All-Star Squadron
Encyclopedia
The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics
superhero
team that debuted in a special insert
in Justice League of America
#193 (August 1981). Created by Roy Thomas
, Rich Buckler
and Jerry Ordway
.
. The last series to do so was All Star Comics
, which lasted only seventeen issues, ending in 1979. As Roy Thomas put it, DC management gave him "a chance to write a return of the JSA." Instead of writing stories in the modern era, however, Roy Thomas decided to place the tales during World War Two. The setting would be DC's fictional world of Earth-Two
, a parallel universe to the mainstream DC continuity established during the 1960s, to explain how DC characters who were well established having adventures in the 1940s could still be in their 30s in contemporary comics. The cast of characters, however, would include a large ensemble of heroes from both the DC stable and the Quality Comics
Group (which had been purchased by DC). With so many characters to choose from, the creative team decided to concentrate on "quite promising characters who have been ignored or underplayed for years," instead of those Earth-Two characters who had counterparts on Earth-One. Roy Thomas writes, "If we lost the original GL
, we gained the Earth-Two Robotman
; if we dropped Jay (Flash) Garrick, we picked up on Johnny Quick
; Liberty Belle could stand in for Wonder Woman
till more super-powered ladies came along. We even tossed in an Earth-Two version of the venerable Plastic Man
, whose series in ADVENTURE
was just folding..."
The All-Star Squadron was an example of "retroactive continuity" or "retcon
", as it rewrote the already-established history of DC superheroes that had been published during the 1940s. The first known use of the term "retcon" was by Roy Thomas in the letter column
of All-Star Squadron #20 (April, 1983). Several story lines ironed out continuity errors (and quite a few were created), fleshed out characters' origins and rewrote earlier stories to explain inconsistencies in character development, resolve lingering questions or fill in missing details.
The Trylon and Perisphere
, actual structures constructed in Flushing Meadows
, Queens, New York for the 1939 New York World's Fair
, housed the Squadron's headquarters. The Perisphere contained the Squadron meeting hall, while the Trylon was retrofitted as an aircraft hangar/vertical launch platform. The All-Star Squadron had a robot
ic butler named Gernsback, who was based on the Elektro
robots from the fair and was named after science fiction publisher Hugo Gernsback
.
After the 1985 DC Comics event Crisis on Infinite Earths
merged the various parallel worlds DC had established over the decades into a single universe, the older, "Golden Age" versions of DC's mainstream heroes were largely eliminated from continuity. The All-Star Squadron was left only with the characters unique to that time period. Superman, Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, Green Arrow, Plastic Man, and several other heroes were no longer extant at that point in history, and were thus never Squadron members. In part to clear the slate after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and to re-launch the franchise, All Star Squadron was canceled with issue #67 and replaced it with a successor series, Young All-Stars
. The principal characters featured in Young All Stars were considered spiritual and contextual analogs for the missing characters: Iron Munro
for Superman, Fury
for Wonder Woman, Flying Fox for Batman, Dan the Dyna-Mite
for Robin, and Neptune Perkins for Aquaman. (Evil analogs were also created for the missing characters at the same time: Übermensch, Der Grosshorn Eule, Fledermaus, Usil, and Sea Wolf.) Young All Stars ran for 31 issues.
In a nod to the original JSA adventures in All Star Comics
, writer Roy Thomas tried to include at least a cameo appearance by the golden-age Hawkman in every issue, since Hawkman was the one hero to appear in every golden-age issue of All Star, including the two pre-JSA issues. Unfortunately, the artwork for issue #49 was printed without Hawkman's cameo included, so it became the only issue to break the streak. The string of appearances, however, had already been broken several issues into a mid-70s revival of All Star Comics, numbering and all.
When writer Gerry Conway
revived the Justice Society in their own regular series in 1976, he initially intended to have the younger members of the group, including Power Girl
and the Star-Spangled Kid
, spun off into their own team (and potential series of their own), to be called the All-Star Squadron. The group's named was subsequently changed to the Super Squad, after management at DC worried that the team's original name would be abbreviated as A.S.S.
