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Awesome, Amazing All Star Comics Complete Run-They deserve their own thread!
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225 posts in this topic

1 hour ago, sagii said:

Wonder if there was a system in place to decide which characters got' voted off the island' hm

Keep em' coming :headbang:

I’m not sure what system they used to remove members but they did have a system for who could become a member. If a character received their own book with their name in the title such as Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, they could only be an honorary member.

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All Star Comics #22-A nice patriotic cover by Frank Harry which you would think from what it says “A Cure For The World” has something to do with the JSAer’s or someone coming up with a cure for some major disease such as polio or tuberculosis is nothing of the sort, and the story titled “The Test Of Time” by Gardner Fox is totally unrelated to the cover.

This issue features 6 members-Hawkman, Starman, Johnny Thunder, The Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Spectre. Wonder Woman is shown on the cover and shows up in the final group scene but is an Honorary Member. 

After Dr. Mid-Nite rescues a boy from two others who are beating him up because “he goes to a different church from us”, the JSAers want to do something about prejudice but are uncertain of what they can do. So they can gain some wisdom, a fairy-like being “the Conscience Of Man” teleports them to different eras-prehistoric, Thermopylae, medieval England, 17thcentury Salem, MA, 1793 Paris, and 1815 America. Each hero loses his memory and becomes a man of that period, yet retains his appearance, costume (Dr. Mid-Nite and the Atom do remove their masks), and powers. Each JSA member ends up learning something from the experience. 

Although Sandman and Dr. Fate have been dropped from the JSA, their images still appear on the JJSA membership certificates that are advertised in this issue. 

This is the first issue in which Dr. Fate and Sandman are no longer members of the JSA and the first in which there are fewer than eight regular members. From this point through the last issue #57, there will never be more than seven official JSAers at any one time. 

I bought this from a dealer in upper New York but can’t remember when or what I paid for it. 

 

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Edited by Ghastly542454
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All Star Comics #23-Cover by Joe Gallagher and the story “The Plunder of The Psycho-Pirate by Gardner Fox. 

Mr. Morgan, publisher of a newspaper crusading against the mysterious Psycho-Pirate, who uses a basic emotion as the major element of each robbery, shows the JSA a note from the Psycho-Pirate which challenges them to stop several crimes. While the other JSAers perform solo missions, The Atom guards Mr. Morgan. Psycho-Pirate’s thugs toss The Atom off the top of the newspaper building but Johnny Thunder’s Thunderbolt catches him. The JSA then mops up all of the hoodlums and The Atom identifies Morgan’s “loyal” linotyper, Charley Halstead, as The Psycho-Pirate. 

Although Wonder Woman is named in the roll call, she neither appears on the cover or in the story. As in All Star Comics #13, the Spectre is felled by gas even though he is a ghost. 

There are several important transitions in this issue. This will be the last All Star Comics with Starman and Spectre. It will also be the last issue to display the Superman/DC symbol on the cover until #27. The logo will be replaced by Max Gaines’ All-American logo for the next three issues. 

DC would drop The Spectre from his solo adventures after More Fun #101 which would appear shortly after All Star Comics #23 but Starman would survive until about a year later with his final appearance in Adventure Comics #102.

I bought my copy of All Star #23 from eBay sometime in 2016 for $535 if my memory is correct.

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I watched the pilot of Stargirl last night which featured some brief appearances of JSA members. Was hoping to see more and they re-wrote Star Spangled Kid's and Starman's history to boot!! Will watch episode one tonight.

 

Brainwave was featured in the pilot which was fun.

 

Edited by 50YrsCollctngCmcs
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All Star Comics #24-Cover by Joe Gallagher and the story “This Is Our Enemy” by Gardner Fox. 

There is a subtle difference between All Star Comics #23 and #24. That’s because beginning with issue #24, Max Gaines struck out on his own. Up until then, his All-American line had been allied with DC and sported the same Superman-DC Publication logo. The readers of the time naturally assumed all comic books with that symbol were put out by the same company. But in reality, the comics that starred Green Lantern, Flash, and Wonder Woman were published by a different company, All-American, than the one that owned DC. The two lines were distributed together, they cross advertised in each other’s titles, and a few DC heroes had been allowed to be members-but that was all. I should note that DC Publications noting the success of All Star Comics, came up with their own version of it in Leading Comics #1 starting in the Winter of 1941 featuring The Seven Soldiers Of Victory which ran for 14 issues. Just like I am doing Amazing, Awesome All Star Comics Complete Run, I have all 14 issues of Leading Comics and just might do a thread titled “Legendary Leading Comics Complete Run”.

Then out of the blue from #24-#26, the DC Cover logo was replaced with the All-American logo although from a distance they looked similar. 

