UNIFTHEORY OF : JOKER 3

 

JOKER 3 (1975)

One of my all-time favorite DC single issues. Picked it up as a back issue as a kid. Joker vs. Creeper!

The late, great Denny O’Neil wrote this one for the unique art team of Ernie Chua and JL Garcia Lopez. Chua did that swell cover as well. Story has Joker and Creeper having a massive fight in a junkyard (!) that ends with Creeper with amnesia and captured by Joker. Joker decides to kidnap cartoonist Sandy Saturn, creator of hit comic strip Cashews. (Yes, it’s Charles Schulz and Peanuts…)

Joker talks the amnesiac Creeper into helping him. He does and there’s this bizarre mini-plot of the cartoonist hating the strip so much that when Joker tells him to draw Joker kicking his characters, he gladly does. Was this some kind of Schulz/Peanuts thing in the 70s? No idea…

Wraps up with Creeper changing back into Jack Ryder and regaining his memory…Another big fight ensues, with Creeper knocking out Joker by punching a Batman punching bag into him…Great stuff…

Creeper always has been a favorite of mine and Joker of course is a central figure of the DC Universe…Great figure work and fight scenes here by Chua and Garcia Lopez…This one’s a lost gem…

UNIFTHEORY OF : JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 200

 

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 200 (1982)

DC has published a lot of comics since 1935, but this might be one of its best ever. The 200^th anniversary of their flagship super-team combined major characters with major creators in a great story that highlighted the best of the teamwork concept and of the JLA’s history.

The aliens from the first-ever JLA adventure return and control the original members, pitting them against members who joined later over the years. So you get tons of superhero battles (always a fan favorite) and then they combine and split into mini-teams (another fan-pleasing move) to save the day.

The art teams on the battle chapters are amazing and often were done by artists associated with those characters. GL vs. Atom by Gil Kane. Flash vs. Elongated Man by Carmine Infantino. Aquaman vs. Red Torando (with help from Phantom Stranger) by Jim Aparo. Others had some connection. Firestorm vs. Martian Manhunter by Pat Broderick. Superman vs. Hawkman by Joe Kubert. And some they just said what the hell and assigned great artists – Wonder Woman vs. Zatanna by Dick Giordano and in likely the best of the chapters, Batman vs. Green Arrow and Black Canary by the always amazing Brian Bolland.

If that wasn’t enough, the intro, connecting pieces and conclusion are by George Perez and Brett Breeding. And this 72-page epic is contained in a fantastic wraparound cover by Perez. For hardcore DC fans, this comic is the equivalent of an all-you-can-eat buffet in Vegas right after winning big on the slots and at Blackjack.