Why Does Darkseid Lounge?

Over a decade ago on the blog, I looked at Action Comics #593 (1987), a team-up story starring Superman and Mister Miracle written and drawn by John Byrne. As I noted in that review, this was one of the earliest comic books that I read.

Here's an excerpt from my review:

Mr. Miracle enters his house with his diminuative aide Oberon at his side; however, instead of finding his wife Barda waiting for him, Mr. Miracle is greeted by Darkseid, sitting in an armchair sipping wine. Seriously, I wouldn't kid you. Even though Keith Giffen's Ambush Bug mocked the idea of Darkseid's ubiquity in DC Comics all the way back in 1985, it seems no one got the memo as Darkseid would continue to make appearances like this up to present times. Darkseid sipping wine in Mr. Miracle's living room is about as menacing as Darkseid serving Ambush Bug a hamburger in Ambush Bug#2. Ah well; in 1987, I knew of Darkseid through the Super Powers figures and Super Friends cartoon show, so at least he was a familiar face.

Above you can see the image of Darkseid calmly sipping wine while lounging in Mister Miracle's living room, and below is the final page of Ambush Bug #1 (1985) by Robert Loren Fleming and Keith Giffen. This was the start of a running gag in the four-issue Ambush Bug mini-series as each issue would conclude with Ambush Bug encountering Darkseid in some mundane locale, but the succeeding issue would completely ignore that scene. Finally, at the end of Ambush Bug #4, Ambush Bug reveals that the "Darkseid" in his stories was just an inflatable dummy. He says to the deflated dummy, "Thanks, pal. You bought me an extra fifty thousand sales in the comic shops!"

This trope of Darkseid lounging around in a mundane location instead of unleashing his power to destroy his enemies-- that's become a well-worn trope in DC comics. And I suppose my reaction in the above review came out that way because I was used to a post-Jack Kirby Darkseid. Post-Kirby, Darkseid was no longer the arch-enemy of the New Gods-- now he was basically everyone's arch-enemy, from Superman to the Suicide Squad, from Mary Marvel to the Legion of Super-Heroes. Writers still seemed to understand that he was a villain who needed to show restraint (or else he'd simply wipe most of Earth's heroes out of existence), and thus the many images of Darkseid lounging. This was particularly apparent in the 1987 Legends crossover, which resulted in Darkseid appearing in many, many comics within a six-month span, but mostly he appeared only to plot and scheme rather than take action.

What I didn't appreciate about Darkseid was that Kirby had pretty definite ideas about how to play his arch-villain; after a few cameos in Kirby's Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen stories, Darkseid made his big debut in New Gods #1 (1971), which also introduced Darkseid's true opponent, Orion. Orion spent the entirety of issue #1 battling his way through Darkseid's armies on Apokalips only to learn Darkseid was on Earth. The issue ends with Orion heading to Earth, where Darkseid promises on the last page, "I hear you, Orion! The battle begins!"

But New Gods #2 opens up with Orion entering an apartment where he simply finds Darkseid lounging, waiting for him, as seen above (and it does look like Giffen drew directly from this image for the end of Ambush Bug #1). There is no physical confrontation with Darkseid in that issue; although Orion continues to oppose all of Darkseid's schemes, New Gods was cancelled before the promised showdown with Orion and Darkseid could occur. So, Fleming and Giffen weren't just making light of Darkseid's ability to add sales when they used him in Ambush Bug - they were also poking fun at how, from their perspective, the promised fight between Orion and Darkseid kept being put off.

I should note that Giffen was also the artist of a Legion of Super-Heroes story titled "the Great Darkness Saga," written by Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes #290-294, 1982). It was a lengthy storyline where the antagonist was ultimately revealed to be Darkseid, still alive in the 31st century; in the climax, Orion suddenly appears and they have the epic battle that fanboys had been asking for since 1971. It's basically fan-fiction, Levitz and Giffen trying to write their own ending to Kirby's New Gods. Many fans call it "the greatest Legion of Super-Heroes story!" That's how lame the Legion are, I guess... their best story is a stealth New Gods comic.

