We continue our coverage of the 1991 JSA mini-series! M.A. Solko and The Irredeemable Shag discuss JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #6 (September 1991) by Len Strazewski, Tom Artis & Frank McLaughlin! Thousands of feet above the ground, Green Lantern and Black Canary are helpless captives of a living constellation! Then, the issue closes with the long-awaited reunion of the JSA! Plus, we spotlight some favorite team-ups between two JSA members! Finally, we wrap up with YOUR listener feedback!
- Have a question or comment? Looking for more great content?
- Leave comments on our website: https://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/jsa90s-91-6
- Images from this episode: https://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/jsa90s-91-6-gallery/
- Email the show at: justicesocietypresents@gmail.com
- Follow M.A. Solko:
- The Pod Opaque: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePodOpaque
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/masolko.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masolko
- Subscribe to JSA IN THE 90s as part of the JUSTICE SOCIETY PRESENTS Podcast:
- Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/justice-society-presents/id1549429702
- Don’t use Apple Podcasts? Use this link for your podcast catcher: https://feeds.feedburner.com/jsapresents
- Also available on Spotify, Audible, and Amazon Music
- Follow JSA PRESENTS on social media:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jsapresents
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jsapresents.bsky.social
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jsapresents/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jsapresents
- Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jsapresents
- This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:
- Visit the Fire & Water website: https://fireandwaterpodcast.com
- Like our Fire & Water Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork
- Follow Fire & Water on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fwpodcasts.bsky.social
- Follow Fire & Water on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireandwaterpodcast/
- Support The Fire & Water Podcast Network on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fwpodcasts
Thanks for listening! Join the fight… for Justice!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Impressive podcast most impressive. Yeah a green lantern is acting a little Oy towards black Canary. The stories seem to have had its funny moments. Also I like this art very well done. Reminds me of the art from the Hood comic from the Impact comic line. That or the comet . Loved that comic back in the day.
Slightly rember that and the Fly . Though Jaguar was my favorite. Ah Derby Diggal. Interesting side kick. I always confuse him with Plastic Man’s side kick. The bird Tex Avery bit was funny. Yeah Solomon Grundy just looks like a big guy here. Like the Hulk in the 90s.
Ware he was Bruce in the Hulk’s body. The bi plane vs the kiju. Was a fun bit. That story point reminded me of the first King Kong movie. Oy finally Vandal Savage shows up. Not the greatest hidden secret. Up there with Khan being the villain in the movie Star Trek into Darkness.
Kind of figured that out. Wait the blue jump shout is what Vandal is warring? Normally he gets the cool goth boy suit and he gets in this? You should fire his haberdasher. Anyway can’t wait for the next episode.
Jaguar was my favorite Impact book as well! Someone definitely needs to sneak a Doiby Dickles/Woozy Winks meeting into a story at some point.
First up another great show .
Have tried this app called NAUK NAUK .
It lets you bring your toys to life I’m having fun with it I’m on it as AmericanSamurai. It’s fun app that lets you make stories and use A.I to bring toys to life .
Sorry had to tell some one .
But anyways . This issue sounded great and love that G.L’s
Side saved the day .
And sense the crusaders where mentioned.
I have to say I think black hood got a bad turn on riverdale . They made a heroic character in to serial killer could they have not just made new character or used villains name . Sorry it bugs me . Also random question shag your expert on lot of things
I saw photo some used for forgotten members of the just league and the guy looked like Hardcase from the ultra verse was he ever a member of justice league or was that just a nock off I saw ???
Also can’t wait for the big team up hope you give the app I mentioned a try .
One thing that’s stood out as I’m revisiting the Impact line is the dearth of quality villains in that line and the earlier Archie books. You’d think there would’ve been someone for Riverdale to use other than the name of a hero.
It sounds like the forgotten member of the League you’re asking about is Triumph. He was introduced in the mid-90s as a founding member of the Justice League who was displaced into an alternate dimension and forgotten by all. Joining Justice League Task Force, he had a *lot* of resentment because he was treated like a rookie. Marvel pulled a similar trick later on with the character Voyager.