What happened was in 1944, Max Gaines decided to pick up his marbles and go play by himself for a while. He did this for 9 months and then sold off All-American to DC retaining only a couple of features for himself. He then went on to found the EC line and after his death in a boating accident, his son Bill made EC one of the greatest lines of comic books ever published. But that’s another story!

Issue #24 not only featured a very unsympathetic romp through German history at a time when World War Two was winding down, but the roll call changed and Green Lantern and Flash returned and Wildcat and Mr. Terrific sauntered over from Sensation Comics where they had been playing second fiddle to Wonder Woman for several years. In the story, Wonder Woman tells Green Lantern and Flash of a soldier named Amber recently awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor. It will make them so proud of the JSA that they’ll become “fighting members” again. Wonder Woman’s tale was to convince young Amber that here had been a pattern of aggression though out German history re-awakened by the spirit of Conscience. Conscience sends Amber back in time, guarded by the JSAers, to witness events through the eyes of Germans of various eras. Hitler is symbolically shown tearing up treaties with Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia on horseback wielding a bloody sword. The word “Nazi” is used only in the Johnny Thunder chapter to show that Germany’s militarism preceded Hitler and live on after he is dead and gone.   Amber realizes that unless the idea of a German “master race” was uprooted, Germany would always be a menace to peace and that is why he joined the armed forces and won the medal. At the end of the story, the JSA devises a “Formula for a Lasting Peace”. 

At the end of the story, Green Lantern says the Justice Society can share Amber’s acquired knowledge with the world “by offering your adventure in All Star Comics”. This is quite amazing as the heroes act as if they KNOW they’re characters in a comic book!!! This issue contains the first Hawkman segment drawn by Joe Kubert. It would be the only issue that Mr. Terrific appeared in and one of only two that featured Wildcat. 

I believe my copy of All Star Comics #24 came from David Alexander of Florida but I can’t remember when but it was quite a few years ago

194D870C-8F3F-462F-AD81-A7D5D84A0849.jpeg

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47 minutes ago, Ghastly542454 said:

All Star Comics #24-Cover by Joe Gallagher and the story “This Is Our Enemy” by Gardner Fox. 

There is a subtle difference between All Star Comics #23 and #24. That’s because beginning with issue #24, Max Gaines struck out on his own. Up until then, his All-American line had been allied with DC and sported the same Superman-DC Publication logo. The readers of the time naturally assumed all comic books with that symbol were put out by the same company. But in reality, the comics that starred Green Lantern, Flash, and Wonder Woman were published by a different company, All-American, than the one that owned DC. The two lines were distributed together, they cross advertised in each other’s titles, and a few DC heroes had been allowed to be members-but that was all. I should note that DC Publications noting the success of All Star Comics, came up with their own version of it in Leading Comics #1 starting in the Winter of 1941 featuring The Seven Soldiers Of Victory which ran for 14 issues. Just like I am doing Amazing, Awesome All Star Comics Complete Run, I have all 14 issues of Leading Comics and just might do a thread titled “Legendary Leading Comics Complete Run”.

Then out of the blue from #24-#26, the DC Cover logo was replaced with the All-American logo although from a distance they looked similar. 

What happened was in 1944, Max Gaines decided to pick up his marbles and go play by himself for a while. He did this for 9 months and then sold off All-American to DC retaining only a couple of features for himself. He then went on to found the EC line and after his death in a boating accident, his son Bill made EC one of the greatest lines of comic books ever published. But that’s another story!

Issue #24 not only featured a very unsympathetic romp through German history at a time when World War Two was winding down, but the roll call changed and Green Lantern and Flash returned and Wildcat and Mr. Terrific sauntered over from Sensation Comics where they had been playing second fiddle to Wonder Woman for several years. In the story, Wonder Woman tells Green Lantern and Flash of a soldier named Amber recently awarded the Congressional Medal Of Honor. It will make them so proud of the JSA that they’ll become “fighting members” again. Wonder Woman’s tale was to convince young Amber that here had been a pattern of aggression though out German history re-awakened by the spirit of Conscience. Conscience sends Amber back in time, guarded by the JSAers, to witness events through the eyes of Germans of various eras. Hitler is symbolically shown tearing up treaties with Russia, Poland, and Czechoslovakia on horseback wielding a bloody sword. The word “Nazi” is used only in the Johnny Thunder chapter to show that Germany’s militarism preceded Hitler and live on after he is dead and gone.   Amber realizes that unless the idea of a German “master race” was uprooted, Germany would always be a menace to peace and that is why he joined the armed forces and won the medal. At the end of the story, the JSA devises a “Formula for a Lasting Peace”. 

At the end of the story, Green Lantern says the Justice Society can share Amber’s acquired knowledge with the world “by offering your adventure in All Star Comics”. This is quite amazing as the heroes act as if they KNOW they’re characters in a comic book!!! This issue contains the first Hawkman segment drawn by Joe Kubert. It would be the only issue that Mr. Terrific appeared in and one of only two that featured Wildcat. 