"The Great Darkness Saga" happened early enough in Darkseid's post-Kirby history that it seems to have been extremely influential. Yet I also wonder how much the version of Darkseid seen in that story - the cosmic powerhouse who goes fist-to-fist with the entire Legion of Super-Heroes - owes to Thanos. Thanos was, after all, created by Jim Starlin in 1973 as what he admitted to as a being directly inspired by Darkseid. For Thanos' early appearances, he was quite a bit like Darkseid - he employed a number of lieutenants to do his dirty work and mostly plotted and schemed. It wasn't until he obtained the Cosmic Cube during Starlin's Captain Marvel stories that he ceased being on the sidelines and instead directly engaged the heroes (I wrote a 10-part history of Starlin's Thanos; here's part 1, where I discussed those early comics). I'd say that Starlin's Thanos stepped out from Darkseid's shadow when he reappeared in Warlock as Warlock's ally against the Magus. Although Thanos' quest to win the love of Death could be compared to Darkseid's quest for the Anti-Life Equation, Thanos' subtlety and guile in those Warlock stories is very unlike Darkseid's single-minded approach.

Post-"Great Darkness Saga," DC reprinted Kirby's New Gods stories in 1984 as a prestige-format series. In the final issue, Kirby finally wrote and drew the conclusion to Orion and Darkseid's unresolved fight. To put it mildly, it's not what fans like Levitz and Giffen anticipated. In fact, there is once again, no fight. Orion pursues Darkseid, but Darkseid continually beats a strategic retreat rather than engage in combat. Finally, Darkseid leads Orion into an ambush; a squad of Parademons blast Orion's body full of bullets and he drops out of sight, seemingly dead; the end.

And this isn't a course-correction on Kirby's part, it's consistent with all of his Darkseid stories in the 1970s. Although Darkseid deployed plenty of lieutenants against his enemies, his own interest was simply the Anti-Life Equation. He would indulge his lieutenants if he thought their plans might bring him the equation (or at least inconvenience his enemies so they wouldn't interfere with him) but Darkseid didn't use power for power's sake. I think any of the confrontations Kirby wrote between Darkseid and Desaad would be instructive; Desaad would inflict pain on his enemies because he enjoyed the sensation; Darkseid, however, was not a sadist and expressed annoyance at Desaad for placing his sadism above his actual goal - the Anti-Life Equation. Outside of flashbacks, the only characters Darkseid killed with his own power in Kirby's stories were his lieutenants when he felt they'd gone too far off-track - and then Kirby gave him the power to resurrect his lieutenants in his graphic novel Hunger Dogs (1985), albeit the resurrected lieutenants were mere shades of their former selves.

I submit, then, it's possible that the Darkseid of "the Great Darkness Saga" is a combination of Levitz and Giffen's fanboyish wish for a Darkseid who fights, drawn from Starlin's Thanos. Kirby's Darkseid was not Starlin's Thanos; he had plenty of raw power, but next to no interest in unleashing it. Perhaps a true "final" New Gods story in which Darkseid obtained the Anti-Life Equation would bring the character to a point where he would unleash his full power. But that's not Kirby's Darkseid; without the Anti-Life Equation, what is there for Darkseid to do, but... lounge.

Unearthed: All-Star Comics#63

Three years ago I initiated the "Unearthed" feature on this blog with a look back at All-Star Comics#62, a comic from my childhood. I noted then that I had never read the subsequent issues to find out how the story ended; happily, in the intervening years I've obtained a copy of All-Star Comics#63 and it pleases me now to crack it open.

The story left off last issue with Superman & Supergirl encased in lava by the creature Zanadu, who had kidnapped Hawkgirl. Meanwhile, someone had brainwashed Wildcat to attack Hawkman. The other members of the Justice Society were likewise engaged in subplots, centered around Doctor Fate's recent near-death.

