20:21:20 GMT -5
 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #110 On sale December 6, 1973 Written by Len Wein Penciled by Dick Dillin Inked by Dick Giordano Edited by Julius Schwartz Cover by Nick Cardy ROLL CALL: Superman, Batman, Green Arrow, Black Canary and Red Tornado with appearances by Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Aquaman, Atom and Elongated Man and two extra special guest stars we'll see shortly... DC has transitioned this title to 100 pages for 50 cents. It has a new 20 pages story at the beginning with two reprints of 36 and 23 pages. There is also a puzzle, the JLA Mailroom has expanded to two pages and two pages are taken up by a reprint of Murphy Anderson's JSA portrait from issue #76. and now... "THE MAN WHO MURDERED SANTA CLAUS!" Batman meets his pal Superman as they are to escort Santa Simpson to a local orphanage. Suddenly, the room explodes! Santa is dead and the only clue is a key and a message to the JLA from "an admirer." The call goes out to the rest of the JLA, but Flash, Aquaman, Atom and Elongated Man are busy with Holiday pursuits. Red Tornado, Green Arrow and his "lady friend" Black Canary are able to make it. And then there's Hal...  Taken out by a bar of soap, Hal's ring finds John Stewart and he'll be our Green Lantern for this issue. He joins the rest of the team on the satellite, the power ring gives out an explanation and everything's cool. Green Arrow gets into an argument with Red Tornado because Hawkman isn't here anymore. Batman yells for quiet because he's figured out the clues in the letter and we're off to St. Louis. They have to see which door in the city the key fits before midnight or that city block will be blown to bits. Now if Flash were here he could try every door in the city with time to spare. Red Tornado volunteers his speed and has Green Lantern coat the key with a "geiger counter" that will go off if the key gets near the lock it fits. Superman is either being nice to let Red Tornado help out, lazy as he's almost as fast as Flash or on alert and will take care of three problems around the world while these guys find the correct door. Red Tornado finds the right door and the rest of the team comes to meet him. As they are about to enter, a group of kids comes up to them seeking some spare change for Chirstmas. John wants to help out, but Ollie reminds him the Guardians won't go for creating wealth with the ring and their priority is to make sure the kids' block doesn't blow up. John agrees and joins the team inside the building. They enter the house and are dropped through a trap door. A miniature sun is dropping on them and Green Lantern's ring can't stop its descent. It's yellow core is covered up by its red surface and Superman's powers are vanishing. Superman announces he's destroying it, Green Arrow argues, Superman tells Ollie "Shut up archer and listen to me!" and is flung by his teammates into the sun. It is destroyed, but it appears Superman has been as well. A door opens and our team moves into the next room as they are being watched by.... someone. In the next room they encounter a calliope and as it plays it exudes a toxic gas. Red Tornado can't blow it away in the closed room so Black Canary uses her sonic cry to counter the callipoe's song. The gas abates, but Black Canary must stay in the room while her teammates make their way through the next door. We now see the old JLA foe, The Key sitting in a room enjoying the festivities. He has a helper in the next room, Key-Man #1, that is running the traps. In the next room the team is attacked by giant round Christmas ornaments. Batman saves Green Arrow from one, but is trapped inside. Ollie uses incendiary arrows to keep the globes attracted to the heat and this allows Green Lantern and Red Tornado to escape through another door. Red Tornado and Green Lantern are attacked by a squad of toy soldiers. The first wave is easily dispatched, but the next wave is yellow and much heavier to counter Red Tornado's winds. Our heroes are about to be defeated when a door opens up behind them. From his view, the Key believes that all six members of the JLA have been killed. We now flashback to when the Key was last defeated by the JLA in issue #63. Superman's plan to keep him from escaping again was to put him in the Fortress of Solitude in suspended animation. But that was ruled unconstitutional by a "too lenient" (the Key's words!) judge and he got 20 years to life in prison instead. While in prison, he learns that the psycho-chemicals he's been injected himself with will kill him by New Year's Day. He's paroled due to his health and began to plot his revenge. While he's talking about how wonderful it was to outlive the