Our coverage continues of JSA in the 90s with Jim Beard and The Irredeemable Shag discussing JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #3 (Oct 1992) by Len Strazewski, Mike Parobeck, and Mike Machlan! Doctor Mid-Nite rejoins the team just in time to discover that all the group’s recent troubles are the work of one of the JSA’s greatest foes! Plus, we wrap up with YOUR listener feedback!
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Love this podcast! I actually liked the green cowl on Starman. There is no reason why heroes can’t have a whole closet full of costume variants that they have used over the years. One of the early issues of Squadron showed all of Carter’s Hawkman helmets lines up. That always made me giddy. Costume redesign is an interesting topic and I don’t know if this would even count , but early Hourman cowl depictions have always been yellow with black shadowing on front. I think Perez was the first(may be wrong) to color the cowl black with yellow interior. I LOOOOOVVVED that look. That’s why I like his son Rick’s redesign may years later with the black and yellow reversed.
There was a lot to like about this episode. Jim doing some verbal judo on Shag when Shag did his usual, “everyone is entitled to their opinion, yours is just wrong” schtick made me literally laugh out loud. Well done, Jim.
I was one of those people that went up to Jim at a convention (DragonCon a few years back) and asked if he was the one that ran that Yahoo Group, which I remembered being on quite a bit back when it was a thing, so hearing him on this episode was a real treat. I loved his perspective on the story and the JSA in general. And he’s a great guy to podcast with.
As far as the best JSA costume revamp, are we just counting this series or overall?
If it’s this series in particular, I would say it’s Doctor Mid-Nite.
If it’s the JSA overall, I have to say it’s the final costume that the Earth-2 Robin wore. Is he someone you think of when it comes to the JSA? Probably not, but he was in the JLA/JSA crossovers and the Super Squad, so that’s enough for me.
Fun show. I remember Jim from the old Comic Bloc boards, so it was a treat getting to hear his voice. Was a little peeved at the ragging on Primal Force. I count myself among William “Will Power” Twotrees dozens of fans. Keep up the good work!
Joseph – Thanks for listening! I consider myself a big Primal Force fan and have very fond memories of the early issues. However, recently when I looked in issue #12 for the Kiku Thunder appearance, I was put off by the art quite a bit (for that issue). But still love the team concept and early issues!
I liked Primal Force loads, though the final issue was one of the least satisfying ever.
Meridian should be brought back, her powers make her a great utility character, plus, there’s a JSA connection via her job at Grant’s Gym in New York.
Count me in as a Primal Force fan, and can confirm that Shag & I spoke glowingly about the book when I did that Jack O’Lantern recap back on the Bwah Ha Ha Podcast.
Primal Force Cast, anyone?!
Shag and Jim,
Fantastic episode! I love the discussions of JSA legacy costumes. I know that I will be in the minority on this, but I love the original Will Peyton Starman costume (aka the peanut butter and jelly look). Even more controversially, I love the original Rick Tyler Hourman II costume from Infinity Inc.
Maybe my love for Prince has impacted my fondness for purple costumes. Now that I think about it, I would love a book with all purple costumed characters, which would of course be titled Purple Rain.
Sean
I liked Ralph’s purple and white ensemble.
I’m trying really hard not to bring Power Girl up too much, it’s not her time in the JSA yet, but your guests are not making it easy!
I do actually kind of see where Jim is coming from though. When she was first introduced Pee Gee was one of those loud obnoxious characters that constantly put down their male colleagues for not giving them respect! Which seemed to be what the 1970s (male) writers thought it meant to be a feminist, Sarah Jane Smith from Doctor Who was also a lot like this during her earlier appearances. Thankfully Pee Gee quickly settled down, and with costume change and Huntress arriving on the scene settled down into what I like to call her Cool Auntie phase!
Still, I can’t find it in my heart to hate anyone who’s a fan of Ma Hunkel!
Ironical despite his verbal sparring with Pee Gee during the All-Star days Wildcat became one of my favourites, that tough guy with a heart-of-gold persona just works for me somehow. So it is kind of neat that Ted, along with the other non-powered JSAer’s get a moment to shine in this issue. I only recall about the cyro-whatchamallit as I’ve been catching up on the very excellent Earth-2 Podcast, by the time you read (some) of this I might only be a year behind!
However, the best Ultra-Humanite will always be Dolores Winters!
