TreasuryCast #46 – Justice League of America

TREASURYCAST #46 – JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA

Rob welcomes FORGOTTEN ALL-STAR: A BIOGRAPHY OF GARDNER FOX author Jennifer DeRoss to discuss LIMITED COLLECTORS’ EDITION #C46, featuring two titanic tales starring the Justice League of America written by the legendary Gardner Fox!

Check out images from this comic by clicking here!

Subscribe to TREASURYCAST on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/treasurycast/id1166726594

Opening theme by Luke Daab: http://daabcreative.com

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK:

Thanks for listening! Go big or go home!

8 responses to “TreasuryCast #46 – Justice League of America

  1. Shotgun! …or whatever you call it when you make the first comment…
    A thoroughly enjoyable discussion of one of the classic treasuries – yes, that cover image is truly iconic, and yes, I well recall the Super Friends opening sequence that used it.
    And what a great guest: someone who literally wrote the book on Gardner Fox! Hopefully Jennifer can come back for future shows.

    1. Oh yeah, just remembered: on the topic of Rob’s mystification over the pairing of Aquaman and Dr. Fate, I have to say that while Jennifer’s response to the conundrum is certainly intriguing, I think it’s more simple. It’s because they’re just both so damn cool… 😉

  2. What a treat, a great issue and yet another great guest. I’ve only read the first of these stories but loved it, I’m sure I’d like the other one too. The comments about Mike Sekowsky’s art looking alternately lovely and awkward are spot on, I rather love his wonkiness. I remember when he was working on Supergirl, even the kindest of women wore an evil smirk.

    Jennifer’s comments about Howard Sherman’s underwater scenes also chimes with me as I recently reviewed the new Wanted trade at my blog and used a page from the Dr Fate story therein because I was so struck by the underwater art, check his brilliance out here:
    https://dangermart.blog/2020/04/05/dcs-wanted-the-worlds-most-dangerous-super-villains-review/

    Regarding Kanjar Ro’s double not being evil, perhaps it was a nature vs nurture deal, and the original had a really rough upbringing that turned him bad whereas the newborn was a clean slate.

    That JLA party in the satellite looks a dreadful drab affair, but what really struck me about the feature pages was Plastic Man in the Alex Toth model sheets… what on earth is he doing grabbing that bowling ball bottom?

    The two splash pages remind me of something that annoyed me even as a kid, the sexism in the way ‘Wonder Woman’ was always written in a cursive, ‘girlie’ fashion a la her original cover logo. Just me?

    The back cover is a fun idea but a bit odd given the JSA weren’t in this special.

  3. Yes! Been waiting anxiously for you to cover this book! Thanks Rob, another great episode and an amazing guest. Thank you Jennifer DeRoss for joining in.
    Growing up in the last 70s/early 80s The Justice League of America was the ultimate comic book. Literally the world’s greatest superheroes. This book is a treasured possession for the front and back covers alone.
    I also enjoy the two page spread which appears to be a “house-warming” party as the JLA move into the satellite and install the final pieces of equipment.
    They should also be preparing to jettison “Snapper” out of the airlock since it was his fault they had to give up the Secret Sanctuary!
    Anyways, looking forward to the next episode!
    Matt Sirois: Proud Member of “Shagg Matthews Crap List”