JLA he's interrupted. The entire JLA has survived and are blocking his escape routes. He ponders how this could have happened when he spies his comrade Key-Man #1 being dragged into the room by The Phantom Stranger! He showed up, it's a Christmas miracle! He wants no credit, he saved them even though they normally could have saved themselves. The Key responds by erected a yellow force field, starting his bomb set for midnight and escaping through the floor. The team evacuates the poverty stricken neighborhood and Green Lantern puts a dome over it. There's a giant explosion, but the buildings are still erect. Super architect put the buildings back together with his power ring and they are now as good as new. Unfortunately, we won't be sticking around to see how much the slumlords raised the rents next month. In the excitement, Batman notes that Phantom Stranger has disappeared again without answering if he was joining the team or not. Epilogue. Back up on the satellite Red Tornado gets a Christmas present in the form of a new outfit. This one will last a while. Superman wishes the reader a Merry Christmas. The End! JLA Mailroom: Readers are happy with the Earth X crossover for the most part. The editor notes that most seem to prefer a bigger team, but one reader disagrees and wants to see a lot less of the popular heroes. One reader also dislikes the expanding multiverse. Also of note there are a couple of ads for Super Friends. One is on the cover "Here come TV's Super Friends!" and at the end of the last story with "Tune in on ABC TV's new hit show Super Friends." REPRINT #1 is "THE PLIGHT OF A NATION" from All-Star Comics #40, a very good JSA story with art on the last two parts by Carmine Infantino and Alex Toth. REPRINT #2 is "Z- AS IN ZATANNA- AND ZERO HOUR" from Justice League of America #51. This is the end of the search for Zatanna's father which took place across several titles. Elongated Man guest stars and the story has been collected in recent years. STORY: A- Noble sacrifices and a happy ending make for a very entertaining issue. Art: A- Good work on John Stewart and Red Tornado's new outfit is much better. Cover: B- I'm a fan of the reprints, I'm not a fan of the three box cover. The pictures are just too small. Historical Significance: B Red Tornado gets a new outfit and we'll see the Key again in this thread. This is John Stewart's second appearance, his first in over two years. He next shows up in 1977 in Green Lantern, but this will be his only cup of coffee in the Pre-Crisis JLA. He does make the team in the animated Justice League cartoon in 2001 and the debate about which Green Lantern DC/ Time Warner should use outside of comics has raged ever since. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 23, 2014 5:43:26 GMT -5
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #107 Historical Significance: B+ More Golden Agers coming back, this time the Quality Comics wing of DC Comics. The Blackhawks and Plastic Man were in between series at the time, but got cameos. Is this the first appearance in the DC universe for these characters ? I really liked this era of the JLA. Particularly from 90-120. |
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 23, 2014 18:57:25 GMT -5
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #107 Historical Significance: B+ More Golden Agers coming back, this time the Quality Comics wing of DC Comics. The Blackhawks and Plastic Man were in between series at the time, but got cameos. Is this the first appearance in the DC universe for these characters ? I really liked this era of the JLA. Particularly from 90-120. Yes, for instance, this is Uncle Sam's first published adventure in nearly thirty years. Quality Comics never gathered them together as a team. Quality characters Plastic Man and Blackhawks were published by DC previously. |
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 23, 2014 20:35:03 GMT -5
 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #111 On sale February 7, 1974 Written by Len Wein Penciled by Dick Dillin Inked by Dick Giordano Edited by Julius Schwartz Cover by Nick Cardy ROLL CALL: Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Elongated Man DC decided that 50 cents was way too much value, so this month it becomes 60 cents and it will stay there for the rest of the 100 page era. and now... "BALANCE OF POWER" Our adventure begins with Hal Jordan back as Green Lantern trying to apprehend Tattooed Man, but the villain vanishes instead. He's been transported to a satellite 22,300 miles above the surface of the Earth, on the opposite side of the JLA satellite. Here he meets Libra and is offered membership into a new team of villains. Before the Legion of Doom and the Secret Society of Super Villains there was The Injustice Gang of the World! Tattooed Man, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Shadow Thief, Chronos and Mirror Master offer their services to Libra. He tells them that if the JLA interferes in their crimes and it all seems lost they merely have to press special buttons and the tables will be turned. