There was a bit of discussion in this thread from the linked page on the choices DC and Marvel made with character headshots and corner-box shots in the 60s and 70s. I thought I’d see if I could make sense of the decisions relating to the heads that appeared vertically on the Justice League of America covers from ##77-106. Here’s what I’ve found looking at the covers up to #90.
I want to say at the outset that I’m not confident of my ability to spot artists from head shots, so if you think I've made a mistake anywhere, please do chime up.
#77
-The line-up, from the top, is Superman, Batman, Flash, Black Canary, Green Lantern, Atom, Green Arrow.
-The top three characters are apparently placed in order of popularity.
-Black Canary’s position places her at the middle of the column, possibly because whoever was doing the heads didn’t want to place her above the heroes with the strongest draw but also didn’t want to obscure the presence of a female character in the line-up, which might draw girls, by placing her too far down the column. Alternatively, the thinking could have been that her presence at the middle of the column added to its sense of variety.
-The remaining three heroes presumably appear in what was perceived to be their order of popularity. The order is the reverse of the order in which their features were cancelled.
-The heads are by Murphy Anderson, I think. I don’t know if they were drawn for the cover or taken from elsewhere. The GCD credits the cover to Anderson, but this may or may not mean that the indexer attributed the heads to him. I could see the Batman head being Gil Kane rather than Anderson, or someone else again inked by Sid Greene.
-None of the heroes have really grim or determined expressions. Some are smiling.
-This was the Dec. 1969 issue. Green Lantern had not yet been converted into “Green Lantern/Green Arrow” and The Atom & Hawkman had just ended.
#78.
-Same heads and order as previous issue, down to the tilt of Green Arrow’s head.
#79
-Same again.
#80
-Same again.
#81
-Green Lantern and Green Arrow are dropped. Hawkman appears instead.
-The line-up, from the top, is Superman, Batman, Black Canary, Flash, Atom, Hawkman.
-Presumably, Superman and Batman appear first as they are the strongest draws; Black Canary next to emphasise the presence of a female character in the line-up; the remaining characters perhaps in order of popularity (Hawkman’s title was folded into the Atom’s rather than vice versa).
- Presumably Green Lantern and Green Arrow were dropped because they only make cameo appearances in the issue (according to the GCD).
-The retained heads are the same.
-The Hawkman head is another Murphy Anderson head. He has a more serious expression than the others.
#82
-As for #77-80.
#83
-This one has JLA and JSA columns.
-The JLA column is as for #77-80, 82.
-The order of the JSA line-up, from the top, is Spectre, Dr Fate, Wonder Woman (Earth Two version), Hourman, Johnny Thunder, Thunderbolt, Starman.
-Of these, the Spectre had had a title most recently. Earth Two Wonder Woman was just like the Earth One version before she was depowered; that had happened a bit before the Spectre’s title was cancelled, but one supposes Wonder Woman was still the better-known character.
-Hourman had starred in a back-up story in The Spectre #7 and earlier appeared with Dr Fate in two issues of Showcase. Starman had appeared with Black Canary in two issues of The Brave and the Bold.
-The JSA heads are partly by Anderson, but the Wonder Woman head isn’t, and perhaps not the Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt heads. I’ve no idea who did the Wonder Woman head; it wasn’t Ross Andru, Irv Novick or Mike Sekowsky. The Johnny Thunder head reminds me of Lee Elias (does that make sense?), the Thunderbolt head of Mike Sekowsky, but those are just my impressions.
#84
-As for #81.
-The GCD tells me Green Lantern and Green Arrow don’t appear in the issue.
#85
-This issue was a reprint giant. It has small heads running horizontally above the title in the order Green Arrow (pre-makeover, as in the issue’s stories), Wonder Woman (ditto), Flash, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, J’onn J’onzz. This order places Superman and Batman centrally and the next most popular hero to their left. These aren’t the same heads. The Superman head might be Curt Swan.
#86
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Aquaman, Atom, Hawkman.
-I’m not sure who drew the Aquaman head. I can’t say it couldn’t have been Anderson. It has a look that reminds me of Joe Giella’s inks, but that’s just an impression.
-The other heads are the same as previously.
-This was before Aquaman’s title was cancelled, so this is likely the order of the heroes’ popularity in terms of sales. However, Aquaman may have been better known than the Flash by children due to his cartoon appearances.
#87
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Atom, Hawkman.
-The heads are the same as previously.
#88
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Black Canary, Green Lantern, Green Arrow.
-The heads are the same as previously.
#89
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Aquaman.
-The heads are the same as previously.
-Aquaman’s title had just been cancelled.
#90
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Atom, Hawkman.
-The heads are the same as previously.
-This is probably intended as the order of popularity.
Replies
Continuing this survey to #97:
#91
-This is another cover with JLA and JSA columns.
-The JLA line-up is Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Atom and “special guest-star” Robin.
-The JSA line-up is Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Atom and “special guest-star” Robin.
-In the JLA column the Superman, Hawkman and Atom heads are the same as before. The Flash and Green Lantern heads are new.
-Previously Flash was smiling and Green Lantern looked like he was mildly concerned by something or mildly interested in something. Both heads now have more serious expressions.
-The new Flash head could be Murphy Anderson or someone else inked by Sid Greene.
-The new Green Lantern head could be Gil Kane/Joe Giella or an earlier Mike Sekowsky GL. (I initially thought it was Kane/Giella but I now think the jaw might be too round.)
