The All-Star Squadron - An 80s Treat

It was the early 80s - 1981 to be precise. Before James Robinson and Geoff Johns remembered all those classic 40s National Periodical characters.

Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler unveiled one of my favorite comic titles of all - the All-Star Squadron. The comics were set in the 1940s, during World War Two. They featured all these great characters - some I'd heard of and some I hadn't. And they created some new ones as well. All this, and some great Joe Kubert covers as well.

I rememeber the writing was really good - the characters came to life and the plots were very grounded. It had the feel of a comic that had been written in the 40s. Roy Thomas really did a nice job.

And it was fun to see some of these lesser characters on the stage. Robotman. Steel. Atom. Johnny Quick. Hawkman. Plastic Man. Shining Knight. Hourman. Liberty Belle. Spectre. Dr. Fate. Johnny Thunder. Just to name a few.

As the years went on, I thought the title might lose its steam. But the issues in the 20s were just as fresh and interesting as the earlier issues. And this continued throughout the title's 67-issue run.

It was sad to see the title finally quit, but I am sure readership did not warrant its continuance. Too bad, I thought. And I thought that was the end of it.

I was glad when James Robinson started writing comics based on these characters. He is such a good writer, and had done such a great job with Starman, that I was instantly interested. I didn't really know who this Geoff Johns guy was, but I figured...I'll give this a try.

Glad I did. And especially glad the JSA title took off the way it did. It's nice to see these characters in circulation again. And as much as I appreciate the efforts of Robinson and Johns...I don't think you can understate the influence of Roy Thomas and Rich Buckler.

Whatever - there are plenty of good comics with these great characters now. I'd recommend All-Star Squadron highly. Especially if, like me, you liked JSA.