When the Justice Society falls, only an All-Star Squadron can save the world! Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Justice League of America #193 awaits!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #193

Writer:  Roy Thomas
Penciler: Rich Buckler
Inker: Jerry Ordway
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Len Wein
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: 50 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $12.00
Release Date: April 14, 1984

Previously in Justice League of America: They say that T.O. Morrow created the Red Tornado, but none of his other creations have shown the level of intellect and emotion as ol’ Reddy. Could something else be going on? Yes. Yes, it could. But that’s not important right now!

Today, we’re here for another of DC’s early-1980s curiosities: The Free Insert Preview! At roughly the same time that the miniseries format was being tested, DC started providing a full half-issue of material to debut new concepts and series. That’s why the first appearance of the New Teen Titans isn’t New Teen Titans #1, but in fact DC Comics Presents #26, and why the new Dial H for Hero strip debuted in a random issue of Legion of Super-Heroes. Captain Carrot, Amethyst, and Blue Devil all debuted in Free Previews, but this particular instance wasn’t a first appearance for anyone involved. Indeed, this story features some of the oldest characters in the DC Universe.

As our story begins, a mysterious man in the shadows is trying to contact the members of the Justice Society of America for reasons unknown, and it all seems very sinister. The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern are racing for charity (a story beat inspired by the cover of Comics Cavalcade #1), but afterwards, are ambushed by Solomon Grundy! Grundy clearly remembers his rivalry with Green Lantern, but GL has NO idea who the big mossy jerk is, since Grundy’s it’s late 1941, and Grundy doesn’t actually appear until 1944, in All-American Comics #61. As the mysterious stranger laments three heroes gone missing, we travel to New York City, where Ted “Starman” Knight and Johnny Thunder visit their JSA teammate, millionaire playboy Wesley Dodds.

If you only know Sandman in a post-Vertigo reality, he wore that gold-and-purple costume after being revamped by Mort Weisinger in 1941, and its appearance here is a fine example of how good the Rich Buckler/Jerry Ordway team is. When I started reading comics circa 1982/1983, Ordway was one of the first artists whose name I learned to recognize and look for at the local drugstore newsstand. As the JSA trio sets out to discover the secrets of the sailing ship in the sky, only to find its master, The Sky Pirate, ready to bring them down! He also shouldn’t be here yet, as his first appearance isn’t until 1947, and he easily drops the Sand/Star/Thunder team with a rather ironic weapon.

Doctor Fate is shocked to see Wotan attacking him at his tower in Massachusetts because Wotan is pretty dead after an encounter with Fate earlier in 1941. Though his powers are diminished, thanks to his half-helmet (long story), Doctor Fate is still powerful enough to defeat Wotan, but NOT The Spectre, who was likewise lured there. As the two mystical powerhouses take each other out, we count EIGHT Justice Society members now out of action, with SOMEONE clearly targeting the world’s first super-team. The World’s Finest team of Superman, Batman, and Robin are taken out with time-travel magic and a healthy dose of Kryptonite (which also doesn’t technically exist yet, as it didn’t debut until 1949), while the trio of Doctor Mid-Nite, The Atom, and Hawkman face a strange rematch, battling a villain they’ve never met… yet.

Ironically, where the Man of Steel, the literal Wrath of Old Testament God, and the Princess of the Amazons fell to the attack, a blind doctor, an archaeologist, and a five-foot-tall college kid succeeded, reminding us all that it’s not the powers that make the superhero (or the masked mystery man). As a strange figure watches them, the three JSAers set out for answers, while the mysterious shadowy figure is revealed to be… The President of the United States!

One of the many wonderful things about the art of Jerry Ordway is the fact that you can quickly identify Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman on sight, while their attempts to contact the costumed heroes take on new meaning as we find out the specific date: December 7th, 1941!

It’s a really cool preview, one that features a few non-JSA cameos as, in addition to Robotman, clanking away in his overcoat, we see Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle in their secret identities, as well as Danette Reilly, the woman who will soon become the new Firebrand. The story leads right into All-Star Squadron #1, probably the most successful of any of Roy Thomas’ attempts to recapture his beloved Golden Age, which makes Justice League of America #193 my favorite of the bonus comics of the era, with amazing art by Buckler and Ordway, a plot full of Easter Eggs and a technical price tag of $0, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. The enjoyment factor of every issue of All-Star Squadron is sky-high, the kind of thing that could only be killed by some sort of crisis, maybe one that affected infinite Earths.

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