JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA

The Justice League Library

Introduction

In 2010, with the New 52, Cosmic Teams ceased covering the Justice League. This section is archival only.

Eras in Publishing and Continuity

Original/Pre-Crisis (1960–1987)

The original Justice League was engineered by editor Julius Schwartz and Golden Age writer Gardner Fox. Schwartz had recently envisioned the new Green Lantern and Flash, and this “Silver Age” of heroes were brought together in the same spirit as their Golden Age counterparts, the Justice Society of America. In 196?, the JLA would meet the JSA. They resided on Earths-One and -Two, respectively. In this era, the team added members only sporadically. Key creators: Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Dillin, Denny O’Neil, Gerry Conway, George Pérez.

» SERIES:

  • Justice League of America v.1, 261 issues (1960–87)

Post-Crisis/New Earth (1986–1996)

The Justice League Sourcebook (1990)

With the conclusion of Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC's "infinite Earths" were collapsed into one, and the histories for DC's "Big Three"—Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—was significantly rewritten. Although Superman and Batman were still around at the time of the JLA’s formation, they were no longer founding members. For years, writers struggled to explain these circumstances. Eventually, Batman and Superman were reinserted into continuity (as sort of reserve members). Wonder Woman's post-Crisis history began many years after the formation of the JLA. The post-Crisis boom in popularity led to a broadening of Justice League family to include Justice League Europe and Task Force, and the corresponding swell in membership. Key creators: Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire, Bart Sears, Adam Hughes, Dan Jurgens, Gerard Jones, Chuck Wojtkiewicz.

» SERIES:

  • Justice League/Justice League International v.1/Justice League America, 113 issues (1987–96)
  • Justice League Europe/Justice League International v.2, 68 issues (1989–94)
  • Justice League Quarterly, 17 issues (1990–94)
  • Justice League Task Force, 37 issues (1993–96)
  • Extreme Justice, 18 issues (1995–96)

The Big Seven (1997–2006)

Many years after the post-Crisis formula began to fail, DC greenlit a fundamental revival of the team based on the original seven members, by Grant Morrison. This was not a reboot, but a re-assembling of the original seven members (two of them now successors to the roles). It was a runaway success and spawned endless mini-series and specials, though no other ongoing series. With each new creative team, new first-time members joined. During this time, the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons aired, and there were animated-style comics to go with them. With some controversy, the cartoon's founding members were altered to represent better diversity: John Stewart was Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl replaced Aquaman. Key creators: Grant Morrison, Howard Porter, Bryan Hitch, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, Dough Mahnke.

» SERIES:

  • JLA, 125 issues (1997–2006)
  • Justice League Adventures, 34 issues (2002–04). Based on the animated series.
  • Justice League Unlimited, 46 issues (2004–08). Based on the animated series.

Post-Infinite Crisis (2006-2011)

This era rather completed a sort of “mirrored history” of the Justice League. As with Morrison's revival, it was not a total reboot but this Crisis altered the DCU timeline again and restored Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman as founding members. The rebuilt team featured a roster that harkened somewhat back to the 1970s. This concept quickly devolved as DC editors once again mandated that the main three heroes could not appear in JLA due to the circumstances in their solo titles. Regardless, some great storytelling ensued, involving some novel membership rosters.

Key creators: Brad Meltzer, Ed Benes, Dwayne McDuffie, James Robinson, Mark Bagley.

» SERIES:

  • Justice League of America v.2, 60 issues (2006–11)

New 52

In late 2011, the Justice League was chosen to anchor "New 52" reboot of the entire DC Universe. Creators Geoff Johns and Jim Lee introduced a roster designed to maximize attention on certain characters in the DCU, most notably Aquaman, whom Johns revived to much fanfare. The addition of Cyborg instead of the Martian Manhunter is an example of DC's continuing efforts to include heroes of color across its line. Key creators: Geoff Johns, Jim Lee.

