Set Description:
Synopsis: We currently own 260 of the 267 books in this set with 250 of our books highest graded examples, 25 of which are single highest graded. We are working on finishing the set, but only buying 9.8s above Issue #100.
Background: While we have completed #1-100 with 90 books in the 9.6-9.8 range, we are at the beginning stage of filling out this expanded set. Most of the later books are not expensive, at least relative to the earlier issues, even for WP 9.8s, but the B&B’s, which we lack, will require a huge investment if we ever go there.
2021 Update: With the current decline in JLA prices, we managed to pick up high grade examples of Brave and the Bold #29 and #30 at substantially below guide. Of course, we still need a B&B #28 and a host of later issues, but it is very possible that we will complete the set in the next few years.
2022 Update: Biggest news here is that we picked up a Brave and Bold #28 in 9.4
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| The gallery tab shows only items with images. Click the thumbnails to enlarge. |
| Slot: |
Brave and the Bold 28 |
| Item: |
Brave and the Bold 28 B-5 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1974945001
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Owner Comments
B&B #28 features the first appearance of the JLA and Starro the Conqueror. Our 9.4 is tied for second highest graded trailing a single 9.6; but, and it’s a big but, it’s restored with a purple label. This is our only restored or qualified book in this 267 book set, which is the largest in our collection-or at least it will be when finished. We acquired the book from the 9/9/2021 Heritage Auction.
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| Slot: |
Brave and the Bold 29 |
| Item: |
Brave and the Bold 29 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1270654003
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Owner Comments
This 1960 issue, which is now over 60 years old, features the second appearance of the Justice League of America and Snapper Carr, along with the first appearance of Xotar and a pretty cool robot cover. Our 9.0 is tied with five other copies for second highest graded trailing a single 9.4, which sold at auction for over $38,000 on Heritage in 2015. We acquired this book for much much less from My Comic Shop on 1/9/2021.
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| Slot: |
Brave and the Bold 30 |
| Item: |
Brave and the Bold 30 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1625872007
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Owner Comments
Brave and the Bold #30 features the third appearance of the Justice League of America and the first appearance of Amazo the Android and Professor Ivo. Our 9.4 is the single highest graded copy of this issue. We were first offered this book shortly after it was graded by Ed Jaster at Heritage, but passed at the time because we were short of cash. We were later able to pick it up at a cheaper price In the June 2021 ComicConnect Auction. I am now sure why so many Silver Age DCs have not experienced the crazy COVID bump in prices we have seen with other comics, but I certainly prefer to spend my money on single highest graded books from 1960 than books from the 70s that are one of 100 or more, and yet those later books have been trading at higher prices of late.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 1 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1295596001
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Owner Comments
Issue #1 marks the first appearance of the JLA in their own magazine after three try-out issues in Brave and Bold (#28-30). Issue #1 also features the origin and first appearance of Despero.
In “World of No Return,” Barry Allen investigates a strange blue glow coming from a house, and ends up encountering Jasonar and Saranna, beings from Kalanor a planet in another dimension. Changing into the Flash, Barry learns that these aliens have escaped Kalanor, which has been under the rule of Despero, a despotic ruler who has access to super weapons. Jasonar and Saranna came to Earth to build a device which would absorb Kalanor's weapons' power source. Offering to help, the Flash calls the Justice League together to help Jasonar and Saranna in their mission to stop Despero.
When Saranna is kidnapped by Despero, Flash rushes to the JLA headquarters to find the rest of the team under Despero's power. Despero offers the Flash a chance to save his friends by planning a version of chess, which involves using cards to move the pieces. Each chess piece represents a different JLA member, if they land on a free square each member is set free and Despero will leave Earth and give up his conquest. However, if the pieces were to land on a disaster square, the Flash would have to leave Despero alone to complete his conquest of Kalanor.
Flash eventually loses due to Despero's tampering and is forced to leave in Jasonar's dimensional traveler, while each JLA member was transported to a different world. As Despero gloats over his victory, he is totally unaware that the he has been observed by Snapper Carr.
