Monday Memories #20 - Justice Society Of America #8

Each Monday this year I'll be taking a look back at a random comic, prestige format issue, graphic novel or collection of reprints from amongst my 3,000 or so comics that date from 1962 to 2003 - I figured anything in the last ten years would be too recent to hark back to.

The comics are chosen completely at random and apart from a four week lead-in period, even I don't know what I'll be looking at in the weeks to come!

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #8 - November 1991

Probably not the JSA series you were expecting, eh? Following Crisis on Infinite Earths and the Last Days of the Justice Society, the only way to tell a JSA story in the early 90's was to set it back in the old days. Their old foe, Vandal Savage, had resurfaced and, while railing against technology, had used it, along with magic, to cause various disasters. The bare bones of the JSA reformed to take him on, all leading to the final fight where Savage summoned giant mystical energy beings.

Up to this point, a wheelchair bound Ted Knight had been in thrall to Savage but seeing his friends in danger revives him and he attacks.

Together the JSA beat the giants and then Savage and reconvene at their old HQ to discuss things and, it's no real surprise that the newly re-energised Starman wants to stick around.

"You can always be my wingman, Ted!" - can you imagine any version of Hawkman from the last ten/fifteen years saying that?!

So the bad guy's defeated and the team's back together so it's one big, happy ending, right?

And I think we all know where that's leading.

The mini-series isn't very sophisticated but it's a reminder of a simpler time when super villains turned up with their crazy schemes, the heroes teamed up and beat them. That final page hinting at the end of the JSA is a little sober reminder that the Golden Age maybe wasn't so bright and innocent after all.