Great discussion! Always a pleasure to hear from Jim, especially on our network here. I was a card-carrying member (literally, as Jim sent me a card) of the JSAAA back in the day, under the name Earth 2 Robin. Which begat me going by either that or Earth 2 Chris, and that’s how I met Shag and Rob and first interacted on the Who’s Who show, pre-network. It’s the circle of life!
So it’s no surprise that my favorite JSA member redesign is the red/yellow/green adult Earth-Two Robin costume. Particularly the version with the half cowl, as seen in my favroite comic of all-time The Brave and the Bold #182, and the recent McFarlane Toys DC Mutliverse figure! As for this series, I do like Al Pratt’s design, but I liked Parobeck’s intepretation of Hourman’s cape as more of an inverness cloak with the fabric draping his shoulders. I don’t mind the green Starman cowl, especially after Tony Harris and others retconned that Ted had many variations of his costume. David was seen in the green cowl in Starman #0 as I recall, and when he had his cowl up in the “Talking with David” issues, I think they usually depicted the green cowl. So it did stick around a bit.
I liked the pudgy Johnny Thunder myself. Seemed to kind of fit his “Mickey Rooney”-like persona, since Rooney got a little thick when he got older as well. I’m with Jim on not being too keen on Thunderbolt’s redesign. That classic silhouette with the lightining bolt crown was better, me thinks.
I’m a sucker for Dr. Mid-Nite, and maybe someone I know pretty well will have a thing or two to say about him in a future episode!
I do see what Jim was saying about the final splash reveal of Ultra-Humanite. It may be the coloring, but if you look at UH’s right hip, he looks pretty thick there! I personally missed the white gorilla look, because the SSoSV JLA/JSA crossover is MY personal favorite of the whole lot. Plus there’s the JL/JLU connection. Oh and thanks Shag for making that DJ Rubba Ducky gag!
Keep up the great work, and don’t worry about the run time. That’s what pause buttons are for!
Dr midnight costume does look cool plus doesn’t
He have like a pet owl as well or was that a red con
They added in later ?
Also did Doctor midnight ever team up with Captain midnight?
That team up seems natural to me . Also there is hero called midnight from the world of my hero academia if they could do a cross one and get them to up for one adventure they could be the midnight society.
DC actually has a golden age hero called Midnight. It’s been said he’s a ripoff of Will Eisner’s The Spirit. No idea if he’s ever teamed up with Dr Mid-Nite per se but IIRC they were both in the All-Star Squadron together. I don’t think DC has the rights to Captain Midnight.
In terms of redesigns cheers to the new look for The Ultra-Humanite. It’s a great middle ground between the ape and human look, distilling it down to something familiar yet formidable. Though I’d probably throw in some Doc Savage-esque Jodhpur pants to complete the look. Jeers to the Arctic Elf design for the Thunderbolt, as this looks less like the Thunderbolt and more something that’d be at home in Eternia in a Filmation cartoon . This one just narrowly beats his purple look in the Crisis Times Five story in Morrison’s JLA in terms of worst looks for the character. Glad it didn’t stick.
Wait. The blonde from the cliffhanger WASN’T Nabu in Kent Nelson’s body?!
Great show, Shag and Jim! The JSA has a good number of costumes that have quite distinctive accessories: Jay’s helmet, Kent’s helmet (and I prefer the full helmet), Sandman’s hat and coat, Doctor Mid-nite’s goggles, for example.
Much to my wife’s chagrin, I am not a cosplayer except for a few fun family Halloween pictures when the kids were young. If I were going to cosplay, though, I would pick the original Wes Dodds Sandman costume. And then, the following year, I could walk around asking “Are you my mommy?” a la “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” from the Christopher Eccleston season of Doctor Who.
I’m not sold on the new look Ultra-Humanite introduced in this issue. I prefer the big white gorilla. More monkeys are always better. I did, however, enjoy the Humanite’s turn as Dolores Winters.
And someone will know this. Did Johnny Thunder have much interaction w/ the Shazam family at any point? I feel like I’m forgetting something, but if not, he seems like a good fit w/ the Marvels.
Great episode, Jim Beard was a fun and knowledgeable guest. Agreed on the new Black Condor from the 90s. Thought he looked cool and was disappointed (and baffled) by his way short JLA stint. And a major head scratcher is DC killing him off after years of doing nothing with him, only to almost immediately introduce ANOTHER Black Condor who could’ve easily just been the previous one. Wasteful and puzzling to say the least.
