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This article is part of the DC Database Recommended Reading project, a series of articles written by our editors. They are meant as a guide to help both new and old readers, either getting into comics for the first time or looking to read more on their favorites. These should not be taken as a definitive guide; obviously you can start wherever and with whatever you want, but they're some general suggestions that we think you might find enjoyable.
Justice Society of America 001

The Justice Society of America is the world's first super team. Founded on the eve of America's entry into World War II, they fought both the Nazis abroad and crime and injustice on the home front throughout the war and for years after it, but were driven underground in 1951 during the anti-Communist witch hunts of the McCarthy era. Kept youthful by mystical energies absorbed in 1941 from the villainous Ian Karkull, the Justice Society eventually came out of their self imposed semi-retirement in the modern era following the debut of their successors, the Justice League of America. The membership has changed and expanded over the decades, and today the remaining original members of the JSA divide their energies between protecting the world and training a new generation of costumed crimefighters who will take their legacy forward into the future.

Originally composed of DC's best selling characters without their own titles during the 1940's (once a character got his own book, he was removed from the active roster) various writers have changed the focus of the JSA over the years. During the Silver Age, they were relegated to guest star status, their adventures consigned to the backwater parallel world of Earth-Two. Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, an attempt was made to write them out of the modern DC Universe altogether for the sake of simplicity. But the JSA have endured as a favorite of both long term fans and newer readers and in recent years they have again become key characters in DC's huge and complex fictional world.

New readers[]

Further reading[]

  • All-Star Comics was the original run of the Justice Society as written and established by creator Gardner Fox, first beginning their feature in issue #3. The series' chronicles their early World War II-era adventures, and was ground-breaking as the first super-hero team book in comics.
  • All-Star Squadron is an expansive series written by Roy Thomas that lovingly revisits the depths of character and continuity on Earth-Two, a tribute to the Golden Age told through the greatest super-hero team of the second World War.
  • America vs. the Justice Society is a four-issue mini-series written by Roy Thomas that retells the complete history of the characters as they must prove their innocence while standing trial for treason.
  • Infinity, Inc. is an Earth-Two series written by Roy Thomas depicting the adventures of Infinity, Inc., a team comprised of the sons and daughters of several Golden Age heroes.
  • JSA: All Stars is a showcase collection of short stories featuring and developing many of the more recently introduced legacy characters in the JSA.
  • JSA vs. Kobra is a six-issue mini-series that features the team fighting against a deadly new Kobra.
  • JSA: The Liberty Files is an Elseworlds story depicting alternate versions of several Justice Society members fighting behind enemy lines in World War II, led by a grim and unrelenting Batman.
  • JSA: Strange Adventures is a modern story revisiting the Justice Society's Golden Age adventures.
  • The Justice Society Returns! was a series of one-shots bringing the team's return to the DCU in the modern era as they fought against an inter-dimensional villain.
  • Zero Hour is a chronal crisis that depicts among many other things the last adventure of the founding members together, leading the way for them to pass the torch onto a new generation. Popularity would bring back many of the characters for further stories, and several new legacy heroes emerged in the aftermath.

Single issues[]


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