Note: These posts reprint material, without change, from an old depublished site. It was first published in 2016.
How do you top one of the best introductions in history? The short answer is: You don’t.
Over the course of the next In their second issue, the creative team introduce lots of intrigue, develop the clandestine and sinister role of Maxwell Lord (the corporate behind-the-scenes billionaire who is sponsoring the League, even though the heroes themselves don’t know it), and bring in some new characters. Like Booster Gold, who had only been created a few months earlier, but now found himself being in the JL.
He establishes himself as worthy by beating most of the Royal Flush Gang singlehandedly, except for the one-two punch he coordinates with Blue Beetle. Fans of the character know that this is the beginning of a long and beautiful, fan-favorite friendship.
So we’ve got the table set at this point: We know the beats of the characters, we’ve got several ongoing plots, the heroes are developing relationships, and all the while it’s one of the best illustrated and best written comments of the 1980s or, really, any era.