Justice League: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights From the History of the World’s Greatest Superheroes

Review by KC Carlson

Well, right off the bat, I have to reveal that I’m mentioned in the introduction of this book by Robert Greenberger because I assisted (along with about nine other comics individuals, as well as members of Facebook groups) in nominating specific selections to be considered. Since I did this at least two years ago (and my brain is now two years further into senility), I don’t have the faintest recollection about what I contributed — but I bet it was probably fun. Thanks, Bob! (I get to call him Bob mostly because it annoys him.)

Anyway, this 312-page hardcover turned out better than even I’d imagined it. Justice League: 100 Greatest Moments: Highlights from the History of the World’s Greatest Superheroes is packed with illustrations — mostly full-page, but many bust the gutter for even more impact. As it says in the book’s subtitle, graphics are drawn from ALL eras and incarnations of the legendary super-team.

The book itself is divided into seven chapters (“The Membership”, “The Headquarters”, “The Aliens”, “The Occult”, “The Allies”, “The Enemies”, and “Their Greatest Battles”) as well as including Team Rosters for all the various JLA teams. (And there were a LOT of ‘em over the decades! Bob, being the geek detailed author that he is, even includes several Alternative Leagues, including, yes, the New 52 Super-Buddies 3000!

There are a handful of pages from the only Justice League project I got to edit for DC (which Dan Raspler took over after I left the company): JLA: The Nail, written and pencilled by Alan Davis with Paul Neary inking. So happy that Bob didn’t forget that one!

The format is to mostly show Justice League covers and complete story pages (not just isolated panels) accompanied by a brief paragraph of description with writer and artist credits. It’s a pleasant shock to see all of the diverse artistic (and even writing) styles from the series all smooshed up like tasty Justice League gumbo. It made me want to re-read the the whole run (including all the spin-off titles over the decades) — although I can barely keep up with the current stuff.

Best news of all is that this book is the first of a series. Upcoming is DC Comics Super Heroines: 100 Greatest Moments (available this October) and DC Comics Super-Villains: 100 Greatest Moments (available June 2019). (The publisher provided a review copy.)