, Freedom Fighters
, Seven Soldiers of Victory
, and solo heroes—at the White House. He asked them to band together for the war as the All-Star Squadron to battle sabotage and keep the peace on the home front during World War II
. The rationale for not using the Squadron in combat situations in the European
or Pacific
Theaters of War was that Adolf Hitler
had possession of the Spear of Destiny, a mystical object that gave him control of any superheroes with magic-based powers or a vulnerability to magic (including Superman, Green Lantern
, Doctor Fate
, and others) who crossed into territory held by the Axis Powers
.
At the time, many of the Justice Society members had been captured by the time-travelling villain Per Degaton
with the help of JSA foes he had pulled back in time, but the available heroes were asked to first guard against a potential attack on the American West Coast. Degaton himself used some stolen Japanese planes with hypnotized troopers to launch such an attack on San Francisco, hoping to change history by making the USA fight to a stalemate against Japan, enabling him to take over the world, so the new Squadron's first major mission was to stop the attack and rescue the captured heroes, who also became part of the new group. However due to Per Degaton going back in time after the JSA were freed they forgot his invovlement, though the events were not wiped. America's entry into the war caused several of the members of the JSA to enlist, or be drafted in their civilian identities. These included Starman
, Hawkman
, The Atom, and Johnny Thunder
.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
team that debuted in a special insert
DC Comics insert previews
DC Comics insert previews were 16-page comic book stories inserted into issues of existing DC Comics series to promote new series usually debuting the next month. Running from 1980 to 1985, they consisted of a front cover, 14 pages of story, and a back cover that depicted the cover of the actual...
in Justice League of America
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
#193 (August 1981). Created by Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
and Jerry Ordway
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...
.
The concept
All-Star Squadron #1 contains "An Open Letter to the Readers" written by Roy Thomas. In it he describes the impetus for the series, namely, DC wanted a comic book telling tales of the Justice Society of AmericaJustice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
. The last series to do so was All Star Comics
All Star Comics
All Star Comics is a 1940s comic book series from All-American Publications, one of the early companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. With the exception of the first two issues, All Star Comics primarily told stories about the adventures of the...
, which lasted only seventeen issues, ending in 1979. As Roy Thomas put it, DC management gave him "a chance to write a return of the JSA." Instead of writing stories in the modern era, however, Roy Thomas decided to place the tales during World War Two. The setting would be DC's fictional world of Earth-Two
Earth-Two
Earth-Two is a fictional universe appearing in American comic book stories published by DC Comics. First appearing in The Flash #123 , Earth-Two was created to explain how Silver-Age versions of characters such as the Flash could appear in stories with their Golden Age counterparts...
, a parallel universe to the mainstream DC continuity established during the 1960s, to explain how DC characters who were well established having adventures in the 1940s could still be in their 30s in contemporary comics. The cast of characters, however, would include a large ensemble of heroes from both the DC stable and the Quality Comics
Quality Comics
Quality Comics was an American comic book publishing company that operated from 1939 to 1956 and was an influential creative force in what historians and fans call the Golden Age of comic books....
Group (which had been purchased by DC). With so many characters to choose from, the creative team decided to concentrate on "quite promising characters who have been ignored or underplayed for years," instead of those Earth-Two characters who had counterparts on Earth-One. Roy Thomas writes, "If we lost the original GL
Alan Scott
Alan Scott is a fictional character, a superhero in the and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern.-Publication history:The original Green Lantern was created by young struggling artist Martin Nodell, who was inspired by the sight of a New York Subway employee waving a red lantern to...
, we gained the Earth-Two Robotman
Robotman (Robert Crane)
Robotman is a Golden Age DC Comics superhero. He first appeared in Star-Spangled Comics #7 and was created by Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman. Despite his name, Robotman is actually not a robot; he is a cyborg.-History:...
; if we dropped Jay (Flash) Garrick, we picked up on Johnny Quick
Johnny Quick (Johnny Chambers)
Johnny Quick is a Golden Age DC Comics character with the power of superhuman speed. He was a superhero who appeared mostly in More Fun Comics during the Golden Age...
; Liberty Belle could stand in for Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
till more super-powered ladies came along. We even tossed in an Earth-Two version of the venerable Plastic Man
Plastic Man
Plastic Man is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Cole, he first appeared in Police Comics #1 ....
, whose series in ADVENTURE
Adventure Comics
Adventure Comics was a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983 and then revamped from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues , making it the fifth-longest-running DC series, behind Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, and Batman...
was just folding..."
