Editing Justice Society of America (section)

===The Silver Age===
Having successfully introduced new versions of several characters (the Flash, Green Lantern, etc.) during the late 1950s, DC tapped industry veteran, and former Justice Society writer, [[Gardner Fox]] to create a new version of the Justice Society. Editor [[Julius Schwartz]], influenced by the popularity of Major League Baseball's National League and American League, decided to change the name of the team from Justice ''Society'' to Justice ''League''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Eury|first=Michael|author-link1= Michael Eury|title=The Justice League Companion|date=2005|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing|location= Raleigh, North Carolina|isbn=1-893905-48-9|page=10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QxJPl_R0FtwC&q=Justice+League+of+America+Companion+original+team%27s+name&pg=PA1938}}</ref>

In ''[[The Flash (comic book)|The Flash]]'' #123 (September 1961) "The Flash of Two Worlds", the Silver Age Flash meets his Golden Age counterpart, Jay Garrick who, along with the rest of the original Justice Society, is said to inhabit an alternative universe. This historic meeting thus became one of the classic DC comics of the Silver Age.<ref>McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 103: "This classic Silver Age story resurrected the Golden Age Flash and provided a foundation for the Multiverse from which he and the Silver Age Flash would hail."</ref> [[Comic book letter column|Fan letters]] on the pages of following issues were wildly enthusiastic about the revival of the original Flash, both from older fans who remembered the old JSA tales, and younger fans eager to learn more about these new heroes. Further meetings occurred in ''The Flash'' #129 "Double Danger on Earth" (June 1962), and ''The Flash'' #137 "Vengeance of the Immortal Villain" (June 1963). ''The Flash'' #129 contains the first mention of the JSA in the Silver Age, and refers directly to their last adventure in ''All-Star Comics'' #57, while in ''The Flash'' #137 the JSA re-form.<ref>Morrissey p. 37</ref>

[[File:JusticeLeagueofAmerica21.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The JSA meets the JLA. Cover of ''Justice League of America'' #21 (August 1963). Art by [[Mike Sekowsky]] and [[Murphy Anderson]].]]

These stories set the stage for "Crisis on Earth-One" (''Justice League of America'' #21, August 1963)<ref>{{cite comic| writer= [[Gardner Fox|Fox, Gardner]]| penciller= [[Mike Sekowsky|Sekowsky, Mike]]| inker= [[Bernard Sachs (comics)|Sachs, Bernard]]| story= Crisis on Earth-One!| title= [[Justice League]] of America| issue= 21| date= August 1963}}</ref> and "Crisis on Earth-Two" (''Justice League of America'' #22, September 1963),<ref>{{cite comic| writer= Fox, Gardner| penciller= Sekowsky, Mike| inker= Sachs, Bernard| story= Crisis on Earth-Two!| title= Justice League of America| issue= 22| date= September 1963}}</ref> a two-part tale where the Golden Age Justice Society teams up with the Silver Age Justice League to combat a team of villains from both worlds.<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 109: "The two-part 'Crisis on Earth-One!' and 'Crisis on Earth-Two!' saga represented the first use of the term 'Crisis' in crossovers, as well as the designations 'Earth-1' and 'Earth-2'. In it editor Julius Schwartz, [writer Gardner] Fox, and artist Mike Sekowsky devised a menace worthy of the World's Greatest Heroes."</ref> The following year, the two teams of heroes worked together to stop an evil version of the Justice League from another alternative Earth (''Justice League of America'' #29, "Crisis on Earth-Three", August 1964).<ref>McAvennie "1960s" in Dolan, p. 112: "Writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky crafted a tale in which the Crime Syndicate...ambushed the JLA on Earth-1."</ref> These stories became the first in a long series of team-ups of the two supergroups, an annual summer tradition which continued until 1985.

As well as the annual Justice League of America appearances, members of the JSA guest-starred in other titles over the next several years: the Golden Age Atom in ''The [[Atom (Ray Palmer)|Atom]]'' #29 and #36, and the Golden Age Green Lantern in several issues of ''Green Lantern''. In addition, a number of the characters appeared in team-up stories in issues of the DC titles ''[[The Brave and the Bold]]'' and ''[[Showcase (comics)|Showcase]]'', while the Spectre was given a solo run in the latter which led to his own series.<ref>Morrissey pp. 37–38</ref>

Some JSA members during this period, residing on "Earth-Two", were portrayed as middle-aged versions of their younger, contemporary "Earth-One" counterparts; the "Earth-Two" characters' portrayal as older than their counterparts eased incorporation of the existing fictional history of the Justice Society of America into newly written stories about the "Earth-Two" characters. Later, this fictional age gap was to become a major theme for character development, with the fictional histories of different versions of the same characters deviating significantly from each other in ways impacted by their differences in age, including even the deaths of popular characters such as [[Batman]] in one setting while different, contemporary versions of the characters lived on as inhabitants of a different fictional "Earth".<ref name="ConvergenceConfidential">{{cite web | url = https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2015/04/28/convergence-confidential-detective-comics| title = Convergence Confidential: Detective Comics| last = DC Editorial | date = 28 April 2015| website = DC Comics| access-date = 13 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924050222/https://www.dc.com/blog/2015/04/28/convergence-confidential-detective-comics |archive-date=24 September 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="AdventureComics462">{{cite comic| Story = Only Legends Live Forever!| Title = Adventure Comics| Volume = 1| Issue = 462| Date = (Mar 1979)| Publisher = DC Comics}}</ref>