] type='image/vnd.microsoft.icon'/>

Friday, September 03, 2010

Missed Opportunity: Best of DC Digest #31 - 1982

sg
This is the cover to Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #31, an all-JLA issue reprinting the four issues where Black Canary, Elongated Man, Red Tornado, and Zatanna joined the team.

The cover, by Gil Kane, is a homage to Neal Adams' original to JLA #67, which was also an all-reprint, all-new members-themed issue. Except here, Kane (either of his own volition or, more likely, from a suggestion by someone at DC) has swapped out Martian Manhunter and Aquaman for Green Arrow and Hawkman. This makes Aquaman the only founding and still current JLA member not to be pictured (Hawkgirl and Firestorm are also absent).

I guess Hawkgirl fans have the most to complain about (Firestorm joined after all these stories took place). Not only she is not pictured, but her "joining the JLA" story from #146--which occurred between Red Tornado and Zatanna--is skipped over entirely. But it just feels weird to me that either Kane or someone else decided to replicate all the current JLAers seen on the original cover, except for Aquaman.

Maybe I'm being a bit too nit-picky here, but I'm in cranky today so I'm in no mood to be charitable. Why does it always have to be Aquaman that's absent the day they take yearbook photos?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's room for Aquaman too. Notice how there are four heroes on the left-hand side but only three on the right side. So Kane could have shifted Flash a little higher and squeezed Aquaman between him and Superman.

Aaron said...

Absent because he's got 3/4 of the world to take care of by himself! (well with the rest of the Aqua-people)

Russell said...

Well, the really bad thing is that he isn't IN any of these stories! Denny O'Neil ignored him, so he's not around when Black Canary joined (I often wonder what their first conversation as JLAers, were, "Oh, you're a member, too?"). He made only cameo appearances in the Elongated Man-Red Tornado stories, and he doesn't appear in Zatanna's induction, either. I guess only Wonder Woman gets less attention than he does, but she still made it onto the cover, haha!

JasonMotesBowles said...

Meh. It's not just sour grapes, but it's a pretty lackluster cover anyway. Aquaman probably had "not being lackluster" to do that day.

MichaelRbn said...

Don't forget the Atom! He's been added to this cover too.