I want to close out DC Archives Month with this volume of All-Star Comics Archives, which not only contains some of the greatest issues of the series (All-Star Comics #34 - 38, from April 1947 - January 1948), but probably some of the best remembered and most beloved DC stories of the Golden Age.
(Originally posted on Channel Awesome on December 29, 2014) I want to close out DC Archives Month with this volume of All-Star Comics Archives, which not only contains some of the greatest issues of the series (All-Star Comics #34 - 38, from April 1947 - January 1948), but probably some of the best remembered and most beloved DC stories of the Golden Age. All-Star Comics was originally an anthology series featuring both All-American Publications' big stars - such as The Flash, Green Lantern, The Atom - as well as heroes belonging to Detective Comics and National Allied Publications. (All-American had a cross-promotional deal with National and Detective Comics, and they would merge together into DC Comics in 1946.) All-Star Comics #3 (December 1940) saw the debut of the Justice Society of America, a team formed of both companies' top (and not-so-top) superheroes. From that point on, All-Star Comics was the Justice Society's book. Each Justice Society story, taking up the entire issue, would consist of an opening chapter of the JSA convening to discuss their latest case, numerous chapters of each individual hero doing their part to complete the mission, then reconvening in the final chapter for the conclusion. The entire Golden Age run of All-Star Comics has been reprinted in the DC Archive Editions, even the two pre-JSA issues, and I consider the volumes I own to be the crown jewel of my DC Archives collection. The JSA's roster changed over time, partially due to a temporary mandate that no superhero with his or her own solo comic book series could be on the team. Since Flash and Green Lantern had their own books in addition to appearing in the anthology series Flash Comics and All-American Comics respectively, they were off the team for a bit. Other members included Hawkman (the only hero to appear in every issue), The Black Canary, Dr. Mid-Nite, The Sandman, The Atom, Doctor Fate, Hourman, Johnny Thunder, Wildcat, and Starman. Wonder Woman made her first appearance in All-Star Comics #8, continuing her origin story and adventures in Sensation Comics #1, and quickly getting her own title. She later became the JSA's secretary, rarely going on missions herself (which is not only sexist, but extremely poor strategy, given that her power level is literally on par with fuggin' Superman's). What's interesting about the Golden Age Justice Society of America stories I've read is the kinds of missions they went on. While they certainly did their share of fighting criminals, alien invaders, and Axis hordes, they also tried to tackle social ills, more so than other superheroes of the time. They confronted issues such as bigotry and racism, juvenile delinquency, and the problems disabled veterans had acclimating to post-war life. They also conducted food drives for war-torn Europe and raised money for refugee aid. In the midst of the JSA battling a Japanese spy ring in All-Star Comics #12, there was a Japanese-American who helped them out on their mission (and this was in 1942). Most of these stories were kinda heavy-handed in their messaging, but I respect the attempt. These stories were aimed at kids, and the message in these stories were legitimately good ones to expose kids too. Super-villains were rare during World War II, limited to The Brain Wave and The Psycho-Pirate, but they became more frequent once the war ended. (Which makes sense - now that a real-life supervillain had been beaten, heroes needed more fantastical foes to pose a challenge.) Most of them appeared in this volume I'm about to review. Our first story is "The Wiles of the Wizard!" from All-Star Comics #34. The Justice Society is offered a million dollars by the mysterious W.I. Zard, supposedly as a reward for their crime-fighting efforts. However, it's against the Society's policy to accept cash awards, so they decline it. Afterwards, their headquarters is crashed by a known criminal calling himself The Wizard, who wields a variety of magical powers. In a major case of the "Evil Cannot Comprehend Good" trope, The Wizard doesn't believe that anyone is actually honest, and thinks that the Justice Society is pretending to be heroes as a cover for a major crime they've got planned. The rejection of the money he offered in his guise as W.I. Zard (yeah, real subtle) is only further proof that the JSA has something big in the works - and he wants in on whatever it is. When the JSA rebuts his accusations, he plots a series of crimes for them to stop in order to prove their honestly. It's an interesting choice to make the villain genuinely unable to understand that the JSA really were honest. This was the last issue of All-Star Comics to be written by Gardner Fox, who would later create the Silver Age Atom, Hawkman, and Justice League of America. Next up is "The Day That Dropped Out of Time!" from All-Star Comics #35, written by John Broome. The JSA find a shield in their trophy room gifted to them by Alexander the Great - a shield they don't remember