Still listening, but looking at the art… did Tom Artis get confused and think that Alan Scott wore gloves? Look how high up his sleeves go. His original costume had very baggy sleeves with cuffs, but by the late Golden Age it was just a standard skintight shirt. But I’ve never seen his sleeves up that high. It’s like Artis was drawing Hal Jordan-like gloves. And we still have that blasted yellow belt on Canary! But I’m enjoying the episode so far. More later!
Okay, now I’ve listened to the whole episode. Fun discussion gents! Solko you came in during what I consider the GREATEST JLA/JSA team-up! It’s my absolute favorite, and even though I had a few prior crossover issues, its the gold standard for me.
As for this issue, I like the art for the most part, but that last spalsh page has some awkward posing. Savage is exlaiming “What! Hawkman!” but looking at the Flash, for instance…and where’s Jay’s helmet? Grundy is defintely off any model I know of. Inker Frank McLaughlin has a semi-JSA connection, in addition to inking several JLA/JSA crossovers. He created Judo Master at Charlton, who was later folded into the All-Star Squadron and the JSA’s legacy.
Also, GL versus a giant yellow bird made me think of Hal fighting a similar beast in the JLA origin, and I know how Shag loves when the Appelaxians are mentioned!
I’m pretty shocked Shag didn’t just draft individual Appelaxians for his Secret Society team.
I didn’t catch the GL costume differences until reading your comment! The gloves theory sounds pretty likely.
Were you serious about wanting to know what Green Lantern projections smell like? I’ll give that a shot.
Alan Scott’s flame, being magically based, would presumably smell like sulphur, but since Solomon Grundy was able to notice it over his own personal aroma it must be something else. Given that Mart Nodell has mentioned using chinese paper lanterns as the inspiration for the look of both the lantern and Alan’s original costume, I’d say that an appropriate smell for his projections would be jasmine.
Hal Jordan was a test pilot in the 1960’s, so his would either be ozone or Hai Karate.
John Stewart, the architect, would have a smell like either graphite or acid free paper. Either way, barely noticeable,
Katma Tui’s projections, on the other hand, might smell like John Stewart.
Guy Gardner’s would be either Axe body spray or Desenex.
Kilowog’s signature scent is a little hard to pin down. Possibly Old Spice.
Gnort’s signature smell would be– well, we all know how dogs identify each other by smell.
Arisia’s projection inevitably (say it with me) smells like Teen Spirit.
Mogo would of course have projections that smell like petrichor, but nobody would be able to remember the word for it.
Ch’p, being a squirrel, would have projections that smelled like his nuts.
Based on your excellent deductive work I’d suggest that Kyle’s would smell like desperation… as he is an artist trying to make a career – if only he went to the Joe Kubert School, he’d have it made by now!
Please note I refrained from a joke about Refrigerant gases.
Thank you for taking the time to indulge this silliness. The list put a smile on my face!
Hopefully not being “that guy” here, but sulphur/sulfur burns with a blue flame. Boron burns with a bright green flame, which would fit better with Alan’s powers … but I have no idea how that smells!
Finally caught up on JSA in the 90s. While my backlog was a few episodes it did feel like when I was WAY behind on that JLI podcast and was cramming 2 to 3 episodes a week to catch up….. do not recommend (but I know my internet pal Chris Pine did something similar and he still seems sane so i hope I’m okay).
Anyway great episode and an excellent guest.
I always struggled with Tom Artis style on anything other than The WEB mainly because he often seems to be inconsistent. One page is fantastic another seems somewhat off a bit and this issue was no different. On average it’s good mind you.
I’m glad this issue pulls many of the strings together for the series and sets up the final fight can’t wait to cover that next month …. wait we have another solo spotlight next month…. Boo I say BOOOOO – and not in the Hallowe’en Spooky season style booing!
Blimey, I thought his art was decent everywhere but the W.E.B. Page after page of images I couldn’t parse.