-The (Earth One) Robin head is a post-New Look makeover Robin without a round look but looking younger than he looks in the issue.
-The JSA heads other than Superman’s are Mike Sekowsky heads. A different head is used for the JSA Superman to the JLA Superman. I think it’s inked by Sid Greene, so I'd guess it's from the Aquarius JLA/JSA crossover, in which the Earth Two Superman first appeared. That would make the penciller Dick Dillin.
#92
-Again, a cover with JLA and JSA columns.
-Both columns are the same as for #91.
#93
-Another reprint giant. The title strip has the heads of Superman, Batman and Flash arranged in the triangle. The regular logo is not used and the heads are centrally placed.
-A column on the left has Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Atom.
-The title strip heads are the same as those used previously for the Earth One Superman and Batman, and the Flash head used up to #90. Superman is at the top of the triangle, Batman below him to the left.
-Of the others, the GL head is the same as that on ##91-92. The Wonder Woman head is an H.G. Peter head from the final panel of the WW story in Sensation Comics #1 reversed. (The image was also used, likewise in reversed form, on the cover of the 1972 Ms. Collection.) I can’t identify the artist of the Aquaman head. It’s not the same head as on #85. The Atom head is the one that had been used previously.
#94
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Atom, Aquaman.
-The heads are the same as those used for these characters previously.
#95
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Atom.
-The heads are the same as those used for these characters previously.
#96
-The line-up is Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Adam Strange (badged as appearing in a “cameo role”).
-These are the standard Superman head and the second Flash head. The GL is probably the second GL head but his jawline has been altered on our left. The Hawkman head is new and could be from a Hawkman story. I don’t recognise the artist of the Adam Strange Head.
#97
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern. Further names are listed but the heroes are not shown.
-These are the standard Superman head, and the second Flash and Green Lantern heads. The Batman head is a serious Neal Adams-style Batman, but I'm not sure whether it’s by Adams himself. I'm inclined to think not.
Completing this survey:
#98
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary.
-The Batman head might be the same as that on the previous issue, but it has a slightly different look. This might be because it’s set against a black background which absorbs some of its lines, but I’m not sure. The #98 head looks better to me and I think there’s more nuance in the shadow on the forehead.
-The other heads are by Neal Adams. Superman, Flash and Green Lantern have serious expressions. I can’t characterise Black Canary’s.
-Neal Adams drew the rest of the cover. He could have redone the heads while doing so, but I don’t know that fits with the similarity of the Batman head to the previous issue’s. An alternative possibility is Batman’s head was changed on #97 because he now looked different and a decision was taken to update the other heads too.
#99
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Aquaman.
-The Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and Black Canary heads are the Neal Adams ones. The Batman head is based on those from the previous issues but redrawn, I think to raise the chin so he’s facing the viewer more. The Aquaman head is new and might be Adams too. The space where his head is was covered with copy on the preceding issue, but he also didn't appear in it.
#100
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow.
-These are the Neal Adams heads for Superman, the Flash and Green Lantern, the Batman head from
#99, and a Neal Adams Green Arrow.
#101
-Another cover with JLA and JSA columns.
-The JLA line-up is Superman, Batman, “Diana Prince Wonder Woman”, Hawkman, Metamorpho.
-The JSA line-is Starman, Dr. Mid-Nite, “Golden Age Wonder Woman”, Hourman, Sandman.
-The JLA column has the Neal Adams Superman and a Batman possibly the same as that on #98 (but with non-curving ears, unlike the version on #97). The Diana Prince head could be by Dick Giordano and from her own title, or by Neal Adams. The Hawkman head is new version and could be by Neal Adams. The Metamorpho head has a cartoony look and is probably from one of his 60s appearances.
-In the JSA column, Starman might be by Murphy Anderson or inked by Sid Greene. The Dr. Mid-Nite head is Mike Sekowsky. The Golden Age Wonder Woman head reminds me of Ramona Fradon. The Hourman head was inked by Sid Greene, and could be from a Mike Sekowsky or a Dick Dillin story. The Sandman head probably likewise.
#102
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Green Arrow.
-These are the Neal Adams versions except for Batman, which is the version from ##99-100.
#103
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Grant Lantern, Hawkman, Green Arrow.
-These are the Neal Adams versions of Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and Green Arrow, the Batman from ##99-100, 102, and the Hawkman from #101. The heads appear much larger here than on the preceding issue.
#104
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Green Lantern.
-The heads are the same as those on #103, but smaller again.
-Does Green Arrow appear higher than Green Lantern because it was now thought he was the bigger draw? My recollection is Green Lantern only turns up late in the story.
#105
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Black Canary, Green Arrow.
-These are the Neal Adams Superman, Flash, Green Lantern and Black Canary, the Batman from ##98, 101, and the Green Arrow used up to #95 (but without the tilt). Batman’s head is notably larger than the others’.
#106
-The line-up is Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Elongated Man, Hawkman.
-These are the Neal Adams Superman, Flash and Green Lantern, the Batman head from ##98, 101, 105 (not so much larger than the others this time), and the Hawkman head used up to #92. Previously we didn’t see the edges of the mask wings of this version due to the available space. Here the head has been printed smaller so more of them are seen, so there may have been a need for someone to complete them. The Elongated Man head is probably from one of his 60s appearances.