Reviews, ruminations, and (occasional) ramblings.
Justice League of America #151 – “The Unluckiest League of All” – Gerry Conway/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
This is Gerry Conway’s first issue of JLA, which he’ll be scripting for the next five and a half years. The action starts early, with Wonder Woman, Black Canary, and Hawkgirl on the JLA Satellite doing monitor duty. Apparently, the men are all attending Ray (Atom) Palmer’s bachelor party. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 151, Superboy & the Legion 236”
JLA #150 – “The Key … or Not the Key” – Steve Englehart/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
This one starts immediately after last issue (and gives us a recap), when he JLA unmasked Star-Tsar and found him to be their old friend Snapper Carr. Of course, they want an explanation, but he basically tells them to go to hell. They’re attacked by his henchmen (the Star Lords) and kind of get their asses kicked. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 150, Superboy & the Legion 235, All-Star Comics 70”
Justice League of America #149 – “The Face of the Star-Tsar” – Steve Englehart/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
This one starts with Dr. Light finding one of the JLA’s teleporter devices that they use to travel to the Satellite. Before Light can do anything, he’s jumped by the Privateer. Light kicks Privateer’s ass, but before he can finish him off, Privateer sends a distress signal which brings the JLA (all of them—well, almost: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Red Tornado, and the Hawks) down via the teleporter. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 149, Superboy & the Legion 234, Jonah Hex 7”
JLA #148 – “Crisis in Triplicate” – Martin Pasko, Paul Levitz/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
There’s a lot going on in this issue, so hang on to your hats. We start with a recap of last ish—Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast were summoned to the 30th Century by Mordru to serve him, but they zapped him instead so they could have all the power for themselves. The JLA and JSA were banished into Limbo, except for Green Arrow and Black Canary, who are trapped in a miniature hourglass around Mordru’s neck. Oh, and the Legion of Super-Heroes is there too. Got all that? Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 148, Superboy & the Legion 233, All-Star Comics 69”
Justice League of America #147 – “Crisis in the 30th Century” – Martin Pasko, Paul Levitz/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
This one’s a JLA/JSA crossover, with the added bonus of the Legion of Super Heroes appearing … it’s some kind of mega-crossover! It actually starts with some of the JSA getting ready to return Psycho Pirate to Earth-2 after chasing him to Earth-1 and capturing him in All-Star Comics #68. But the Leaguers want their friends to hang out, so Green Arrow shuts off the dimensional transporter (almost starting a fight with Wildcat) and the JSA decides to stay and have some fun. Continue reading “Comics Review: JLA 147, Superboy & the Legion 232, Jonah Hex 5”
Justice League of America #146 – “Inner Mission” – Steve Englehart/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
This one follows immediately after last issue, with a resurrected Red Tornado being mobbed by the Justice League. But not everyone is thrilled to see old Reddy back from the dead; Superman is suspicious since last time Red Tornado came back from the dead, it was part of a plot by T.O. Morrow. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 146, Superboy & the Legion 231, All-Star Comics 68”
Justice League of America #145 – “The Carnival of Souls” – Steve Englehart/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
This one starts out with a guy named Count Crystal calling up a demon (Azgore) and offering to sacrifice the souls of the Justice League in exchange for power—as you do. Azgore agrees, but says the League has consistently beaten all the other sorcerers who challenged it, and it Count Crystal doesn’t get the JLA’s souls, Azgore will take his instead. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 145, Superboy & the Legion 230, Warlord 8”
Justice League of America #144 – “The Origin of the Justice League—Minus One!” – Steve Englehart/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
This is a retelling of the JLA’s origin. Of course, the JLA’s origin has been retold and rebooted a million times since, but back in 1977, this was kind of a big deal. I’m not sure how well this fits with later JLA origin stories, especially JLA: Year One. A bunch of heroes team up with the JLA in issues 11 and 12 of that maxi-series, but it’s obviously not the same story. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 144, Superboy & the Legion 229, All-Star Comics 67”
Justice League of America #143 – “A Tale of Two Satellites” – Steve Englehart/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
Going by the cover (and the splash page) this could almost be a Marvel comic, since it depicts Superman and Wonder Woman slugging it out. But this is all DC, though Steve Englehart had left Marvel not long before, so maybe there was some influence there. This issue addresses the tension that’s been brewing between Wonder Woman and the rest of the JLA for the past few issues. Continue reading “Comics Reviews: JLA 143, Superboy & the Legion 228”
Justice League of America #142 – “Return From Forever” – Steve Englehart/Dick Dillin/Frank McLaughlin
This issue basically solves the mystery of why Aquaman, Elongated Man, and Atom didn’t respond to the JLA emergency signal for the last couple of issues. Apparently, they’ve been hanging out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, taking a break from the superhero thing. Atom’s having some kind of existential crisis, complaining that his powers are pretty much useless. Maybe he should move to South America and be a swashbuckler … nah, too crazy. Ralph and Aquaman try to cheer him up, but they’re interrupted by a couple of spaceships shooting at each other. Continue reading “Comics Review: JLA 142, Superboy & the Legion 227, All-Star Comics 66”