This might just have been my favorite issue of the miniseries so far. A little more for Black Canary to do, and little less misogyny from GL, and it would be no contest. I was nodding right along with MA Solko when he talked about his origin story with the JSA, as JLA #195 was my introduction to the team as well. I was a pretty dyed-in-the-wool Marvel Zombie back then but I could not resist that Perez cover. it would be many more years before I ever got to read the rest of that tale, but by then I was tried and true JSA fan from reading All-Star Squadron.
I never made the connection our five JSA members spotlighted in this mini all had contemporary legacy titles going on. That’s one of the highlights of listening to this podcast, Shag, details like that shared from “behind the scenes” – research you’ve turned up from old creator interviews, promotional texts, and letters pages. I like your idea for them to be included in the digital format. Those could again serve as a a great hook to expanding readers’ interests beyond whatever title they might already be enjoying in the app. Plus it helps set the digital platform apart from the trade paperback collections that don’t include those extras.
As for favorite JSA team-ups – got to go with the pairing of my two favorite members: Starman and the Sandman. Running through issues 20-23 of Starman, Wesley Dodds has one last adventure alongside the original Starman’s son – Jack Knight in the James Robinson-Tony Harrison series. And as a bonus that same year (1996) in an unofficial crossover of sorts, Ted Knight himself showed up in Sandman Mystery Theatre 37-40 setting up the origin of Starman’s nemesis The Mist. That’s the good stuff!
Agreed on interest in additional material (interviews, promos, etc.) being included in digital editions as available. There’s loads of internal promotional materials just sitting on shelves collecting dust. Letters pages seem like they should be the easiest slam dunk to add although I suppose it would require allocating someone fulltime to add those to the thousands of comics already on the app. Facsimile editions show there is a nostalgia value for seeing a comic as it was actually published (or as close as you can get without ads).
Great show as usual. So, my first thought when listening was that I got hung up on your opening conversation about THE YOUNG ALLSTARS. I couldn’t get past it. It reminded me of just how much I loved Arn “Iron” Monroe. That reminded me of how much I loved Phillip Wylde’s GLADIATOR. Which if you didn’t know was one of the first super hero stories and Stared Hugo Danner. Iron Monroe’s father. That led me to Monroe’s appearance in Damage as one of Grant’s possible fathers. Now I want to re-read Gladiator, The young allstars, and Damage. Thanks for giving me a few weeks worth or reading material.
Did you ever read Marvel’s Gladiator adaptation, Man-God, in 1976’s Marvel Preview #9 by Roy Thomas (surprise!) and Tony DeZuniga? I likely shouldn’t have been reading it at 12, but it was rather formative.
Great episode as always. In terms of JSA team ups, how about a JSA-djacent team up? Infinity Inc. #27, entitled “Memories”, featured one of the last hurrahs of Earth-2 post-Crisis. In the story, Lyta Trevor (Fury) remembers meeting Albert Rothstein (Nuklon/Atom Smasher) and Hector Hall (Silver Scarab) for the first time as kids.
And I agree 100% with the idea of Justice League of America #195-197 is perhaps the greatest JLA/JSA crossover. That was in 1981 and then, the very next year, we had the “Crisis on Earth-Prime”. What a one-two punch of awesome stories!
This reminds me I need to do a complete read of Infinity Inc. The lack of direct market access at the time meant my only exposure was a handful of back-issues from the final few episodes of the series. I need the first JSAish crossover with the Global Guardians!
Controversially, I enjoy “Crisis on Earth-Prime” a little more of those two crossovers. It seemed mind-blowing that *two* separate comics were sharing a single story, now with even more heroes than the previous year’s crossover!
I had to subscribe to Infinity Inc. since there was no direct access in my area either. I did the same with the Baxter Legion book and DC Challenge. Those two JLA/JSA crossovers are 1A and 1B for me. Hard to choose between them since they are both excellent.
What do various Green Lanterns (or at least their constructs) smell like? Well…
Alan–kerosene and the local diner’s Early Bird Special
Hal–old bomber jackets and the aftermath of Oliver Queen’s famous chili recipe
John Stewart–pure determination and whatever perfume Katma Tui would’ve worn
Guy–gym socks and Axe bodyspray
Kyle–Radu’s coffee and Sharpie markers
As for JSA member team-ups, Dr. Fate and Hourman teaming up in Showcase #55 and #56 are both good issues.
