The JLA's inspiration. The Justice Society of America, unites in the pages of All-Star Comics #3. If individual super heroes were popular with readers, what kind of reaction would you get if you united eight of them? DC took the "greatest hits" premise of the comic to its logical conclusion in All Star Comics #3 by teaming Flash, Atom, Dr Fate, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hourman, Sandman and the Spectre under the banner of the Justice Society of America for an ongoing series of adventures. Written by Gardner Fox and featuring various artists, the JSA's first tale opened with another character, Johnny Thunder, complaining at being left out of the festivities. Johnny's inadvertent wish attracted the attention of his genie like Thunderbolt, who whisked Johnny to the JSA's secret meeting. Johnny listened to each member as they related a memorable escapade from his adventuring career, a premise that served as an introduction to new readers and provided a rich variety of art styles from illustrators as diverse as the cartoony Sheldon Mayer to the hyper detailed Sheldon Moldoff. The Flash told of retrieving treasure from a sunken galleon, Hawkman remembered the time he fought creatures that couldn't be burned by fire, and the Spectre revealed the secrets of his first battle against the evil Oom. At the end of the issue, the JSA received a summons from the FBI and the Flash raced off to see how the team could serve the country. Before long the JSA would be fighting foreign agitators and would provide the template for the following year's Seven Soldiers of Victory.
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