Justice League of America, Vol. 1 #113 (1974)
MINOR KEY
GD/VG
$8.00
$8.00
Condition
Description
1st app. The Sandman (Sandy the Golden Boy)
The Creature in the Velvet Cage / The Case of the Patriotic Crimes / The Cavern of Deadly Spheres
"The Creature in the Velvet Cage!": While visiting the Justice Society on Earth-2, the Justice League heroes learn the untold story of why the Sandman years ago returned to his original crimefighting costume. An experimental weapon in his arsenal had accidentally exploded, transforming his boy partner, Sandy, into a gigantic monster. Overcome with guilt, Sandman had destroyed his purple and gold costume, which had constantly reminded him of Sandy's plight. Imprisoning the monstrous boy in a chamber which held him unconscious, he had returned to action in his old gas-mask and double-breasted suit. Now, however, the Sandy-creature has escaped his cage, and the two teams combine to recapture him. He evades Superman, Hourman, and Elongated Man at an outdoor wedding, tangles with Batman, the Flash, and the Earth-2 Wonder Woman at a ball game, and finally battles Green Lantern and Sandman himself at a beach. The eight heroes unite to subdue him at last, only to learn that he had been acting to prevent a series of earth tremors at the sites of their battles. Having only now regained his lost power of speech, "Sandy" reveals that the menacing attitude he had evinced when first changed to monstrous form had only been a temporary side-effect, and a chagrined Sandman realizes that he had kept his partner imprisoned for years for no reason. "The Case of the Patriotic Crimes": The Wizard, after escaping from jail, steals the Liberty Train without a trace. He dreams of making crime triumphant on earth, and forms a new Injustice Society, recruiting the Fiddler, the Huntress, the Icicle, the Sportsmaster, and the Harlequin. The members hold a contest to determine which of them will be the leader, with the one who commits the greatest robbery to be the winner. The members plan thefts of American patriotic objects: the Freedom Bell, Plymouth Rock, Old Ironsides, and the Washington Monument, while the Harlequin plans to trap the Justice Society of America. However, when the Harlequin drops her diary, the Injustice Society learns that Green Lantern's "enemy" has no intention of joining the group, but she intends to betray them. The Sportsmaster follows her to the JSA headquarters. When the Harlequin alerts the JSA to the villains' plan, the Sportsmaster launchs a grenade in the form of a lacrosse ball that fells the entire group. Black Canary, investigating the Liberty Train theft, tries to call an emergency meeting of the Justice Society, but finds their headquarters empty. She discovers the knocked out Harlequin under a table, undetected by the Sportsmaster, who lugged the rest of the JSA members back to ISW headquarters. As the Harlequin begins to explain what happened, the Icicle attacks and captures the pair. At Injustice Society headquarters, the two see the brainwashed JSA working as slaves for the villains. Before they could join their comrades in slavery, the Harlequin hypnotizes the Justice Society with her glasses and orders them to remember who they are. The revived JSA members set off in to prevent the robberies of the American treasures. Unfortunately, the Harlequin's hypnosis in only temporary, and the heroes will return to a mindless state with the snap of fingers. Knowing this fact, also, the Wizard sets off to warn the other members of the Injustice Society. awkman draws the assignment to protect Old Ironsides. The Sportsmaster creates a diversion, then steals the boat using portable rockets. The Hawkman chases him down, then knocks him out with one punch. However, the Wizard arrives, snaps his fingers, returning Hawkman to his trance. Then, Hawkman helps the trio sail Old Ironsides back to their hideout. Wonder Woman and Doctor Mid-Nite arrive at the Freedom Bell to find the Fiddler's theft already in progress. They defeat him and tie him up, but having already been contacted by the Wizard, the Fiddler snaps his fingers, then orders Wonder Woman and Dr. Mid-Nite to help him steal the Freedom Bell. The Huntress steals Plymouth Rock by having elephants load it into a circus van. The Flash and Atom overtake the van, then tie up the Huntress. Unable to snap, she jumps on a wooden board to snap it, which successfully enslaves Flash and Atom. The Icicle steals the Navy's new super jet, then uses it to lasso the Washington Monument, lassoing Green Lantern in the process. The Icicle's cold gun and Green Lantern's ring cancel each other out, so the Green Lantern uses his ring to return the monument, then punches out the Icicle. Ironically, the Green Lantern snaps, returning himself to his slave state. Harlequin and Black Canary track down the Liberty Train, but the Wizard arrives, electrocutes, and captures them. To ensure the JSA will no longer threaten them, the ISW drops them and the Harlequin to their deaths into a deep mine shaft. Then, to determine who won the contest, the villains steal Gotham Stadium during a baseball game, planning to ask the crowd of captured Americans to vote on who committed the best