Review: America vs. the Justice Society by Roy Thomas, Alfredo Alcala, Howard Bender, et al.

Roy Thomas never got his often-expressed wish of writing a Justice Society focused ongoing, but 1985 did see the release of the America vs. the Justice Society mini-series. This was collected by DC Comics in a trade paperback in 2015, but reviews of the trade led me to pick up the original issues instead, as the trade omitted Thomas's "skeleton keys," an extensive set of notes in each issue that explained all the references. I read it where it is set chronologically, between issues #12 and 13 of Infinity, Inc.

The basic premise is that a diary surfaces, written by Batman, that claims the JSA were converted to allegiance of Hitler right at the moment of their founding, and that they were secretly working for him during World War II. A congressional committee convenes a hearing to see if charges should be brought against the JSA. This pits Batman's two children against each other: Helena Wayne a.k.a. the Huntress swears to defend the JSA even if it means unmasking Batman while Dick Grayson a.k.a. Robin believes nothing should tarnish the reputation of his old mentor.

You might think there's some good potential for drama here (and the Dick/Helena scenes are probably the comic's best ones), but it turns out to be the Roy Thomasest Roy Thomas comic that ever Roy Thomased. Because how do the JSA defend themselves? By recapping their entire history in exhaustive detail. Like, literally most of this comic is various JSA members taking turns standing before a committee and reciting an issue-by-issue chronology of their previous cases. Like, why? Obviously in some cases, this is supposed to smooth out continuity issues (Thomas clearly takes care of a couple things that bothered him about the JSA's 1970s revival in All Star Comics, for example), but much of it is simply, "this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened," ad nauseam. There's also some finessing of the JSA's Golden Age continuity... but that Thomas had already done in All-Star Squadron, and so most of the Golden Age stuff here is actually just recapping retcons he had already written elsewhere! And I had already read!

Even the characters know what they're talking about is often irrelevant; there's a bit where Power Girl is recapping the 1970s history of the JSA, and Wildcat thinks to himself, "I left about that time... to work with kids instead of hoodlums for a change. No sense bringin' that up, though." Yeah, there is no sense in bringing it up! But you did it anyway, Roy Thomas!

The original case of the JSA is actually recapped three different times. Issue #1 gives the distorted version from the "Batman diary," and then the JSA tell each other the true version... and then in issue #2 they tell it to the congressional committee all over again! Why why why?

The eventual answer to the plot doesn't make much sense. Batman worked out that Per Degaton was going to steal a time machine in 1984,* but he had brain cancer. The tumor was making Bruce Wayne paranoid and so he couldn't tell the JSA... but his Batman half(!) knew he had to get the word out, and so secretly wrote the fake diary and asked it to be released in 1984 so that the JSA's attention would be drawn toward their past and thus Per Degaton at the crucial moment. Like, when that was all explained, all I could go was, "!?" It's the sort of thing that might fly in an actual Golden Age comic, but not in the year 1985.

I will say, actually, I have come to an appreciation of Per Degaton. When I first encountered him (in Crisis on Multiple Earths, Volume 6), I noted that his name was dumb but I kind of felt sorry for him. Now that I've encountered him again in All-Star Squadron and this story, there's something kind of awesome about this mediocre research assistant who keeps trying to conquer the world again and again, but every time his attempt to do so is erased from history so that not even he knows he did it. There's a great bit in issue #3 where the same panel of him going, "Funny, Professor! I dreamed last night I was ruler of the world! ≽sigh!≼ Wonder if I'll ever be anything but a lab assistant?!" and the professor replying, "Stop mumbling, Degaton, and wash these tubes like a good fellow!" is used three times in two pages. He's the kind of would be conqueror of the world I can relate to. (Maybe that's just because he has red hair.)

from America vs. the Justice Society #3
(art by Howard Bender & Alfredo Alcala)

The first issue (which is double-length) is pencilled by Rafael Kayanan. Apparently I've seen his work a couple times before (in The Children's Crusade and Chewbacca), but I can't say I remember him. He did make a good impression here: there's a lot of talking, but he does a good job with facial expressions, bringing the large cast of characters to life. I also liked Mike Hernandez's work on #2,† but I wasn't impressed by Howard Bender on #3-4; his faces are kind of weird, which is a big detriment in a comic mostly about people standing before a committee and talking.

The funny thing is, of course, that this was all pointless. The final issue came out in April 1985... the same month as Crisis on Infinite Earths #1, a series that would culminate with the rewriting of DC history so that Superman, Batman, the Huntress, and Robin never served with the JSA at all! Like most comics projects that emphasize continuity over story (something Thomas is always in danger of doing, but never so much as here), it ultimately is meaningless because the next retcon just retcons out this retcon.