I had no idea blue and yellow full mask Atom costume was introduced in this series but I love it too! Costume redesigns that are my favorites? The Tim Drake Robin costume is an all-time great and a much needed update on a classic. Black costume Spidey. Brown and tan Wolverine (why oh whyyyyyy has Marvel insisted on putting him in yellow and blue??). Wonder Man’s blue tank top costume with big red W on the chest is his best costume in my book. I like the updated Ice costume designed by Adam Hughes.
Another fun episode, guys. And fun is the main word. I don’t mind a long episode as long as it’s entertaining.
Its not so odd that Al and Ted are hanging out together? Remember the first All-Star Squadron annual – Al and Ted were trained by the same person.
I loved Al’s attitude toward Johnny Quick. He was at the same time surprised and not surprised at Johnny’s business venture.
Hmm, Savage, Ultra-Humanite, or Degaton. They’ve all given the JSA a run for their money at different times. I’d have to say Ultra. The JLA/JSA crossover in the 80s with the SSOSV and the run in All-Star Squadron were some of my favorite stories back then. Besides, he was well-adapted in the Stargirl TV series.
And I like the gorilla body! Being stuck in it adds to his bitterness.
Always glad to see a new episode drop on the JSA Presents feed (and, Chris, no need to feel too bad about not getting new episodes of the Starman series out there. There’s another promised part of the feed that has never dropped at all!).
While I did catch (most of) this series when it originally came out, I definitely find that I have a better appreciation of it now, having read all of All Star Squadron, which I hadn’t yet heard of in the early 1990’s. I share everyone’s disappointment that Johnny and Libby didn’t work out, but having not really known who Johnny was back then, and then coming to their relationship in All Star allways having known how it would end up, this issue itself didn’t hit me so hard. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Jesse again in later issues.
There was a question of how much interaction the two Atoms ever had…. I would certainly have loved to see them interact post-Crisis, which I don’t think we ever got before the decision to kill Al off came all too shortly after this series. In that vein, you’ve talked about the fact that DC made the decision to end this series very early on (possibly even before the first issue hit the stands, given the public announcement so soon afterward). It boggles the mind that editorial allowed the team to be brought back from limbo only to try to kill them off again barely a couple of years later. At least *some* of the characters were spared and got to go on to substantial “second acts” (or should that be even third or fourth?) afterward.
Looking forward to next episode!
Shagg and Jim, I feel your pain regarding your beloved JSA being brought back and canceled over and over. I’m a fan of Ted Kord Blue Beetle, New Warriors, Monica Rambeau/Captain Marvel II, Wonder Man, Mockingbird, Jack of Hearts, and Captain Atom, not to mention lesser known mutants like Magma, Cerise, Kylun, Skids, and Rusty Collins. I will never know peace and contentment in this life…
Shag, I hate to say it but you neglected one of the greatest costume changes in Wildcat. No, not Yolanda’s look in Infinity Inc or even on the Stargirl TV series. I’m talking Ted Grant. But it’s not strictly from the comics. I’m talking the greatest iteration of Ted Grant ever–Coach Wildcat from DC Superhero Girls! Ted’s rocking a sleeveless hoodie with cat ears pulled up over his traditional mask. And while a hoodie and sweatpants is quite amazing for Ted, let’s be 100% honest with ourselves. It’s the coach’s whistle that really pulls this entire ensemble together. Give it a look and tell me I’m wrong. And if you disagree, you better be ready to run laps!
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Ted_Grant_(DC_Super_Hero_Girls)
I concur
Whew, the discussion was so lively this time! It made for a very entertaining listen, but I was a little worried a couple of times. It kept my attention, that’s for sure.
Dr Mid-Nite’s costume is excellent in this issue, and I honestly liked his brief expression of “feeling silly”, as just feeling his age. But you wouldn’t know it once he gets to work. He’s still got it.
And count me as liking Johnny Thunder putting on a little weight. It actually makes sense for him as an “everyman with a magic buddy.” No need for him to be portrayed as buff-n-tough, and let’s get representation for other body types especially for people of a certain vintage. I’m all for it.