The All-Star Squadron was an example of "retroactive continuity" or "retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
", as it rewrote the already-established history of DC superheroes that had been published during the 1940s. The first known use of the term "retcon" was by Roy Thomas in the letter column
Comic book letter column
A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...
of All-Star Squadron #20 (April, 1983). Several story lines ironed out continuity errors (and quite a few were created), fleshed out characters' origins and rewrote earlier stories to explain inconsistencies in character development, resolve lingering questions or fill in missing details.
The Trylon and Perisphere
Perisphere
The Trylon and Perisphere were two modernistic structures, together known as the "Theme Center," at the center of the New York World's Fair of 1939-1940. Connected to the spire-shaped Trylon by what was at the time the world's longest escalator, the Perisphere was a tremendous sphere, 180 feet in...
, actual structures constructed in Flushing Meadows
Flushing Meadows
Flushing Meadows is an American short film by Larry Jordan, with director Joseph Cornell. The film is 8 minutes long, in color, 16mm, and silent....
, Queens, New York for the 1939 New York World's Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
, housed the Squadron's headquarters. The Perisphere contained the Squadron meeting hall, while the Trylon was retrofitted as an aircraft hangar/vertical launch platform. The All-Star Squadron had a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
ic butler named Gernsback, who was based on the Elektro
Elektro
Elektro is the nickname of a robot built by the Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Corporation in its Mansfield, Ohio facility between 1937 and 1938. Seven feet tall, weighing 265 pounds, humanoid in appearance, he could walk by voice command, speak about 700 words , smoke cigarettes, blow up...
robots from the fair and was named after science fiction publisher Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback , born Hugo Gernsbacher, was a Luxembourgian American inventor, writer, editor, and magazine publisher, best remembered for publications that included the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with H. G...
.
After the 1985 DC Comics event Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
merged the various parallel worlds DC had established over the decades into a single universe, the older, "Golden Age" versions of DC's mainstream heroes were largely eliminated from continuity. The All-Star Squadron was left only with the characters unique to that time period. Superman, Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, Green Arrow, Plastic Man, and several other heroes were no longer extant at that point in history, and were thus never Squadron members. In part to clear the slate after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths and to re-launch the franchise, All Star Squadron was canceled with issue #67 and replaced it with a successor series, Young All-Stars
Young All-Stars
The Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in Young All-Stars #1, dated June 1987.-Publication history:...
. The principal characters featured in Young All Stars were considered spiritual and contextual analogs for the missing characters: Iron Munro
Iron Munro
Iron Munro is a fictional superhero, who first appeared in Shadow Comics #1 , published by Street & Smith. He is loosely based on Aarn Munro, the hero of a series of short stories written by John W. Campbell in the 1930s...
for Superman, Fury
Fury (comics)
Fury, in comics, may refer to:*Fury , a superheroine in DC Comics*Fury , a supervillain in Marvel Comics*Fury , a superhero in Alan Moore's comic book 1963...
for Wonder Woman, Flying Fox for Batman, Dan the Dyna-Mite
Dan the Dyna-Mite
Dan the Dyna-Mite is a fictional character, a teen-aged superhero published by DC Comics. He was the young sidekick to the character TNT, and was created by Mort Weisinger and Hal Sharp in 1942. TNT and Dyna-Mite made their debut in World's Finest Comics # 5, and starred in Star-Spangled Comics #...
for Robin, and Neptune Perkins for Aquaman. (Evil analogs were also created for the missing characters at the same time: Übermensch, Der Grosshorn Eule, Fledermaus, Usil, and Sea Wolf.) Young All Stars ran for 31 issues.
In a nod to the original JSA adventures in All Star Comics
All Star Comics
All Star Comics is a 1940s comic book series from All-American Publications, one of the early companies that merged with National Periodical Publications to form the modern-day DC Comics. With the exception of the first two issues, All Star Comics primarily told stories about the adventures of the...
, writer Roy Thomas tried to include at least a cameo appearance by the golden-age Hawkman in every issue, since Hawkman was the one hero to appear in every golden-age issue of All Star, including the two pre-JSA issues. Unfortunately, the artwork for issue #49 was printed without Hawkman's cameo included, so it became the only issue to break the streak. The string of appearances, however, had already been broken several issues into a mid-70s revival of All Star Comics, numbering and all.
