Editing Justice Society of America (section)

===''All Star Comics''===
[[File:Justice Society of America (Golden Age version).jpg|thumb|300px|The original Justice Society of America. This giclée homages artist [[Irwin Hasen]]'s cover art for ''All-Star Comics'' #36 (August 1946). Art by [[Alex Ross]]]]
The Justice Society of America first appeared in ''[[All Star Comics]]'' #3 (Winter 1940–1941)<ref>{{cite book|title= The Catalog of Copyright Entries 1940 Periodicals Jan–Dec New Series Vol 35 Pt 2|publisher= [[United States Copyright Office]]|date= 1940|location=Washington, D.C.|page= 373|url= https://archive.org/stream/catalogofcopyrig352lib#page/372/mode/2up}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.comics.org/issue/1205/|title= ''All Star Comics'' #3 (Winter 1940–1941)|publisher= Grand Comics Database}}</ref> written by [[Gardner Fox]] and edited by [[Sheldon Mayer]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Wallace|first= Daniel|editor-last = Dolan|editor-first = Hannah|chapter= 1940s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|date=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9 |page= 33 |quote = DC took the 'greatest hits' premise of the comic to its logical conclusion in ''All Star Comics'' #3 by teaming the Flash, the Atom, Doctor Fate, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman, Sandman, and the Spectre under the banner of the Justice Society of America for an ongoing series.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-link= Paul Levitz|last=Levitz|first= Paul|chapter= The Golden Age 1938–1956|title= 75 Years of DC Comics The Art of Modern Mythmaking|publisher= [[Taschen]]|date=2010|location= Cologne, Germany|isbn= 9783836519816|page= 56|quote= Mayer and Fox cooked up one of the biggest ideas in superhero history: What if the varied stars of ''All-Star Comics'' actually met and worked together?}}</ref> during the [[Golden Age of Comic Books]]. The team initially included: [[Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)|Doctor Fate]], [[Hourman|Hour-Man]] (as his name was then spelled), the [[Spectre (comics)|Spectre]], the [[Sandman (Wesley Dodds)|Sandman]], the [[Atom (Al Pratt)|Atom]], [[Flash (Jay Garrick)|Flash]], [[Alan Scott|Green Lantern]], and [[Hawkman (Carter Hall)|Hawkman]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.toonopedia.com/jsa.htm|title= The Justice Society of America|first= Don|last= Markstein|date= 2010|publisher= [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]}}</ref> Because some of these characters (the Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman) were published by [[All-American Publications]] rather than DC Comics, ''All-Star Comics'' #3 is the first inter-company superhero title, as well as the first team-up title. Comics' historian [[Les Daniels]] noted that: "This was obviously a great notion, since it offered readers a lot of headliners for a dime, and also the fun of watching fan favorites interact".<ref>{{cite book|last = Daniels|first = Les|author-link = Les Daniels|title = DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes|publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company|Bulfinch Press]]|date= 1995|location= New York, New York|page = 54|isbn = 0821220764}}</ref>

The JSA's adventures were written by Gardner Fox as well as by [[John Broome (writer)|John Broome]] and [[Robert Kanigher]]. The series was illustrated by a legion of artists including: [[Martin Nodell]], [[Joe Kubert]], [[Jack Kirby]], [[Harry Lampert]], [[Joe Simon]], [[Alex Toth]], [[Sheldon Moldoff]], [[Carmine Infantino]], [[Joe Giella]], [[Win Mortimer]], [[Bernard Baily]], [[Frank Giacoia]], [[H. G. Peter]], [[Jack Burnley]], [[Lee Elias]], [[Irwin Hasen]], [[Bob Oksner]], [[Paul Reinman]], [[Everett Edward Hibbard]], and [[Bernard Sachs (comics)|Bernard Sachs]].<ref name="CompanionVolOne">{{cite book|last1=Thomas|first1=Roy|author-link= Roy Thomas|title=All-Star Companion ''Volume 1''|date=2000|location= Raleigh, North Carolina|publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]]|isbn= 978-1893905054}}</ref>{{rp|21–34}}

