All-Star Comics - Into Adventure!

During the heyday of DC's Dollar Comics reading them was a ton of fun. Lots of characters and features which might've been consigned to limbo were instead given a berth in the pages of either Adventure Comics or World's Finest or some other title and despite the then startling price, the package was chock full of entertainment.

Jim Aparo

It was in the pages of Adventure Comics that the Justice Society found its home as stories originally produced for the cancelled All-Star Comics were presented, divided into two parts across two issues. In the first of these we are confronted with arguably the most emotional story in the run when Bruce Wayne, formerly Batman is challenged by an obscure villain from his past.

Jim Aparo

In the second installment Bruce Wayne becomes Batman one more time and gives his life to protect the Gotham City he'd long served so ferociously. The JSofA and his ward Robin and his daughter the Huntress are rocked by the sacrifice.

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

In the very next issue we learn some of the secrets behind the baddie who killed Batman and the Justice Society realizes the threat was even greater than they expected. With the magical aid of Dr.Fate the team puts down the magician Frederic Vaux who serve the gods of Chaos. By the end of the battle, reality itself is transformed in some very interesting ways.

Jim Aparo

With the next issue the JSofA loses its front cover status but the story told is a emotional one featuring Wildcat, the one veteran member who'd been in most all the issues. He confronts his age, his regrets and makes some changes in his life. It's a small story that tugs at the heart, and which resonates even more now with me as I find myself closer to Ted Grant's age these days.

Jim Aparo

The penultimate Justice Society story is literally on the clock as the team divides to chase down a deadly poison which will in a few hours release its deadly toxins across Gotham City.

Jim Aparo

The final story in the Adventure Comics run is one of the most famous in which we learn in a flashback story told by Huntress to Power Girl about why the Justice Society of America disappeared for so many years during the 1950's. An enemy in service of the organized crime of Earth-2 attempts to kill the Society but falls short. But his own mysterious origins prove problematic when the team is confronted with a crisis of conscience and voluntarily leave the stage. One of the best stories of the Bronze Age!

This great run is over  but there's much more to come.

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