JLA

JLA was a monthly comic book published by DC Comics from January 1997 to April 2006 featuring the Justice League of America (JLA, Justice League). The series restarted DC's approach to the Justice League, which had initially featured most of the company's top-tier superheroes but shifted in the 1980s to featuring a rotating cast of established characters alongside newer ones and also saw that franchise expand to several spin-off series, diluting the prestige of the name brand. When relaunched by writer Grant Morrison, the team again focused on the most recognizable, powerful, and long-lasting heroes in DC's library. Publication history The low sales of the various Justice League spin-off books by the mid-1990s prompted DC to revamp the League as a single team (all the various branch teams were disbanded) on a single title. A Justice League of America formed in the September 1996 limited series Justice League: A Midsummer's Nightmare by Mark Waid and Fabian Nicieza. In 1997, DC Comics launched a new Justice League series titled JLA, written by Grant Morrison with art by Howard Porter and inker John Dell. Morrison stayed as writer for the series through issue #41, though several issues had fill-in writers. JLA #18-#21 and #33 were written by Mark Waid. Mark Millar, Devin Grayson and Mark Waid, and J.M. DeMatteis wrote issues #27, 32 and 35, respectively. This series, in an attempt at a "back-to-basics" approach, used as its core the team's original and most famous seven members (or their successors): Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash (Wally West), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), and the Martian Manhunter. Additionally, the team received a new headquarters, the "Watchtower", based on the Moon. JLA quickly became DC's best-selling title, a position it enjoyed on and off for several years. Morrison introduced the idea of the JLA allegorically representing a pantheon of gods, with their different powers and personalities, incorporating such characters as Zauriel, Big Barda, Orion, the Huntress, Barbara Gordon (the Oracle), Steel (John Henry Irons), and Plastic Man. They also had Aztek, the Tomorrow Woman, and the Green Arrow (Connor Hawke) as temporaries.