The first JSA story featured the team's first meeting, with a framing sequence for each member telling a story of an individual exploit. In the next issue, the team worked together on a common case, but each story from there on still featured the members individually on a mission involving part of the case, and then banding together in the end to wrap things up. An in-house rule explicitly laid out on the last page of ''All Star Comics'' #5, reprinted on page 206 of ''All Star Comics Archives'' Vol. 1, required that whenever a member received his or her own title, that character would leave ''All Star Comics'', becoming an "honorary member" of the JSA. Thus, the Flash was replaced by [[Johnny Thunder]] after #6, and Green Lantern left shortly thereafter for the same reason. For this reason, [[Superman (Earth-Two)|Superman]] and [[Batman (Earth-Two)|Batman]] were established as already being "honorary" members prior to ''All Star Comics'' #3. How these two heroes helped found the JSA before becoming honorary members was not explained until ''DC Special'' #29 in 1977. Hawkman is the only member to appear in every JSA adventure in the original run of ''All Star Comics''.<ref name="CompanionVolOne" />{{rp|178}}

''All Star Comics'' #8 (December 1941/January 1942) featured the first appearance of [[Wonder Woman (Earth-Two)|Wonder Woman]].<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 40: "Wonder Woman...took the lead in ''Sensation Comics'' following a sneak preview in ''All Star Comics'' #8."</ref> Unlike the other characters who had their own titles, she was allowed to appear in the series, but only as the JSA's secretary from #11 onward, and did not actively take part in most adventures until much later in the series. She was excluded from the title because of the same rules that had excluded the Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, and Batman from the title, though in #13 it was claimed she had become an active member.

[[File:AllStar3.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Cover to ''[[All Star Comics]]'' #3 (Winter 1940–1941), the first appearance of the JSA. Art by E. E. Hibbard.]]

A [[fan club]] for the team called the "Junior Justice Society of America" was introduced in ''All Star Comics'' #14 (Dec. 1942-Jan. 1943). The membership kit included a welcome letter, a badge, a decoder, a four-page comic book, and a membership certificate.<ref>{{cite book|last= Pasko|first= Martin|author-link= Martin Pasko|title= The DC Vault: A Museum-in-a-Book with Rare Collectibles from the DC Universe|publisher= [[Running Press]]|date= 2008|location= Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|isbn= 978-0762432578|page= 49}}</ref>

By ''All Star Comics'' #24 (Spring 1945), a real-world schism between National Comics and All-American Publications—a nominally independent company run by [[Max Gaines]] and [[Jack Liebowitz]]—had occurred, which resulted in the Detective Comics, Inc. (National Comics) heroes being removed from the title. As a result, the Flash and Green Lantern returned to the team. With issue #27 (Winter 1945), National Comics bought out Max Gaines' share of All-American and the two companies merged to form Detective Comics, Inc.<ref name="CompanionVolOne" />{{rp|84–89}} The JSA roster remained mostly the same for the rest of the series.<ref>{{cite journal|last= Morrissey|first= Richard|title= The Justice Society of America|journal= [[Amazing Heroes]]|issue= 3|page= 36|publisher= [[Fantagraphics Books]]|date= August 1981}}</ref> Gardner Fox left the series with issue #34 (April–May 1947) with a story that introduced a new super-villain, the [[Wizard (DC Comics)|Wizard]].<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 55: "Gardner Fox penned his last story about the Justice Society of America in this issue. The writer...introduced an ill-tempered illusionist called the Wizard."</ref> The [[Injustice Society]] first battled the JSA in issue #37 in a tale written by Robert Kanigher.<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 56: "In Robert Kanigher's story...a cabal of villains united as the Injustice Society of the World and took revenge on the JSA's assembled do-gooders."</ref> The team's second female member [[Black Canary (Dinah Drake)|Black Canary]] first helped the group in ''All Star Comics'' #38 and became a full member in #41.<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 57: "Black Canary made her first appearance outside of ''Flash Comics'' in a feature by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Alex Toth...By the story's end, Black Canary was considered for JSA membership but wouldn't officially join until ''All Star Comics'' #41."</ref>