  4. Great show, and great guest! I had seen Jennifer’s biography of Gardner Fox and had thought of buying it. Now I will definitely add it to my Wants List.
    This book is probably my favorite Treasury, and one of the few that I still have, some 40 years after originally buying it.
    Not sure if people know that this cover is a re-styling of the back-cover of the 1976 DC Calendar. It had the same characters flying out from the DC logo, except instead of Aquaman it had Rob’s nemesis….Captain Marvel! With art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano.
    So I think this (and, conversely, the JSA version) were re-done by Dick Giordano only…. although Hawkman and Green Arrow look as if they were swapped straight, with no changes, and the others like Superman and Green Lantern have only the most minor of changes…..
    I’ll send you a copy of the illustration and you can add it to the gallery if you think it warrants inclusion.
    Anyway, I LOVED the two-page spread and used it as my “base” on how to draw the JLA forever. This Hawkman is still my favorite version, bar none.
    Of course, I would have liked to have seen Hawkgirl/woman included here. Funny how she missed all of these group shots. Sure, she wasn’t a member at this particular time but she joined within a year. Julius Schwartz could have given the artists a head’s up.
    And speaking of the artists, I’m not sure if I heard currently but this fine illustration was done by Terry Austin and Dick Giordano. Would have liked to have seen more Terry Austin pencils….his Hall of Justice pics look awesome as well!

  5. Russell beat me to it on the DC Calendar connection. I have a very nice copy of the calendar, which is why the Batman page is now being used for the Knightcast banner here on the site. I have a Toon Tumbler glass with the JSA back cover image on it, one of the few non-action figure JSA pieces I owned.

    Oh, and Jennifer would probably be happy to know the Hawkman image from this set was swiped for a Hawkman card in the deck of Flash playing cards released by Russell’s in the 70s.

    Speaking of Jennifer, she was a great guest! I was unaware of her book on Gardner Fox, but will definitely be seeking it out. The only bits about Fox I know come from Roy Thomas’ All-Star Companion book series. I agree that Fox is probably THE most under-rated creator in comics’ history, given how many characters and concepts he helped co-create that are still relevant today.

    I’m still pretty hot-and-cold on Sekowsky’s art. I appreciate it, but I still wonder what a JLA book would have looked like drawn by Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, or Murphy Anderson (who did draw many of the covers back then). His slightly thicker Joker looks a bit Nicholson-esque in the pages shown here.

    Oh, those SF models sheets! I actually want this treasury just for these! And Golden Age Flash!!! My mind is blown. Somehow, I’ve never seen this. Oh, if only Jay had shown up on the Super Friends. Instead, we got a whole season of Marvin. Sigh.

    Great episode!

    Chris

  6. Really enjoyed the show. I must say I am jealous of Jennifer having a grandmother who was encouraging her to read Superman and Batman. My Grandmother (think Granny Goodness, only meaner) was always screaming at me, “I’ll be glad when you outgrow that (Batman).”

    Either this or Marvel Treasury Edition 14, with Spider-Man, was my first treasury edition. Looking at the on-sale date, I think I must have bought the JLA treasury at a store that didn’t normally carry comics and didn’t return their stock. It pre-dates the first four comics I got when I began collecting.

    I can’t remember a lot from when I was a kid, but I do recall looking at the splash page that showed Superman wearing glasses and worrying, “Oh, no. Someone is going to recognize he’s Clark.” I’ve mentioned Super Heroes vs Super Gorillas being my gateway drug to Superman and Flash fandom, so obviously the cover was irresistible, since it had Batman, Superman and Flash. As a kid, I loved the key since I didn’t recognize a lot of the people on the satellite pin-up or the Justice Society back cover. I was particularly intrigued on the back cover by Dr. Fate and Dr. Mid-Nite. I thought they looked cool. As much as I enjoyed the story featured, I kind-of wish it had a JLA/JSA story, so that it could have been a gateway drug to fandom for some of the JSA characters.

    Even at five, I thought Green Arrow was a loud-mouth blowhard and couldn’t imagine hating a super-hero more, so I would have liked for Dr. Fate or Dr. Mid-Nite to take his place on the front cover.

  7. Another great episode! And I’ve read Jennifer’s book, and it’s well worth getting.

    I also have a special affection for this treasury, although if I had been the one putting it together back in 1976, I think I instead would have chosen issues #29 and 30, the “Crisis on Earth-Three” epic that not only included the JSA, but introduced the Crime Syndicate as well. And having crossover stories at least would have better justified having the JSA image on the back cover of the treasury.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *