This is the big one and, sadly, George Perez’s last issue doing interiors. He did a ton of covers after this, and they’re all great, but he moved on to bigger and better things (his career-defining run with Marv Wolfman on The New Teen Titans). His covers are nothing to sneeze at, of course…
In 1982, comics were changing—DC in particular. The 1970s had been full of the same comics. DC took a few risks, but Marvel took far more, and DC books were tired. JLA #200 seemed like an embrace of the new, with an oversize “chapters” story and art by the greats of the industry:Pat Broderick, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Brian Bolland, and Joe Kubert. And it is a great issue.
Gerry Conway does his best, too, bringing back the guy nobody likes but we all have to respect anyway, Snapper Carr, and showing how that “teen” character had been replaced by the much more interesting and versatile Firestorm, who gets infected by Carr’s annoying tic at the end. That’s right, it closes with a traditional, corny joke.
This is really a perfect melding of old-school comics and the better art and writing we were starting to see in the early ’80s.
And this seemed like a good time to publish my new “Justice League Page!” Check it out here!