THE JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA:
-For years, DC's Golden Age was phenomenally-better than everyone else's. Timely (precursor to Marvel) really only had three heroes worth mentioning- Captain America, Namor the Sub-Mariner and The Human Torch. DC had a TON of good guys. Superman and Batman were the #1 and #2 characters in comics. National Comics (Superman, Batman, Hour-Man, Dr. Mid-Nite, etc.) was allied with All-American Comics, which featured big names like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkman and The Atom- they were editorially-independent, but shared characters on books like The Justice Society of America. By 1946 (near the end of the Golden Age), the two would merge for real, though National was going by "DC Comics" colloquially since before then.
The JSA first debuted in All-Star Comics #3 in Winter 1940, by Gardner Fox & artist Sheldon Mayer. It combined Dr. Fate, Hour-Man, The Spectre, The Sandman, The Atom, The Flash, Green Lantern & Hawkman- the biggest heroes from both National & All-American who as yet didn't have their own solo books. Though all of these characters would be used for decades, not all of them were popular- some, like Hour-Man, would be trounced from the book (and comics) for YEARS, before a resurgence in the Silver Age would retroactively make all of them long-serving members! The Flash & GL each left the book when they got their own solo series as well- the JSA book seemed to be more of an advertisement for the books featuring solo strips of lesser-knowns like Dr. Fate & The Atom.
This led to The Flash leaving the book after THE THIRD STORY, being replaced by Johnny Thunder- GL would follow. Batman & Superman, already HAVING their own books, were "honorary" members. Hawkman is the only member to appear in every single JSA adventure in the original run- The Atom missed two issues. Many issues were of the "Anthology" type, with the heroes describing their missions as if it was an Adventurer's Club-type of deal- Wonder Woman was, naturally, the secretary, and didn't see action most of the time- she showed up in #8.
A real-world schism developed between the two companies, however, leading to DC/National removing all their heroes from the book- Flash & GL soon rejoined to fill the roster. The Black Canary soon joined as well, but the book wouldn't see the end of the 1940s, and nor would most of its characters. By the 1950s, only a handful of superhero books remained, and most of the industry was devoted to Westerns, Romance, Crime & War Books. Even Timely's "Big Three" didn't survive, failing in '50s pushes with new stories. Only Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman (a back-up in Supes' stuff) and oddly Green Arrow would last the full duration until the start of the Silver Age.
THE SILVER AGE:
-In the Silver Age, Gardner Fox was tapped to create a NEW Justice Society, based around their newer heroes- the Age having began with the introduction of Barry Allen as a new Flash. This Justice "League" (since there was a National & American League in Baseball) would in fact MEET the old Society, it being revealed that they lived on alternate Earths (a Sci-Fi concept now transplanted to comics). The new heroes met the older ones, and it turned out that at some random point, the '50s Batman & Superman and '60s Batman & Superman "split off", because there were older versions living on Earth-2 (yes, they really made the JSA live on one they called "Earth-2", even though they came first).
These crossovers were phenomenally-successful, and would continue year after year. The JSA wouldn't get their own book, but we'd see bits and pieces of their stories continue over the years- In the main Batman book, the Golden Age Batman would retire, then marry Catwoman. Black Canary would leave Earth-2 after the death of her husband, and join the JLA. Mr. Terrific, one of the most disposable JSA members (in the world's most hideous costume) would be killed by an old enemy. The characters of Quality Comics- The Freedom Fighters, would be added in to things, getting their OWN Earth (one in which the Nazis won World War II!). The Seven Soldiers of Victory (Green Arrow's world) was added as well! The JSA members would appear middle-aged, which made sense- they were from the *1940s*, so should be about 20 years older by the mid-'60s, right? Of course, this would cause a few issues as time went on.
