Justice League Annual #1 (1983)--The Final Chapter

 

cover art by Rick Hoberg

JLA Annual #1 (1983): Plot by Paul Levitz, script by Len Wein, art by Rick Hoberg

The last chapter ended with Zatanna summoning the entire League (or, at least the members working on the current case) to the Dream Dimension. Now they are assaulting Dr. Destiny's base.

Once inside, they battle some random nightmares and also discover that Destiny is holding the current Sandman a prisoner.

This version of Sandman is a little obscure, because he only had a few appearances in the 1970s and 1980s. Originally created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon in 1974, I believe his identity was retconned by Roy Thomas in a later appearance in Wonder Woman. Anyway, by this time, he's a professor who has gotten trapped in the Dream Dimension (able to visit Earth only an hour a day) and who now operates as a protector of that realm.

But for the moment, he's not doing anyone any good. In a tactical blunder, the various heroes try to charge Dr. Destiny one at a time, allowing him to use Sandman's sleep-inducing sand to knock them out. I suppose it can be argued that the nightmares they are fighting stopped them from making a coordinated attack on the master villain. But this isn't explicitly stated and the heroes come across looking a little silly.

But before going down, Elongated Man presses a button ejecting Sandman from the tube in which he's trapped, sending him back to Earth. Dr. Destiny doesn't care, though. He has captured the Justice League and now plans to force them to sleep without dreaming until they deteriorate the way he has.

Because he wasn't conscious, Sandman has no idea how he got to Earth. But from observing dreams, he knows that Superman is nearby, taking a nap as Clark Kent.

Sandman enters the apartment and gets attacked by nightmares. This wakes up Superman, who disposes of the nightmares. Sandman then brings them both to the Dream Dimension.

They fight Destiny, who at first appears to be getting the best of them. But (as we learn in the Epilogue), Ralph come up with a plan that allows the League to break out of their tubes while Destiny is distracted by Sandman and Supes. Confronted by a dozen superheroes, he faints. 

A brief epilogue explains how Ralph planned the escape and has Sandman turn down membership in the League. (Being able to visit Earth for just an hour at a time puts a limit on his usefulness.) 

I do think the heroes getting captured one at a time does make them look bad, but other than that, Hoberg's art looks great and the bizarre fight scenes are fun to look at. Ralph regaining his confidence in the previous chapter is highlighted nicely here by his saving the day twice. And its nice to see a character falling into obscurity--the Sandman--get another day in the limelight before he disappears into Comic Book Limbo. 

As for the book as a whole, it tells a strong story that follows Comic Book Logic and thus makes internal sense, it looks good and it uses a large cast of characters effectively. It come out near the end of the Bronze Age, demonstrating that this era of comics was still capable of telling fresh, fun stories.

Next week, we'll jump back to the Golden Age and visit with yet another obscure hero.