The cover (by Rich Buckler & Wally Wood) feels a little off with its ridiculously immense Solomon Grundy; at least the presence of the Fiddler here lets us know he was the one playing the music which brainwashed Wildcat.

The story is titled "The Death of Doctor Fate" and the creators are Paul Levitz, Keith Giffen & Wally Wood. Notably, this confirms that series author Gerry Conway was indeed on his way out in the previous issue. Therefore, this issue ought to be fashioning something a little more stable, direction-wise.

Under the Fiddler's instructions, Wildcat easily beats Hawkman unconscious; Solomon Grundy simply stands and watches. They helpfully note they're representing the Injustice Society, the JSA's foes, but why are they attacking now? They have nothing to do with the Zanadu threat. That said, heck, it makes a lot of sense - why should villains respect the queue? If someone ever told Doctor Doom to attack the Fantastic Four while they battling Galactus we'd probably see no more Fantastic Four stories.

Of course, the Fiddler ain't exactly Doctor Doom; he stops playing his fiddle which releases Wildcat from his control, giving Wildcat an opportunity to beat him up. Let's face it, Wildcat may be little more than a cranky old boxing freak, but without his instrument the Fiddler's just an old freak. Grundy steps in at this point and Wildcat has no hope of beating him, but Power Girl & Superman arrive to save him. This moment feels like quite a misfire - the threat of Zanadu has (somehow) been pushed to the rear for the fight with Grundy & the Fiddler. Although Superman describes how they escaped the trap, it isn't depicted. The duo quickly finish the fight with Grundy by throwing him into a volcano (overkill much?).

Although Power Girl & Superman escaped their own prisons off-panel, they explain they didn't do the same for Hawkgirl - thus, truly nothing has changed since last issue; the (unclear) menace of Zanadu was simply deferred. We do, however, get a simply terrific close-up of Superman's face - very Woody, a rendition quite evocative of Joe Shuster. The likeness is a visual reminder that the Superman appearing in this comic is supposed to be the Golden Age Superman; that term really had some play in the early 70s nostalgia craze - the Golden Age of Film, the Golden Age of Radio, the Golden Age of Comic Strips and the Golden Age of Comic Books all experienced a boost in reputation. This image is so good, even Wildcat's presence doesn't ruin the panel.

The scene shifts to Egypt as the Flash & Green Lantern are searching for some means to help save Doctor Fate's life on the flimsy reasoning that because Fate's origin happened there, there must be a cure. Egypt seems a little too big for them to stumble across a cure, but they do stumble across a man upon a winged horse, thus furthering the man and his unusual horse from the previous issue. However, that's as far as this subplot moves for now. The man on horseback remains unidentified (yet obviously the Shining Knight to those with long memories).

Returning to the Justice Society of America's headquarters, Doctor Fate is still hooked up to a machine which the Star Spangled Kid is using to channel cosmic energy to save his life (for some reason they put Fate back into his costume between issues). Doctor Mid-Nite (also back in his costume) and Hourman both watch helplessly and, man, Wood makes these two look great! Their darker colours really seem to suit Wood's lines. As they're my two favourite JSAers, I couldn't be more pleased. However, the heroes themselves have little to be happy with - Fate's brain activity ceases and the machines are shut off. Doctor Mid-Nite is so distraught by Fate's death that he rips off his mask and decides to give up being a hero, even as Hourman and the Star Spangled Kid are heading out to face Zanadu, who has mysteriously reappeared in New York.

