What're the best Satellite Era JLA stories?

[Jim Kelly]

Exactly, Reddy would drone on like that, being an android. I wouldn't fault the craft of the writers just as I wouldn't fault the craft of today's writers--they're both perfectly able, but they write for the audience and the demands of their era.

Nor would I fault Julius Schwartz--who was not above blue pencilling some writers, while leaving other writers alone. In an interview, Infantino recalled that the scripts he got from John Broome were almost clean, while the scripts he got from Gardner Fox stories were filled with corrections. Which seems to reflect how Schwartz worked with those two writers--Broome was left on his own to write, while Fox and Schwartz would bat around the story over lunch.

And the writers had different situations. Broome's time was limited, he was only in New York for half of the year (in Europe the rest of the time). Steve Englehart wrote his Justice League and Batman scripts in one fell swoop and then headed off to Europe to write the Great American Novel. Deadlines were very tight--they didn't have the luxury of time. And 1970s comics were verbose, that was the style of the age--where they were heavy on character and emotion. If you compare with the 1960s--while there might be exposition for the sake of plot--I doubt you'd find characters going on about their personal lives or their emotional states--plot was more important than character.

Personally, I'd rather have too much text than not enough. It made the comics last longer--and seem worth the money.

[Lightning Rider]

I'm a fan of text. Sometimes you only need very little, or even none at all, but with big team books, I like the personalities to come through specific recognizable voices.

[Sandy Hausler]

For such an iconic era of the JLA, there aren't a lot of accessible Trades for it.

I was wondering if there is a consensus on what the best stories of that era were.

In my opinion, the issues with the JLA/JSA team-up featuring the Seven Soldiers of Victory and the JLA/JSA team-up featuring the Freedom Fighters. Of course, the awesomeness of those two stories taught DC the wrong lesson -- that every JLA/JSA team-up had to have another team involved, which caused the later team-ups to be sub-par (again, in my opinion).

[TheBatman]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

For a long time, there was a somewhat notorious Bronze Age (1971) cutoff with trades. Not sure DC ever formally addressed why, but the theory was that they needed to work out royalty agreements for all creators whose work was being collected, which was a nightmarish legal undertaking. That was (apparently) resolved a decade or so ago.

Around that time we saw the first satellite JLA trade - a George Perez-themed hardcover. And I think a volume 2 as well. But nothing since.

The consensus is usually:

1. Len Wein
2. Steve Englehart
3. Early-mid Conway

I'd say Conway hit his stride around the time Zatanna and Firestorm joined the team. Either way, once George Perez left the book in the early 200s, it went downhill.

I've been waiting for a nice hardcover collection of this stuff for a long time. As well as Englehart's Batman. That one is coming next year, thankfully.

I've decided to get Volume 2 of the Bronze Age Ominbus for Engleharts run. As for Len Wein's stuff, I'm hoping they put out a follow up to "Last Survivors of Earth".

[Blacula]

Good choice but be warned, in their infinite wisdom, the Collected Editions department at DC chose to end that volume two issues before the end of Englehart’s run (four if you include the JLA/JSA/LSH crossover) so you’ll have to track down those issues elsewhere if you want to see how his storyline ends.

[TheBatman]

It seems like I can find the rest in this upcoming collection:

https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Leagu...s=books&sr=1-1

Seems a bit pricey for just 13 issues, though.

[Jim Kelly]

A lot of the story of Ray Palmer and Jean Loring that led up to their wedding was in SUPER-TEAM FAMILY. And those stories were already reprinted in COUNTDOWN SPECIAL: THE ATOM 1 & 2. I don't know if that's going to make up part of the content for this new collection--but if so DC is saving themselves a fair deal in the reproduction cost. Seems cutthroat to charge so much for another collection.

[caj]

A lot of the story of Ray Palmer and Jean Loring that led up to their wedding was in SUPER-TEAM FAMILY. And those stories were already reprinted in COUNTDOWN SPECIAL: THE ATOM 1 & 2. I don't know if that's going to make up part of the content for this new collection--but if so DC is saving themselves a fair deal in the reproduction cost. Seems cutthroat to charge so much for another collection.

According to Amazon, the new collection will only include Super-Team Family #11-12.

[caj]

I enjoyed coming back to this thread so much that I decided to bump it.

Nice memories in here for sure.

[shaboo]

According to Amazon, the new collection will only include Super-Team Family #11-12.

This is wrong. It collects Super-Team Family #11-14 (plus Justice League Of America #147-157).

[DrNewGod]

One of my faves came near the era's end. I don't know the issue numbers, it's where Prof. Ivo's robots were kidnapping athletes in hopes of curing himself, including Black Canary. I remember being so excited that Hawkwoman got such a prominent role.

[kcekada]

JLA 100 was my first issue. I was probably 8 years old when spotted it on the rack (I knew Superman and Batman mostly from Filmation series -- but had never seen the JLA episodes). The Len Wein run is my yardstick for a good JLA story -- and Nick Cardy was the cover artist, I think, for his entire run. Really sensational stuff!

Any JLA story with Perez on art is a must have, IMHO.

I haven't read any of the Englehart issues, but I'll get around to those eventually.

[marshal88]

my list
with the jla/jsa crossovers

jla 91-92 , the teamup of all the duplicate heroes
jla 135-137 - the earth-s crossover
jla 171-172 - death of mr terrific and an ending that was resolved 20 years later in the ostrander spectre issue
jla 183-185 - the new gods crossover , perez took over after the sudden death of dick dillin
jla 195-197 - ultra-humanite ssosv , what's interesting was that the earth-2 villains side of ssossv continued their story into all-star squadron
jla 203-205 - the 5 part crossover with all star squadron 14-15

outside of the annual jsa crossovers

jla 152 - the introduction of traya , the adopted daughter of the android red tornado , how is she still a kid in young justice

jla 166-168 - the infamous issues that brad meltzer used for identity crisis where the ssosv took over the bodies of the jla

jla 189-190 - the 2 part starro story that utilise the full 13 active roster



jla 192-183 - origins of red tornado

jla 194 - amos fortune and his tarot cards. the image of superman beating back death is simply iconic.



jla 200 - old guards vs new members

[caj]

jla 189-190 - the 2 part starro story that utilise the full 13 active roster

I loved that one too. But if memory serves, the Atom was sadly absent from that storyline so the full roster wasn't completely involved.

[Coco Loco]

The JLA/JSA/SSoSV crossover (#195-197) was my first introduction to the JSA and remains my favorite of the JLA/JSA crossovers.

JLA #200 was a classic as well. This was my first time encountering the Martian Manhunter. Loved it.

I've also always been partial to the body swap story from #166-168, that later got referenced in Identity Crisis.