With more of my attention focusing on DC's back catalog I've started buying several collections, among those the JLA Deluxe Editions reprinting the JLA issues from the 90's/early 2000's. I really like those, and I just found a few issues of Justice League of America that I bought in the early 80's (192/193 & 200), and I'd really like to collect some issues from that era in a TPB or hardcover collection (whatever it takes).

However, when I try to find anything from that era in collections nothing is coming up. Is this another gap in DC's back catalog that they haven't mined yet?

More importantly, are they going to mine that catalog, or are they just going to let it go to digital and be done with it?

I've found that the Justice League comics from the early 80's through at least the early 2000's were really good. Good writing, good art - just good stuff.

So am I just missing some collections that cover that era (including the 190's through early 200's), or are there none?

And what eras of the Justice League do you like the most, and do you have any recommendations beyond what I've already bought?

There are 2 Bronze age omnibus that run from #77-146. Bronze 3 was going to go #147-181 but it was cancelled. Detroit omnibus is #233-261. So yeah theres a gap. I have been collecting vol 1 in singles, and the 80s issues are super cheap now. In fact JLA as a whole is down right now in price, movie tanking I assume.

I think that the two most notable Justice League runs would be the post-Crisis Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis Justice League International era (Justice League International/Amercia and Justice League Europe) and Grant Morrison's JLA.

Giffen, more or less, turned into a sitcom that featured the antics of Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Guy Gardner, while Martian Manhunter acted as a straight man. Good art from people like Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes, and Bart Sears. (And *gag* Chris Wozniak.) It did end up taking a serious turn toward the end when the run ended with a sixteen part crossover called "Breakdowns," which I remember being quite good.

I don't think this run (JLI/JLA and JLE) has been reprinted in its entirety. According to wikipedia, they did TPBs of first half of it about ten years ago then stopped. This run would seem to be a prime candidate for two or three omnibus volumes.

The other one is Grant Morrison's JLA. This is Grant Morrison operating in his commercial mode and not his weird Vertigo mode. It was a big hit at the time, the core seven Justice League members (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter) and modernizing the team and concept. Unfortunately, it was sort of hamstrung by the stuff going on in the rest of the DC Universe at the time (Morrison had to use the Kyle Rayner Green Lantern instead of Hal, and incorporate stupid shit like the split Red and Blue Supermen). I also remember some people not liking Howard Porter's art, though I found it to be okay, but I think the book would have benefited from some bigger names behind the pencils. The whole thing has been reprinted in both TPBs and HCs multiple times, though, again, I don't think there's ever been an omnibus.

An omnibus for Grant Morrison's JLA run was just announced -

Well, this is the big 'un, all 41 issues of Grant Morrison's JLA plus at least the JLA One Million miniseries and the JLA: Earth 2 graphic novel. (We should maybe quibble that Morrison's first JLA: Classified arc should be in there, maybe a Secret Files but oh, well.) Those JLA issues are #1-17, #22-26, #28-31, #34, #36-#41.

Yeah, if it's meant to be complete it should include the Morrison story from JLA Secret Files #1, JLA Classified #1-3, JLA/WildCATs, and New Year's Evil: Prometheus #1.

The sad thing is that #200 is a phenomenal issue. It really deserves to be reprinted (as do all of the issues from that era).

I'll have to check out the Detroit Omnibus, though.

The planned third Bronze Age Justice League of America omnibus has been broken up into smaller hardcovers. They just put out The Wedding of the Atom and Jean Loring, which covers JLA #149-158. I would have preferred a larger omnibus but this will have to do.

https://www.instocktrades.com/TP/DC/...G-HC/JUN190605

I hated just the look of JLI as a kid. That stupid GL worth the Three Stooges haircut and the b-listers being members. But it’s easily one of the best runs. JLI and early JLE.

Not a TPB but JLA The Nail and it’s sequel are really good.

