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completely rewritten to eliminate references to Aftermath And Rebirth
war and included admonishments to follow In the intervening years, those collectors
the Golden Rule and to “never be guilty of with copies of these kits should have started
prejudice or discrimination against a fellow sending thank-you notes to all of the mothers
human being because of race, creed or color!” and kids who discarded their kits. In many of
It also included fewer items than the previous the cases, particularly with the later kits, less
editions, discarding the war-related pamphlets than 10 copies are known to exist.
and exchanged the cloth patch for the return When the 1997 relaunch of the Justice
of a silver badge. League, entitled simply JLA, proved to be a
major hit, it spawned the 1999 introduction
The Long, Lean Years of JSA, the first on-going title to feature the
With only Superman, Batman, and a Justice Society in more than 20 years.
handful of others surviving during the next With the creation of their DC Direct label,
very lean decade for superheroes, it would DC Comics launched a line of toys based on
have been easy enough for the idea of a their comic characters. They included many
super-team to fade away as well. Superhero different Justice Society items featuring the
clubs and club kits quickly went the way of team, its villains, and a number of the individual
the superhero in post war years, which is to characters. It had been a half-century since
say they almost entirely disappeared. All Star the last JSA collectibles other than comics
Comics #57 was the last issue featuring the themselves had been produced, which just
Justice Society. Following the then-current might be the longest inactive period for any
craze, the title became All Star Western with presently active characters depicted in this book.
the next issue. Since the early DC Direct toys saw
In 1960, DC debuted the Justice League of distribution limited to comic book specialty
America in the pages of Brave & The Bold shops, many of these items will prove a
#28. After a three-issue smash hit run there, worthy challenge to track down for JSA
they got their own title. Clearly inspired by collectors who are only now becoming aware
the Justice Society, it took less than three years that their collection will no longer be
for the Justice League to feature their elder In 1976, DC revived All Star Comics beginning with complete if it ends with the club kits for
counter-parts as guest-stars. This cross-time #58, reintroducing the older heroes and a new generation Junior Justice Society of America.
crossover was a big hit with the fans and as well. This series lasted until 1978.
became a regular event. Comics from the Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
1960s and ‘70s featuring these crossovers are J.C. Vaughn is the
among the most fondly remembered of the period for many collectors, Vice-President of Publishing for Gemstone
and the early Justice Society appearances in Justice League of America Publishing, home of The Overstreet Comic Book
sparked not only fan interest, but eventually a great deal of research into Price Guide, and he recently authored the mystery
the history of the comics and the people behind them. novel Second Wednesday.
In 1976, DC took an odd step and revived All Star Comics featuring
the Justice Society. The oddity was not in the revival of the characters, This article appeared in different form in The Overstreet Comic
but the numbering of the series. They started with All Star Comics #58, Book Price Guide #33 ©2003, Gemstone Publishing. Used by
as if the 61 subsequent issues of All Star Western never happened. This permission, updated 2021.
series lasted until 1978. The JSA appeared briefly in Adventure Comics,
then was relegated to only the Justice League crossovers, one-shots,
mini-series, and other guest appearances until 1999.

Ten Notable Differences Between

The JJSA Club Kits

1. The original 1942 large-lettered metal badge 7. “The Minute Man Answers The Call” was a
was changed to a cloth patch (which changed in four-page color comic included in the kits.
size) after just two months during the war because Two versions, 1942 and 1945 were produced
of metal shortages. It reappeared with smaller let- (the latter including a reference to 1945).
ters in the 1948 kit.
8. Neither “The Minute Man Answers The Call”
2. The text in each of the letters changes to reflect nor “Youth and the War Effort,” appear in the
the items included with the membership. second 1945 or the 1948 kits.

3. Characters portrayed on the certificates change 9. The War Savings Bond stamp album became a
after the first two. Defense Savings Bond stamp album for the 1945
kits. It was omitted from the 1948 kit.
4. Text changes on each of the certificates. Junior Justice Society Club Member Fabric Patch
10. On the first 1945 kit, the return address (DC, 1945). The more “scarce” 1945 JSA Club
5. There were three versions of the decoder, 1942, on the mailers, letters and certificates changes, membership patch. In 1942, Membership badges
1945 and 1948. corresponding with the fall-out between were converted to fabric patches due to a
All-American and DC. metal shortage for the war effort. In 1944,
6. The pamphlet, “Youth and the War Effort” the patch was changed to a 1/2" larger shield,
existed in two versions with different fonts and for less than a year, making the 1945 patches
layout. The second version was created for the more desirable to collectors. This example sold
for $432 in 2018 at Heritage Auctions.
first 1945 kit.
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