I don’t think this series ever addresses how the heroes got their lives straightened out after their time in limbo. Let’s see, 6 years in publication time since Crisis, which probably means 1-2 years in-universe, and they all probably were declared dead. Does it make great stories to describe how they got undeclared? Probably not, but I can’t help wondering! (But I smell a magic cop-out.)
Ok, something’s bugging me. Hold on, I’ll be right back. (doo-doo-doo Moooon Ri-i-ive-e-e-r) Hey, found it. One of the first mentions I ever read of the JSA was in a Wonder Woman comic I had a long time ago, #232 from looking on Mike’s Amazing World. The JSA was mind controlled to fight Diana, and I have this image in my head of Atom sitting on “somebody’s” shoulders, while Mr Terrific does a forward flip towards Diana. Maybe it was Sandman, since I think of it being the punchers on the team? Pretty sure it was someone with a cape, giving the double-cape look with Atom’s. Can anybody help out this forgetful old nerd?
Now the first time I saw Dr Mid-Nite was not in a story, but on the back cover of the 1976 JLA Treasury Edition. The front cover has 8 Leaguers racing out from the center, and the back had a similar image, but with the JSA. Luckily found the image online, and where the front had Green Arrow, the back had the Doc. Actually, that was my introduction to the JSA, period!
Man, my comments are all over the place. Like that’s unusual. Thanks for another great episode!
Tim, the WW #232 thing is Atom on Starman’s shoulders, tossing Me Terrific towards Diana. It’s not at all clear why this elaborate set-up is necessary, but it looks great thanks to Mike Nasser and Vince Colletta.
Nothing ever looks great with Vince Coletta editing it.
It’s a matter of taste, yeah he rubbed stuff out but sometimes he put some effort in – some of his work with Kirby on Thor, for example, looked lush.
Thanks for another great episode, and apologies for the lack of previous feedback. I was listening to comments, remembering what I’d said, then checked and saw my notes had never made it onto the website. Sorry, still, I can bring some of my mediocre observations in here.
What a treat to hear the nigh-legendary Jim Beard chat this issue with you, his JSA knowledge is second to none. And Jim is so right, Starman’s helmet just looks wrong with the changed colour. Glenn Whitmore’s explanation is reasonable, but couldn’t the editor just have had the inker draw the cowl line the first time, then have Mike Parobeck draw it properly from then on?
Jim is so wrong, I’ve never heard of anyone who hated classic Power Girl. A few of us pity the Power Girl being ‘written’ in the current DC series, mind….
Shag is so right, Sandblast WAS a suggested new hero name for Sandy Hawkins, the idea came from Wildcat in JSA #5, along with Sandstorm – and sandblasting is as much of a thing as an atom smasher… In fact I’d never heard of an atom smasher before he took the name.
Shag is so right, I’ve never taken much notice of this cover at all – I’d not even noticed the bad guy on the horse in the background. That’s one element too many.
Jim is so right, that Atom with bald head and moustache is awful, he looks like Mr Wilson from Dennis the Menace. I think Mike P went too far in making the JSA-ers look old, it’s no wonder some of the DC high-muck-a-mucks thought this made the DC line look silly. And I don’t like the new Atom costume one iota, it’s all kinds of dull compared to the original, which was outrageously weird, making it unique. I mean, cover up those hairy old arms, they’re like wasp legs! If putting Al back into the wrestler/S&M outfit didn’t seem a good idea, that Cyclotron outfit was fantastic. Who doesn’t love a head fin? Al Rothstein looked equally dull in his version of this Atom outfit.
Jim is so right, that final page is not good at all – the fantasy creature looks stupid even for a fantasy creature. And the entire Ultra-Humanite body just looks wrong, not just the torso, but the way the massive leg connects to the torso. Mind, even when it’s drawn more sensibly, this version of U-H is UH?
I agree that the Stargirl costume is great as a legacy outfit, but I still always see Yankee Poodle. My favourite update is Mr Terrific – from nondescript Golden Age to hottie in leather.
The new Johnny Thunder lightning bolt design is horrible. Just horrible. That rug! He looks like Creeper cosplay meets Barbie.
Anyway, marvellous show!
I’ve navigated to this page multiple times to leave a reply, but I knew that it would be long and involved, so it kept not happening. I also listened to the podcast this time. I hate to tell you this, but I think you accidentally, subconsciously ripped off the format and audio queues from an earlier show with “Justice” in the title on the Fire & Water Network. Something to look into!