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Earth, the JLA is comparing notes on vanishing villains. Suddenly, the Earth Monitor reports that the villains are striking across the globe. At first Green Lantern proposes that they go after their own villains, but Ralph is tired of fighting the same ones over and over again. He wants to draw names out of a hat to see who fights whom. Batman freaks out, but Aquaman seconds the motion. Flash and Green Lantern agree that the method seems like fun. Superman doesn't say anything, I assume he just pulls out Clark Kent's hat from his cape pouch. Teams are drawn and we're off! Green Lantern and a green surfboarding Aquaman arrive in Singapore to stop Poison Ivy and Mirror Master. Ivy is growing giant plants with a device provided by Libra, but Mirror Master thinks Libra has something else up his sleeve. Green Lantern tries to take out a giant mirror that is boiling the sea, but it's mirror surface is backed by gold and his ring is useless. Instead he freezes the black soot in the air onto the mirror and takes it up into space. Score one for pollution kids! Aquaman proves far too strong for Ivy's plants and our villains are in trouble. They press Libra's special button and the heroes are briefly covered in darkness. Aquaman can't breath and Green Lantern's power is fading. He still gets off a blast to drop the villains, but Libra takes him out with a blast of green energy. Libra asks a fallen Green Lantern if he liked being on the receiving end of his own powers. Superman arrives in Hollywood to track down the Scarecrow, but finds "Godzilla" and "King Kong" on a rampage. They turn out to be illusions and disappear just as Scarecrow appears. Superman is grabbed by a Kryptonian Octosaur, but he overcomes this illusion as well. Scarecrow presses his button and Superman feels as if the wind has been knocked out of him. He blasts Scarecrow to the ground with his super breath, but is struck by a suddenly super strong Libra. Everyone else is in London. Batman foils Chronos at Big Ben and Elongated Man overcomes Tattooed Man at Picadilly Circus. Flash is about to beat Shadow Thief at The Tower when he presses the special button. Libra appears and knocks out our heroes with their own powers. Shadow Thief transforms into a human and Libra knocks him out too! Perhaps Mirror Master was right after all. Back in the Injustice satellite Libra has our heroes trapped in giant test tubes. He's left the "losers" to the police and will now use his Energy Trans Mortifier (I think Calvin had one of these, but this is not a cardboard box) to collect half of the Milky Way Galaxy's power for himself. The heroes escape, but are too late to stop Libra from getting the power. He grows out of the satellite, but his mind and body expand across the cosmos. He has no control and Libra disappears. Unfortunately, he's taken half of the JLA's powers with him! You better believe this is to be continued, because we already went through that depowering nonsense with Denny O'Neil and we're not going through THAT again! JLA Mailroom (now with less Hakwman): Readers are happy with the Freedom Fighters crossover and many have nice things to say about Red Tornado too. Along with a puzzle the readers get a two page spread of Injustice Gang wanted posters, a text page on the history of the 7 Soldiers and a full page picture of the 7 Soldiers. REPRINT #1 is " Beware! The Black Star Shines" a 7 Soldiers tale from Leading Comics #2 in 1942. It will be continued in the next issue of JLA as well. REPRINT #2 is "Attack of the Star Bolt Warrior!" from JLA #32 in 1964. Yet another tale I adore from the Fox/ Sekowsky team. STORY: B- This one needed a bit more space for the team ups. ART: A- That is one spiffy looking evil satellite. COVER: B At least the heads are back and the Super Friends tv show is again mentioned. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: B- The Injustice Gang and its satellite are used again later in this very set of issues. Libra finally returns in Grant Morrison's Final Crisis over three decades later. Up next....Amazo strikes! |
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 24, 2014 0:26:49 GMT -5
Amazo is so goofy. He's the king of goofy power-stealing robots. And I love him!
My favorite issues of the Detroit-era JLA are the ones with Amazo.
