Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities So... when does the JLA actually get good?

'Cause, quite frankly, most of the Silver Age stuff kind of sucks. With the exception, of course, of the JLA/JSA teamups.

I know there's lots of groovy stuff in the Satellite Era, however.

So, does it just miraculously become good once they ditch Happy Harbor, or is it more complicated than that?

I have never really enjoyed JLA. I would only pick up a few here and there, and all the JSA issues.

Hmmm, I have the archives and wasn't impressed either. I think the earliest issues are better than the ones in the later in the SA. If I remember right, things get better with the satellite.

For me the specific turning point is probably when Black Canary switches continuities.

It doesnt get good until Justice League Task Force. It never gets any better. Except Maybe "Extreme" Justice or whatever that crap was called.

I really enjoyed the satellite years, for the most part. I started collecting JLA with the search for Zatanna's mother (#160-something?), and have collected ever since. I have a handful of earlier issues that I got in back issues. Every era that I've read had high and low points, and some I've enjoyed more than others.

I think that the later years (JLI & JLE) I probably enjoyed least because many of the members of that era, to me, did not belong in the Justice League. And while Giffen's take was amusing in the beginning, I think that for the long run it got old, especially when that was the only JL title around. I don't mind straying for a concept in a second title, but straying from it completely never works for me.

So, yeah, the satellite era was the peak of my JLA interest.

When did the current arc start? Right about there.

Not counting the JSA team-ups and a few tales here or there, pretty much yeah. Its around that time that Green Arrow comes into his own, Hawkman really shines, the Atom is now exclusively seen in JLA and thus gets more time and a variety of different writers give lots of cool tales. Even then though, its what I'd call a gradual build-up in quality.

I would call the first few Satellite stories as the JLA's own transition from Silver Age to the next age. There are a few 'kooky but good' ones right before (the Robin/Zatanna guest-starring one for instance), but they are many weak stories when the JSAers weren't around.

I also think that once Red Tornado became a permanent fixture and Enlonganated Man joined up officially, things picked up.

MegaDitto. Except I think I started just before Zatanna joined. I think what did it for me was the casual camaraderie. Like if Ray Palmer happened to be in Central City to attend a symposium, he would stop by his friend Barry Allen's house or the police lab. Or if Green Arrow came to Gotham during a case, Batman would be like "Do you need any help?" and if GA said "no" Batman would accept that and not be all "This is my city and you don't know what you are doing."

The problem that I have with the Silver Age stories is that they tend to feature villains with ambiguous powers getting into contests of oneupmanship with the JLAers.

"Ha! You've fallen into my trap!"

"No, I anticipated your trap, and have taken counter-measure X..."

"Well, I thought you might do that, so I tooks steps to prevent it working ahead of time..."

"But wait... I'll just use my super-power in an implausible manner and take care of that problem..."

Do that a bunch of times until the JLAers win, and you've got a typical Gardner Fox JLA story.

The JLA imo was never the Avengers or Legion.

BUT I am really enjoying the latest series. I did enjoy the satellite in a very superficial way. And that's the way I am enjoying this.

I enjoyed the Gypsy, Steel, Vixen days as well. I loved the Giffen/JM era as well.

But like I said I never thought it was near as good as Avengers or Legion. It's more like superhero pop.

So THAT'S where we got that from! That happens in our tag teams all the time

I started JLA around the same time as Cru (actually, about 2 issues before, with a JLA/JSA x-over featuring Jonah Hex, the Viking Prince and other out-of-time heroes manipulated by the Lord of Time). So for me, 160 to around 205-ish were my golden age for JLA. I loved that era at the time, but don't think it would hold up as well.

Giffen era was fun, but I can understand it wasn't everyone's cup of tea.

I'd say the first unambiguously good ear of JLA began with the Waid mimiseries "Midsummer nightmare" or something like that (c. 1995), and continued into Morrison's ongoing series.

Hmm... now that you mention it, JLA never really was very good, was it? I mean, aside from the JSA X-overs, and the 100-page spectacular issues (which featured some excellent reprints).

I have a couple of fave issues from the later 70s giants (NOT the 100-pagers)... "The Fiend With 5 Faces" springs to mind right away, and it's follow-up which happened 2 issues later iirc, where the chick-fiend sent the boys to battle the girls.