When writer Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
revived the Justice Society in their own regular series in 1976, he initially intended to have the younger members of the group, including Power Girl
Power Girl
Power Girl is a DC Comics superheroine, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 ....
and the Star-Spangled Kid
Star-Spangled Kid
Star-Spangled Kid is the name of several fictional superheroes in the DC Comics' main shared universe.-Sylvester Pemberton:The original Star-Spangled Kid was Sylvester Pemberton, a Golden Age character. He became the Star-Spangled Kid in order to battle Nazism during World War II. He was unique...
, spun off into their own team (and potential series of their own), to be called the All-Star Squadron. The group's named was subsequently changed to the Super Squad, after management at DC worried that the team's original name would be abbreviated as A.S.S.
Fictional history
On the day of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt gathered available superheroes—including members of the Justice Society of AmericaJustice Society of America
The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
, Freedom Fighters
Freedom Fighters (comics)
Freedom Fighters is a DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company Quality Comics. Although the characters were created by Quality, they never were gathered in a group before acquired by DC...
, Seven Soldiers of Victory
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Seven Soldiers of Victory is a fictional team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe...
, and solo heroes—at the White House. He asked them to band together for the war as the All-Star Squadron to battle sabotage and keep the peace on the home front during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The rationale for not using the Squadron in combat situations in the European
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
or Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
Theaters of War was that Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
had possession of the Spear of Destiny, a mystical object that gave him control of any superheroes with magic-based powers or a vulnerability to magic (including Superman, Green Lantern
Alan Scott
Alan Scott is a fictional character, a superhero in the and the first superhero to bear the name Green Lantern.-Publication history:The original Green Lantern was created by young struggling artist Martin Nodell, who was inspired by the sight of a New York Subway employee waving a red lantern to...
, Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate
Doctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear in books published by DC Comics. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
, and others) who crossed into territory held by the Axis Powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
.
At the time, many of the Justice Society members had been captured by the time-travelling villain Per Degaton
Per Degaton
Per Degaton is a fictional character, a DC Comics supervillain who can travel through time. Per Degaton made his first appearance in All Star Comics #35 and was created by John Broome and Irwin Hasen...
with the help of JSA foes he had pulled back in time, but the available heroes were asked to first guard against a potential attack on the American West Coast. Degaton himself used some stolen Japanese planes with hypnotized troopers to launch such an attack on San Francisco, hoping to change history by making the USA fight to a stalemate against Japan, enabling him to take over the world, so the new Squadron's first major mission was to stop the attack and rescue the captured heroes, who also became part of the new group. However due to Per Degaton going back in time after the JSA were freed they forgot his invovlement, though the events were not wiped. America's entry into the war caused several of the members of the JSA to enlist, or be drafted in their civilian identities. These included Starman
Starman (Ted Knight)
Starman is a fictional comic book superhero in the , and a member of the Justice Society of America. Created by artist Jack Burnley and editors Whit Ellsworth, Murray Boltinoff, Jack Schiff, Mort Weisinger, and Bernie Breslauer, he first appeared in Adventure Comics #61 .-Fictional character...
, Hawkman
Hawkman
Hawkman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in Flash Comics #1, published by All-American Publications in 1940....
, The Atom, and Johnny Thunder
Johnny Thunder
Johnny Thunder is the name of three fictional characters in comics published by DC Comics. A fourth character has the variant name Jonni Thunder.It is also the name of an unrelated Lego character.-Fictional character biography:...
.
Writers
- Roy ThomasRoy ThomasRoy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
- # 1-67 (Sep 1981-Mar 1987); Annual #1-3 (1982–84) - Gerry ConwayGerry ConwayGerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
- # 8-9 (April–May 1982) (SteelCommander SteelCommander Steel is the name of three fictional characters, superheroes published by DC Comics, all members of the same family. The first Steel appeared in Steel, The Indestructible Man #1 published by DC Comics, and was created by Gerry Conway and Don Heck. His stories were set in World War II...
section only) - Paul KupperbergPaul KupperbergPaul Kupperberg is a former editor for DC Comics, and a prolific writer of comic books and newspaper strips.-Biography:Kupperberg entered the comics field from comics fandom, as had his brother, writer/artist Alan Kupperberg...