» SERIES:

  • Justice League v.2, current (2011)
  • Justice League International v.2, 12 issues (2011)
  • Justice League Dark, current (2011)
  • Justice League United, current (2014)

Justice League Comics

Ongoing and Limited Series

  • Justice League of America, 261 issues + 3 Annuals (1960-1987)
  • Super Friends, 47 issues (1976-81)
  • Justice League (#1-6), becomes Justice League International, v.1 (#7-25), becomes Justice League America (#26-113) + 7 Annuals + 2 Specials (1987-96) + 1 Spectacular
  • Justice League Europe (#1-50), becomes Justice League International v.2 (#51-68) + 5 Annuals (1989-94)
  • Justice League Quarterly, 17 issues (1990-94)
  • Justice League Task Force, 37 issues (1993-96)
  • Extreme Justice, 18 issues (1995-96)
  • Total Justice, 3-issue limited series (1996)
  • Justice League: Midsummer's Nightmare, 3-issue limited series (1996)
  • JLA, 125 issues (1997–2006) + 4 Annuals + 3 80-Page Giants + 3 Secret Files & Origins
  • JLA: Year One, 12-issue limited series (1998)
  • Justice Leagues, 6-issue limited series (2001)
  • JLA: Black Baptism, 4-issue limited series (2001)
  • JLA: Incarnations, 7-issue limited series (2001-02)
  • Justice League Adventures, 34 issues (2002-04). Based on the animated series.
  • Formerly Known as the Justice League, 6-issue limited series (2003-04)
  • Justice League Unlimited, 46 issues (2004-08). Based on the animated series.
  • Justice League Elite, 12-issue limited series (2004-05)
  • JLA: Classified, 54 issues (2005-08)
  • Justice League of America v.2 (2006-present)
  • Justice League: Cry for Justice, 6-issue limited series (2009)
  • Justice League v.2 (2011–present)
  • Justice League Dark (2011–present)
  • Justice League International v.3, issues (2011–12)

Prestige Format Limited Series and One-Shots

These series are printed on thicker, brighter paper. If they are multiple-issue stories, they are sometimes re-released in collected form. Most of these are covered in the Chronology.

  • JLA: A League of One, hard- and softcover graphic novel (2000)
  • JLA/Avengers, 4-issue limited series (2003)
  • JLA: Earth 2 (2000). 96-page hard- and softcover book. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely.
  • JLA: Foreign Bodies (1999). One-shot. Len Kaminski and Val Semeiks.
  • JLA: Gatekeeper (2001). 3-issue limited series. Timothy Truman.
  • JLA: Gods And Monsters (2001). One-shot. Dan Jolley, Josh Krach & Scott Benefiel.
  • JLA/Haven: Arrival (2001). One-shot. Ashley-Jane Nicolaus & Ariel Olivetti.
  • JLA/Haven: Anathema (2002). One-shot. Ashley-Jane Nicolaus & Ariel Olivetti.
  • JLA: Heaven's Ladder (2000). Oversized one-shot. Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch.
  • JLA/JSA: Virtue & Vice (2002). 96-page hard- and softcover book. David S. Goyer, Geoff Johns and Carlos Pacheco.
  • JLA: Paradise Lost, 3-issue limited series (1998)
  • JLA: Primeval (1999). One-shot.
  • JLA Secret Origins (2002). Oversized softcover, painted book. Paul Dini and Alex Ross.
  • JLA: Seven Caskets (2001). One-shot.
  • JLA/Spectre: Soul War (2003). 2-issue limited series. J.M. DeMatteis & Darryl Banks.
  • JLA: Superpower (1999). One-shot. John Arcudi and Scot Eaton.
  • JLA/Titans, 3-issue limited series (1999). Phil Jiminez
  • JLA vs. Predator (2001). One-shot.
  • JLA: Welcome to the Working Week (2003). One-Shot.
  • JLA/WildC.A.T.S (1997). One-shot. Grant Morrison & Val Semeiks.
  • JLA/Witchblade (2000). One-shot.
  • JLA: World Without Grown-Ups, 2-issue limited series (1998)
  • Justice League of America Wedding Special (Nov. 2007)

Elseworld Series and One-Shots

"Elseworlds" stories are considered "imaginary" — they do not take place in the mainstream DC Universe. Most of these are summarized in the Elseworlds section; click a title to read a review.

Archives

These hardcover editions reprint the entire original Justice League of America series

  1. Reprints Brave & Bold #28-30 & Justice League of America #1-6
  2. Reprints Justice League of America #7-14
  3. Reprints Justice League of America #15-22
  4. Reprints Justice League of America #23-30
  5. Reprints Justice League of America #31-40
  6. Reprints Justice League of America #41-47 and #49-50. (Issue #48 was a reprint-only issue)
  7. Reprints Justice League of America #51-60
  8. Reprints Justice League of America #61-66 and #68-70. (Issue #67 was a reprint annual)
  9. Reprints Justice League of America #71-80 (1969-1970)

Collected Editions/Trade Paperbacks

Trade paperbacks are softcover books which collect the single issues of other series.