theft. Trapped in the bowels of the earth, the Black Canary and Harlequin work feverishly to convince the JSA of their true identities. With constant urging, the two convince Green Lantern to employ his ring, freeing the JSA from their stupor. The team then rockets up the shaft and confront the ISW, who have reached a murderous level of frustration with their captives. Surprising the villains, the heroes quickly round up the team. They deposit the ISW in jail. In the confusion, Harlequin slips away. Returning to headquarters the Justice Society inducts Black Canary as a member. (This story is reprinted from All-Star Comics #41.) "The Cavern of Deadly Spheres!": A new criminal named the Maestro has been pulling off crimes by arming his hired thugs with musical instruments that compel all in ear-shot to uncontrollably dance. After each member of the League successfully stop each heist, they decide to take their fight directly to the Maestro himself. Tracking the Maestro to his hidden cave headquarters, all of the JLA members are trapped in indestructible bubbles (ex. Superman's is made out of Kryptonite). However, it is revealed that this tale came from a fan of the Justice League that challenged himself with imagining how the Justice League might be defeated. The Justice League answers the challenge and imagines how they might counter their fan's scenario. In the end Atom finds the weakness in the imaginary villain, and they anticipate that Maestro might have access to Superman's weakness. So, in the imaginary tale, the team coats Superman in lead in advance allowing him limited protection to the Kryptonite bubble. While the Maestro is busy gloating over his victory, Superman is able to break free and save the others, and they all easily defeat the Maestro and turn him over to the police. Once the solution is reached Snapper is tasked with logging the story and sending the Justice League's fan word of how his favorite heroes could even foil his perfect "plan." (This story is reprinted from Justice League of America #16.)
Release Date: 1974
The Creature in the Velvet Cage / The Case of the Patriotic Crimes / The Cavern of Deadly Spheres
"The Creature in the Velvet Cage!": While visiting the Justice Society on Earth-2, the Justice League heroes learn the untold story of why the Sandman years ago returned to his original crimefighting costume. An experimental weapon in his arsenal had accidentally exploded, transforming his boy partner, Sandy, into a gigantic monster. Overcome with guilt, Sandman had destroyed his purple and gold costume, which had constantly reminded him of Sandy's plight. Imprisoning the monstrous boy in a chamber which held him unconscious, he had returned to action in his old gas-mask and double-breasted suit. Now, however, the Sandy-creature has escaped his cage, and the two teams combine to recapture him. He evades Superman, Hourman, and Elongated Man at an outdoor wedding, tangles with Batman, the Flash, and the Earth-2 Wonder Woman at a ball game, and finally battles Green Lantern and Sandman himself at a beach. The eight heroes unite to subdue him at last, only to learn that he had been acting to prevent a series of earth tremors at the sites of their battles. Having only now regained his lost power of speech, "Sandy" reveals that the menacing attitude he had evinced when first changed to monstrous form had only been a temporary side-effect, and a chagrined Sandman realizes that he had kept his partner imprisoned for years for no reason. "The Case of the Patriotic Crimes": The Wizard, after escaping from jail, steals the Liberty Train without a trace. He dreams of making crime triumphant on earth, and forms a new Injustice Society, recruiting the Fiddler, the Huntress, the Icicle, the Sportsmaster, and the Harlequin. The members hold a contest to determine which of them will be the leader, with the one who commits the greatest robbery to be the winner. The members plan thefts of American patriotic objects: the Freedom Bell, Plymouth Rock, Old Ironsides, and the Washington Monument, while the Harlequin plans to trap the Justice Society of America. However, when the Harlequin drops her diary, the Injustice Society learns that Green Lantern's "enemy" has no intention of joining the group, but she intends to betray them. The Sportsmaster follows her to the JSA headquarters. When the Harlequin alerts the JSA to the villains' plan, the Sportsmaster launchs a grenade in the form of a lacrosse ball that fells the entire group. Black Canary, investigating the Liberty Train theft, tries to call an emergency meeting of the Justice Society, but finds their headquarters empty. She discovers the knocked out Harlequin under a table, undetected by the Sportsmaster, who lugged the rest of the JSA members back to ISW headquarters. As the Harlequin begins to explain what happened, the Icicle attacks and captures the pair. At Injustice Society headquarters, the two see the brainwashed JSA working as slaves for the villains. Before they could join their comrades in slavery, the Harlequin hypnotizes the Justice Society with her glasses and orders them to remember who they are. The revived JSA members set off in to prevent the robberies of the