The Massive, Extravagant, Over-the-top Golden Age JSA Re-read

[Captain Comics]

Welcome to our re-read of the first and greatest superhero team in comics ... and quite a bit more!

My plan is to re-read and discuss the Golden Age Justice Society of America, which ran from All-Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940) to All-Star Comics #57 (February-March 1951), and is currently being reprinted in DC's "DC Finest" line.

But, as ever, I am consumed by context. What events brought us to All-Star Comics #3? What characters did editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox have available from which to choose? What else was competing in the superhero space? To achieve that context, I plan to start the discussion at the publisher's beginning, when Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson launched National Allied Publications Inc. in 1935. That was the first step toward the Justice Society — and to DC Comics as we know it today.

So before we even get to the JSA, I'll re-read and open for discussion all the solo stories starring JSA members, mostly from DC's Archives and Famous First Edition series. Which is actually quite a lot! (Although not as much as I'd prefer. I want it ALL!) I'll be writing about non-JSA superheroes created by National, Detective Comics Inc. and All-American Comics Inc. too, like Crimson Avenger and Doctor Occult. I'll also be tipping my hat to some non-powered characters, principally those who managed to appear outside their parent title, like Slam Bradley and Hop Harrigan. That means no re-read for the likes of "Bart Regan, Spy" and "Speed Saunders." Sorry, fellas, but I had to draw the line somewhere — before I found myself doing a deep dive into the history of Ginger Snap. 

But I will be re-reading reprints, or availing myself of online information where reprints don't exist, of 14 of the 17 Golden Age characters who launched or appeared in All-Star Comics #3-57. Those characters include:

1. The Atom: All-American Comics #19-46, 48-61, 70-72; All-Star Comics #3-26, 28-35, 37-57; Big All-American Comic Book; Flash Comics #80, 82-85, 87 89-95, 97-100, 102-104; Comic Cavalcade #22-23, 28; Sensation Comics #86.
2. Black Canary: All-Star Comics #38-57; Comic Cavalcade #25; Flash Comics #86-88, 90-104.
3. Doctor Fate: All-Star Comics #3-12, 14-21; More Fun Comics #55-98.
4. Doctor Mid-Nite: All-American Comics #25-102; All-Star Comics #6 (text story), 8-57.
5. The Flash: All-Flash #1-32; All-Star Comics #1-7, 10, 24-57; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #1-29; Flash Comics #1-104, Flash Comics miniature (Wheaties)
6. Green Lantern: All-American Comics #16-102; All-Flash #14; All-Star Comics #2-8, 10, 24-57; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #1-29; Green Lantern #1-38.
7. Hawkman: All-Star Comics #1-57, Big All-American Comic Book, Flash Comics #1-104, Flash Comics miniature (Wheaties).
8. Hourman: Adventure Comics #48-83, All-Star Comics #1-7, New York World's Fair Comics [#2].
9. Johnny Thunder: All-Star Comics #2-4, 6-35, 37-39; Big All-American Comic Book; Flash Comics #1-91; New York World's Fair Comics [#2]; World's Best Comics #1; World's Fair Comics #2-3; Flash Comics miniature (Wheaties).
10. Mister Terrific: All-Star Comics #24, Big All-American Comic Book, Sensation Comics #1-63.
11. Sandman: Adventure Comics #40-102, All-Star Comics #1-21, Boy Commandos #1, Detective Comics #76, New York World's Fair Comics [#1-2], World's Finest Comics #3-7.
12. The Spectre: All-Star Comics #1-23, More Fun Comics #52-101, a single panel in More Fun Comics #51.
13. Starman: Adventure Comics #61-102, All-Star Comics #8-23.
14. Wildcat: All-Star Comics #24, 27; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #1-2; Sensation Comics #1-90.

The obvious exceptions here are Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. Superman and Batman, called "honorary members" in the text, appeared twice in All-Star Comics, but I don't plan to re-read all their adventures from 1938 to 1951. They are peripheral at best to the Golden Age JSA, and would overwhelm the discussion through sheer volume. This problem extends to Wonder Woman as well, who appears in four titles in the Golden Age (Sensation Comics, Wonder Woman, Comic Cavalcade, All-Star Comics). I'll re-read and report on her JSA adventures, but like Batman and Superman, I'll just note her solo stories in passing with a summary that I'll grab somewhere online. That will keep the discussion abreast of any major developments, like new supervillains, in Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman stories.

Here are their appearances that are concurrent with All-Star's run:

• Batman: All-Star Comics # 7 (cameo), 36; Batman #1-63 (February-March 1951); Batman 3-D #1; Detective Comics #1-169 (March 1951); New York World’s Fair Comics [#2]; World’s Best Comics #1, World’s Fair Comics #2-50 (February-March 1951). 
• Superman: Action Comics #1-154 (March 1951); All-Star Comics #7 (cameo), 36; New York World’s Fair [#1-2]; Superman #1-69 (March-April 1951); Superman 3-D #1; Superman at the Gilbert Hall of Science; Superman Miniature; World’s Best Comics #1; World’s Fair Comics #2-50 (February-March 1951).
• Wonder Woman: All-Star Comics #8, 11-22, 24-57; Big All-American Comic Book; Comic Cavalcade #1-29; Sensation Comics #1-102; Wonder Woman #1-46 (March-April 1951).

Fortunately, Jeff of Earth-J is already doing a re-read of the Golden Age Superman. Jeff isn't doing a re-read of all Batman books, but he is compiling "The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told," by which he means "all of them." Recently he's begun re-reading other major Bat-villains, which he discusses in Batman vs. Penguin, Riddler — Prince of Puzzles, The Crimes of Two-Face and Catwoman: Nine Lives of a Feline Fatale.