At this point, Zanadu is pretty much a lost cause so far as a villain goes; he's been kept off-panel for most of the story while both his power level and goals are unclear. In this fight, Hourman gets to fly and shoot energy blasts thanks to the Star Spangled Kid, who surrounds him with an energy field to do so (but why? why not simply attack Zanadu himself?). The fight leads them back inside the JSA's base and Zanadu's presence causes Dr. Fate to wake up, as Zanadu is an agent of chaos while Fate represents order. Fate strikes Zanadu down while Hawkman saves Hawkgirl (off-panel). This causes Zanadu to lose focus on his power, having needed Hawkgirl to channel his energies to conquer the world. Fate then encases Zanadu within a block of amber, leaving him precisely where he had been at the start of the previous issue. Frankly, the best part of this fight is how Kirby-esque it becomes at times, likely because of Giffen's presence on pencils. Not only does his Zanadu look like a Fourth World character, but he gives Fate some impressive "Kirby crackle."

With the crisis past, we move into a one-page epilogue, wherein Superman announces his retirement from the Justice Society (a group he barely ever interacted with anyway) and insists his cousin Power Girl be promoted in his stead; Wildcat thinks this is an upset, but it settles the friction which Superman & Power Girl dealt with in the previous issue. The scene shifts again to the Injustice Society as the Icicle informs his (unseen) teammates they'll strike at the Justice Society through their weak link: Hourman! Wait, Hourman? The fellow who only rejoined the team last issue? Ah, whatever.

Thoughts: Considering that in the previous issue Conway was on his way out and Levitz in, it held together much better than this issue. This is a decent but unremarkable super hero story redeemed mainly by the artwork. The problems of the previous issue are dealt with too easily; how will Wildcat escape the Fiddler's control. Uh, the Fiddler stupidly lets him go. How will they save Dr. Fate's life? Zanadu steps near him and he instantly gets better. What about the Flash & Green Lantern's quest? Nothing to do with Fate's revival, as it turns out. And what of Power Girl & Superman being imprisoned by Zanadu? They get out of it off-panel. And what of Zanadu himself? He can't hold his own against the Star Spangled Kid, much less Dr. Fate. Fights are treated as curbstomps (Wildcat vs. Fiddler, Superman/Power Girl vs. Solomon Grundy, Dr. Fate vs. Zanadu), rather than aiming for high tension or serious peril for the heroes.

Perhaps Levitz was still clearing the deck of Conway's plots so he could get his own started, in which case the series might improve in the following issue. Even then, there's not much of a hook; more of the Injustice Society, when one of their most powerful members couldn't give the Society a decent fight? The very idea of Hourman as the weak link doesn't hold water; surely the Wildcat, the team's resident sourpuss and irritant is the weak link; heck, you could argue Power Girl is a weak link because of her short temper; Hourman's demonstrated nothing since his return except for a general sense of competance which only Hawkman & Superman have matched.

Still, man... that Giffen/Wood art... beautiful! Also, Wildcat was tolerable, which I consider a minor victory.

Unearthed: All-Star Comics#62

What makes a comic book stand out in your memory? If you, like me, read hundreds (or thousands) of comics books each year, how can any particular single issue make its mark? I recently posted about the titles I'm currently reading and hinted at how difficult it is to remain a fan when I'm taking in so much content that I've begun to detect repetition from one comic to another and nothing will kill your love for the comics medium faster than perceiving most of what you consume as dross.

It's in that spirit that I'm looking back on one of the first comic books I ever read (it ranks somewhere within my first 100 reads) to remind myself where my love of the medium came from. Recently, I've really taken to the blogging styles of Colin Smith and his blog Too Busy Thinking About Comics; I appreciate how carefully Colin considers comic books of the past and present, so I'm going to make a similar attempt at pondering All-Star Comics#62.

I don't know how All-Star Comics#62 (published 1976) found its way into my family's house; it seemed to simply appear one day in the family room. None of my siblings ever took it away to their room (as we normally kept our own comics separated), so we evidently believed it was "family" property. I believe it first appeared in the house the same weekend we had held a rummage sale at the church and it's my belief that my father bought it as a present and I missed the announcement. The comic was about 10 years old when it appeared in our house and it was missing its front cover; I don't know what ultimately became of it, but I'm composing this post using a copy I bought from Mile High Comics (it didn't cost me much, but I would've actually sprung for a coverless copy if Mile High had one to offer).