getting. Using some Amazonian device Wonder Woman has available, they learn the origin of the mysterious gift, acquired during a recent case they'd somehow completely forgotten about. It turns out that not long ago, modern technology and inventions were disappearing as the result of history being altered. The mastermind behind this was Per Degaton, who changed a key historical event in order to take over the world while it was vulnerable. The Justice Society had to maintain order in the present and then go back in time and set things right. The quantum mechanics in this story make my brain hurt (as most time-travel stories often do), but as I've said before, that's part of the fun of these kinds of stories. The following story, "5 Drowned Men" (All-Star Comics #36), is a rather pedestrian affair by an unknown author about a group of people who fall into a cursed lake of some kind and are stripped of their consciences, each one becoming a criminal. The Justice Society naturally has to stop these new super-crooks and find a way to return them to normal. While not bad, this story would be merely decent but unexceptional were it not for one detail - this is the one and only Justice Society story (of the Golden Age) in which Superman and Batman guest-star. And it's not just a cameo - they each have their own chapters in this story, so they get in on the action. It's awesome to see them in this series, but it's also a shame they're not in a more epic story. And speaking of epic, now we come to one of the most legendary Golden Age comics of all time, the crown jewel of the whole series - "The Injustice Society of the World!" (All-Star Comics #37), by Robert Kanigher. The Wizard is still alive and out for revenge, but he's not alone. Joining him are two old enemies of the JSA: Brain Wave, who fought and nearly triumphed over the Justice Society on three previous occasions, and Degaton (even though it's not really explained why he's still a supervillain, given what happened to him in his previous outing). Also on the team is The Thinker, The Flash's most frequently appearing Golden Age adversary, and Green Lantern foes The Gambler and Vandal Savage. If that wasn't enough, they have an army of criminals at their command, and they've replaced various city officials around the country with lookalike automatons. Our heroes are off to face the menace of the Injustice Society for what promises to be an epic clash. (Wonder Woman, however, is ordered to hold down the fort, and is hilariously insistent on doing so.) Some of the choices are a bit odd (particularly The Gambler), but aside from that, this is an awesome story, especially as someone whose favorite aspect of superhero comics is the villains. "History's Crime Wave" (All-Star Comics #38) almost seems anti-climactic after these other stories. Various villains of history - Attila the Hun, Cesare Borgia, Nero, etc. - have apparently come back from the dead for the sole purpose of framing people for murder. However, they're tough enough to actually kill off the Justice Society. The Black Canary, a supporting character for Johnny Thunder, gets them to Wonder Woman, who resurrects them with the Amazon's healing Purple Ray. This one is way the hell repetitive, with one instance after another of someone being accused of murder, claiming a historical villain did it, a lone hero showing up and then getting killed. Dry, rinse, repeat. Although it does keep you guessing about what the deal is with the historical villains, there's still a lot that doesn't make sense plot-wise once you get to the resolution. Still, it does mark Black Canary's debut in the series, and two issues later, she'd become a full-fledged member of the Justice Society. It's also the first Justice Society story to not be divided up into chapters, instead telling one continuous story. Gardner Fox is credited as the writer of this story in the Table of Contents, but I've heard it was actually Robert Kanigher who wrote this one. If you have any interest at all in Golden Age comic books, All-Star Comics Archives, Vol. 8 is a must to add to your library. It's light on the social commentary stories compared with other volumes (whether or not that's a good or bad thing is up to your individual taste), but the stories are both inventive and creative, and most are on a grander scale than a vast majority of other Golden Age comics I've come across. Also, as someone who particularly goes after villain appearances, I obviously enjoyed the abundance of villains we got in this volume. Beyond that, however, this is comic book history that's gotten paved over by one reboot and retcon after another, and it's important that these genuine classics be remembered and preserved by modern-day readers. For whatever reason suits you best, I strongly recommend getting a hold of this. That does it for DC Archives month. I hope you all enjoyed it, and if any of you are interested, I may do DC Archives Month again at some point. There were a bunch of candidates to include in this retrospect that didn't make it in, which I would love to review in the future. Regular reviews return next week, and in the meantime, I hope everyone had a Happy Holidays and has a happy and safe New year!
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