» Collecting the original Justice League of America series—in black and white only:
  1. Showcase Presents: Justice League of America (vol. 1). Brave and the Bold #28-30, Justice League of America #1-16 & Mystery in Space #75. Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, Carmine Infantino, Murphy Anderson
  2. Showcase Presents: Justice League of America (vol. 2). JLofA #17-36 Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky
  3. Showcase Presents: Justice League of America (vol. 3). JLofA #37-60. Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky, Carmine Infantino
» Collecting the Justice League International series:
  • Justice League International: The Secret Gospel of Maxwell Lord. Keith Giffen, J. M. Dematteis and Kevin Maguire. Reprints JLI #8-12 and Justice League Annual #1
  1. Justice League International (vol. 1). Justice League #1-6 and Justice League Int'l #7. Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis; art by Kevin Maguire
  2. Justice League International. (vol. 2). Justice League Annual #1, JLI #8-13 & Suicide Squad #13Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and John Ostrander; art by Kevin Maguire, Bill Willingham, Luke McDonnell
  3. Justice League International. (vol. 3). JLI #14-22. Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis; art by Kevin Maguire
» Collecting the JLA series:
  1. JLA (vol. 1): New World Order. Reprints JLA #1-4. Grant Morrison and John Dell. The new JLA unites against the threat of the White Martians.
  2. JLA (vol. 2): American Dreams. Reprints JLA #5-9. Grant Morrison and John Dell.
  3. JLA (vol. 3): Rock of Ages. Reprints JLA #10-15. Grant Morrison and John Dell.
  4. JLA (vol. 4): Strength In Numbers. Reprints JLA #16-23, New Year's Evil: Prometheus #1 "Heroes" from JLA Secret Files #2. Grant Morrison and John Dell.
  5. JLA (vol. 5): Justice for All. Reprints JLA #24-33. Grant Morrison and John Dell.
  6. JLA (vol. 6): World War III. Reprints JLA #34-41. Grant Morrison and John Dell.
  7. JLA (vol. 7): Tower Of Babel (2001). Reprints JLA #42-46, "Blame" from JLA Secret Files #2, "The Green Bullet" from JLA 80 Page Giant #1 & "Revelations" from JLA 80 Page Giant #1. Mark Waid, John Dell and Bryan Hitch.
  8. JLA (vol. 8): Divided We Fall (2002). Reprints issues #47-54 Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch.
  9. JLA (vol. 9): Terror Incognita (2002). Reprints issues #55-60. Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch.
  10. JLA (vol. 10): Golden Perfect (200?). Reprints issues #61-65. Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke.
  11. JLA (vol. 11): The Obsidian Age Book 1 (200?). Reprints issues #66-71. Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke.
  12. JLA (vol. 12): The Obsidian Age Book 2. Reprints JLA #72-76. Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke.
  13. JLA (vol. 13) Rules of Engagement. Joe Kelly, Rick Veitch, Doug Mahnke and others. Reprints JLA #77-82. Should the JLA involve themselves in the political matters of an alien planet?
  14. JLA (vol. 14) Trial by Fire. Reprints JLA #84-89. Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke.
  15. JLA (vol. 15) The 10th Circle. Reprints JLA #94-99. John Byrne, Chris Claremont and Jerry Ordway.
  16. JLA (vol. 16) Pain of the Gods. JLA #101-106. Written by Chuck Austen; Art and cover by Ron Garney.
  17. JLA (vol. 17) Syndicate Rules. JLA #107-114 and a story from JLA Secret Files 2004. Kurt Busiek and Ron Garney
  18. JLA (vol. 18) Crisis of Conscience. JLA #115-119. Geoff Johns, Allan Heinberg and Chris Batista
  19. JLA (vol. 19) World without a Justice League. JLA #120-125. Bob Harras and Tom Derenick
» Collecting the JLA: Classified series:
  1. JLA: Ultramarine Corps. Classified #1-3, and JLA//WILDCATS. Grant Morrison and Ed McGuinness
  2. I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League. Classified #4-9. Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
  3. JLA Classified: New maps of Hell. Classified #10-15. Warren Ellis and Butch Guice
  4. JLA: The Hypothetical Woman. Classified #16-21. Gail Simone and José Luís García-López
  5. JLA: Kid Amazo. Classified #37-41. Peter Milligan and Carlos D'Anda
  6. JLA: That was Now This is Then. Classified #50-54. Roger Stern and John Byrne
» Collecting the Justice League of America v.2 series:
  1. Justice League of America (vol. 1) The Tornado's Path. JLofA v.2 #1-6. Brad Meltzer and Ed Benes.
  2. Justice League of America (vol. 2) The Lightning Saga. JLofA v.2 #0, 8-12 & JSA #5-6. Written by Brad Meltzer and Geoff Johns; art by Ed Benes, and Dale Eaglasham.
  3. Justice League of America (vol. 3) The Injustice League. JLA Wedding Special #1 and JLofA #13-16. Dwayne McDuffie and Alan Burnett with Ed Benes, Mike McKone and Joe Benitez.
  4. Justice League of America (vol. 4) Sanctuary. JLofA #17-21. Dwayne McDuffie and Alan Burnett with Ed Benes.
  5. Justice League of America (vol. 5) The Second Coming. JLofA v.2 #22-26. Dwayne McDuffie and Ed Benes.