I should note that my methodology changed over time, as realities required. For instance, I initially lumped books together by monthly cover date, but complications ensued for books without them, like quarterlies and one-shots. As the number of quarterlies and their importance increased, I ended up going by on-sale dates as the primary organizational tool. (Which aren't available for all books, but that's a lesser devil than chronologically misplacing Batman or All-Star Comics). Initially I only included mention of others strips in anthology books if they were of some importance, like Slam Bradley, but eventually I started including all of them. Here and there I would try to improve the format. And so forth. In some imaginary "someday" I'll go back through and make them all consistent.

I've tried to be comprehensive, relying on a variety of sources, from online to reprints to "companion" books. A tip of the cowl to a Luke Blanchard post in what amounts to an outline for this discussion. But I'm sure I've left out tons, especially stories I don't have or can't find, which may be at hand in your collection. I hope folks will do re-reads of stories I've left out, as well as comment on what I've written. So let's hear what I've missed Legionnaires — and what you think!

[Philip Portelli]

Flash Comics #1 does say that Jay Garrick had some adventures between graduation and confronting the Fearless Four, perhaps even before he donned the Flash costume.

[Captain Comics]

I checked Jay Garrick: The Flash #4 to see if it had anything to say about that. Instead what I got was another contradiction. According to that issue, a deliberate retcon, Prof. Hughes was inspired to search for a way to enhance people after seeing Green Lantern debut, specified as 1938 (likely June). Then, after some failed experiments, he recruits Jay Garrick. He says "The next three years flew by." That would put us in 1941, whereas Flash Comics #1 came out in November 1939, with a cover date of January 1940. The JSA formed in Summer 1940 ("Year One") or November 1940 (DC Special/Secret Origins) and had its first meeting on Nov. 22, 1940. All-Star Squadron #50 established that Garrick graduated college in May 1940, so he wouldn't have been a freshman in 1938. So "three years" doesn't jibe with anything, including common sense.

Alan Scott: The Green Lantern had a similar problem, citing years passed instead of specific years, which put GL's debut in 1939, when it was probably supposed to be 1938. Evidently comic book writers and editors can't add single digits very well. 

[Philip Portelli]

I don't have a problem with either Green Lantern, the Flash or Wonder Woman taking that "June 1938" debut spot today since it can't be Superman. Heck, I wouldn't even mind a temporarily super powerful Doctor Occult and Slam Bradley as brief fill-ins for Superman and Batman in early JSA history.

But would it be that controversial if nothing replaces Superman in 1938 and Batman in 1939 and they just move on from there?

[Captain Comics]

I just double-checked Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1-2 about the 1938 business, and it was pretty much as I remembered. In 1941, Alan Scott tells Doiby about being in Arkham Asylum "four years ago" -- which would be 1937. In issue 2, he says the train wreck happened "two years later," which would be 1939. But Jay Garrick: The Flash #4 says he debuted in 1938. Which, as we've discussed, was probably to replace Superman.

The only way these two stories -- which were published simultaneously -- match up is if Alan Scott meant to say FIVE years ago when he was talking to Doiby in 1941. That's what makes the most sense to me, but I'm open to argument.

[Philip Portelli]

Or five years when he entered and four years when he left!

[Captain Comics]

Well, the thing is, if "two years later" is accurate and we want Green Lantern in 1938, he has to be in and out of Arkham in 1936. That makes being in Arkham "four years ago" inaccurate -- it has to be five. Or if we want "four years ago" to be accurate, then he has to be in the train wreck the next year -- not "two years later." One or the other of those statements is wrong, or Jay Garrick: The Flash is, which definitively states Green Lantern's debut as 1938. And it seems obvious that they're aiming to replace Superman with Green Lantern, so I think Alan Scott: The Green Lantern is the one with the error. And I'd lean that way anyway, since it makes a lot of other unforced errors. Further, if you're NOT going to push GL back to 1938, why go with 1939? Why not 1940, which would require no retcons at all?

Sorry for being so pedantic. Especially since I could easily be wrong myself, and Jay Garrick is the one with the error. But the two books simply don't match up unless we change a definitive statement in one of them. As it is, thanks to Crisis, we already have two timelines -- one with the Trinity, and one without. But shhh --

Hey, remember when National Periodical Publications were so well-edited that you didn't have to make mental allowances for errors? And we actually learned things? 

[Captain Comics]

This is off-topic, but one of the things I've learned using today's major research tool -- AI -- is that it would happily put all these comics in chronological order for me, essentially doing my project for me. And it would make a LOT of errors. I have to correct Gemini at least once in every conversation. So if I just said, "Sure, go ahead, do my list for me," then it would have a lot of errors in an enormous document that stretches from 1938 to 1951. There's no way I could find and edit them all. So the surest path is to do it myself, and if there are any ordering errors, that's on me -- and I'd know how to quickly correct them, being intimately familiar with the manuscript and all the decisions leading up to the errors.

But don't you know that someone, probably someone young who does everything with AI, will, at some point, do exactly that? And post it without a second thought? After that, the erroneous information will be incorporated in all future comics history books and discussions. I suspect that day is coming.

[The Baron]

One of the big problems with Al is that it's  got "confidently incorrect" down to a science.

[Captain Comics]

Exactly! 

[Philip Portelli]

For a lark on Chat GPT, I did a mashup of two shows, one of which was the Monkees (I needed a band). I didn't use the Monkees name but the characters I listed were MIKE, a tall Texan guitarist/ songwriter who handles business and has a temper, MICKEY, a goofy faced clown, born to a show biz family, spent time in a circus and became a drummer because the band needed a drummer, DAVY, a short Britisher who was a pop singer but at heart a song and dance man and PETER, who played multiple instruments and was kind hearted and naive yet the AI didn't connect them with the actual Monkees!