Steel’s second costume streamlined the, uh, lines and lost the pouches and looked a lot better. The JLU cartoon then took that look and went back to a full cowl and extended the center stripe down the back. That looked pretty cool, too.
I always found “Vixen has pupils, unless strands of her hair fall precisely in front of them, which they do most of the time” really unpleasantly off-putting.
Does anyone know who designed the costumes for the new members of the Detroit League? I found a drawing of them by George Perez, which could explain the detail:
Pèrez definitely didn’t design JLD as he hated Vibe (in JLA/Avengers his only appearance is his face sticking out from some rubble). Although the costumes are so busy it’s easy to think he did. As great an artist as he was he was a mostly terrible costume designer. I presume JLD was Chuck Patton.
I will always have a soft spot for JLD – as a postcrisis dc newbie whod just discovered back issue bins in comic stores they were the team i encountered first when i determined to trace backwards sequentially from LEGENDS and the giffen dematteis league. i thought they were really cool and fertile backstory ground to explore, a great mix of old and new.
Thanks for the info, Daniel T. It makes sense that Perez designed that wacky Zatanna outfit. It’s the perfect mix of Scarlet Witch and Raven.
Also, how did I never put together that the JLI was the funny version of the Detroit League? A bunch of newcomers/B-listers led by an original member (plus Martian Manhunter, of course). I guess the “hands off the A-listers” rule was in effect for quite a while.
I always think it’s wild when these comics acknowledge the press critiquing the line ups of the League or the Avengers. But at the same time, in a real world scenario, the paper would kind of have a point. If the Justice League is Earth’s first line of defense, I’d certainly be pretty worried if all of a sudden Superman just left and My life was in the hands of Steel.
This was one of the first JLA issues I bought when I started collecting comics in the fall of 1984/early 1985. Will always have a soft spot for the Detroit JLA, especially when Chuck Patton was drawing them.
e-mail me at
mikester @ this domain name
• • •
THIS IS A LINK TO THE WEBSITE
FOR THE COMIC SHOP THAT I OWN
Amen, Mari! Viva la Vixen!
Vixen was definitely the coolest member of the Detroit League. I was glad she transferred over to the Suicide Squad so I could keep reading about her.
Also, that Steel costume is a bit much. Removing a few of those lines probably wouldn’t hurt.
Yeah, all you nay-sayers. You were really heating Gerry’s pot.
I agree with Thom. I thought Vixen was the most interesting member of this new team.
Steel’s second costume streamlined the, uh, lines and lost the pouches and looked a lot better. The JLU cartoon then took that look and went back to a full cowl and extended the center stripe down the back. That looked pretty cool, too.
I always found “Vixen has pupils, unless strands of her hair fall precisely in front of them, which they do most of the time” really unpleasantly off-putting.
Does anyone know who designed the costumes for the new members of the Detroit League? I found a drawing of them by George Perez, which could explain the detail:
https://www.cbr.com/why-does-justice-league-detroit-work-on-tv-but-not-in-comics/
He drew everyone at some point, though, so I’m not sure he was involved in their creation.
Also, that Zatanna costume from the ’80s is bonkers.
Pèrez definitely didn’t design JLD as he hated Vibe (in JLA/Avengers his only appearance is his face sticking out from some rubble). Although the costumes are so busy it’s easy to think he did. As great an artist as he was he was a mostly terrible costume designer. I presume JLD was Chuck Patton.
Pèrez did design Zatanna’s costume, I believe.
And I totally accented Pérez’s name incorrectly.
I will always have a soft spot for JLD – as a postcrisis dc newbie whod just discovered back issue bins in comic stores they were the team i encountered first when i determined to trace backwards sequentially from LEGENDS and the giffen dematteis league. i thought they were really cool and fertile backstory ground to explore, a great mix of old and new.
Thanks for the info, Daniel T. It makes sense that Perez designed that wacky Zatanna outfit. It’s the perfect mix of Scarlet Witch and Raven.
Also, how did I never put together that the JLI was the funny version of the Detroit League? A bunch of newcomers/B-listers led by an original member (plus Martian Manhunter, of course). I guess the “hands off the A-listers” rule was in effect for quite a while.
I always wondered who had to tell the Phantom Stranger that he was no longer a member when the old League was disbanded for this one.
I always think it’s wild when these comics acknowledge the press critiquing the line ups of the League or the Avengers. But at the same time, in a real world scenario, the paper would kind of have a point. If the Justice League is Earth’s first line of defense, I’d certainly be pretty worried if all of a sudden Superman just left and My life was in the hands of Steel.
Oh, man, Steel’s forearm pockets! That’s some Liefeldian overkill, years before Liefeld.
This was one of the first JLA issues I bought when I started collecting comics in the fall of 1984/early 1985. Will always have a soft spot for the Detroit JLA, especially when Chuck Patton was drawing them.