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 24, 2014 18:10:20 GMT -5
 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #112 On sale April 2, 1974 Written by Len Wein Penciled by Dick Dillin Inked by Dick Giordano Edited by Julius Schwartz Cover by Nick Cardy The circulation statement for 1974 reads 189,392 so this title is still gaining readers. ROLL CALL: Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary, Elongated Man and Red Tornado The first splash page reprints the cover from #100 with the center reworked for to fit the table of contents. Throughout the 100 page run art was reused in this front splash page and to introduce each story. I think they just cut and pasted (the old school way) the art from what was then 3-15 year old comics. This issue has four stories, a two page spread of Amazo's history, A Starman origin text piece, A regular two page JLA Mailroom and a JLA Mailroom Extra. and now... "WAR WITH THE ONE MAN JUSTICE LEAGUE!" Our six heroes from last issue are moping in the JLA satellite and have been joined by the other members. Of note, Aquaman is wearing a water filled goldfish bowl on his head to keep himself alive. Ollie tries to liven things up by telling a joke, but Black Canary one punches him unconscious. OK she doesn't, but she should have. Atom comes up with the idea to revive Amazo and use him to pull the JLA's powers out of space before it's too late. The rest of this team goes along with the idea and they get to work on the android. Black Canary designs a new outfit and the rest of the team adds new features so they can get their powers back. Flash explains the rest of the plan is to have Amazo chase the JLA across the globe since it will take time to gather the powers. Amazo will be under the belief that he is dying and the JLA is in possession of his cure. Batman stays behind to teleport Amazo down to the surface, everyone else splits up into three teams and we're off! Our first round of keep away begins near Mt. Kilimanjaro with Elongated Man, Flash and Black Canary. The plan works fine with Amazo absorbing powers, failing to get "the cure" and no one getting killed. Meanwhile, up in the satellite, Batman is suddenly discovers a flaw in the plan! Can he figure out a solution in time? The chase continues in the Arctic Circle with Superman, Aquaman and Green Arrow, who is sporting a protective aura whipped up by the Flash to stay warm. Once again, the plan works and Amazo is off to his next encounter. We also see Batman trying to work on a solution and wondering if it will be the right one. Brazil is our final stop with Red Tornado, Green Lantern and the Atom. Amazo has now absorbed all the JLA's powers and is allowed to grasp "the cure." The device, however, shuts him off. The team returns to the satellite to get their powers back. Amazo is kept in one tube and each team member will step into a second tube to get their powers back. Suddenly, Amazo awakens and blasts the heroes with his power ring. Amazo absorbed Batman's intelligence and figured out their scam. As Amazo is about to leave, he is confronted by Batman. He tries to blast him with the power ring again, but he is suddenly powerless. Batman taunts him with how dumb a name Amazo is before smashing him with a steel gloves. Later, after everyone gets their powers back, Batman explains that he was able to figure out Amazo would use his smarts to foil their plan, so he adjusted the tube to make Amazo lose almost all the energy when he was placed inside. The blast of GL energy was the last blast of powers he had left. Batman had avoided the blast and had been pretending to be asleep. Superman says, "Even half a Batman is better than just about anyone else combined!" Easy stomach... The end! JLA Mailroom: Everyone liked #109 with one exception and a couple note how good the book has been since Len Wein took over. JLA Mailroom Extra!: Complaints about Hawkman quitting, but one reader thought his mission should have taken less time and he should have returned home a while ago. REPRINT #1 is the back half of "BEWARE! THE BLACK STAR SHINES!" from Leading Comics #2 in 1942. REPRINT #2 is "STARMAN'S LUCKY STAR" from Adventure Comics #81 in 1942. REPRINT #3 is "THE SUPER-EXILES OF EARTH" from JLA #19 in 1963. This is another Fox/ Sekowsky gem that makes me happy that the Atom is on our side. STORY: A- This issue is one of the most Silver Age like of the era. ART: A- Like Red Tornado, the redesigned Amazo is also a major improvement. COVER: B- HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: C+ This is Amazo's first appearance in six years. He appears in the Superman comics a couple of times and then fights the JLA again in issue #191 in 1981. Up next... it's summer so the JSA returns |
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Post by Action Ace on Aug 27, 2014 15:00:19 GMT -5