While in the furthest reaches of the universe pairs of JLA members escape from their various perils: Wonder Woman and Superman escape from a world of primordial creatures resembling the dinosaurs of prehistoric Earth; Green Lantern and Aquaman save an aquatic planet from a super weapon before escaping in a glass submarine lent to them by the indigent population; Martian Manhunter and Batman save another planet from being destroyed as a missile streaks towards the planet's nearby star. Afterwards, all the JLA members reunite and are determined to track down and stop Despero.
Meanwhile, Jasonar had completed his energy absorber weapon to use against Despero, but the villain shows up and uses his powers to immobilize Jasonar. When all seems lost, Snapper emerges from Despero's dimensional transporter (having stowed himself away on it) and uses the energy absorber on Despero, rendering him inert. The Justice League arrives shortly after to find that the villain had been defeated by their honorary member. Jasonar thanks the JLA for their help (who also congratulate Snapper) and Jasonar returns to his home dimension with the inert Despero.
Our 9.6 is one of two highest graded copies of this pivotal issue as of 6/2020. It was auctioned off by Heritage in 2018. We subsequently acquired it in a private transaction with a friend and fellow collector.
Strangely enough, both 9.6s in the census came to auction within a year or so, the first in a Heritage auction and the second in a CC auction, with the Heritage book making $100k more than the one on CC. I am not sure I have an explanation for that one, other than the market for many DCs remain very thin and one buyer was eliminated when the second one came to auction. Also, as I mentioned in my general remarks above, the prices on these books have really fallen over the last couple of years. From an investors’ standpoint, I think DCs now represent a far better investment than Marvels, after all, the object is to buy low and sell high and the prices on DCs are very low compared to their Marvel counterparts. I do prefer Marvels myself, but when a FF #4 7.5, of which there are 150 copies as good or better, makes considerably more in the same auction than a JLA #11 9.8, which is highest graded 1/2 and came out the same month as the FF #4, the price disparity becomes absurd (for the record, the auction was on Heritage in November 2020, the JLA #11 9.8 made $7,800, while the FF #4 7.5 made $9,000). Moreover, to be honest, I think the JLA #11 cover is actually cooler than the FF #4 cover, and covers is really all we are collecting when we buy CGC books. I fully realize it goes against the current trends in the market, but if I were a young collector just starting out, I would buy DCs.
2022 Update: The other 9.6 is currently for sale on Metropolis Comics with an asking price of $325,000. It will be interesting to see if it sells, as the asking price is a good $200k more than that book last sold for on CC around 2019.
2023 Update: I am not sure I still agree with my statement above about buying DCs because of their relative value compared to Marvels, as any price support for DC silver age books seems to be isolated to the keys. There are still many collectors putting together Marvels runs, giving those books price support throughout their titles. By contrast, early 1960s highest graded DCs seen to have again suffered price declines, unless they are considered keys. I have found it particularly interesting to witness how poorly the Promise Collection books have fared since their initial auction. Now those books are golden age, but the books in titles like Batman, Detective and Wonder Woman, which span both gold and silver age, have done very poorly on resale. If you invested in them, you have lost money, at least as of June 2023.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 2 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 2 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0907484006
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Owner Comments
In the “Secret of the Sinister Sorcerers”, when all man-made machines on Earth stop working, the JLA band together to try and figure out the cause of this latest crisis and soon learn that magic has become the dominant force in their universe. Meanwhile in the other worldly dimension known as Magic-Land, evil magicians Simon Magus, Saturna, and the Troll King have used their combined magic to transport items of science to that realm to try and over throw it's ruler and his great magician Merlin.
While back in the Earth dimension, the JLA realize that magic spells now work, and so they get a number of books on sorcery to summon Merlin to aid them. When they realize what has happened, Merlin uses his now restored magical powers to transport the Justice League members to the realm of Magic while Snapper Carr and Merlin stay behind on Earth.