''All Star Comics'' and the JSA's Golden Age adventures ended with issue #57, the title becoming ''[[All-Star Western]]'', with no superheroes.<ref>[[Alexander C. Irvine|Irvine, Alex]] "1950s" in Dolan, p. 66: "As superhero comics continued to decline in popularity, many of them mutated into Western, crime, and horror titles. The superhero omnibus ''All Star Comics'' was one such series, becoming ''All-Star Western'' as of issue #58."</ref> A good amount of artwork has survived from an [[List of comics solicited but never published|unpublished]] ''All Star Comics'' story titled "The Will of William Wilson" and has been reprinted in various publications from [[TwoMorrows Publishing]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=93877|title= From ''All-Star Companion'' v. 2 – Where There's a 'Will' — There's 'William Wilson'!|first= Roy|last= Thomas|date= December 11, 2006|work= [[Newsarama]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081206023906/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=93877|archive-date=December 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date= March 17, 2012}}</ref>

The explanation for the team's disappearance, and the inactivity of most of its roster after the early 1950s, was first given in ''[[Adventure Comics]]'' #466 ("The Defeat of the Justice Society!", December 1979) by writer [[Paul Levitz]], which explained that most of the Society chose to disband and retire rather than appear in front of the Joint Un-American Activities Committee, which demanded that they unmask themselves.<ref name="IFanboy">{{cite web|url= http://ifanboy.com/articles/dc-histories-justice-society-of-america/|title= DC Histories: Justice Society of America|first= Jeff|last= Reid|date= May 2, 2012|publisher= IFanboy|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150202022900/http://ifanboy.com/articles/dc-histories-justice-society-of-america/|archive-date= February 2, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The chairmanship of the Justice Society mostly resided with Hawkman, although initially the Flash, and later Green Lantern, took turns leading the team. For a brief period in 1942, they were known as the Justice Battalion, as they became an extension of the armed forces of the United States of America during World War II.<ref>{{cite book|last= Booker|first= M. Keith|title= Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels|publisher= [[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|date= 2010|location= Santa Barbara, California|page= 19|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YbkJ0QJrEZ8C&q=Justice+Society+Justice+battalion&pg=PA19|isbn= 978-0313357466}}</ref> It was later explained that the reason the JSA did not invade Europe and end the war was because of the influence of the [[Spear of Destiny]], which caused the JSA's most powerful members to fall under the control of its wielder, [[Adolf Hitler]]. In the 1980s, it was established that the JSA had a loose affiliation with the [[All-Star Squadron]]. The All-Star Squadron's adventures were set in the 1940s, and were considered to have happened concurrently with the Justice Society's in a "[[Retroactive continuity|retcon]]".<ref name="MarksteinAllStar">{{cite web |url=http://www.toonopedia.com/alstarsq.htm |title=All-Star Squadron |first=Don |last=Markstein |date=2010 |publisher=Don Markstein's Toonopedia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525202035/https://www.webcitation.org/66frUkio6?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/alstarsq.htm |archive-date=May 25, 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The headquarters for the JSA was a hotel suite in New York City initially and, after the war, the team settled on a [[brownstone]] building in [[Gotham City]], and later in [[Civic City]].<ref name="CompanionVolOne" />{{rp|157}} The JSA was provided with an orbital satellite headquarters, much like their later counterparts, the JLA, but it was immediately abandoned when it was revealed to be a death trap built in an attempt to kill off the team.<ref>''Adventure Comics'' #466 (Nov 1979)</ref> The Gotham City brownstone remained unoccupied until years later when the team was active again. The headquarters used in the 2000s was a brownstone in [[Morningside Heights]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jimenez| first=Phil|author-link=Phil Jimenez|contribution=JSA Headquarters|editor-last=Dougall|editor-first=Alastair|title=The DC Comics Encyclopedia|page=132|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|date=2004|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn=0-7566-4119-5|oclc=213309017}}</ref>