» Others:

  • Crisis on Multiple Earths vol. 1. Reprints the first four JLA/JSA team-ups from Justice League of America #21-22, 29-30, 37-38, 46-47.
  • Crisis on Multiple Earths vol. 2.Reprints JLA/JSA team-ups from Justice League of America ##55-56, 64-65, 72-73, 83-84.
  • Crisis on Multiple Earths vol. 3. Reprints JLA/JSA team-ups from Justice League of America #91-92, 100-102, 107-108, and 113.
  • Crisis on Multiple Earths vol. 4 . Reprints JLA/JSA team-ups from Justice League of America #122-124, #135-137 and #147-148
  • JLA/Titans: The Technis Imperative. Reprints issues #1-3. Devyn Grayson and Phil Jimenez.
  • JLA: World Without Grownups. Reprints issues #1-2.
  • JLA: Year One. Reprints issues #1-12. Mark Waid and Barry Kitson.
  • JLA: Zatanna's Search (2004). Reprints The Atom #19, Hawkman #4, Green Lantern #42, Detective Comics #335 and 355 and Justice League of America #51. Also, a 10-page Zatanna origin.
  • Justice League: A New Beginning. Reprints Justice League #1-6 and Justice League International #7. J.M. DeMatteis, Mark Waid, Keith Giffen and Kevin Maguire.
  • Justice League Elite, vol. 1. Reprints Action #775, JLA #100, JLA Secret Files 2004 and Justice League Elite #1-4. Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke
  • Justice League Elite, vol. 2. Reprints Justice League Elite #5-12. Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke
  • The Justice League of America Hereby Elects… JLofA #4, 75, 105-106, 146, 161 and 173-174
  • Secret Origins featuring JLA. Reprints "Star-seed" from JLA Secret Files #1, "Gazing Back" from Batman Secret Files #1, "Guy Talk" from Green Lantern Secret Files #1, "A Run of Luck" from Flash Secret Files #1, "Vunerability" from Wonder Woman Secret Files #1, "Left for Dead" from Aquaman Secret Files #1, "Who is ... Superman?" from Superman Secret Files #1.
  • Justice League: Cry for Justice (#1-7) By James Robinson and Mauro Cascioli

Digest-Size Collections

» Collecting Justice League Adventures:

  1. Justice League Adventures: The Magnificent Seven - Volume 1. Reprints issues #3, 6, 10, 11, 12. $6.95. 112 pages (February 1, 2004)
  2. Justice League Adventures: Friends and Foes - Volume 2. Reprints issues 13, 14, 16, 19 and 20. $6.95. 112 pages (February 1, 2004)

» Collecting Justice League Unlimited:

  1. Justice League Unlimitied (vol. 1) United They Stand. Issues #1-5. (May 2005)
  2. Justice League Unlimitied (vol. 2) World's Greatest Heroes. Issues #6-10. Adam Beechen and Carlo Barberi, Ethen Beavers and Walden Wong
  3. Justice League Unlimitied (vol. 3) Champions of Justice. Issues #11-15. Adam Beechen and Carlo Barberi and Walden Wong
  4. Justice League Unlimitied (vol. 4) Ties that Bind. Issues #16-22. Adam Beechen and Paul Storrie; art by Carlo Barberi, Rick Burchett
  5. Justice League Unlimitied (vol. 5) Heroes. Issues #23-29.
  • Justice League Unlimitied: Jam-Packed Action. Adapting the television episodes "Initiation" and "For the Man Who Has Everything"

» SEE ALSO: