Writer – Roy Thomas
Penciler – Jerry Ordway
Inker – Jerry Ordway
Colours – Gene D’Angelo
Letterer – John Costanza

The Squadron, consisting of Firebrand, Liberty Belle, Robotman, Commander Steel, Johnny Quick and new member Tarantula, heads to the New York World’s Fair. This is not a normal trip as they have been baited to go there, though for what reason, that remains to be seen.  It is not long before they find themselves battling a large robot, and after they defeat it, a test of sorts, they discover why it is they were made to come to the famed attraction.  Before them are the Justice Society, who looked to be in stasis and dreaming pleasant things courtesy of Brain Wave.  What does said villain want, though?  Why only for the Squadron to watch as he destroys the members of the Justice Society one by one!  This was a pretty decent issue from ongoing scribe Roy Thomas and returning inker and new penciller, Jerry Ordway.  While the story was good as a whole, not a lot of note actually happened as Brain Wave, to show off his skills, would reveal many of the dreams that the captive JSA’ers were having. As a result, this really padded the book out, with the end result being that readers would be left yearning for a little more action than there was, or anything, to make it a bit more exciting. Another thing that could have used just the slightest improvement was the villain’s name.  Brain Wave, while apt if one thinks about it, does not really strike fear into the hearts of do-gooders, nor anyone else, for that matter.  So while there was a bit of action, the story mainly consisted of a lot of talk between the good guys and the villains.  Thomas knows his stuff, the characters and their motivations and more importantly how to write a good tale and while this was not necessarily a bad one, it could have used a little punching up to make it a little more memorable, especially as it is the fist part of a story. Next issue, with the continuation of this chapter in the All-Star Squadron’s lives, it will hopefully pick back up.

3.5 out of 5