- # 41, 44 (Jan 1985, Mar 1985) - Mike BaronMike BaronMike Baron is the creator of comic books Badger and Nexus. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.-Biography:Mike Baron broke into comics with an illustrated text piece in the 1974 debut issue of Marvel Comics's Comix Book...
- # 43 (Feb 1985) - Dann ThomasDann ThomasDanette "Dann" Thomas is a comic book writer, the wife of comic book writer and editor Roy Thomas. She has at times collaborated with Thomas on All-Star Squadron, Arak, Son of Thunder, the Crimson Avenger miniseries and Avengers West Coast.She married Roy Thomas in May 1981 and legally changed her...
- # 46, 51, 53-55 (Jun 1985, Nov 1985, Jan 1986-Mar 1986)
Artists
- Rich BucklerRich BucklerRich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
- # 1-5, 36 (Sep 1981-Jan 1982, Aug 1984); Annual #3 (1984) - Adrian Gonzalez - # 6-18 (Feb 1982-Feb 1983); Annual #1 (1982)
- Don HeckDon HeckDon Heck was an American comic book artist best known for co-creating the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, and for his long run penciling the Marvel superhero-team series The Avengers during the 1960s Silver Age of comic books.-Early life and career:Born in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New...
- # 8-9, 65 (April–May 1982, Jan 1987) (SteelCommander SteelCommander Steel is the name of three fictional characters, superheroes published by DC Comics, all members of the same family. The first Steel appeared in Steel, The Indestructible Man #1 published by DC Comics, and was created by Gerry Conway and Don Heck. His stories were set in World War II...
section only for #8-9) - Jerry OrdwayJerry OrdwayJeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...
- # 19-26, 29 (Mar 1983-Oct 1983, Jan 1984); Annual #2-3 (1983–1984) - Richard Howell - # 27-28, 30, 40 (Nov 1983-Dec 1983, Feb 1984, Dec 1984); Annual #3 (1984)
- Rick HobergRick HobergRick Hoberg is an award-winning American comic book artist and animator.-Newspaper Strips:Hoberg began his career in the mid-1970s, working in newspaper strips, assisting Russ Manning on Tarzan and Star Wars , and Fred Kida on the daily Spider-Man strip .-Comic books:Between 1977 and 1979, Hoberg...
- # 31-35, 38-39 (Mar 1984-Jul 1984, Oct 1984-Nov 1984); Annual #3 (1984) - Arvell JonesArvell JonesArvell Jones is an American comic book illustrator best known for his work for Marvel Comics, and for DC Comics and its imprint Milestone Media.-Biography:...
- # 37, 41-46, 50-55, 58-60, 67 (Sep 1984, Jan 1985-Jun 1985, Oct 1985-Mar 1986, Jun 1986-Aug 1986, Mar 1987) - Carmine InfantinoCarmine InfantinoCarmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...
- Annual #3 (1984) - Don NewtonDon NewtonDon Newton was an American comic book artist. During his career, he worked for a number of comic book publishers, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Charlton Comics. He is best known for his work on The Phantom, Aquaman, and Batman...
- Annual #3 (1984) - Martin NodellMartin NodellMartin Nodell was an American cartoonist and commercial artist, best known as the creator of the Golden Age superhero Green Lantern. Some of his work appeared under the pen name "Mart Dellon."-Early life and career:...
- Annual #3 (1984) - George PérezGeorge PérezGeorge Pérez is a Puerto Rican-American writer and illustrator of comic books, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.-Biography:...
- Annual #3 (1984) - Keith GiffenKeith GiffenKeith Ian Giffen is an American comic book illustrator and writer.-Biography:Giffen was born in Queens, New York City....
- Annual #3 (1984) - Todd McFarlaneTodd McFarlaneTodd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
- # 47 (Jul 1985) - Mike HarrisMike Harris (comics)Michael Jay "Mike" Harris is an American comic book artist who was active in the industry from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.Harris was able to use his personal interests in weapons and martial arts to establish himself as an illustrator for characters like The Punisher and G.I...
- # 48-49, 61 (Aug 1985-Sep 1985, Sep 1986) - Mike Clark - # 51, 56-57, 60 (Nov 1985, Apr 1986-May 1986, Aug 1986)
- Tony DeZunigaTony DeZunigaTony DeZuniga is a Filipino comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, where he co-created the characters Jonah Hex and Black Orchid.-Early life and career:...