But for me, the tops will ALWAYS be Giffen's JL/JLI. Good Lord, that was good stuff. Everytime I re-read that era I have a great time.

Lash, I gotta agree with you. JLA was rarely top-notch, until the "re-imaging" which took place under Giffen. While the run did put the word "comic" back in comic-book, it tended to focus on the characters as people first, and heroes second. It also added "Bwahahahaha!" to my vocabulary. What a fantastic run that was! One of the best ever by any comic-book, IMHO.

A friend of mine who runs a comic-book store would be appalled at this thread. He feels it's impossible to appreciate old stuff UNLESS you understand that that's how comics were back then, and you're able to look at them thru the eyes of "nostalgia", remembering back when they came out when you were a kid.

Of course, if you were born long after they came out, that COULD be a problem...

Another way to look at 'em is within the context of when they came out. Compared to most comics at the time, JLA was pretty damn good! (What does THAT say about the REST of DC Comics from the period????? Think about it!!!!)

Perhaps one has to remember they were essentially written for 6-10 year-olds. DC editors in the 50's & 60's figured kids were their audience. Stan Lee wanted teenagers. Eventually, DC followed his lead... Eventually, both companies left kids behind entirely. A shame...

I do think that Hal Jordan was ALWAYS treated better in Garnder Fox's JLA than he ever was in his own book. (With exceptions, of course-- Steve Englehart's & Geoff Johns' runs.)

You see... that's just thing. I find a lot of other stuff from the 60s far more interesting.

The entire Superman line (including the LSH), for example. Batman and Aquaman are pretty awesome, too.

I rather enjoyed the JLA from the beginning. I have every Archive and have read each one several times.

I started collecting the book regularly just before (maybe a year at the most) Dick Dillin's death and have collected it religiously ever since.

Not all of them are winners or the best stories, but I've liked and appreciated most of them.

JLofA... nah.

JL*I* on the other hand...

*has Curse of Fatal Death flashbacks*

"I went back a hundred years and bribed the architect. SAY HELLO TO THE SPIKES OF DOOM!"

*wall spins, they come out on a couch*

"Say hello to the Sofa of Reasonable Comfort.
Naturally, I anticipated you travelling back in time and went slightly further back and bribed the architect first."

"Or so you think. Naturally, I anticipated your travelling back in time, so I went further back...."

Hmm... it just occurred to me that the only time I really collected JLA with any regularity was during the JLA Detroit Era...

I read JLA sporatically as a kid, but the only stories that really stand out for me are the JSA team-ups. I loved the Super Friends show and its tie-in comic, but I really loved the Wonder Twins, who, of course, were not in JLA.

On the other hand, I really liked the JLI years. I haven't followed the League since.

One sentence opinions on JLA through the years:

Early Silver Age JLA...not spectaculur but pretty and fun!

Middle Silver Age JLA...great JSA crossovers, not much else!

Satellite Era JLA...AWESOME!!! Always fun!

JLDetroit...pluck my eyes out! Yay Ivo!

JLA-->JLI...High quality, great read! Wears thin slightly as it goes, ends with a bang!

JLE...never as good quality wise as JLI

Jurgans JLI/A...above par, not spectaculur, hampered by Doomsday, still pretty decent

Late JLE...Yay Batman! Yay Ralph! Yay Kimi! Yay Rex! Mya who? Boo later stories! Hampered by Emerald Dawn.

JLA Taskforce...virtually unreadable! Enter: Priest for a potentially great run cut short.

JLA 90's Reshuffle...worst era since Detroit! Obsidian suicidal! Death to the Crimson Fox! Ralph & Blue Devil 90's-fied!

JLA Morrison...highly enjoyable, fast-concept in your face style of writing, yay Aquaman!, Kyle Rayner written well, Batman is the man, great use of Barda/Huntress/Steel/Oracle/Aztek/others, very cool era.

JLA Waid...no thank you!

JLA post-Waid...actually beats out all other eras as the worst period of JLA history! Joe Kelly must be on drugs! Denny O'Neil Gorilla crap! Byrne crappy Doom Patrol revamp! Suddenly saved by Crisis of Conscience!

Current Meltzer JLA...all filler no thriller! Looks pretty!

Hmph... The Detroit League is *my* League and I refuse to listen to anyone who says it's not the greatest thing ever!

By all means, you can have it!

Is the Detroit league Steel, Vixen, Gypsy & Vibe?

Yep!