The Justice League pair off into groups to stop Magus and his two cohorts, using their super powers and cunning to get past all their traps and easily destroy whichever scientific device they are using as defense. Afterwards, they capture Magus and demand that he return to their world and restore everything to normal. However, before traveling through the gate between worlds it appears that they have to contend with a giant. Before the battle begins the giant reveals itself as Snapper Carr. Apparently as the JLA was capturing the trio of magicians, Snapper experimented with some of Merlin's Magic and transformed himself into a giant. Luckily, Merlin's magic is restored, and he transforms Snapper back to his original form. Merlin returns to Magic Land, and thte JLA returns to Earth with the sorcerers' spells reversed.
Our book is one of five 9.6s topping the census. We acquired the book from a friend and fellow collector in a private transaction in May 2020.
April 2023 Update: One of the five 9.6s in the census has been upgraded to a 9.8 and my life is now officially over. What can I say, mommas don’t let your babies grow up to collect comics, it’s a heartless hobby.
May 2023 Update: There is also now a fifth 9.6 to go along with the 9.8. Needless to say, for whatever reason, this is by far the most common early JLA in high grade and should be priced accordingly for any new collectors. Don’t overpay for this one.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 3 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0152447003
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Owner Comments
Issue #3 features the “Slave Ship of Space”, in which various members of the JLA are immobilized by the space tyrant known as Kanjar Ro, who has also immobilizes the entire planet. To free Earth, the Justice League is forced into helping Kanjar Ro defeat his enemies: Hyathis, Kromm and Sayyar.
Using Batman and Snapper Carr as bait to trap Superman in Kryptonite gas, Kanjar Ro has Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Lantern board his space boat to stop his enemies. Martian Manhunter captures Kromm, while Aquaman and Wonder Woman are used to capture Hyathis, and finally Green Lantern and Flash are used to capture Sayyar. With his opponents captured, Kanjar Ro refuses to free the Justice League members unless they promise not to attack him. However, the League members have recorded all of Ro's foes saying his name (having all three say his name at once would free the people of Earth from Kanjar Ro's power) and manage to free themselves, capture Kanjar Ro, and save Superman before the Kryptonite gas kills him. After the battle has ended, the group banish Kanjar Ro and his opponents on a meteor planet, with Green Lantern using his power ring to make it impossible for them to escape.
Issue #3 has long been one of the toughest books to find in high grade because of its black cover. In fact, of the 363 books graded by CGC, only six have attained the grade of 9.0 or above. Our 9.4 is one of just three in grade with none higher. It was for many years owned by a friend in Europe who sold it to a third party. Eventually, it come into the hands of a big Marvel collector and I obtained it in a cashless book exchange in November 2020. FWIW, I overpaid based on the relative FMV of the two books, but the book I traded, while a key, is second highest graded tied with over 20 copies, while this book is older and just one of three at the top tier. So I did the trade based on how difficult it was to find this book. I would have been better off just paying him cash, but the other collector would only do the deal for another book. He undoubtedly thinks I am the sucker of the century-and perhaps he is right, but I place more emphasis on rarity than many do and this is the only 9.4 I have ever seen available. Still, I do wish I had the book I traded back. It will probably cost me about three times what I could sell this one for to replace it.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 4 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 4 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1175948008
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Owner Comments
Issue #4 features Green Arrow joining the JLA. In "Doom of the Star Diamond,” Carthan of Dryanna learns that his ruler Xandor wishes to exile him, because as the planet's greatest hero Carthan may lead a revolt to usurp Xandor's command. Unable to kill Carthan because of a protective aura about him, Xandor exiles Carthan to Earth. Knowing of the Justice League, Carthan is unable to contact them telepathically hoping he can trick them into helping him stop Xandor.
As the JLA considers who will be the next super-hero inducted into their ranks, Carthan sends an arrow with a message telling them of ultra weapons which will destroy the Earth if the Justice League does not stop them. The JLA decides to split up into groups and tackle the problem head on.
Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman seek the first doomsday weapon in Keystone City, and have to battle giant animals - insects, birds, and cats - that have been mutated by the weapon. Defeating their attackers, they succeed in switching the device off using its invisible handle. While Flash and Aquaman race to Australia where they have to search for the device with the help of Aquaman's undersea friends. After locating the device, the Flash's super counter-vibrations allow Aquaman to get close enough to the machine to disable it by its control lever. And finally, Green Lantern tackles the last device located near Italy, battling movie prop aliens brought alive by the last machine protected by their yellow coloring, he uses his power ring to create petrified wood around them before shutting off the machine.
While this is going on, Superman and Batman have located Carthan's ship, and the two heroes board and find that Green Arrow is Carthan's prisoner. Also, Carthan has captured the other JLA members and imprisoned them in a giant crystal. However, before Carthan can explain his situation, Superman, Batman and Green Arrow attack damaging the device that can free the other members in the crystal. Using a diamond tipped arrow, Green Arrow manages to destroy the diamond prison that is holding the other heroes by firing at the crystal's stress point. After hearing Carthan's story, the JLA offers to aid him in overthrowing Xandor, however Carthan declines stating that it is his own fight. Returning to their headquarters, the JLA votes in Green Arrow as their newest member.
Our 9.4 here is tied with one other book for highest graded. I actually know the recent history-last 6 years or so-on both copies. At that time, this book was owned JLA Brad, who put together an amazing JLA collection. He was one of my big collecting rivals at the time (sort of like Indiana Jones and his rivals chasing antiquities LOL) and we certainly cost each other a lot of money until we started corresponding about what we were each doing. At that time, there were five big JLA collectors: JLA Brad, JLA All The Way, MintyMint, ourselves and a fifth collector I will call RR-not using names here, but I obviously know them all. RR had some amazing books, but by that time was no longer actively buying. Probably the way CGC scores registry sets, his collection would have been #1, at least in the expanded JLA set, because he had the best B&B #28. But RR never registered his collection. JLA All the Way was ahead of everyone in the registry up until 2016, when he started selling his books. That collection was initially listed on E-Bay, but MintyMint, JLA Brad and I all started contacting JLA All The Way off E-Bay and the bulk of his books were basically sold in private auctions. Needless to say, JLA All The Way made out very well with three active bidders who were somewhat obsessed with their collections. JLA All The Way’s books really catapulted our collection, but none of us got them all, quite frankly, none of us are middle eastern collectors who could afford them all at once.
Once JLA All The Way has sold his books, JLA Brad assumed the top spot. He had been collecting JLAs longer than Minty Mint or us and had more slots filled. He remained atop the mountain for a couple of years, until Minty Mint and I basically pooled our collection-more about that below. Then around 2020, JLA Brad started getting some extraordinary offers on Heritage Make A Bid for some of his key books-basically 3 or 4 times what he had paid. JLA Brad decided at the time to cash in, so once he sold those books on Heritage, Minty Mint and I started competing for the rest, which he initially sold one at a time over the next few years.
Also around that time RR’s books started appearing on the market. RR’s Collection was never complete, but every book he owned was highest graded, including Issues #1, #2, #3, #4, #17, #!8 and #24. Those books were sold privately and the prices were sky high. At that time, I had never met RR, as there was a dealer handing his JLA, Flash and GL collections. I passed on the first four issues, as did the other guys, because of his prices. I do remember the price on his #4 9.4 was $30,000. I eventually ended up with his #3 9.4, but that was after it had changed hands at least a couple of times. His #1 9.6 is the book currently listed for sale by ComicConnect for $350,000. There are too many #2 9.6s for me to track that one.
In 2018, MintyMint and I came to terms, as we decided that bidding each other up on every book was financial suicide. MintyMint is probably the smartest comic collector I know, and he knew he had something that we coveted even more: a run of very high grade early FFs. So we swapped a number of our JLAs for FFs, which moved MintyMint past us and JLA Brad up to the top of the registry. We did retain a right of first refusal on the JLAs we traded, that deal would make a Wall Street banker blush with its complexity.
