I am very much enjoying the DC Archive Editions and so I decided to pick up All Star Comics Vol. 2. This includes reprints of All Star Comics nos. 7-10.
While I really enjoy the Justice League of America, I will admit that I have especially been drawn to the Justice Society of America. They were the first major superhero team and they include some classic characters.
Those who are used to the team format may be confused by these JSA stories. They are really not team ups in the familiar sense. The stories start with a meeting of the JSA about a certain problem that has come up. Then each individual member goes off and tackles their own part of the problem. They then return to the meeting house to share how they did.
It really is a series of solo stories, with each heroes adventure drawn by their own artist. The ultimate goal was to introduce readers to these characters and then get them to go and buy the comics they regularly appear in.
These stories are fun to read. They are definitely shaped by their war-time context and they include a liberal dose of propaganda. They say as much about that time in history as they do about the nature of the characters.
I especially enjoyed the story of the JSA travelling into the future. It is always fun to see how people anticipated future technology to look like.
This volume also includes the origin of Wonder Woman. I had never read the original version of it before. Wonder Woman will eventually join the JSA (as the secretary!) but that hasn’t happened yet.
These stories continue to make me nostalgic for a simpler time of story telling.