- # 62 (Oct 1986) - Michael BairMichael BairMichael A. Hernandez is an American comic book artist , best known for his work as an inker. His work includes Marvel Comics' Alpha Flight, and DC Comics' Hawkman...
- # 63 (Nov 1986) - Wayne BoringWayne BoringWayne Boring was an American comic book artist best known for his work on Superman from the late 1940s to 1950s. He occasionally used the pseudonym Jack Harmon....
- # 64 (Dec 1986); Annual #3 (1984) - Alan KupperbergAlan KupperbergAlan Kupperberg is an American comic artist known for working in both comic books and newspaper strips.-Career:Kupperberg began writing and drawing for Marvel Comics in 1974, mostly doing fill-ins and one-shots...
- # 66 (Feb 1987)
Cover artists
- Rich BucklerRich BucklerRich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
- # 1, 3-6, 36 (Sep 1981, Nov 1981-Feb 1982, Aug 1984) - Joe KubertJoe KubertJoe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
- # 2, 7-18 (Oct 1981, Mar 1982-Feb 1983) - Jerry OrdwayJerry OrdwayJeremiah "Jerry" Ordway is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining classic Crisis on Infinite Earths , his long run working on the Superman titles from 1986–1993, and...
- # 19-33, 50, 60 (Mar 1983-May 1984, Oct 1985, Aug 1986); Annual #1-2 (1982–83) - Rick HobergRick HobergRick Hoberg is an award-winning American comic book artist and animator.-Newspaper Strips:Hoberg began his career in the mid-1970s, working in newspaper strips, assisting Russ Manning on Tarzan and Star Wars , and Fred Kida on the daily Spider-Man strip .-Comic books:Between 1977 and 1979, Hoberg...
- # 34-35, 37-39 (Jun 1984-Jul 1984, Sep 1984-Nov 1984); Annual #3 (1984) - Arvell JonesArvell JonesArvell Jones is an American comic book illustrator best known for his work for Marvel Comics, and for DC Comics and its imprint Milestone Media.-Biography:...
- # 40-44, 46, 52, 55, 58-59, 64-66 (Dec 1984-Apr 1985, Jun 1985, Dec 1985, Mar 1986, Jun 1986-Jul 1986, Dec 1986-Feb 1987) - Tim Burgard - # 45 (May 1985)
- Todd McFarlaneTodd McFarlaneTodd McFarlane is a Canadian cartoonist, writer, toy designer and entrepreneur, best known for his work in comic books, such as the fantasy series Spawn....
- # 47 (Jul 1985) - Mike HarrisMike Harris (comics)Michael Jay "Mike" Harris is an American comic book artist who was active in the industry from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.Harris was able to use his personal interests in weapons and martial arts to establish himself as an illustrator for characters like The Punisher and G.I...
- # 48-49, 61-62 (Aug 1985-Sep 1985, Sep 1986-Oct 1986) - Mike Clark - # 51, 53-54, 56-57 (Nov 1985, Jan 1986-Feb 1986, Apr 1986-May 1986)
- Michael BairMichael BairMichael A. Hernandez is an American comic book artist , best known for his work as an inker. His work includes Marvel Comics' Alpha Flight, and DC Comics' Hawkman...
- # 63 (Nov 1986) - Tom GrindbergTom GrindbergTom Grindberg is a comic book illustrator.His British comic book work includes 2000 A.D. Presents #16-19 and Judge Dredd #10-11 for Fleetway in 1987....
- # 67 (Mar 1987)
See also
- Justice Society of AmericaJustice Society of AmericaThe Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. Conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox, the JSA first appeared in All Star Comics #3 ....
- Freedom FightersFreedom Fighters (comics)Freedom Fighters is a DC Comics comic book superhero team made up of characters acquired from the defunct company Quality Comics. Although the characters were created by Quality, they never were gathered in a group before acquired by DC...
- Seven Soldiers of VictorySeven Soldiers of VictoryThe Seven Soldiers of Victory is a fictional team of comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe...
- Young All-StarsYoung All-StarsThe Young All-Stars are a team of fictional DC Comics superheroes. They were created by Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas, and Michael Bair, and introduced in Young All-Stars #1, dated June 1987.-Publication history:...
- The Crusaders