I believe my copy of All Star Comics #24 came from David Alexander of Florida but I can’t remember when but it was quite a few years ago

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It sounds like Gardner Fox actually wrote a decent story here as the plot synopsis sounds interesting. Yes the tale of the All American / DC split is interesting. As a kid I always wondered about that AA logo and what it meant; I actually thought it was a better logo than DC's. It looks more fun and comic like whereas the classic DC logo is still and a little too corporate; which is odd since they had some of the best logos in the business. The All Star logo has always been one of my favorites and I never understood why the whole line downsized the logos in the later forties.

Joe Kubert Hawkman!! Now you're talking. As you head into the later forties you start to get some real decent art in some of the DC books and some of the early more amateurish work starts to fade away. Thanks for continued posting on this great run! Oh yes the Leading series is fun too; I only have one of those. It was no match for All Star though if I had to choose one book to drop my time on All Star would win every time.

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19 minutes ago, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

It sounds like Gardner Fox actually wrote a decent story here as the plot synopsis sounds interesting. Yes the tale of the All American / DC split is interesting. As a kid I always wondered about that AA logo and what it meant; I actually thought it was a better logo than DC's. It looks more fun and comic like whereas the classic DC logo is still and a little too corporate; which is odd since they had some of the best logos in the business. The All Star logo has always been one of my favorites and I never understood why the whole line downsized the logos in the later forties.

Joe Kubert Hawkman!! Now you're talking. As you head into the later forties you start to get some real decent art in some of the DC books and some of the early more amateurish work starts to fade away. Thanks for continued posting on this great run! Oh yes the Leading series is fun too; I only have one of those. It was no match for All Star though if I had to choose one book to drop my time on All Star would win every time.

Yes once I get to the issues in the mid 30’s to the early 40’s the story and artwork improve a lot! I like the covers of Leading Comics! Some of them are really great!

Edited by Ghastly542454
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All Star Comics #25-Cover by Joe Gallagher and Gardner Fox with the story called “The Mystery Of The Forgotten Crime”.

The JSAers find a dazed man muttering about Rob Victor, who reputedly murdered millionaire Tomothy Kimball in 1925. The man says he’s had amnesia for 20 years but is sure Victor is innocent and produces several items he had when he became an amnesiac. Following those leads, in each solo segment, a hero encounters a red-hooded figure. Back at their headquarters, the JSA members learn that the hooded man is Rob Victor, the convicted killer and their amnesiac guest is Timothy Kimball, the alleged victim!!! It was Victor that Kimball was hoping to clear-of a murder committed by his cousin Hengast. I guess if I were a young kid at the time, I might have found this story okay. But when I read it now, it is a real convoluted stinker💩!!!

There is a full-page ad for the JJSA showing the new line-up for the first time. 

I’m not sure at all where my copy of All Star Comics #25 was purchased, when, or for how much.

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All Star Comics #26-Cover by Joe Gallagher and Gardner Fox with a story titled “Vampires Of The Void” inside the book but on the cover “The Mystery Of the Metal Menace”!!

Herbert Crawford claims an alien spaceship is en-route to the Earth manned by metal beings from Jupiter which eat other metals. Soon the JSAers investigate radio reports fodisintegrating metals. When the JSA reassembles, Crawford tries to kill the JSA with power accrued from the Jovians but is defeated by the JSA. The JSA learn that when no one believed Crawford’s warnings, he convinced the Jovians to loot for him. The JSAers say that when Crawford gets out of prison, they’ll help him become a useful citizen. 

Wonder Woman is shown only in the introduction. This is the last issue of All Star Comics published under the All-American banner. 

There is a full page ad repeated from issue #25 for the JJSA. This would be the last issue advertising the JJSA until issue #37. When DC takes over the All-American line, it seems they didn’t want to be bothered with it anymore at least for some time. 

This issue is memorable for me as it was another issue I first purchased in the late 60’s at either Bond Street Books or Cherokee Book Store in Hollywood, CA. That particular book is now in someone else’s collection. The All Star Comics #26 pictured came from a Comic Connect auction in 2016 and I think I paid around $700 for it.

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Edited by Ghastly542454
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3 hours ago, Ghastly542454 said:

All Star Comics #26-Cover by Joe Gallagher and Gardner Fox with a story titled “Vampires Of The Void” inside the book but on the cover “The Mystery Of the Metal Menace”!!

Herbert Crawford claims an alien spaceship is en-route to the Earth manned by metal beings from Jupiter which eat other metals. Soon the JSAers investigate radio reports fodisintegrating metals. When the JSA reassembles, Crawford tries to kill the JSA with power accrued from the Jovians but is defeated by the JSA. The JSA learn that when no one believed Crawford’s warnings, he convinced the Jovians to loot for him. The JSAers say that when Crawford gets out of prison, they’ll help him become a useful citizen. 