So for 2018-2019 MintyMint had the top JLA collection. But his collection always stopped around Issue #75, he never took it any further, I should note that MintyMint acquired in that timeframe the other #1 9.6 off a Heritage Auction. During that period, we kept the JLAs we didn’t trade MintyMint, but did not bid against him on books he wanted, so we each had a lot of books the same grade, MintyMint just had all the single highest graded ones.
In early 2020, we reacquired our JLAs from MintyMint in another books exchange (another very involved transaction involving some even more valuable books that we eventually reacquired as well) plus his #1 9.6, which vaulted us to the top of the registry. But, what we did not know at the time was that MintyMint had acquired JLA Brad’s #4 9.4. So, since we missed on both the #4 9.4s, for several years, Issue #4 was the glaring hole in our collection-we still had JLA All The Way’s 9.2, which we had swapped to MintyMint and then reacquired LOL, but wanted to raise the minimum grade of this set to 9,4. MintyMint kept a 9.4 JLA collection for several years, but eventually in April 2023 we acquired this book for a single highest graded Detective and cash. We probably overpaid, but it gave us highest graded copies of the first 25 issues, how could we pass?
I do not know where the other #4 9.4 is now, but that’s the story, which I am quite certain nobody but us will ever read LOL-as I have said, these descriptions are largely our diary of our collection and probably of no interest to anybody but us. Needless to say, having been owned by two of our collector friends, this one is special to us.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 5 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1198173018
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Owner Comments
Issue #5 features the origin and first appearance of Doctor Destiny, John Dee. Issue #5 features the origin and first appearance of Doctor Destiny, John Dee. In "When Gravity Went Wild!" The JLA is convinced that Green Arrow has betrayed the Justice League and has been helping their foes while working on cases together and puts Green Arrow on trial to answer to their claims. With Batman, Superman and Snapper Carr acting as judges, the other JLA members explain the situation. Monty Moran, known as the Getaway Mastermind, devised a way for himself and fellow prisoners Captain Cold, the Clock King, Professor Menace, Electric Man, and the Puppet Master to escape from jail. Shrinking down in size and escaping on a miniature zeppelin, the group of criminals vowed to destroy the Justice League. Upon hearing about the crooks escape, Wonder Woman, Flash and Green Arrow team up to capture three of the escaped criminals, while Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) set out to capture the other three. Tracking down Clock King, Captain Cold and Professor Menace, the first trio tries to stop them. However, Green Arrow fires exploding arrows that stop Flash and Wonder Woman from capturing them. While later when Getaway Master and Puppet Master were tracked down by Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern, the trio was also stopped from capturing those crooks by Green Arrow's intervention. With everything told, Green Arrow reveals that he was using the arrows to save everyone's lives because of various traps, and explains that one among them is an impostor and that he kept silent until now so that he can lead them into a trap. When "Green Lantern" is revealed to be Doctor Destiny in disguise, the group tries to capture him, but he uses a special anti-gravity device to defeat the JLA and take them prisoner. Taking them to his base, the group are saved by the real Green Lantern who manages to free himself.
Our 9.6 features white pages and comes from the Don & Maggie Thompson Collection. It is currently tied with one other copy for highest graded, which we also own. We acquired the book in the 2/24/2021 CL Auction.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 6 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 6 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0160916011
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Owner Comments
Issue #6 features the origin and first appearance of Professor Amos Fortune. In “The Wheel of Misfortune,”
each member of the Justice League has to face a different superstition, which apparently comes true and causes them to have a bit of bad luck. Witnessing each event is Amos Fortune, who has spent the better part of his life studying luck, and how to manipulate it to his own ends. Having discovered that luck can be manipulated biologically through the "luck gland", Fortune created the Stimoluck device to this end. Having succeeded in his test of these devices on the Justice League, Fortune is confident enough to cash in on his inventions.
While at the Justice Leagues headquarters, the heroes join for their regular meeting where they all discuss their recent bouts with bad luck. With no dire threats presently at large the group decides to answer some mail requesting for the Leagues assistance. Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter and Flash decide to help a girl who's searching for a hidden family treasure, the only clue to it's location being a riddle based poem. While Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern go to the town of Sand Dune to investigate reports of an invisible thief.