The JSA finally get their own book in 1976, and it lasted a few years- it would introduce Power Girl (the Supergirl of Earth-2) and The Huntress, and kill the Golden Age Batman. Roy Thomas would explain that the JSA were "kept young" by some shadow energy absorbed from Ian Karkull. Thomas would write The All-Star Squadron, a neat look at World War II through the eyes of the Golden Age Heroes. But WOW, would he show his work and sense of Continuity Porn- not just showing his beloved JSA, he would use the combined heroes of the ENTIRE GOLDEN AGE legally-owned by DC Comics. He'd bring ancient, unused characters out of the woodwork, making something of do-nothings like Johnny Quick & Liberty Belle in particular, and retconning in additional characters like the Tarantula, the female Firebrand and the black Amazing Man.
Thomas would also create Infinity Inc., a book featuring kids related to the JSA, who for some reason hadn't bred for the most part (it seems weird looking back, but at the time the writers just HADN'T THOUGHT OF having all these heroes have children in their Cross-Overs- there wasn't time! Most super-heroes didn't HAVE kids!), despite most of them getting married at some point (there's really little reason why The Atom couldn't have just been Nuklon's dad instead of the weird workaround of "he was a godfather since he cared for the daughter of a supervillain he'd once fought"). It was a pretty decent Teen Hero book, as these disparate kids sort of did a "Teen Titans" thing, but some goofy costume choices and codenames (Northwind, Silver Scarab, Nuklon and his infamous mohawk) would date the book pretty horribly. The team was Nuklon (godson of The Atom), Northwind (godson of Hawkman), Jade & Obsidian (unknown children of Alan Scott), Silver Scarab (Hawkman & Hawkgirl's son), Fury (Wonder Woman & Steve Trevor's daughter), Brainwave Jr. (the son of a JSA villain), Power Girl & Huntress briefly, and was led by The Star-Spangled Kid, soon becoming Skyman. It'd give a young Todd MacFarlane his first big job in comics- "Todd MacFarlane- remember that name" came the Editor's comments with one issue. We'd get a new, female Wildcat and Dr. Mid-Nite, a new Hourman, and more. A few characters would become big names, too!
During this time, The Crisis on Infinite Earths was written, and that... kind of changed things.
POST-CRISIS:
The Crisis was a HUGE change for DC Comics- Marv Wolfman wanted to "streamline" DC continuity, making it so there was only one Earth. And so the JSA was shunted off Earth-2 and simply made part of the Golden Age history of the MAIN world... meaning some stuff had to happen. I mean, at this time there were two Supermen, two Batmen, two Robins, and more. Some could be explained as guys taking the names of their mentors (The Flash & Green Lantern were totally different guys), but others were a lot trickier. And so The Crisis saw a TON of JSAers get hurt- Robin and The Huntress were killed, and Hawkman was merely "badly injured" just in case they needed to kill him off. Black Canary got a confusing-ass retcon to explain her (why they didn't just use "Time Travel" is beyond me), then the old one died. Even the Golden Age Green Arrow was killed since he was also named Oliver Queen.
Roy Thomas would be REALLY stymied by all of this- it all but ruined his All-Star Squadron, and the book disappeared. Infinity Inc. carried on, simply ignoring a lof of the JSA's stuff until they could hammer out the continuity. In the meantime, he wrote The Young All-Stars, featuring close-ish analogues of the now-extinct JSA members to "explain" his beloved old stories still happening the way they had in the Golden Age- you simply had Iron Munro doing the things Superman was doing- same with Flying Fox/Batman and Fury/Wonder Woman!
But it still wasn't to be- soon, all of Thomas' books would be cancelled, and the JSA was permanently written-out in ham-handed fashion, as they got stuck in Limbo, fighting Ragnarok for years. DC just simply didn't want to deal with the continuity headaches their existence would bring on.