So while I didn't have the cover originally, I do want to consider it ever-so-briefly. It's very busy, isn't it? "The Justice Society of America in All-Star Comics With the Super Squad!" The amount of copy on this cover tells you this was published in a post-Stan Lee world. The cover also gives away this issue's special guest star and the last page's surprise reveal (so I'm glad I didn't have the cover growing up; let's have a few surprises, yes?).

The issue is credited to writers Gerry Conway & Paul Levitz (Conway was apparently on his way out) and artists Keith Giffen & Wally Wood. This is well before Giffen developed his signature style; it's not even Giffen in faux-Kirby as in his 70s Defenders work; I see a lot of Wood in these pages, but little of Giffen. Not that creator names meant anything to me growing up; I knew the name Stan Lee because it appeared as a stylized signature with the word "presents" at the top of each Marvel Comics title page (also, he narrated Spider-Man & Hulk's Saturday morning cartoons). Outside of Stan Lee, I couldn't have told you the names of any comic book creators (not until John Byrne began drawing Superman).

I don't think Crisis on Infinite Earths had transpired when I read this book. That series was predicated on the notion that multiple Earths were too confusing to new readers (or possibly that multiple Earths were much too non-Marvel in concept, why not be more like Marvel?), but I don't recall ever being confused by it; I had already met the Justice Society of America in an issue of Justice League of America (#219), but I recall that story kept away from the idea of alternate Earth counterparts - like, I grokked that there were two Earths, each with a Flash, but the two Flashes were distinctly different characters. But now I risk getting ahead of myself...

Let's start with the splash page; since the aforementioned family copy was coverless, this page really stands out in my memory. Here, we're introduced to seven super heroes; only three are going to stick through the issue. At the far left, Dr. Mid-Nite can be seen in his civilian guise; I had no clue he was supposed to be a super hero. Next to him is Wildcat, about whom... more in a moment. The Star-Spangled Kid is hooked up to some contraption and is thus indisposed for the rest of the issue. Hawkman, Green Lantern & Power Girl complete the circle around the apparatus which contains Dr. Fate. Green Lantern is helpfully carrying Fate's helmet, enabling me to recognize Fate as a child (I knew of Fate & Hawkman thanks to the Super Powers action figures). Green Lantern is upset because someone called Vulcan nearly killed Fate and Lantern blames himself because there's no angst like super hero angst.

Wildcat responds to his friend's agitated state with "Aw, shuddup, Greenie...Mid-Nite's got work ta do!" A gentleman, this one. Technobabble ensues as Mid-Nite & the Star-Spangled Kid explain how they're trying to keep Fate alive and Power Girl wonders why an ankh appears on a computer monitor. This gets them talking about how Fate originated in Egypt and Lantern decides to visit Egypt in the slim hope of somehow finding something to save Fate's life. Hawkman, the team leader, agrees to this and mentions he has something else to handle. To which Wildcat moans, "Oh, man, Doc -- listen to that! Hawky's gotta go home and feed his widdle parakeet! It might starve without him...and wouldn't that be a cryin' shame!" So, thus far Wildcat has established himself as the team's resident sarcastic whiner. Keep it up Wildcat, you need something to compensate for being more useless to the team than the blind man (Mid-Nite), don't you? Although I came to love the Justice Society over the years, I've never liked Wildcat and now that I've returned to this issue, I can see why; with just two lines of dialogue so far, Wildcat has managed to offer no reassurance, planning or intelligent thought, instead choosing to mock the rest of the team for taking action in the midst of a crisis. Wildcat was an internet troll before there was an internet to troll.