I used to have a run of this volume, and revisiting the series for this podcast, I’m reminded of why I got rid of it. I just don’t like this book very much, and Len Strazewski is the problem. I already mentioned the limp and undermining debut issue that fails to offer a reason for the team to exist. There’s an overture toward the sort of generational divide that powered Kingdom Come, but the script doesn’t articulate that beyond “JSofA rules, X-Force drools.” The slow build of the team means that the first issue is mostly just a Flash/Green Lantern team-up, adding the soft-peddled Odd Couple of Atom & Wildcat to form a quartet in issue two. Going into #3, we’ve got the corny tease into the “Whatever Happened to Johnny Quick” segment that is a nice nod to the ’80s quasi-JSA All-Star Squadron title, but it’s of niche interest and pads out a series that’s already progressing too slowly. The barely-there “mystery” of Ultragen and the coming big bad is not compelling, especially to readers not already invested in this property. The third issue closing reveal of Ultra-Humanite is far from shocking or impressive, especially stuttering like Porky Pig while astride the goofy mutant horse thing that is to mounts what the Cybertruck is to auto design. I guess you’ve also got the Island of Dr. Moreau angle, which classic pulp/sci-fi, but also hoary and not well executed in story or art.
Speaking of which, the art is the strongest point of the series, but I don’t think Mike Machlan’s inks entirely play into Parobeck’s strengths. Maybe Parobeck’s still evolving, but there’s Ordway-like feathering that doesn’t quite fit, and a lot of blobby solid blacks running into each other, like the brush strokes are overextended or imprecise. I like seeing these characters drawn in this style… now, but it wasn’t at all what I wanted in 1992. As a part of the target demographic, old farts in half-century past mystery man fashion couldn’t have been further from my four color favors without adding a Friendly Ghost or Human Flying Saucer or something.
More specifically to #3, it opens with a Black man on his way to the grave, and there’s Latina treated as a subordinate despite being a partner physican: boxes checked. There’s a panel devoted to three JSAers declaring “I have a Black friend!” But the series has no interest in actual diversity, or we’d have someone like Amazing-Man or the Yolanda Montez Wildcat in the mix. No, the main thrust is to reintroduce the fifth and sixth (seemingly straight and mostly able-bodied) White Man heroes. And they’ve got maybe two personalities between them. Each one is either stiff/critical or amiable/game, all speaking in the same basic manner/syntax, so Reggie Lipscome’s “jazz” lingo takes on a mistral quality (never mind that they name a Black sax player “Lips Come,” which– woof.) But hey, there’s an unnamed Asian girl looking over Johnny Thunder, which mitigates… absolutely nothing. It’s window dressing for a single-sex sextet that only references it’s fairer friends in passing. I realize the Johnny Quick segment is helping to set up Jesse’s arrival next issue, but again, we know that we’re already 30% of the way through this series and she won’t be a costumed member for some time yet. There’s more pink genies on this team than women or minorities. It doesn’t need to be this. It’s a choice, and a bad one.
I realize that Power Girl’s then-current continuity was a boondoggle and that she was otherwise engaged with the JLE, but I’ve always liked her and seen rarely realized potential in her. I’m glad that she’s found at least a modicum of success and solo viability in modern times. Power Girl/Huntress makes a lot more sense to me than Batgirl/Supergirl, and the JSA is always better with them than without. Power Girl is more valuable and better treated in the Society than in the League.
I don’t recall if you defined “legacy characters,” so I’ll throw out Nightwing, John Stewart, Connor Hawke, Dinah Lance, Zatanna, and Ray Palmer, depending on criteria and on the DC front. Vandal Savage is one of my overall favorite comic book villains, so he’s easily tops for the JSA. For costume redesigns, I like Alan Scott’s Sentinel outfit and the Huntress’ better suits. The Atom redesign is very pre-fab team book– very Champions. What does he owe Ray Palmer? I prefer the kinky first outfit, from which I believe Dark Horse’s even more BDSM vigilante X was derived.