 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #113 One sale June 4, 1974 Written by Len Wein Penciled by Dick Dillin Inked by Dick Giordano Edited by Julius Schwartz Cover by Nick Cardy JLA ROLL CALL: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern and Elongated Man JSA ROLL Call: Flash, Wonder Woman, Hourman and Sandman and now... "THE CREATURE IN THE VELVET CAGE!" We've got no time to spare as the JLA/ JSA beatdown of the Horned Owl gang is joined in progress. After dispatching them Wonder Woman asks Batman why Earth One Wonder Woman didn't join them on this trip since she had her powers back. Batman explains that she hasn't rejoined the team yet and it was a long story. (two years in fact) The teams are about to go out for coffee to listen to this story when Sandman receives an alert from his car. He speeds off and the rest of the team follows him to his secret hideout. Hourman helps the heroes find Wes Dodds' secret basement and he is there in a wrecked HQ. Sandman explains to everyone that it was his former sidekick Sandy Hawkins that had caused the damage. He then recounts the story of how he was working on a new type of silicoid gun when it exploded with Sandy standnig next to it. The explosion turned him into a giant sand monster. The creatures rages about destroying the world but then suffers a giant headache and falls. Sandman has been keeping Sandy in a gas filled cage asleep for all the years since. In his anguish, he destroyed the purple and gold suit he had been wearing an returned to his original suit, fedora and gas mask outfit. So there is a silver lining in all of this. But now Sandy has escaped and is out there in York City somewhere. The group splits into teams to search for him and we're off! In a city park a wedding is taking place. Naturally, Sandy shows up to object to the marriage at just the right moment. The day is saved by the arrival of Superman, Hourman and someone they don't recognize. He reveals himself as Elongated Man. The heroes get through giant rock hands, but Sandy is a bit tougher to beat. He's about to throw Superman onto the other two when he's distracted by wedding guests throwing pies at him. The heroes manage to stop him before he grabs the guests, but he just melts into the ground to escape. A short time later, some kids are in a sandlot playing baseball (that's how long ago this was written!) when Sandy shows up wanting to play. Wonder Woman tries to stop him, but her magic lasso goes right through him. Batman attempts to get him in a judo hold, but is swatted away. Flash tries to run around him to get rid of his air, but Sandy turns into a sandstorm and blows away. Finally, at Machismo Beach, Sandy arrives to slap down some beach dudes that are showing off for their girls. Green Lantern tries to stop a clearly yellow creature and gets his beam blasted right back at him. Was Aquaman too busy to have gone on this trip instead? Sandman tries gassing Sandy again, but it won't work in the breezy open space. Sandman tries walking up to him and the creature calms down. A punch from Hourman from behind finally succeeds in knocking out the creature. They are about to take Sandy back to his cage when an earthquake happens! Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern head out to sea where the fissure is. Superman uses a needle created by Green Lantern and Wonder Woman's unbreakable golden lasso to sew up the fissure. Green Lantern discovers that the fault lines leading to it were the three locations they had run into Sandy earlier in the day. At this point Sandy wakes up and can now speak again. He explains that he had been trying to stop the tremors with his body and that the pain involved had made him lash out. He couldn't talk as he hadn't used his vocal cords in years. Sadly, Sandy has been in control of his body and calm since a few minutes after the explosion, but the gas had kept him from ever explaining to Sandman that he was ok. Sandman walks away crying over what he's done and everyone is sad. The End! Wait just one part? That's it? Checks #114... Yep, that's all folks! They don't want the JSA taking up a third of the issues in a year. JLA Mailroom: The readers liked the Story from JLA #110 and everyone was happy with John Stewart showing up, except for one Guy Gardner fan. What people didn't like was Red Tornado's new "garish" outfit designed by Len Wein. REPRINT #1 is "THE CASE OF THE PATRIOTIC CRIMES" a JSA classic form All-Star Comics #41 in 1948. This adventure has the team fighting the Injustice Gang and Black Canary getting a full membership. REPRINT #2 is "THE CAVERN OF DEADLY SPHERES" from Justice League of America #16 in 1962. STORY: B- Just enough space to get by. I'm not really a fan of the ending, too Marvel. ART: A- COVER: B- Nick got a little more space this month. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: C+ Len Wein wrote this to explain why Wes went back to the old look. Sandy would eventually get cured and join the JSA in his new heroic identity of Sand. |
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