The DC Universe as a whole would get all fusterclucky, proving decisively that REBOOTS NEVER WORK- this reboot had the ENTIRETY OF DC BEHIND IT, not to mention some of the greatest writers and artists in comics at the time (Perez, Wolfman, Byrne, etc.), and they STILL managed to utterly-bugger half their line. Wonder Girl & The Legion of Super-Heroes had their origins shattered, The Hawks got too convoluted to write properly, and the entire JSA was all but ruined for YEARS while they tried to figure things out. This, of course, wouldn't stop DC from trying the same thing decades later. And God I hope Marvel doesn't try this, too.
There was a short-lived revival of the JSA in 1991, which was decently-popular, but it would be killed by Mike Carlin- an Editor who hated the concept of "old men superheroes" (according to the writer), resulting in much fan hatred (especially in the nascent computer-based fandom). The book's only real legacy is the creation of Jesse Quick. 1994 would see DC Editorial strike ANOTHER blow at the heart of the time, callously wiping out The Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite & Hourman in one fell swoop, then writing out Hawkman & Hawkgirl (speaking of continuity issues...). Dr. Fate would soon die of old age, and friggin' Green Lantern had to change his name to Sentinel. The Golden Age Wonder Woman was now decided to be WW's MOM, Hippolyta, having gone back in time and joined the JSA, rewriting the retcon of Miss America having joined the team in her stead (and basically ignoring how Fury was supposed to be that).
THE MODERN AGE:
-The JSA post-1999 would be oddly its best, at one point being openly considered the best comic book on the market- James Robinson had a critically-acclaimed run on Starman, which showed a lot of Golden Agers (the few that survived now), though I find the book a good bit overrated and smarmy- it's a good critique of comic book fans in general (Jack Knight is a HUGE hipster and kitsch-fan, and a big of a self-righteous, snobbish douchebag that I find to be EXTRAORDINARILY unlikeable... like I said, a good critique). But the REAL meat came when a popular arc in Morrison's Justice League became the send-off point to an all-new JSA series.
Written by screenwriter David Goyer and James Robinson, and soon adding Geoff Johns to the festitivities, the JSA book would revive the members currently left alive, basing the new team around Alan Scott, Jay Garrick & Ted "Wildcat" Grant as the core Golden Agers, alongside the new team leader- Sandy the Golden Boy was now Sand, a big bad-ass OUT OF NOWHERE- he was basically an all-new character with the name of the old one, but was pretty cool- alas, he would soon fade away once Johns got full creative control (he evidently doesn't care for the character). New legacies would show up, Jakeem Thunder, Stargirl, Atom-Smasher (a renamed Nuklon- a legacy from Infinity Inc.). An all-new Doctor Fate would be the former Silver Scarab. Jack Knight would be around for a bit. Black Canary and Hippolyta stuck around for a few arcs, too. New versions of Dr. Mid-Nite & Mr. Terrific would become big names under Johns (they'd been created earlier), and soon Captain Marvel villain BLACK ADAM would be stuck on the team out of nowhere.
Captain Marvel himself would join alongside Power Girl & the third Hourman, giving us one of the larger superhero rosters around- Thankfully, most of them would be missing for at least an arc or two. This series... was FANTASTIC. Absolutely one of my favourite books to re-read. It gives lip service to the history of comic books, but is largely looking forward, showing new heroes learning the ropes alongside some Wild Old Mentor-figures. Like JLA, the series features huge crisis after huge crisis- the world is always at stake, powerful villains threaten everything, etc. Alan Scott has to fight his evil son Obsidian, the team is kidnapped by Roulette and forced to fight each other, they war with Kobra, all of reality is altered by The Ultra-Humanite (wielding the power of The Thunderbolt), etc. It is HUGE, with world-altering stakes, yet always gives us a personal touch with the heroes- something that is often lost in "Big Event Comics" (looking at you, Hickman...).