America vs. the Justice Society was originally published in four issues (Jan.-Apr. 1985). The story was written and edited by Roy Thomas; pencilled by Rafael Kayanan (#1), Rich Buckler (#1), Jerry Ordway (#1), Mike Hernandez (#2), and Howard Bender (#3-4); inked by Alfredo Alcala (#1-4), Bill Collins (#1), and Jerry Ordway (#1); co-plotted by Dann Thomas; lettered by Cody; and colored by Adrienne Roy (#1) and Carl Gafford (#2-4).

* Issue #1 is set on November 26, 1984, a couple months before its cover date of January 1985. Interestingly, issues #1-11 of Infinity, Inc. were all set in December 1983, and #12 shortly thereafter, so there must be a big time jump in that series if Infinity, Inc. #13 picks up after America vs. the Justice Society #4.

† The GCD tells me he is the artist better known as Michael Bair.

This post is the seventh in a series about the Justice Society and Earth-Two. The next installment covers Jonni Thunder, a.k.a. Thunderbolt. Previous installments are listed below:

1. All Star Comics: Only Legends Live Forever (1976-79)
2. The Huntress: Origins (1977-82)
3. All-Star Squadron (1981-87)
4. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume One (1983-84)
5. Infinity, Inc.: The Generations Saga, Volume Two (1984-85)
6. Showcase Presents... Power Girl (1978)
   

Faster than a DC Bullet: Project Gotham, Part XVI: Batman: Year Two: Fear the Reaper

Comic trade paperback, n.pag.
Published 2002 (contents: 1987-91)
Borrowed from the library
Read March 2015

Batman: Year Two: Fear the Reaper

Writer: Mike Barr
Pencillers: Alan Davis, Todd McFarlane
Inkers: Paul Neary, Mark Farmer, Alfredo Alcala, Pablo Marcos
Letterers: Richard Starkings, Todd Klein, Agustin Mas
Colorists: Steven Oliff, Gloria Vasquez, Tom Ziuko

Year Two, November - Year Three, August
The first of many overt attempts to "cash in" on Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One, this would be followed by Batman: Year Three, JLA: Year One, Batgirl: Year One, Robin: Year One, Nightwing: Year One, Huntress: Year One, and even Metamorpho: Year One and the (tragically uncollected, I'm sure) Guy Gardner: Year One. There's nothing to really distinguish Year Two from the slew of tales of Batman's early years that followed it in publication order, many of which I've already read. Basically Batman discovers that the Reaper, a vigilante who operated in Gotham after the Alan Scott Green Lantern and before himself is back, and things get weird as he decides this is the time he'll use a gun... and not just any gun, but literally the same gun that killed his parents. And, get this, thanks to contrivance, he has to team up with the guy who killed his parents to do it. Even for superhero comics, this is a bit goofy/implausible, but I think that in principle it could be made to work. Well, unfortunately Mike Barr and a cohort of artists don't succeed, but man, Alan Davis draws nice pictures.

Next Week: If you thought one year-long holiday-themed murder mystery was good, why not a second, in Dark Victory!?

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Houses of Mystery and Secrets, Part VII: Showcase Presents Secrets of Sinister House

Comic hardcover, 496 pages
Published 2010 (contents: 1971-74)
Borrowed from the library
Read October 2013

Showcase Presents Secrets of Sinister House

Written by Joe Orlando, Len Wein, Frank Robbins, Mary Dezuniga, Mike Fleisher, Lynn Marron, Sheldon Mayer, John Albano, Robert Kanigher, Sergio Aragonés, Lore Shoberg, Maxene Fabe, E. Nelson Bridwell, Jack Oleck, Steve Skeates, John Jacobson, W. F. Harvey, Ambrose Bierce, Fred Wolfe, George Kashdan, Dave Wood, Leo Dorfman

Art by Don Heck, Tony Dezuniga, Alex Toth, Frank Giacoia, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano, Michael Wm. Kaluta, Alfredo Alcala, Ed Ramos, Mar Amongo, Bill Draut, Nestor Redondo, Sergio Aragonés, June Lofamia, Sam Glanzman, Lore Shoberg, Ruben Yandoc, Alex Niño, Abe Ocampo, Rico Rival, Gerry Talaoc, Larry Hama, Neal Adams, Rick Buckler, Jess Jodloman, Jack Sparling, Romy Gamboa, Don Perlin, Vicente Alcazar, Ernie Chan, Ramona Fradon, Howard Chaykin, Win Mortimer, Sy Barry, John Calnan, Murphy Anderson, Angel B. Luna, Jerry Grandenetti, Gil Kane, Bernard Sachs

