Justice League Annual #1 (1983)

 

cover art by Rick Hoberg

Two weeks ago, we finished a detailed look at an Avengers Annual from 1967. Justice League of America Annual #1, which we will look at beginning today, is from 1983. The 16-year gap means we aren't comparing and contrasting what Marvel and DC were doing at the same time. Instead, we've just looked at a fun book set in the Marvel Universe. Now we're looking at a fun book set in the DC Universe. Like most of my choices of what comics to review, it's pretty much just a whim.

Anyway, this JLA story was plotted by Paul Levitz, written by Len Wein and drawn by Rick Hoberg. It begins in the JLA satellite, which is being attacked by super-powerful robots. One of the JLA members in the fight is Elongated Man, who realizes he's outclassed in a fight where the bad guys can go toe-to-toe with Superman and Flash. And when Ralph is unable to stop one particular robot, the satellite is torn open and the JLA is blown into space.

Well, this turns out to be a dream. Ralph is having a nightmare--a manifestation of his fears that he's not able to contribute anything significant to the League.

Unknown to Ralph, someone else is observing his dream. The villainous Dr. Destiny has watched the dream in a monitor. When the scene jumps to his point-of-view, we also learn that he's operating a research clinic somewhere, giving himself the illusion of a normal appearance when interacting with the nurses. His research is studying dreams, with one of the nurses mentioning that patients who are kept from dreaming are "becoming pale and taunt, their faces almost skeletal."

Well, by golly, Destiny has a skeleton face because he's no longer able to dream! And he blames the JLA for his condition. He was only observing Ralph's dream, but he's now planning on using the dreams of the heroes against them.

The scene changes to the JLA satellite--not in a dream, but in reality. The JLA is meeting with Commissioner Gordon, who has a problem and can't get hold of Batman. (A line of dialogue and a footnote tells us the Caped Crusader is busy with a mission in Batman and the Outsiders.) Gordon brings them evidence that Dr. Destiny has recently escaped from Arkham Asylum, leaving an animated illusion behind to prevent his escape from being quickly noticed. Finding him is clearly a job for the Justice League. 

This brings us to the end of the first chapter. It's a strong opening for the story. It starts with the action in full swing--that the initial battle turns out to be a dream doesn't distract from it. It's still exciting with Hoberg's art bringing it all vivid life. Finding out its a dream leads us to Dr. Destiny, introducing us to the villain. If a reader doesn't know the details of Dr. D's backstory, that's okay. We know he's an enemy of the JLA, that he can access their dreams and that he holds them responsible for his skeletal appearance because he now lacks the ability to dream. That's sufficient for telling this particular tale.

Giving us a Commissioner Gordon cameo is fun and a logical way to bring the JLA up to speed on Dr. Destiny's escape. All of this together is a prime example of strong story construction. 

Next week, we'll look at Chapter 2 and find out if the story continues to be fun.