If we're doing minis (and the Nail is one of my favorites Elseworlds), even though it has been retconned many times over, I always liked JLA: Year One by Waid and Kitson, which is basically a Post Crisis retelling of the first year of the Justice League, minimizing the roles of the trinity but allowing the other league founders to shine (plus Black Canary).

Also DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke. And Kingdom Come.

I can't believe issue 200 and the rest of that era isn't collected. Is this really the only modern collection to include it:

I picked up both Justice League International trades for the brief New 52 run of the title. I mentioned Aaron Lopresti's art in the Favorite Artist thread, and that's what sold me on the books when I thumbed through them at a comic store not too far from me, but I love the stories, too. Great stuff!

I plan to get the 80's JLI trade(s) as well, but the JLI from the New 52 was outstanding! Sadly, it only lasted 12 issues (plus an annual). I don't get why it didn't last longer (sales numbers, I'm assuming, which seems odd given how great the title was).

If you haven't checked that version of JLI out yet, I highly recommend those two trades.

JLI was one of the books I started when the New 52 came o ut, but I can tell you right now, despite having Batman there that roster was not going to drive sales. Me, I like a good team book with less high profile characters, but I can understand why it didn't do well. Plus it hearkens back to the Giffen JLI but doesn't "do" the bwahaha stuff, so even if you were one of those fans really excited to get Booster, Guy, Fire, Ice, Rocket Red, and Batman back together, you're going to be disappointed (the powers that be had all but devastated the old bwahaha club pre New 52 anyway... but if Ted Kord had been in this book from the start I think it would've gone down better)

Speaking of New 52, they put Demattius, Giffen, and initially Maguire on a totally different Justice League concept, Justice League 3000, which is basically a future, genetically engineered Justice League who are very different from the classic heroes. Maguire left before the first issue came out and JLA vet Howard Porter did the art, making for an interesting amalgam of creators from legendary Justice League runs.

I grew up on Bromze Age JLA, but without the nostalgia, the stories really don’t hold up that well. Silver Age has its moments, but the plots are so formulaic they don’t support binge reading at all. I always enjoyed the Earth 2 etc. crossovers, though.

I finally read a volume of JLI a few years ago and liked it, but didn’t feel compelled to finish the run. I should try Morrison one of these days.

I echo the New Frontier praise above.

I guess being out of touch with comics (especially DC comics) I would have expected that the quality of the comic (both art and writing) would have trumped the line-up.

Besides, Booster Gold is a great character, and Guy Gardner makes for a great pain in the ass on the team. And then you've got Batman, too, for the name recognition crowd (and, well, he's Batman). There's so much good stuff going on I would have thought that people would have gone for it big time.

It's a shame it only lasted 12 issues (plus that annual). I love those 12 issues.

Although my bank account probably thanks DC for killing the title and saving me some money...

The title was decent, but not earth shattering (IMHO... though I suck because I can't even remember what the book was like). You have to remember they relaunched their whole lineup basically all in one go, and they just threw out all these "new" titles out there to see what stuck. I don't know exactly what sales are but they cancelled it right before launching another Justice League book, Justice League of America, before that team was basically destroyed in Forever Evil (I think) and it changed to Justice League United

Yeah, reading the Annual last night for the first time it was like, "Yeah, this title's cancelled, so lets UNDO all that we've done with this team." So weird. I loved the 12 issues, but thought the Annual was just Meh (storytelling), but I hated what they did with it. It was like the Annual set up other titles, but they didn't say what titles.

From the outside, not being a reader of DC over the last 30 years, it seems like one of their biggest problems is all the reboots. Continuity issues become a problem.

But for 12 issues JLI was really good.

If you like the bronze age Justice League, read the 70's run of All Star Justice Society trades next. A major character dies in the book and shakes the entire Earth Two Core. The books also introduces the second Psycho Pirate who plays a major role in COIE.

I just picked this up on Ebay, and I'm 3 issues in. So far, pretty good. A little overblown, but pretty good.