Secrets of Sinister House has a more distinct identity than some of DC's other horror titles; it actually starts off as The Secret House of Sinister Love and features issue-length stories, as opposed to The House of Mystery, The House of Secrets, and The Witching Hour!, which crammed three or so stories into each issue. In addition, the stories have a unique theme: gothic romance. Which seems to mean young ladies being lured into strange houses on strange pretenses to be manipulated into marriages. So kinda weird, but strangely enjoyable-- how many variations on that theme can be devised?

Not a ton, as with issue #6, the series switches to the more traditional collections of stories, but in the interim there's some strangely enjoyable stuff; the full-length stories mean these stories have much more of an impact than some of their contemporaries. Particularly there's some lavish artwork from some of DC's best, like Alex Toth in "Bride of the Falcon" (a young woman in Venice), or Tony Dezuniga in "Kiss of the Serpent" (a young woman in India).

The later issues lose this gimmick, but it still seems more cohesive than in some series. I did enjoy the creativity of "The Hag's Curse" and "The Hamptons' Revenge" (written by Sheldon Mayer, art by Sam Glanzman), two stories of different time periods that literally run in parallel to each other-- take that indie comics innovators of the 2000s.  We even get a story that seems rooted in DC's "Great Disaster," with "When Is Tomorrow Yesterday?" (written by Sheldon Mayer, art by Alfredo Alcala). The book does begin to get kinda dumb with its own theme by the end, though, such as issue #16, where each story is about a literal "sinister house"! Lame.

I picked this volume up because, as with its contemporaries, its host was reclaimed by Neil Gaiman as a resident of the Dreaming in The Sandman. But Eve is a virtual non-entity in these pages. The Secret House of Sinister Love actually begins as hosted by Cain, pulling out a file from the House of Mystery. Finally, with issue #6, Eve gets an amazing introduction, where Cain and Abel run away from the Sinister House because they don't want to be there when "that thousand-year-old female horror arrives!" (she's apparently been sleeping), but after that, she's just a recycled Alfredo Alcala headshot at the beginning of each story, with no personality. She does have a raven with her, though-- Matthew's predecessor? There's even an appearance in one story of three witches living in an apartment together-- Mildred, Mordred, and Cynthia of The Witching Hour! perhaps?

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Houses of Mystery and Secrets, Part VI: Showcase Presents The House of Mystery, Volume Three

Comic trade paperback, 518 pages
Published 2009 (contents: 1973-74)
Borrowed from the library
Read November 2013

Showcase Presents The House of Mystery, Volume Three

Written by Michael Fleisher, Maxene Fabe, Jack Oleck, Sergio Aragonés, Steve Skeates, Mark Evanier, Robert Kanigher, George Kashdan, Doug Moench, Sheldon Mayer, E. Nelson Bridwell, John Jacobson, Len Wein, Joe Orlando, David Michelinie, Gerard Conway, David Izzo, Dennis O'Neil, Marv Wolfman, John Broome, Paul Levitz, Bob Rozakis, Mark Hanerfeld, David Kasakove, Martin Pasko, Michael J. Pellowski

Art by John Calnan, Murphy Anderson, Alex N. Nino, Ruben Yandoc, Sergio Aragonés, Romy Gamboa, Adolfo Buylla, Sonny Trinidad, Nestor Redondo, Rico Rival, Gerry Talaoc, Fred Carrillo, Tony Dezuniga, Bernard Baily, Abe Ocampo, Alfredo Alcala, Frank Thorne, Bernie Wrightson, Michael Wm. Kaluta, E. R. Cruz, Ralph Reese, Ramona Fradon, Joe Orlando, Frank Robbins, Bill Draut, Howard Purcell, Dick Dillin, Neal Adams, Mort Meskin, George Roussos, Frank Giacoia, Mike Sekowsky, Jack Kirby, Don Heck, Joe Giella, Jack Sparling, Pat Broderick, Leonard Starr, Carmine Infantino, Bernard Sachs, Bill Ely, Jess M. Jodloman, Curt Swan, George Klein

This is the last of the "House" volumes thus far released in DC's Showcase Presents reprint series. I'm not sure if there's more House of Mystery to reprint after this, but it's easy to see that the series ought to be ending if it did continue to limp on after this. The last three of the sixteen issues included here are 100-page super spectaculars, the majority of which are reprints. (Well, they're all reprints-- what I mean is that even in 1973-74, these were reprints.) Boo. Especially when they're reprints of material available in other Showcase Presents volumes.