The Flash & Hourman arrive, bringing our super hero count up to nine; however, we won't be seeing Mid-Nite, Fate or the Star-Spangled Kid again, and after a brief catch up, Flash takes off with Lantern to Egypt, so despite the large cast Conway and/or Levitz are doing a fine job of telling a story so clear a child could (and did) follow it. Hawkman nominates Hourman for monitor duty with Power Girl, whom the former hasn't met until now. This prompts Hawkman to note Hourman is "still young enough to appreciate her." I don't know when it was decided Hourman was married and had a grown-up son, but I do know his son debuted just a decade later and was within a few years of Power Girl's age. In retrospect, Hawkman is a bit of a creep for suggesting Hourman might enjoy a cradle-robbing affair. Come to think of it, Hawkman is also supposed to be married with a grown-up son by this time...I'm over-thinking this.

Hawkman decides to check in on said wife, Shiera. She's better known as Hawkgirl in the comics, but doesn't appear in costume for this story, which again keeps the amount of costumes on display under control. I have to say, I do appreciate this - Mid-Nite is here to be a doctor, not a super hero, so he's out of costume; Fate is a patient, not a super hero, no costume; Hawkgirl is a damsel in distress, not a super hero, no costume; all the characters dressed as super heroes are actually going to behave like super heroes (possible exemption for Wildcat). We cut briefly to Wildcat, Hourman & Power Girl on monitor duty as Wildcat utters his third line, this time telling Power Girl she'd "better not hog all the action" the next time they get into a fight (Wildcat is a normal man who dresses like a cat, period; Power Girl has all the powers of Superman; who do you think contributes more to a fight?). Power Girl observes she just saved the city. Hourman, voicing my thoughts, says "isn't it enough that the job got done?" Wildcat: poster boy of the insecure male ego. Meanwhile, I'm starting to figure out why Hourman became one of my favourite heroes...

Someone called Dr. Arthur Kliburn goes poking through some artifacts, only to be killed by a monstrous creation called Xanadu.

Sorry, that's Zanadu.

Shiera shows ups (Kliburn was poking through the Hawk family's artifacts) and Zanadu captures her, teleporting away. Hawkman arrives too late and sends out a distress call to the Justice Society.

Perhaps this is a good moment to bring up Power Girl. Much has been made of the anecdote that Wally Wood - one of the greats at drawing voluptuous female bodies - intentionally expanded Power Girl's chest size for a lark. The problem is, fandom became too conscious of what Wood was doing and it became the number one thing Power Girl was about. Not that "Supergirl on Labour Day" was a brilliant concept on its own, but now that the fans who grew up on these stories are the ones making the decisions in modern DC comics, we've gone from the rather reasonably-proportioned chest Wood drew (above) to catastrophes like this:

But that's what happens when comic book characters are run by the fans - they become parodies of themselves, sketched out by a single defining trait or story and not allowed to deviate from fandom's perception of their character (see also: Hank Pym the wife-beater, Tony Stark the drunk, Hourman the druggie, Arsenal the druggie and Green Arrow the red Commie Pinko Liberal Batman wannabe). Wood's Power Girl may have been subversive for its time, but what does the above image tell you about today's comic book culture? Rhetorical question, don't answer.

Anyway, Hawkman's signal is also received by our very special guest star, whom Wood introduces to the story with genuine class:

Even in these early days of comic book reading, I knew enough to recognize the silhouette. Oh boy, now things were gonna get good!

We cut away to Egypt where a purple robed man tries to barter for a potion, but refuses to trade his horse. Knowing that the Green Lantern & Flash were headed to Egypt (and that Lantern wore a purple cape), I confusedly thought this robed man was Green Lantern (perhaps I thought Flash had become a horse?). In retrospect, this is probably the Shining Knight. Anyway, that's as far as the subplot goes.

So, the Justice Society have gathered to hear their leader complain "what good is a Justice Society if it can't protect its own members?" As usual, Wildcat has a pearl of wisdom to offer, glaring at Power Girl as he notes "how crummy things have gotten since ya let the kids in." Power Girl is sometimes characterized as short-tempered, but I have to say...she clearly has plenty of willpower to keep from swatting Wildcat into the next county.

