Editing Justice League (section)

===Silver Age and Bronze Age (1960–1984)===
[[File:Brave bold 28.jpg|right|thumb|''[[The Brave and the Bold]]'' #28 (March 1960), their first appearance. Superman and Batman do not appear on the cover, but do appear in the story within.]]
In its inception, the Justice League was a revival of the [[Justice Society of America]], created by editor [[Sheldon Mayer]] and writer [[Gardner Fox]] in 1940. After World War II, superheroes fell out of popularity, which led to the cancellation of many characters, including the Justice Society, which last appeared in ''[[All-Star Comics]]'' #57 (March 1951). A few years later, sales rose again, and DC Comics revived some of these retired characters, reinventing a few of them in the process. Editor [[Julius Schwartz]] asked writer [[Gardner Fox]] to reintroduce the Justice Society of America. Schwartz decided to rename it the "Justice League of America" because he felt "League" would appeal better to young readers, evoking sports organizations such as the [[National League (baseball)|National League]].<ref>Rhoades (2008), ''A Complete History of American Comic Books'', p. 70</ref> The Justice League of America debuted in ''[[The Brave and the Bold]]'' #28 (March 1960), and after two further appearances in that title, got its own series, which quickly became one of the company's best-selling titles.<ref>{{cite book|last = Daniels|first = Les|author-link = Les Daniels|title = DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes|chapter= The Justice League of America A Team of Good Sports|publisher= [[Little, Brown and Company|Bulfinch Press]]|date= 1995|location= New York, New York|page = 127|isbn = 0821220764|quote= ''Justice League'' was a hit. It solidified once and for all the importance of superhero groups, and in the process provided a playground where DC's characters could attract new fans while entertaining established admirers.}}</ref> This led DC Comics to create a bunch of other superhero teams, such as the [[Teen Titans]]. [[Marvel Comics]], a rival comic book publisher, noticed the Justice League's success and created the [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]] and the [[Fantastic Four]].

The initial Justice League lineup included seven of DC Comics' [[superheroes]] who were regularly published at that time: [[Superman]], [[Batman]], [[Aquaman]], the [[Barry Allen|Flash]], [[Hal Jordan|Green Lantern]], the [[Martian Manhunter]], and [[Wonder Woman]]. Fox also created a new, non-superhero character called [[Snapper Carr]] that was intended to represent DC's teenage readership and joined the League as an Honorary member in their debut story.<ref>Eury (2005), ''The Justice League Companion: A Historical and Speculative Overview of the Silver Age Justice League of America'', p. 14</ref> While Superman and Batman were included in the Justice League's initial lineup, they were largely absent from the League's early stories, playing only minor roles as the pair were already starring together in DC's ''[[World's Finest Comics]]'' and Fox was worried the two more famous heroes would detract attention from their less popular teammates. As the series went on however, Superman and Batman became more and more present as readers increasingly demanded to see more of them in the League's stories. The team roster would quickly expand with the [[Green Arrow]], the [[Atom (Ray Palmer)|Atom]] and [[Hawkman (Katar Hol)|Hawkman]] being added to the team over the next four years.

In the Justice Society stories from the 1940s (in ''All-Star Comics''), the Justice Society was used more as a framing device for its members' solo adventures. The stories tended to have the following structure: the Justice Society meets to discuss some new menace, they split up to undertake individual missions that somehow connect to said menace, and finally regroup for the showdown with the main villain. In the 1940s, most comic books were anthologies, and ''All-Star Comics'' was in practice not a major deviation from that. By contrast, the Justice League worked together more closely in their stories, thereby having a stronger identity as a team.

In another change from the Justice Society stories of the 1940s, Batman and Superman were regular members of the cast, not mere "honorary members" who made occasional cameos.

''Justice League of America'' (vol. 1) #21 (August 1963) featured the first crossover story in which the Justice League meets and teams up with the Justice Society of America. In doing so, DC Comics brought back a number of legacy characters such as Doctor Fate and the Black Canary. The issue was a hit with readers and such crossovers became a recurring event.

''Justice League of America'' (vol. 1) was published from 1960 to 1987.