Several heroes get great Character Arcs- Stargirl grows from a bratty little teen into one of the more moral and decent heroes- the heart of the team. Black Adam starts evil, gets his old "heroic" personality back and becomes a bad-ass imperious jerk, but soon gets more and more angry until he quits the team and becomes the murderous ruler of an entire nation. Atom-Smasher starts as an adoring, honoring fanboy of the elders, but gets more aggressive as his mother is killed in a terrorist attack, acting like an asshole around Black Adam (who he doesn't believe can reform). Ultimately, he quits the team in a rage, and becomes a killer, twisted by Adam's own words. He & Stargirl have an ongoing thing throughout the series- a fascinating relationship that seems sibling-like at first, turns to Star openly pining for him (they don't SAY it, though- meaning a lot of fans missed it), and then a big "Will They, Won't They?" thing. Marvel and Star have their OWN thing- an adorable Puppy Love Romance. Obisidian would go off the deep end, but eventually reform as well. Mr. Terrific would come into his own as one of DC's top heroes, though it didn't last.
THE JSA REBOOT- THEN DISASTER STRIKES:
-The series would get a restart, written by a solo Johns and drawn by the amazing Dale Eaglesham- it'd get even more obsessed with Legacies, as a whole NEW generation of kids would debut- Judomaster II, Citizen Steel, Wildcat III, Mr. America II & III, and Lightning would be joined by Damage ('90s hero), Magog (a hero from Kingdom Come, in co-operation with painter Alex Ross) and the greatest character in the history of comics- Cyclone. Then the Superman of Kingdom Come would show up, giving us a long-running arc featuring Magog doing stuff.
The series had an AMAZING start, and even better art, but holy God did they screw up a lot. See, sticking fifty members on the squad basically didn't allow for ANY serious characterization, and potentially-interesting charcters were more or less dropped off the face of the Earth with no room to emote. People like Lightning, Steel & Mr. America did nothing, to the point where you would forget they even existed, and My Beloved Cyclone, while popular among most of the writers and creators (Eaglesham and later writer Matt Sturges ADORED her), wouldn't get that much to do, either. Even some of the earlier big names faltered and did little- Hourman & Liberty Belle were reduced to fawning over each other and acting parental towards a grumpy, scarred-up Damage.
Johns would leave the book after a huge, career-defining run, and move on to continue altering the entirety of the DC Universe, for better or worse. The two Fables writers, Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges, took over the series, soon splitting it off into two books, ironically capitalizing on its success RIGHT WHEN IT GOT WORSE. Willingham got all the "Boring Old Guys" on his team and failed to do anything interesting (I couldn't even tell you a single arc), while Sturges got the exciting young ones, but messed around a bit too much, focused on stupid newbie Magog WAY too much, and had some AWFUL art with J.H. Williams III drawing pupil-less eyes and exaggerated figures. JSA All-Stars would only last 18 issues, and the main book only lasted a little longer, being cancelled just as DC rebooted their entire universe.
Aaaaaaaaaaand so DC rebooted everything and invented a new continuity, throwing the JSA in the garbage and pretty well removing them from all comics. And the infamous "DC New 52" began, trying to restart old characters while trying to act like we already knew their histories. The original JSA members were in a book called Earth Two that had them all just as alternate-universe types with different origins, but it went nowhere and was kinda shoved into the Huntress & Power Girl book. Stargirl herself was brought back in another Justice League-type book, but even with Johns himself writing it went nowhere- she was introduced more or less the way she'd left off in comics, without any of her prior characterization or "Character Arc". A regular "NuDCU" problem, it merely ASSUMED we knew all the prior character growth, forgetting that as a new continuity, it'd have to show us that all over again. She was just a new, peppy superheroine with no edge to her.
Ultimately, the JSA book was a huge deal, and was one of the biggest comic books in the world from 1999-2009 or so. A hell of a run considering the characters has arguably peaked during the *1940s*. It was the perfect use of a bunch of old-school heroes, and took massive advantage of the fact that DC had scores of great Golden Age acts- something Marvel couldn't match.