I used to sandblast professionally (okay, I only sugar-blasted, but same principle,) so it’s definitely a thing. I attended an SDCC panel in 2000 and approached Geoff Johns and David Goyer (along with many others) afterward. I asked if Sand with the dumb beanie and sweater was a transitional thing. They assured me that it was permanent, and I probably winced, because I lack a poker face. Something I got sick of quickly was Johns’ bloodthirsty massacres of other people’s characters to set up his own, often half-baked replacements. He may have been derivative, but I don’t think the Sal Velluto Firebrand deserved to die in a short anthology story after a 9-issue solo run, especially since he was a still rare Latin character. It also feels targeting of writer/co-creator Brian Augustyn, who in that same role had developed the Ryan Kendall Black Condor across twelve issues. Especially odd given that co-creator Rags Morales was recruited to draw Johns’ Hawkman run. There’s no good reason why he couldn’t have been in the Palmiotti/Grey Freedom Fighters, given how little impact John Trujillo (I had to look it up) has had over the past 18 years.
I think I remember JSA Jim from the DC Message Board, but that thread wasn’t one of my main haunts. I was more of a JLA and general/off topics cat, plus of course Martian Manhunter (I was always a misfit among Wonder Woman fans, but especially in the Jimenez years.) There was a sense of “one of our own” making it when he got that SF&O short.
I wasn’t knowledgeable enough about the DC Universe during Zero Hour to recognize when it was coming out that Primal Force was a new take on the Global Guardians/Super Friends, and was underwhelmed by the effort once I did.
Captain Midnight is (more or less) in the public domain. Technically, so is Midnight, but I doubt that it’s worth invoking DC’s ire to use him.
‘More specifically to #3, it opens with a Black man on his way to the grave, and there’s Latina treated as a subordinate despite being a partner physican: boxes checked.’
I dunno Frank, I can see you being unhappy if the ‘supporting players’ were only White folk – mind, we probably didn’t need the ‘worse trips’ gag. As for Charles yelling at Louisa, it’s an emergency, she’d be doing the same thing if she’d got there first.
Hey ho, we agree on the validity of ‘Sandblast’, the excellence of the slick Sentinel look, the superiority of the original Atom costume to this personality-free thing and Geoff Johns’ treatment of characters created by others. Every character is somebody’s favourite, but if it’s not Geoff Johns’s, have a mop ready.
[Politically Incendiary Reply Deleted]
I’m extra salty right now, is all I’m saying about that.
Better extra salty than flavour free!
Dark Horse appears to have trademarked the Captain Midnight name. So DC would have the same problem with him that they have with Shazam.
I want to know who these people are complaining about the run times. Do they want less of this podcast? Do they not understand the concept of joy? In other words, another great episode!
As a regular All-Star Squadron reader, I really enjoy Johnny Quick showing up here and, of course, the reveal of the Ultra-Humanite. I have zero recollection of where the story goes, so I’m definitely invested all over again.
I don’t know that I have a favorite costume redesign, because I often miss subtle changes. I love the black-and-yellow Hourman costume in whatever variation, for instance, but I don’t think I could articulate what those variations are.
First major post here. Please don’t skewer me too badly. I’ve always wished I could be on a show like this, so I’m bound to kibitz.
BTW, I don’t have a problem with “long” podcasts. In my book, 1-2 hours is normal for a podcast episode, and the podcasts I’m on (“Legion of Substitute Podcasters” and “Watch This! SPACE!”) usually run over an hour as well.
I wasn’t a big fan when I first read this series in the ’90s. Parobeck’s art felt cartoony, and Strazerski’s writing seemed to ignore what often-little personality Roy Thomas gave each character in All-Star Squadron and Infinity, Inc., and he played too fast and loose with previous continuity. I revised my opinion upward when I reread the series a few years ago. I appreciated Parobeck’s clean linework (as Frank wrote elsewhere in the comments, it didn’t appeal to me then). Strazewski’s respect for the characters is evident, even in how he aged them to make them seniors instead of leaving them in their young-and-fit post-Ragnarok state.
I agree with Martin that the Thunderbolt’s new look is unappealing. The Cosmic Boy-style epaulets leave much to be desired.
Props to Strazewski for remembering Peachy Pet and making Shiera a full-fledged JSA member. Props to Parobeck for giving Shiera the Silver Age Hawkgirl’s helmet (such a fantastic design that it’s a shame they didn’t use it for a long time).