Green Arrow, Manhunter and Flash arrive at the girls home and begin searching her property for the hidden treasure. While they are doing so, Amos Fortune arrives and purchases fence posts on the property, which reveal to have the treasure in it, however since Fortune just bought the posts he claims the treasure as his own. The girl is devastated, however the heroes reveal that, while looking for the treasure, they also found a priceless painting, as well as a fortune in oil and Uranium on the property. Fortune is puzzled that the Justice League members were able to have extraordinary good luck in finding those unknown treasures.
Meanwhile Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Green Lantern investigate the invisible thief's handiwork. A castle full of priceless artifacts have been stolen as late, so the League has been hired to try and catch the culprit. Using his power ring to coat the remaining items in the castle, Green Lantern makes it so that he is alerted if any of the items are stolen. When they are later, the JLA goes out to find that the thief is actually a master fisherman who has been casting his line into the castle to grab items. When brought to the secret location where the stolen goods were hidden, they arrive just as Fortune has finished putting them in the trunk of his car. Fortune uses a gas to knock them out, hoping to take them to his lair and find out how they've been able to be so lucky when he's used his device to ruin their luck.
Capturing the other League members as well, Fortune attaches them to his Wheel of Misfortune, a device which will eventually burn out their good luck glands giving them nothing but bad luck. However, Martian Manhunter breaks free and defeats Fortune. When the shocked Fortune inquires as how how the Manhunter was able to break free, J'onn explains that his Martian physiology made him immune to the Stimoluck, and that his recent bout of misfortune as sheer coincidence.
When I originally acquired this book in 2017 from JLA Rick in a private transaction, it was the single highest graded copy. I later traded this book along with a package of JLAs for a package of FFs in 2018. I subsequently reacquired this book from the same collector in a private transaction in May 2020. Unfortunately, it lost the distinction of being the single highest graded copy a couple of years ago and is now one of two highest graded copies.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 7 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 7 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2087175001
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Owner Comments
Issue #7 is the last 10 cent issue for JLA. In “The Cosmic Fun-House” when Snapper Carr takes his girlfriend, Midge, out to see the new carnival that set up in Happy Harbor, they stumble upon a doorway which transports them to another world. Calling the Justice League for help, Snapper and his date are rescued by Superman, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Flash then go to check out the carnival in their civilian guises.They stumble upon a plot by the Angellaxians, a long dormant alien race, to retrieve a space probe launched 100,000 years ago to gather the weapons technology of the universe that will finish its journey on Earth. To avoid being foiled by Earth's inhabitants, the Angellaxians set up a fun house on the outskirts of Happy Harbor to teleport the town's inhabitants to a distant world while they take their places in disguise to retrieve the space probe when it lands. Taking Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash prisoner, the Angellaxians use their advanced technology to make two of their members look like Green Lantern and Flash and work to trap the rest of the Justice League. However, while trying to trick Aquaman in the same trap, the captured League members manage to break free, and although their physical forms are distorted by a cosmic fun-house mirror, they manage to stop the impostors and their plot to take over the universe.
Our WP 9.6 is one of two highest graded copies as of 5/2020. We acquired the book in the 12/5/2017 Pedigree Comics Auction.*
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 8 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 8 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2125227001
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Owner Comments
The JLA are auctioned off to competing criminals on the cover of Issue #8. In "For Sale -- The Justice League,” common crook Peter Rickets discovers a device that causes those who are exposed to its rays to do the bidding of the devices holder. Seeing the potential of such a weapon, Rickets uses the weapon to capture Justice League members Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman. Rickets then meets up with a number of high power criminals and sells off the Justice Leagues services for their criminal gain. To make things interesting, the criminals gather send two JLA members to collect the same items to see which one will be able to make it back first.
Green Lantern and the Flash are sent to steal a Napoleonic tiara, Aquaman and Green Arrow to collect the money from a gambling ship, and Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter to steal uranium from a science lab. While this is going on, Snapper Carr checks the JLA's mail and finds a letter from a Professor Caleb West who invented the device and is seeking the Justice Leagues aid in retrieving it. When the League signal goes off, Snapper decides to find out what's going on, taking Doctor Destiny's anti-gravity disc so that he can travel around faster and find his comrades.
