Greenberger Lays Out Justice League's 100 (or so) Greatest Moments

Every comic book fan has a secondary hobby, whether they realize it or not. It goes beyond the enjoyment of four-color adventures and into the realm of subjective statistics. I'm speaking of course of the ranking system everyone keeps of Top Ten this or Worst Ever that. It's almost always a trap, and everyone's list may overlap with someone else's but will almost never be the same.

So when comics and science fiction veteran editor Robert Greenberger says he's compiled the Justice League's 100 Greates Moments, you can be almost assured he's missed something on your list, and included something you've either missed or dismissed.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: 100 GREATEST MOMENTS is a coffe table book that is absolutely fun to look through. You'll want to go get yourself a coffee table just after browsing it in the store, so that you can have a place to keep it. Each page is a thing of beauty, with finely reproduced artwork and helpful text to help you remember where you were when the portrayed event happened. And at over 300 pages, it's a pretty hefty tome as well!

Wait a minute! 300 pages? 100 greatest moments?

The math doesn't add up here, does it?

That's because Greenberger is hip to the limitations of a "100 Greatest" list, and has thus hedged his bets! Sure some moments merit a couple of pages, beginning with the origin of the League (taken from JLA: YEAR ONE and then Justice League of America #9), but there are other cheats employed here as well. For instance, when Greenberger lists Moment #4: The Roster Changes, it's a few pages dedicated to separate moments: the resignation of Wonder Woman; the exit of the Martian Manhunter; the addition of Black Canary. Moment #5: The Team Evolves shows the inductions of Elongated Man, Red Tornado, and Hawkgirl. That's six for the price of two, right there.

Not that we're complaining. The more Justice League history we get, the better. But it's certainly not what I was expecting. As the book goes on, it is divided into sections such as the different headquarters that were established, the different teams, the allies they fought alongside, and the villains they faced. Yes, to illustrate these chapters we get to see moments, but they aren't really what I would have expected if asked to define the League's 100 greatest moments, where I'd have listed "The Murder of Mister Terrific" and "Batman Leaves to Form the Outsiders," and I certainly wouldn't have added any of the moments of the League where Dick Grayson was filling in for Batman.

And there's the fun of it--the third hobby of the comic book collector: useless, endless, pointless debate! Get two comic book fans in the same room to talk about an issue, and you'll end up with three opinions about it. This book is the perfect resource to add fuel to that fire. So let's gather in the local comics shop (after putting in a coffee table) and get to work!