Still, there's some decent material here, especially the completely creepy "Oh, Mom! Oh, Dad! You've Sent me Away To Summer Camp... and I'm So Sad!" (written by Michael Fleisher and Maxene Fabe, art by Alex N. Nino), about camp counselors and campers attempting to murder one another(!) and "The Night of the Teddy Bear!" (written by Michael Fleisher, art by Alfredo Alcala), about a creepy-faced serial killer and a weedy man. But unfortunately, this once-strong title could have done even better.

(Interestingly, a number of stories credit Russell Carley with "art continuity"; this Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed article explains what that means, but it baffles me that these credits are omitted from the book's table of contents, since Carley's role is far from incidental.)

Faster than a DC Bullet: The Houses of Mystery and Secrets, Part V: Showcase Presents The House of Secrets, Volume 2

Comic trade paperback, 493 pages
Published 2009 (contents: 1972-74)
Borrowed from the library
Read November 2013

Showcase Presents The House of Secrets, Volume 2

Written by E. Nelson Bridwell, Bill Meredith, Jack Oleck, John Albano, Lore Shoberg, Sergio Aragonés, Sheldon Mayer, Raymond Marais, Steve Skeates, Bill Riley, Maxene Fabe, Arnold Drake, George Kashdan, Michael Pellowsky, Gerard Conway, Michael Fleisher, Doug Moench, David Micheline

Art by Bernie Wrightson, Nestor Redondo, Jack Katz, Tony Dezuniga, Frank Redondo, Vic Catan, Abe Ocampo, Lore Shoberg, Tom Palmer, Sergio Aragonés, Mike Sekowsky, Alfredo Alcala, Alex Niño, June Lofamia, Ruben Yandoc, E. R. Cruz, Quico Redondo, Rico Rival, Jack Sparling, Virgilio Redondo, George Tuska, Gerry Talaoc, Jim Aparo, Bernard Baily, Jess Jodloman, Fred Carrillo, Flor Dery, Romy Gamboa, Rudy Nebres, Luis Dominguez, Nick Cardy, Frank Bolle, Nardo Cruz, Ramona Fradon, Ernie Chan, Gerry Boudreau, George Evans, Arthur Suydam

Like all the titles in the DC horror renaissance of the late 1960s and 1970s, House of Secrets has its individuality drained out of it by the slow diminishing of its frames; what were once multi-page stories are now panels (or rarely a whole page) in an issue. It's disappointing, especially as the reason I am reading this is the presence of Abel, our stuttering, terrified host.

What are particularly charming are the recurrent "Cain & Abel" pages, single pages of three panels by Sergio Aragonés, each panel showing Abel and his murderous brother doing something different together. Sometimes these are simply Cain belittling or pranking Abel, but others give us something more-- Abel getting something good because he is good, Cain causing his own comeuppance, or at their best, a brief glimpse of the true affection the brothers share. In one, they stroll through a crowd of people horrified by a triple-bill of horror films they have just scene, the only ones smiling; I love the idea that they spend their time popping from the Dreaming over to Earth to see horror films. My favorite is one where they are playing what looks like "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots," only their two boxers are hugging, embarrassing them. It's all a warped but endearing depiction of brotherly love.

Individual stories still manage to do some good work, though. There's some child creepiness at work in "Goodbye, Nancy" (written by John Albano, art by Vic Catan, Frank Redondo, and Abe Ocampo), about a kid's odd new playmate. "Small Invasion" (written by Sheldon Mayer, art by Alex Niño), about an alien who means to conquer the Earth but ends up working in a logging camp, is oddly charming, and has some amazingly grotesque art. "A Lonely Monstrosity" (written by John Albano, art by Nestor Redondo) is a cruel tale about a couple who scheme to deprive a grotesque-looking man of his own fortune. I really liked "Skin Deep" (written by Jack Oleck, art by Alfredo Alcala), about an ugly man who commits murder and disguises himself to marry an attractive woman under false pretenses, as well as "Act III Eternity" (written by George Kashdan, art by Jess Jodloman).

There are many more-- despite its lack of the frames I enjoy so much, this is probably one of the better Showcase Presents volumes of vintage DC horror. Much of that is due to the dual artistic talents of Alex Niño and (especially) Alfredo Alcala, whose luscious, grotesque, beautiful art enlivens even the most stale of narratives. Even their lettering is a cut above the rest!