While at each location, the two pairs of heroes who would vie for the intended loot would battle each other, but when the fight is over they'd find that what they had come to steal was nowhere to be found. Returning to the crooks empty handed, the crooks then decide to kill the JLA members, however they suddenly break free from their traps and round everyone up. Snapper appears with the device in hand and reveals how he managed to foil the criminals plots: He was able to find the Justice League members because while each member was commanded not to use their call signal to summon for help, they were not told they couldn't use another JLA member's communicator. This allowed Snapper to find each member and able to move the loot away to prevent it from being stolen. Then it was a matter for following the JLA back to the criminals hide out, steal the device and use it to free his friends.
Our 9.8 features while pages and is the single highest graded example in the census as of June 2020. We acquired the book in a private transaction in 2020.*
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 9 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 9 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2087175003
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Owner Comments
Issue #9 is a key as it reveals for the first time the Origin of the JLA. It commences with a gathering to celebrate the third anniversary of the formation of the Justice League, at which time the founding members tell Snapper Carr and Green Arrow the story of how the team first got together.
Aliens from the planet Appellax came to Earth following the death of their ruler in order for a representatives of each race to vie for leadership over the planet by waging war on Earth. The last remaining after their war would become Appellax's leader. Each Appellaxian was encased in a meteor and rocketed to Earth. After each of the creatures emerged from their meteor pods, they used their special abilities to tranform Earth's inhabitants - humans and animals alike - into beings that resembled their individual makeups. Following their arrival the members of the Justice League, though not yet in league with one another, started confronting the creatures.
Martian Manhunter fought a stone being, and after his success travels to another meteor that has not yet birthed a creature. But, upon his arrival begins to transform to wood. The same happened to the others, they'd fight the nearest opponent and then travel to the one that transformed Martian Manhunter into wood, and become wood themselves. Eventually Aquaman, Green Lantern, Flash and Wonder Woman all became trapped and are slowly transformed into trees. However, they worked together combining their powers and abilities to free themselves, stop the tree-like alien, and restore themselves to normal.
Traveling to the north, they teamed up with Batman and Superman who were already facing the final invader, whose meteor's Kryptonite composition was weakening the Man of Steel. Defeating this final foe and saving Superman, the assembled group of heroes then decide to work again in the future. And thus, the Justice League of America was born.
Our 9.8 is one of the gems in our collection as it is the single highest graded copy and just the second JLA book to ever achieve a 9.8 grade. We acquired the book in the 12/21/2018 CL Auction.*
2022 Update: While still one of the gems of our collection, this 9.8 no longer sits alone atop the census, as a second 9.8 emerged in 2021 and sold in the December 2021 CL Auction for $30k and some change. Oh well, in the word of Freddie Mercury: “Another one bites the dust.”
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 10 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 10 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1215045008
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Owner Comments
Issue #10 introduces a number of new antagonists for the JLA, including Felix Faust, the Demons Three and the Lord of Time. In the story, Sorcerer Felix Faust summons the demons Abnegazar, Ghast and Rath whom he wishes to unleash upon the world. However, to do so he needs to collect the Red Jar of Calythos, the Green Bell of Uthool, and the Silver Wheel of Nyorlath to cast the spell that will both free the demons and restore their great powers. The Demons and Faust decide to use the JLA to collect the items for them, and cast a spell which allows Felix to control each member with his fingers (which have taken on the image of a JLA member they represent.)
This happens at a time when the JLA is busy battling the Lord of Time who is invading the present. Each member of the Justice League disappears one by one during the fight until they are all brought before Felix Faust. Putting the League under his control, Felix sends them to collect the three items he needs to summon the demons. This puts the JLA against the various guardians of the items, however using team work each trio of League members sent out manages to collect the item they seek. Taking the Jar, Bell and Wheel to Faust, however with the help of Martian Manhunter and Aquaman the group manages to defeat Faust and take the items into their possession.