American treasures. Unfortunately, the Harlequin's hypnosis in only temporary, and the heroes will return to a mindless state with the snap of fingers. Knowing this fact, also, the Wizard sets off to warn the other members of the Injustice Society. awkman draws the assignment to protect Old Ironsides. The Sportsmaster creates a diversion, then steals the boat using portable rockets. The Hawkman chases him down, then knocks him out with one punch. However, the Wizard arrives, snaps his fingers, returning Hawkman to his trance. Then, Hawkman helps the trio sail Old Ironsides back to their hideout. Wonder Woman and Doctor Mid-Nite arrive at the Freedom Bell to find the Fiddler's theft already in progress. They defeat him and tie him up, but having already been contacted by the Wizard, the Fiddler snaps his fingers, then orders Wonder Woman and Dr. Mid-Nite to help him steal the Freedom Bell. The Huntress steals Plymouth Rock by having elephants load it into a circus van. The Flash and Atom overtake the van, then tie up the Huntress. Unable to snap, she jumps on a wooden board to snap it, which successfully enslaves Flash and Atom. The Icicle steals the Navy's new super jet, then uses it to lasso the Washington Monument, lassoing Green Lantern in the process. The Icicle's cold gun and Green Lantern's ring cancel each other out, so the Green Lantern uses his ring to return the monument, then punches out the Icicle. Ironically, the Green Lantern snaps, returning himself to his slave state. Harlequin and Black Canary track down the Liberty Train, but the Wizard arrives, electrocutes, and captures them. To ensure the JSA will no longer threaten them, the ISW drops them and the Harlequin to their deaths into a deep mine shaft. Then, to determine who won the contest, the villains steal Gotham Stadium during a baseball game, planning to ask the crowd of captured Americans to vote on who committed the best theft. Trapped in the bowels of the earth, the Black Canary and Harlequin work feverishly to convince the JSA of their true identities. With constant urging, the two convince Green Lantern to employ his ring, freeing the JSA from their stupor. The team then rockets up the shaft and confront the ISW, who have reached a murderous level of frustration with their captives. Surprising the villains, the heroes quickly round up the team. They deposit the ISW in jail. In the confusion, Harlequin slips away. Returning to headquarters the Justice Society inducts Black Canary as a member. (This story is reprinted from All-Star Comics #41.) "The Cavern of Deadly Spheres!": A new criminal named the Maestro has been pulling off crimes by arming his hired thugs with musical instruments that compel all in ear-shot to uncontrollably dance. After each member of the League successfully stop each heist, they decide to take their fight directly to the Maestro himself. Tracking the Maestro to his hidden cave headquarters, all of the JLA members are trapped in indestructible bubbles (ex. Superman's is made out of Kryptonite). However, it is revealed that this tale came from a fan of the Justice League that challenged himself with imagining how the Justice League might be defeated. The Justice League answers the challenge and imagines how they might counter their fan's scenario. In the end Atom finds the weakness in the imaginary villain, and they anticipate that Maestro might have access to Superman's weakness. So, in the imaginary tale, the team coats Superman in lead in advance allowing him limited protection to the Kryptonite bubble. While the Maestro is busy gloating over his victory, Superman is able to break free and save the others, and they all easily defeat the Maestro and turn him over to the police. Once the solution is reached Snapper is tasked with logging the story and sending the Justice League's fan word of how his favorite heroes could even foil his perfect "plan." (This story is reprinted from Justice League of America #16.)
Release Date: 1974
THE HIGH GRADES (Investment Quality)
- 9.9 – 10.0 MINT: Near perfect. No discernible defects.
- 9.8 NM/MT: High-end; negligible stress or bindery tears.
- 9.6 NM+: Nearly perfect; very minor surface wear.
- 9.4 NM: Standard high-grade; minor corner blunting.
- 9.2 NM-: Excellent; small stress lines (no color break).
- 9.0 VF/NM: Great eye appeal; minor spine stress.
THE MID GRADES (Collector Quality)
- 8.5 VF+: Clean copy; small amount of wear/creasing.
- 8.0 VF: Very attractive; minor surface wear or foxing.
- 7.5 VF-: Slight accumulation of defects; minor blunting.
- 7.0 FN/VF: Solid copy; minor creases or color breaks.
- 6.0 FN: Average mid-grade; small spine splits or tears.
- 5.0 VG/FN: Significant wear; small pieces may be missing.
THE LOW GRADES (Reader Quality)
- 4.0 VG: Average used copy; heavy creasing or scuffing.
- 3.0 GD/VG: Heavily read; major creases or staple rust.
- 2.0 GD: Well-worn; covers may be detached but present.
- 1.0 FR: Heavily damaged; large chunks missing.
- 0.5 PR: Fragile; missing pages or severe degradation.
Our raw grading is an opinion based on 30+ years of experience. We do not guarantee a specific numeric grade from 3rd party services (CGC/CBCS) but strive for maximum accuracy.
