''All Star Comics'' is an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

series from

All-American Publications All-American PublicationsThe name is spelled with a hyphen per its logo (pictured) and sources includinat Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on April 15, 2012. was one of two American comic book companies that merged to form the ...

, one of three companies that merged with

National Periodical Publications National Comics Publications, Inc. (also known as NCP or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company, and the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was originally two companies: National Allied P ...

to form the modern-day

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. While the series' cover-logo trademark reads ''All Star Comics'', its copyrighted title as indicated by postal indicia is ''All-Star Comics'', with a hyphen. With the exception of the first two issues, ''All Star Comics'' told stories about the adventures of the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic ...

, the very first team of superheroes. It also introduced

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

Publication history

Original series

The original concept for ''All Star Comics'' was an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

title containing the most popular series from the other anthology titles published by both All-American Publications and National Comics. ''All Star Comics'' #1 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d Summer 1940) contained superhero stories that included All-American's

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American 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 ...

Ultra-Man Ultra-Man (Gary Concord) is the name of two fictional comic-book superheroes, father and son, that first appeared during the 1940s, the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books. Both were characters of All-American Publica ...

, as well as National's Hour-Man,

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

, and

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

. The adventure strip "Biff Bronson" and the comedy-adventure "Red, White, and Blue" also premiered with the Summer 1940

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

. Issue #3 (Winter 1940–1941) depicted the first meeting of the Justice Society of America, with its members swapping stories of their exploits which were subsequently illustrated in the comic's array of solo adventures. In addition to the Flash, Hawkman, Hour-Man, the Spectre, and the Sandman were

Doctor Fate Doctor Fate (also known as Fate) is the name of multiple superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version of the character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, debuting in ''More F ...

from National's ''

More Fun Comics ''More Fun Comics'', originally titled ''New Fun: The Big Comic Magazine'' a.k.a. ''New Fun Comics'',''N ...

'' and the

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

and the

Atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

from All-American's flagship title ''

All-American Comics ''All-American Comics'' was a comics anthology and the flagship title of comic book publisher All-American Publications, one of the forerunners of DC Comics. It ran for 102 issues from 1939 to 1948. Characters created for the title, including Green ...

''. The Justice Society of America (JSA) was originally a

frame story A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

used to present an anthology of solo stories about the individual characters, with each story handled by a different artist. Comic historian

Les Daniels Leslie Noel Daniels III, better known as Les Daniels (October 27, 1943 – November 5, 2011), was an American writer. Background Daniels attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he wrote his master's thesis on ''Frankenstei ...

noted, "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". The anthology format was dropped in 1947 and replaced with full issue stories featuring the heroes teaming up to fight crime. ''All Star Comics'' #8 (

cover dated The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

January 1942) featured the first appearance of

in an eight-page story written by

William Moulton Marston William Moulton Marston (May 9, 1893 – May 2, 1947), also known by the pen name Charles Moulton (), was an American psychologist who, with his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth Holloway, invented an early prototype of the lie detector ...

, under the pen name of "Charles Moulton" with art by

H. G. Peter Harry George Peter (March 8, 1880 – January 2, 1958) was an American newspaper illustrator and cartoonist known for his work on the ''Wonder Woman'' comic book and for Bud Fisher of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. Biography Harry George Peter ...

. The insert story was included to test reader interest in the Wonder Woman concept. It generated enough positive fan response that Wonder Woman would be awarded the lead feature in the ''

Sensation Comics ''Sensation Comics'' is the title of an American comic book anthology series published by DC Comics that ran for 109 issues between 1942 and 1952. For most of its run, the lead feature was Wonder Woman, a character which had been introduced in ''Al ...

'' anthology title starting from issue #1. That same issue saw the induction of

Doctor Mid-Nite Doctor Mid-Nite or Doctor Midnight is the name of multiple fictional superheroes in DC Comics. The figure has been represented in the comics by three different individuals, Charles McNider, Beth Chapel, and Pieter Anton Cross. Dr. Mid-Nite was o ...

and

Starman ''StarMan'' is a 1996 fantasy novel by Australian writer Sara Douglass. It follows the second book in the series, '' Enchanter'', with Axis marching north with his army to confront a formidable enemy. Background ''StarMan'' was first published ...

as members of the Justice Society as well. Starting with issue #11, Wonder Woman would appear in ''All Star Comics'' as a member of the Justice Society as their secretary. With issue #34 (April–May 1947), Gardner Fox left the series and a new super-villain, the Wizard, was introduced. The

Injustice Society The Injustice Society (also called the Injustice Society of the World) is a group of supervillains in the . They are the main antagonists of the Justice Society of America. The Injustice Society first appears in ''All Star Comics'' #37 (Oct 1947 ...

first battled the JSA in issue #37 in a tale written by

Robert Kanigher Robert "Bob" Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for ...