Wonder Woman is shown only in the introduction. This is the last issue of All Star Comics published under the All-American banner. 

There is a full page ad repeated from issue #25 for the JJSA. This would be the last issue advertising the JJSA. When DC takes over the All-American line, it seems they didn’t want to be bothered with it anymore. 

This issue is memorable for me as it was another issue I first purchased in the late 60’s at either Bond Street Books or Cherokee Book Store in Hollywood, CA. That particular book is now in someone else’s collection. The All Star Comics #26 pictured came from a Comic Connect auction in 2016 and I think I paid around $700 for it.

6BBE4A4A-8A7E-4009-A1C1-17F628323DE1.jpeg

The covers by Joe Gallagher have a very different look from the earlier covers. Almost bordering on cartoony; especially the robot on this one. I'm not the biggest fan of this his covers; while he doesn't have a bad design sense he seems to have lost some of the majesty of the heroes in his renditions.

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7 hours ago, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

The covers by Joe Gallagher have a very different look from the earlier covers. Almost bordering on cartoony; especially the robot on this one. I'm not the biggest fan of this his covers; while he doesn't have a bad design sense he seems to have lost some of the majesty of the heroes in his renditions.

Joe Gallagher will soon be gone from the covers of All Star Comics now that DC has taken over the book.

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All Star Comics #27-Cover by Martin Naydel and the story “A Place in The World” by Gardner Fox. 

Before the War, football player Fred Monday pitied his wheelchair-bound kid brother Jimmy. As a soldier, Fred loses his arm in battle. In a hospital, Fred is repelled by condescending pity. “Why the Army is already having an artificial arm made for me”! He asks the JSA to cheer up six handicapped kids who names he got from his kid brother Jimmy. The JSA involve the boys in crime fighting to let them see what is possible for them to do. Afterwards. Jimmy suggests a pledge by all Americans to accept the handicapped, including returning veterans:

We, the people of a United Nation, aware that all human beings are created equal, and realizing that some of us are more fortunate than others are resolved:

1)That we shall meet those among us who are physically handicapped, as fully equals

2)That we shall control our feeling of pity, as they would want it controlled, and treat them as they want to be treated: not a people apart, but as people normal and intelligent, and desirous of making their own way in life as a result of their own efforts.

May we have the understanding and wisdom, and the power to carry out our pledge, the pledge of a free people. 

The Justice Society of America and the Junior Justice Society unite with us in making this pledge.

The final page depicts famous people who have overcome handicaps. If this JSA pledge looks familiar it’s because writer Gardner Fox would use much of the same wording in Justice League of America #36, 20 years later in 1965.

All Star Comics #27 is mentioned in the section dealing with “Comics” in the 1951 edition of Encyclopedia Americana saying that DC had been asked to do such a story by the National Institute of The Handicapped because the war-inured veterans were attempting to re-integrate into society. 

This issue contains the first All Star Comics work by Paul Reinman , then the regular artist for Green Lantern in All American Comics. 

I bought issue #27 raw in September 2018 from a local comic book collector who I discovered on eBay but just happened to live close by. I went to his house and ended up buying several other comics he had. I paid $500 for issue #27 and then submitted it for grading to CGC where it came back a 6.0.

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All Star Comics #28-Cover by Martin Naydel and Gardner Fox with the story titled “The Paintings That Walked the Earth”. 

A 20th century parchment relates that explorers of the ruins of Nu Yuk 10,000 years in the future and discover six sealed jars and a sign “Danger! Do Not Open!-The Justice Society”. Artist Nel Farrow finds jars of ancient Atlantean paint and learns that anything pained with it, comes to life at night, to act for good or evil, depending on the artist’s intentions. Farrow paints pictures of six men that he hates. Repenting on his death bed, he asks the JSA to prevent their murders. The JSA do this and then flee with the blank canvases from which painted figures emerged and the “paint-beings” are compelled to follow. The heroes scrape the indestructible paint off the canvases, Green Lantern’s ring seals it in the jars, and Wonder Woman writes the tale for the ages. In 12,000 A.D., the site’s discoverers leave the jars unopened. I have mixed feelings about this story but I guess as a kid in the 40’s, it might have been enjoyable. 

My All Star Comics #28 came in a night of wins at Comic Link along with issues #13 and #29 back in 2018. When all three of the books arrived, I was very happy with the #13 which was a nice 6.0 but regretting my purchases of #28 and #29. My #28 is a good 4.5 but at the time I bought it, there were no others to be found and I would have preferred a higher-graded book. Now there are several available and perhaps sometime in the future I will put it up for sale. Issue #29 was a 6.0 but I was very disappointed with it when it arrived. I will write more about it when I review issue #29.

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Edited by Ghastly542454
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