Although he has been captured, Faust muses how the JLA may have saved their own time,but they will never be able to stop his masters when they return in 100 years.
Our 9.6 comes from the Don & Maggie Thompson Collection and is the single highest graded copy as of June 2020. This book was originally acquired in a Heritage auction in 2016. It was later traded to a friend and fellow collector in a book swap in 2018 and reacquired in 2020.*
2022 Update: As noted above, for a number of years, this book was the single highest graded copy of this issue, but now has been joined at the top by another 9.6, which we happen to also own. Like many early DCs, there is both a dark cover and a lighter version, this one being much lighter than the other 9.6. I am not sure which is superior, as they both have OW/W pages, but we used this one in our top set because of the pedigree.
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 11 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 11 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2125226001
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Owner Comments
Issue #11 features another early interesting cover as members of the JLA are distilled into different colored flasks. The primary antagonist is the Lord of Time, but the Demons Three, Abnegazar, Ghast and Roth, who were first introduced in Issue #9, also make appearances.
In the story, “One Hour to Doomsday,” following their defeat of Felix Faust, the Justice League continue their fight to stop the Lord of Time from taking over their era. However, the Time Lord manages to escape to the distant future where he plans on getting an army of soldiers armed with super weapons to take over the present day.
The heroes follow the Lord of Time to the year 3786 where they stop him before he can collect the weapons he needs. Trying to take him back to the present to face justice, the League soon finds themselves trapped in the year 2062, the year which the Demons are freed from their curse. They have used their magical powers to bar the League from returning to their own era, and take them prisoner by trapping them in magic bottles while they prepare to cast a Doomsday spell.
Freed by the Green Lantern's power ring, the group realizes that the demons use spells with each individual's name in the incantation and come up with a solution to beat their foes. Using Green Lantern's power ring each member of the Justice League is made to appear as though they are another member. When they all attack the demons at their various locations to interrupt their spell, the spells don't work because they are being cast against the wrong Justice League members. Defeating all three demons, Green Lantern uses his power ring to trap them so that the only way they can be freed is through the Jar, Wheel and Bell.
Our WP 9.8 is one of two highest graded as of May 2021 and the only one with white pages. We acquired the book in a private transaction in 2020.*
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| Slot: |
Justice League of America 12 |
| Item: |
Justice League of America 12 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1573076007
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Owner Comments
Issue #12 features the origin and first appearance of Dr Light. In “The Last Case of the Justice League!" Snapper Carr arrives at the Justice League sanctuary to find only a new costumed foe, Doctor Light. Light explains to Snapper that he built a device that uses light to transport its victims to other dimensions. He used the heroes' signal devices to get the rest of the Justice League to meet and banished them to other dimensions. After forcing Snapper to write the final case file of the Justice League, Light uses his powers to freeze Snapper.
Meanwhile, each hero finds themselves trapped on a different world: Aquaman on a world where there is no water; Martian Manhunter on a world of fire; Flash on a crystal world where there is no balance; Wonder Woman on a world where the brain functions differently, Green Lantern on a world that is entirely yellow, Superman on a world with a red sun, and Batman on a world where his scientific gadgets will not work. However, things are not as they seem: Before being banished to other worlds, Superman and Batman were working together on a case and Superman used his x-ray vision to see ahead and learned of Dr. Light's plot, so he and Batman traded costumes.
Having been banished to Batman's intended world, Superman is able to get away and rescue the others and bring them back to Earth. There they save Snapper and split up to capture Dr. Light. However, each group finds that they have only caught light duplicates of Dr. Light. However, Green Lantern manages to find the real Dr. Light by using his power ring to make it look as though he was destroyed by Light so that he could track and find the real Dr. Light and capture him. Snapper decides to keep the case titled "The Last Case of the Justice League!" because the date which Dr. Light had chosen to attack the League was April 1st, April Fool's Day.
Our 9.6 is one of two highest graded copies topping the census. We acquired the book from the 3/2/2022 CL Auction.
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