. The Black Canary guest starred in issue #38 and joined the team three issues later in #41. ''All Star Comics'' increased its frequency from a quarterly to a bimonthly publication schedule, and the JSA lasted through March 1951 with issue #57 in a story titled "The Mystery of the Vanishing Detectives". Superhero comics slumped in the early 1950s, and ''All Star Comics'' was renamed ''

All-Star Western ''All-Star Western'' was the name of three United States, American comic book series published by DC Comics, each a Western fiction omnibus featuring both continuing characters and anthological stories. The first ran from 1951 to 1961, the second ...

'' in 1951 with issue #58. In this issue, the "Justice Society of America" feature was replaced by

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

heroes. Artwork from an

unpublished To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conve ...

''All Star Comics'' story titled "The Will of William Wilson" survived and was reprinted in various publications from

TwoMorrows Publishing TwoMorrows Publishing is a publisher of magazines about comic books, founded in 1994 by John and Pam Morrow out of their small advertising agency in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Its products also include books and DVDs. List of magaz ...

1976 revival series

In 1976, the name ''All Star Comics'' was resurrected for a series portraying the modern-day adventures of the JSA. The new series dismissed the numbering from ''All-Star Western'' and continued the original numbering, premiering with ''All-Star Comics'' #58. Starting with issue #66, a hyphen was added to the title and the words "All-Star Comics" became a much smaller part of the cover; while the words "Justice Society" became much larger. The 1970s series introduced the new characters

Power Girl Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L and Karen Starr, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books by DC Comics, making her first appearance in ''All_Star_Comics#1976_revival_series, All Star Comics'' #58 (January/February 1976). Power Girl ...

and the

Helena Wayne The Huntress, also known as Helena Wayne, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The Character (arts), character is the daughter of the Batman (Earth-Two), Batman and Catwoman#Earth-Two, Catwoman (Selina Kyle) ...

version of the Huntress. This series ran for seventeen issues before it was abruptly canceled with issue #74 as part of the

DC Implosion The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cut it back. The DC Explos ...

and the JSA's adventures were folded into ''

Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...

''. After 23-year-old

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

became an editor at DC Comics, long-time JSA-fan

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

suggested to Conway that the JSA be given their own title again. Conway offered Thomas a chance to

ghostwrite A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

an issue of the revived ''All-Star Comics'', but he declined as Thomas was under an exclusive contract with

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

at the time. However, in 1981 Thomas moved to DC and was able to work with the characters.

Subsequent revival

A two-issue ''All-Star Comics'' series was published as a part of the "

Justice Society Returns "The Justice Society Returns" is a nine issue story arc that ran through a number of comic books published by DC Comics in 1999, reviving the Golden Age superhero team, which had previously been revived in the 1980s. Publication history The comic ...

" storyline in May 1999.

Collected editions

* ''All Star Comics

Archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

'': ** ''Volume 0'' collects #1–2, 144 pages, March 2006, ** ''Volume 1'' collects #3–6, 272 pages, 1992, ** ''Volume 2'' collects #7–10, 256 pages, 1993, ** ''Volume 3'' collects #11–14, 240 pages, November 1997, ** ''Volume 4'' collects #15–18, 224 pages, December 1998, ** ''Volume 5'' collects #19–23, 224 pages, December 1999, ** ''Volume 6'' collects #24–28, 240 pages, October 2000, ** ''Volume 7'' collects #29–33, 216 pages, July 2001, ** ''Volume 8'' collects #34–38, 208 pages, August 2002, ** ''Volume 9'' collects #39–43, 192 pages, August 2003, ** ''Volume 10'' collects #44–49, 216 pages, August 2004, ** ''Volume 11'' collects #50–57, 276 pages, March 2005, * ''

Justice Society Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'' ** ''Volume 1'' collects #58–67 and ''DC Special'' #29, 224 pages, August 2006, ** ''Volume 2'' collects #68–74 and ''Adventure Comics'' #461–466, 224 pages, February 2007, * ''

Showcase Presents ''Showcase Presents'' was a line of black-and-white paperback books published by DC Comics (from 2005 - 2016) at an average rate of two per month. Much like Marvel Comics' '' Essential Marvel'' volumes, each book usually included over 500 pages of ...

: All-Star Comics'' collects issues #58–74 and ''Adventure Comics'' #461–466, 448 pages, September 2011,

''Millennium Edition''

In 2000 and 2001, DC Comics reprinted several of its most notable issues in the '' Millennium Edition'' series. ''All Star Comics'' #3 and #8 were reprinted in this format.

References

External links

''All Star Comics''
an
''All Star Comics'' (revival)
at Mike's Amazing World of DC Comics. {{Wonder Woman Comics magazines published in the United States 1940 comics debuts 1951 comics endings 1976 comics debuts 1978 comics endings Comics by Gardner Fox Comics by Gerry Conway Comics by Paul Levitz Comics by Robert Kanigher DC Comics titles Earth-Two Justice Society of America Golden Age comics titles