BHOC: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #164

I can remember this stretch of issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA trying my patience a little bit. As writer Gerry Conway continued to unravel the mystery of Zatanna’s mother and her upbringing, I increasingly was checked out on the series. A lot of this had to do, I expect, with my absolute inability to care about magical fantasy realms of any sort, so investing a whole lot of emotional energy into what was going on was difficult. I wanted to see the League battle super villains and otherworldly threats. In my mind, this story ran pretty much throughout issues #161-165, but looking at the individual issues as we have been, that really wasn’t the case. But I suppose I disliked these developments enough that they expanded in my memory.

But before we get into the issue proper, the inside front cover signaled that it was almost time for the big, long-awaited event. Though not really long-awaited by me. I knew that a Superman movie was being made thanks to all of the advance promotion (and two contests) that DC had run in the pages of its titles over the preceding six months. But I was still young enough that I wasn’t tapped into the world of film production, and had only seen a couple of random images. I knew very little about the whole thing–and what little I did know didn’t capture my imagination. I can’t really explain this in hindsight apart from the fact that, up to this point, no movie had really captured my imagination, including STAR WARS. I watched them, I enjoyed them for two hours or whatever, and then I moved on. So the impending Superman film was simply not that big a deal to me then.

This stretch of issues also represented the final days of editor Julie Schwartz’s tenure as the head of the magazine–a job he’d been performing since the feature was conceived and launched in 1960 some 19 years previous. But like FLASH, Julie would shortly be giving up his seat to other hands as he focused on other projects. He’d been the secret architect of my youth, and so I would come to miss him in the pages of JLA just as I did on FLASH, without yet even quite realizing what I was longing for. As usual, the creative team of writer Gerry Conway and artist Dick Dillin put this story together. Dillin in particular was a reliable presence on JUSTICE LEAGUE, missing only a few issues between his start on #64 and his final issue, #183. That’s a herculean span–especially on a series that required more characters per capita to be drawn.

Last issue, the League got creamed by Anton Allegro, an embittered musician who wielded a high-tech synthesizer that caused people to act out wildly in response to his music and which could turn sound into solid objects. When in conflict with Allegro, his playing, supernatural in nature, allowed Zatanna to open a portal to the dimension in which her mother had been trapped, so she not only needs to see Allegro defeated, but she needs his synthesizer if she’s going to locate and free her mom. So a team of five Leaguers including Zatanna head back out to Star City in an attempt to track the mad Maestro down and relieve him of his gear.

Allegro, meanwhile, is venting his frustrations (driven on by the supernatural force empowering him) by playing an impromptu concert that is driving the residents of Star City into a murderous fury. The League members arrive, and Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman take a beating while Zatanna and Black Canary prepare for their counter-offensive. Zatanna channels her magic into Canary’s sonic cry, creating a more powerful counter-force to Allegro’s music that disrupted his abilities, destroying his sonic constructs and smashing him to the ground insensate. Allegro is remanded into the custody of Arkham Asylum while the League takes custody of his synthesizer. So the first part of their mission has been a success.

Back at the JLA’s satellite headquarters, the team is joined by Zatanna’s father Zatara, who fills the group and the audience in on some important backstory. Years before, Zatara had been battling an enemy, King Inferno, in Turkey, and while he was able to overcome his foe, he was caught in a landslide and almost crushed to death. His life was saved by the mysterious apparition of a woman, who helped nurse his wounds and summon aid. This woman, Sindella, wed the master magician a short while later, and thereafter was seemingly killed in a car accident six months after Zatanna had been born. He’s as surprised as anyone to learn that his wife is still alive and the prisoner of a strange mystic barrier

.With Zatara in tow, the League sets out for Turkey, where they believe they can use Allegro’s device to sunder the mystic barrier that shields a portion of that region. They do so, discovering a hidden city, which they proceed to enter and attempt to explore in search of any sign of Sindella. However, the group is instantly waylaid by a young Sentry, Roca, who tells him that this is the Secret City, home of the mystic Hidden Ones, and that outsiders are not welcome here. And before even the Flash can stop him, Roca sends a warning to the Secret City’s Highlord, vanishing himself in the process. So now the League is going to be facing opposition, despite the fact that their visit is ostensibly a peaceful one.

In a matter of minutes, the League finds itself surrounded by the Hidden Ones’ armies, but they make no hostile move against the forces set against them. Then, Highlord appears, admonishing Zatara for having temporarily stolen Sindella away from them all those years ago. Turns out that Sindella is the current possessor of the Medulla Jewel, while Highlord possesses the Optic Gem, whatever that is. The point being that the Hidden Ones have been using a Power Crown to siphon energy out of the Medulla Jewel, in the process stealing Sindella’s life force. Within another day, she will expire–and Highlord intends that Zatanna should take her mother’s place once that happens. To Be Continued! I feel like Gerry glosses over a bunch of the plot specifics here–why do the Hidden Ones need to siphon off the Medulla Jewel? What is the Optic Gem? What’s all this about? But those answers, such as they were, wouldn’t come for another month yet.