Dave-El's Spinner Rack: Justice League Now and Then

Welcome to another editon of Dave-El's Spinner Rack where I post about the most recent comics I've read.

The theme of today's post is the Justice League of today and yesterday.

Justice League Unlimited by Mark Waid and Dan Mora continues to appeal to the kid fan boy that still lurks within my aging frame.   The Justice League has access to virtually every super being on Earth which opens up some incredible possibilities. 

When the dark and deadly threat known only as Inferno unleashes a world ending attack on the Amazon jungle, that seems like a job for Swamp Thing! 

So let's go get Swamp Thing.  

We get a serious deep dive into the Swamp Thing mythos with an appearance by Tefe Holland, the love child of Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane. 

Thankfully the power of "the Green" pushes back the attack on the Amazon and thwarts momentarily the enigmatic threat known as Inferno. 

Well, Mark Waid pulls back the curtain on Inferno and reveals them as a new iteration of the Legion of Doom.  

I don't think the reveal that Inferno is the Legion of Doom is quite the needle drop revelation that Mark was aiming for.  One one hand, I am glad that Inferno has a connection to the DC Universe and are not just some random mooks in hooded robes like H.I.V.E. But I am concerned that the Legion of Doom is bit overplayed. 

Still, I guess it makes sense that if the Justice League is going to be Unlimited, it makes sense that their nemesis would be a veritable legion of villains.  

Artist Dan Mora continues to knock it out of the park with the art each issue.  

Moving from the present to the past, I picked up a facsimile reprint of Brave & the Bold#30 as part of the try out stories for the newly minted Justice League of America. 

I really enjoy these facsimiles as they present the book as it originally appeared with ads, letter columns and more.  (Except the facsimile says $3.99 on the cover and not 10 cents.)

Also I can read the blasted things. God bless good old fashioned black lettering in white word and thought balloons! 

• Gardner Fox/Writer
• Mike Sekowsky/Penciler
• Bernie Sachs/Inker
• Gaspar Saladino/Letterer
• Julius Schwartz/Editor

The issue opens with individual Leaguers involved in various cases when they each experience momentary lapses in their super powers.  They meet of in their HQ (a secret cave in Rhode Island) to compare notes.  

In addition to their strange power losses, there's also a series of strange thefts going on around the world, plants and animals associated with extended longevity.  

Figuring out potential targets, the JLA splits up to protect those targets.  

Things go very badly. Each member of the JLA gets their ass handed to them by an incredible android called Amazo who possess the powers of the Justice League. 

Amazo takes the JLA heroes hostage and delivers them to his creator, Professor Ivo who is working on an immortality serum. 

What's gonna work? Team work!  

Amazo gets deactivated and Ivo's going to jail for a long time.

The issue ends with a blurb that the Justice League of America will be leaving Brave & the Bold for their own magazine! 

The first issue of Justice League of America I bought as a kid was issue #112 which featured Amazo.