Anyway, up until now Wildcat has been the least reasonable person in the room. So, time for Power Girl to get torqued off! Superman arrives and by now it had become clear to me that this Superman was older than the one I knew (note the white hair at his temples); this was fine by me, since, like so many kids, I thought of Superman as "Superdad." Power Girl, appropriately, reacts to "Superdad" by behaving like a spoiled teenager, demanding she be given her turn in the spotlight. Superman seems more confused by her than anything, noting he hasn't stopped her from being a super hero up until then (although apparently he didn't want her to join the Justice Society) and he hasn't come to interfere, he simply wants to help in this crisis. Frankly, in a single page Superman shows more support for Power Girl than the entire Justice Society; I guess she's just hyper-sensitive when it comes to family.

Hawkman angrily puts on his best Reed Richards face and reminds everyone that his wife is in mortal danger (Face front true believers! The Merry DC Marching Society wants you!) and they depart to find Hawkgirl, leaving Hourman on monitor duty on the grounds that... well, he's clearly too intelligent and competent for this mission and wouldn't be anywhere near as much a hindrance as the non-powered belly-aching Sourpuss or the squabbling Kryptonian cousins.

So, Zanadu is in Tokyo, talking to Hawkgirl in funny dialogue balloons to remind you that he's a baddie. Superman & Power Girl launch into battle with some more of their patented bickering, so Zanadu defeats them by encasing them within lava.

Hawkman & Wildcat are on the ground, looking at all the people Zanadu has rendered unconscious with his powers. Suddenly, Wildcat hears some music and attacks Hawkman, declaring himself a member of the Injustice Gang!

True confession: in retrospect, Wildcat is probably under the mental control of the Fiddler, a member of the Injustice Gang and likely source of the music Wildcat heard. However, when I read this as a child, not knowing who the Fiddler or Injustice Gang were and having witnessed Wildcat's behaviour across the length and breadth of All-Star Comics#62 I believed he had been evil all along and for some reason the team hadn't realized what his sarcastic put-downs and complaints really meant. Again I wondered why Hourman was left on monitor duty.

I have only one other issue of the 1970s All-Star Comics revival in my collection and it's the last issue, nowhere close to matching up with #62. I still don't know a lot of the details surrounding the attack on Dr. Fate, Zanadu, the Shining Knight or the Injustice Gang plots, but none of that bothered me as a child. I grasped that Zanadu was evil (he murdered a man! and took Hawkman's wife hostage!) and the Justice Society were good. I grasped that Power Girl meant well, but was a little brash. I grasped that this Superman was older than the other versions I had seen, but was essentially the same man. I guess my only misstep was believing Wildcat was the team's traitor. In retrospect, I see that Conway and/or Levitz were trying to write Wildcat as the team's Thing (with Power Girl as the Human Torch), giving him a gutter-level dialect and lots to complain about. The thing is, Wildcat is an old man in a kitty suit, whereas the Thing is the super-strong backbone of the Fantastic Four; the Fantastic Four can't do without the Thing, but one feels the Justice Society would function much more smoothly without the whiny old man who has no powers.

Looking back on this comic book now, what I appreciate the most is the Wally Wood artwork; Superman's silhouetted entrance and other inventive page layouts (like the Zanadu page above) really liven up the story.

I still have a lot of fondness for the Justice Society and their related books; within a year of reading this comic I found my first issue of All-Star Squadron and it did a lot to fuel my growing interest in super heroes and their histories. I was particularly taken with the Justice Society's Green Lantern; there's something about the red, green & purple colour combination that shouldn't work, and yet it does; maybe the blond hair ties it all together. Hourman and Dr. Mid-Nite would become fast favourites while Wildcat...well, to me he'll always be Sourpuss.

Wildcat fans... and I assume you must exist, you can't have all died post-1950... you like this character... why?