Review:
Crisis is cool again in the DC universe. With the multi-part animated Justice League films, the landmark 1980s Crisis on Infinite Earths is back.
While Crisis on Infinite Earths is arguably the biggest and most momentous of the DC Crisis events, it is hardly the first or the last. Starting with 1963's "Crisis on Earth-1" and "Crisis on Earth-2", DC has practically owned the word for its crossover events. Crisis in Time; Identity Crisis; Infinite Crisis; Final Crisis; Heroes in Crisis; and as recently as 2022, Dark Crisis.
To celebrate the film and mark the ongoing influence of Crisis in DC, let's revisit some Trade Paperback collections of Silver Age stories that played with, and in some ways contributed to the problem that Crisis on Infinite Earths sought to solve.
For 20 years, the Justice League of America title had an annual Earth-1 / Earth-2 crossover event. This volume, the second in a series reprinting those stories, covers the years 1967-1970. In them, the Justice League of America (Earth-1 Silver Age heroes) teams with the Justice Society of America (Earth-2's Golden Age counterparts). Together they battle such threats as alien spheres that bestow evil super-powers, T.O. Morrow's cross-dimensional schemes, a living star-being and a powerful transformer of worlds, known as Creator2 and his deliciously-named side-kicks Karmeel, Nugat and Ksuu. Two Supermen, two Wonder Women, two Green Lanterns, two Flashes, as well as several other A-list and B-list heroes appear in these pages.
Gardner Fox's tales, from 1967 and 1968, are light and fast-paced, the characters are chummy with simple emotions and motivations. When the creative team switches to Denny O'Neil and Dick Dillin, the stories become more cosmic in scope, the threats feel more potent and dangerous, and the emotions become more nuanced and complex.
It is in these latter tales, for example, that Larry Lance sacrifices himself to save his wife Dinah aka Black Canary, prompting her to switch Earths. Superman's words of committal at Larry's burial help to set the more serious tone. This sacrifice is followed in subsequent years by the self-sacrifice and disappearance of the Specter.
O'Neil is clearly not afraid to shake things up with the characters and separate Earths. Do these changes complicate the overlap between these two (and eventually multiple other) Earths in the DC canon? Or are they early signs that there's already a growing complexity that needs attention?
The art of Mike Sekowsky and Dick Dillin is very much representative of the Silver Age period - dramatic poses, raw fisticuffs, a smooth evenness and constancy to the colors, with shading being managed more by inks than colors. Yet some moments do stand out. Black Canary's range is especially remarkable, as she is portrayed with strong fighting postures mixed with sultry and fetching angles and finally tears and emotional crises. Dick Dillin's star creature, for its part, is a wonderful blend of goofy and silly, strong and menacing, unique yet with stereotypical features - much like the main currents of the Silver Age itself.
This book is a fun slice of history, and is notable especially for the contrast between the different creative teams.
Description:
Four more summer meetings between the legendary Justice League of America and Justice Society of America are collected in this highly demanded volume! Collecting JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #55-56, #64-65, #72-73, #83-84 plus an introduction by Martin Pasko and a new cover painting by Jerry Ordway!
Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #55-56, #64-65, #72-73, #83-84
Authors: Gardner F. Fox, Dennis O'Neil
Artists: Mike Sekowsky, Dick Dillin
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: Nov. 1, 2003
Parental Rating: Everyone
ISBN: 978-1401200039
Pages: 208 pages
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