I like Atom’s costume redesign. He never needed a cape in the first place. Making Al Pratt bald with a mustache is no worse than drawing Alan Scott with a full mustache and beard, and that’s a recent thing. Hourman’s costume, however, didn’t need those weird extra-large collar tabs. And just how many times does Rex Tyler have to reformulate Miraclo before it isn’t addictive anymore?
While I appreciate Charles McNider’s concern over the AIDS pandemic, the JSA had only been away from Earth for about 5-6 years when this series was published, and AIDS was already becoming more prevalent before they left.
It always bugged me about the series (still does, for that matter) that we see so little of the Infinitors or the JSA members who didn’t go to Ragnarok. There’s no mention of Sylvester Pemberton’s death and no mention or appearance of either Wildcat or Doctor Midnight, both of whom would be killed off about a year later. This would’ve been a great “last hurrah” moment in addition to adding more women and ethnically diverse characters to the book.
Since Stargirl’s been brought up, I’m going to give my hot take and say that I think her costume’s dated. Another hot take: I’m not a fan of Geoff Johns’s writing, and I think Stargirl is mostly overrated (though I did like the TV series).
As for the best costume redesign, there are so many to choose from, but I’m casting my vote for Supergirl’s pre-Crisis 1980s costume as of Supergirl v2 #19 (before the curly hair and headband). One thing I always appreciated about that take is that they gave Kara a skirt with shorts underneath, like a cheerleader, which IMO is the practical thing to do if you want to put a character in a skirt.
Don’t worry Alan, the only skewering at the Fire and Water Network goes on at the Batman Family Reunion barbecues when Shawn and Paul are making Tootsie Roll Pops kebabs. It’s great to have another voice here, with loads of interesting comments!
That was a fun listen. It was a real “Blast” with a good old “Storm” in a tea cup over colouring choices. However I can’t help but think Shag was building a house on “sand” foundations when he …. ah I give up with the punning.
Anyway I enjoyed the episode and the long discussion around it. At this stage in the series – the podcast series I mean – i think there’s be not much discussion about the actual issues and more about the JSA in general. And I for one am ALL IN on this approach (look at me using current DC marketing terms – who said advertising doesn’t work).
On the subject of Doctor Mid-Nite’s costume… I can just imagine the incensed emails from the Infection Control team – they are going to have some pretty big problems with his redesigned look. The crescent moon buttons are a harbour for bacteria and those brown leather gauntlets… Please! Disposable latex-free gloves (and only if the task really requires them). Otherwise the rule is bare arms from the elbows down. And that cape is the worst trip-hazard – that’s got to go!
So… and stay with me here… I’m proposing a Dr Mid-Nite costume based on scrubs. Green is a more traditional medical colour, but let us stick with tradition and go with a Red scrub top with green bottoms. A discreetly embroidered crescent moon on the breast pocket would be appropriate. He’s going to need to keep the black cowl with the iconic goggles – maybe we could incorporate some sort of examination light in there somewhere? (Charles doesn’t need it, of course, but it could be helpful if his JSA colleagues find themselves somewhere dark).
Some doctors keep smaller pieces of medical equipment in a bum-bag/fanny-pack so a Utility belt would seem appropriate for our medical superhero, just as long as it’s seamless and made of something wipeable. Clogs are typical footwear in operating theatres but… they’re not entirely practical for crime-fighting, so sturdy sneakers or boots could be OK.
And where – since 1941 – is Charles’ stethoscope? It’s the one bit of uniform we doctors all have – stuck in our pocket or slung around our necks. Dr Mid-Nite should have a really fancy one – perhaps we could get Batman to design it for him!
One final thing… showing up to work with an owl on your shoulder is definitely going to get you in trouble with Hospital HR. The psittacosis risk alone is incalculable! Sorry, Hooty: we’re going to need you to stay at home!
At one San Diego Comic-Con, I stopped at Mike Parobeck’s table in Artist’s Alley, and he had a bin full of pages from this series that were not selling at $10 a page. Back then, I had no interest in original art, but looking back, it’s one of the few things I regret not buying, along with TMNT #1, and Giant Size X-men.
Great episode with some fun between you Shag and Jim.
Thought I’d drop in with a legacy hero I’m very fond of. Traci 13.
The best thing about this series is Mike Parobeck drawing Dr. Midnight. That costume looks so cool with those clean, simple lines. Every image of Midnight makes me think Parobeck is channeling John Byrne. Just perfect.