Dr. Fate and Hourman make for a wacky duo as they seem to inhabit very different worlds. What threat necessitates the magic guy and the punchy guy to team up?! Now I’m imagining a Brave and the Bold where Haney and Aparo were teaming up various JSA characters with little regard for existing continuity or timelines.
I’m a bit conflicted on the art in this issue. Some of it was great, and sometimes the blocking was off or simplistic, like a couple of panels in a row with GL and BC facing straight at the reader. Maybe it was rushed or there was a disconnect with the writing. It just felt uneven.
Because then there’s great bits like the eagle’s face when Lantern muzzles it, or its reaction from the plucked tail feather. Just hilarious!
So Shagg, remember in the second part of the Marvel Team-Up story with Yellowjacket and Wasp, where Hank says “Don’t ask questions, honey, just do what I tell you.” I’m afraid I got an awfully similar vibe to Lantern telling Canary he needed to concentrate. Yikes! And MTU was written in the 70s as an excuse, but this issue? Afraid not great progress on that front.
Now for a JSA team up, of course the first one I thought of was that Flash/Wildcat story! It’s such a winner, featuring an offbeat pair of teammates, with a story that has some crazy stakes. But I’ll take any Power Girl/Huntress story, whether it be their 70s team ups, or even the New 52 World’s Finest series they shared. Who doesn’t love Earth 2’s leading ladies?
Yikes. Hank Pym is the absolute worst. I imagine there’s temptation to explore the casual misogyny of the 40s/50s when writing a story like this, but it’s absolutely more frustrating when it comes from one of our heroes. GL should’ve been a bit embarrassed Canary had a better grasp on how to use the battery than he did in this situation.
And yeah, the blocking was definitely clunky in places. I love that this series allows us to see some new artists figuring it out. Unfortunately, that does mean a few clunker panels and layouts along the way. I wish we could’ve seen more work from Artis over the years as he could’ve developed into a strong storyteller, especially based on his work with expressions.
If we’re talking favorite JSA team-ups, it should come as no surprise that I’m picking the “Sand and Stars” arc from Starman. I’ve said before how this was the arc made me understand and fall in love with the series. As a story, it works on many levels: You have Jack of the new generation of heroes coming to Wesley Dodds, one of the originals, for help. You have Wesley putting on the gas mask one more time, and my personal favorite moment where Jack comes to the Dodds’ home. He’s nervous about meeting one of his heroes. You think he’s talking about The Sandman, but when a woman opens the door and Jack his flummoxed, you realize he’s talking about Dian Belmont aka the wife of the Golden Age Sandman and more importantly an accomplished writer in her own right. It’s a small moment, but for some reason it had a huge impact on me, showing you so much about Jack’s character and celebrating Dian as a person. It’s one of my favorite team-ups and I’ll always be grateful to it for opening the door to a series that’s meant so much to me over the years.
Another great episode! And another example of one of my favorite JSAers, Alan Scott, acting like a jerk! Speaking of Alan, I loved his antagonistic team-up with Fate. Since you recently read that series on DCUI, I assume we’ll be getting a Jared Stevens episode soon. I can’t wait! I also really enjoyed Alan’s team-up with Jack Knight during the “Infernal Devices” arc in Starman, and I liked the Captain Marvel and Jack team-up later in that series too.
Thanks for another top episode, what a great guest Solko is, sharp opinions and a great voice.
I really enjoyed the opening of this issue, it was so unusual to have our heroes involved with a biplane. It might have been fun to have Dinah wake up, see the situation. she’s in and give out a scream, which turns out to be a mutant yell, previewing her daughter’s powers. She could never do it again…
Yes, this isn’t the usual look for Solomon Grundy, but it was later established that depending on the day he rose from the swamp, he could be a little different. I like this jolly white giant version. I’m sure that next time he came back, he had the panda eyes and black jacket.