Worst Era of the Justice League

[Timber Wolf-By-Night]

Robinson had the same editor as Dwayne McDuffie on his Justice League book and we know how much the latter had problems with editorial.

This same editor had planned to wipe out all the fictional cities in DC (barring Gotham/Metropolis) in Cry for Justice and essentially Robinson said he took the job to try and persuade them not to do it since Opal City from Starman would probably be one of the casualties.

I think I've heard some version of this, but I don't think I've heard an explanation of *why* somebody would want to do this. Seriously, what was so offensive to anybody about DC's fictional cities? Wasn't there a "Flash" title being published? How would that editorial meeting go? "Hope you've got your real-life city for Flash to be relocated in picked, because we're blowing up both Central and Keystone Cities in our mini-series." "Wait, what?" (Also, what about the smaller fictional places like Blue Valley or Happy Harbor?) Then again, this was the era when the TPTB seemed far more interested in destroying things at DC instead of creating or building things up....

[caj]

No but it doesn't feel like a Justice league Run.

And the whole premise of "We need a Justice League with full time members to be prepared for another Alien Invasion" just didn't made much sense when most members they recruited were pretty inexperienced and not particularly powerfull, in (at least) one case not even an adult and in another case Vibe.

Agree completely. I also think this was an attempt to copy the New Teen Titans formula. But the new members Wolfman added were very powerful and interesting. Not so much with JLA Detroit.

[Rod G]

Giffen/Maguire’s JL IMO.

Maguire’s art was too lackluster for my taste and the comic soon deteriorated into sophomoric “humor”.

[Zero Hunter]

the upcoming Bendis run.

You mean Naomi"and the Justice League" because that is what it is going to be. She will be the star while the rest of the team are portrayed as losers who need her to bail them out every story.

[kalai]

Extreme Justice, that's something that's too 90s to be read seriously.
I kind of dig 90s style over substance comics as guilty pleasure but Extreme Justice is just really stupid.

[Will Evans]

For me, it’s the silver age.

Even though I started reading comics in the Bronze Age, I have read old silver age stories from other comics. But I just can’t enjoy Silver Age Justice League. I know you have to look at it through a historic lens for the time period, but even then I can’t enjoy those 1960s to mid 1970s JLA comics.

[80sForever]

So many great cases in this discussion.

To me, "Worst Era" implies a dark age of sorts, where sales and quality dipped. No buzz.

I feel the post-Giffen/pre Morrison era was the worst (1992-1996). There's a reason why Morrison RESTORED the Justice League. It was 100% dead as a title, franchise, and concept.

Even though Giffen/DeMatteis lost steam at the end, Dan Jurgens taking over didn't help. He's one of the most pedestrian, ordinary 1990s writer/artists, but his work isn't as consistent as that may imply. I'd rather have any 1980s in-house artist drawing to spec and any 1970s/80s middle of the road writer than Jurgens. Dan Vado and his rotating pencillers were worse! Instant 50 cent box trash.

Then came Zero Hour and Gxxxxx Jxxxs promised a return to basics. Well, I got tricked. Bad costume designs, horrible Guy Gardner stories, questionable roster, bad artwork, and unimportant storylines. Ugly, disappointing, skippable run.

And that's just the MAIN title. Through in Task Force (which started off fine but jumped the shark) and EXTREME JUSTICE, and ohhhhhhhhhh my goshhhhhhhhhhh.

I wasted so much money on this era!

[Timothy Hunter]

So many great cases in this discussion.

To me, "Worst Era" implies a dark age of sorts, where sales and quality dipped. No buzz.

I feel the post-Giffen/pre Morrison era was the worst (1992-1996). There's a reason why Morrison RESTORED the Justice League. It was 100% dead as a title, franchise, and concept.

Even though Giffen/DeMatteis lost steam at the end, Dan Jurgens taking over didn't help. He's one of the most pedestrian, ordinary 1990s writer/artists, but his work isn't as consistent as that may imply. I'd rather have any 1980s in-house artist drawing to spec and any 1970s/80s middle of the road writer than Jurgens. Dan Vado and his rotating pencillers were worse! Instant 50 cent box trash.

Then came Zero Hour and Gxxxxx Jxxxs promised a return to basics. Well, I got tricked. Bad costume designs, horrible Guy Gardner stories, questionable roster, bad artwork, and unimportant storylines. Ugly, disappointing, skippable run.

And that's just the MAIN title. Through in Task Force (which started off fine but jumped the shark) and EXTREME JUSTICE, and ohhhhhhhhhh my goshhhhhhhhhhh.

I wasted so much money on this era!

Dan Jurgens Justice League run was so underwhelming. I don't know why anyone would want to read a straightforward action comic starring Ice, Fire, Guy Gardner, Blue Beetle. If you were going to strip away all of the humor and character development, then why not just bring back the original seven Justice Leaguers at that point?

Gerard Jones/Chuck Wojtkiewicz's Justice League is the epitome of mid-90's trash, but I think it's far and away better than the Jurgens/Vado runs.

[joebleau]

Nu52. ... well ok all the new 52 was bad but justice league was the worse

[married guy]

The last run I actually enjoyed on Justice League was Brad Meltzer's short stint.

[John Venus]

It's funny how some of the worst eras had the most interesting line up: Meltzer/McDuffie JLA, the Robinson JL/Titans mash up. There is also the Satellite era; lots of interesting ideas and a great line up but the execution always fell flat, imo.

Who was that editor? I need a name to write in my voodoo doll.

Eddie Berganza.

[BatmanJones]

The last run I actually enjoyed on Justice League was Brad Meltzer's short stint.

God, that was good. I pretty much agree with you apart from Priest’s few issues between Hitch and Snyder, which I enjoyed a lot.

[married guy]

God, that was good. I pretty much agree with you apart from Priest’s few issues between Hitch and Snyder, which I enjoyed a lot.

I haven't read those!!
I tried Hitch's first couple of issues and quickly dropped it, same with Snyder.
I will definitely hunt down Priest's issues. He is a helluva writer who is criminally underused.

[Rod G]

Nu52. ... well ok all the new 52 was bad but justice league was the worse

You voted for Lex Luthor.


Your argument is invalid.

[KC]

Bryan Hitch and Scott Snyder get my vote. I don't think I have liked anything Scott Snyder has done since leaving Batman.