# All Star Comics
**All Star Comics** (originally printed without a hyphen) was a Golden Age American comic book anthology series published from 1940 to 1951, chiefly famous for introducing the [Justice Society of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/justice-society-of-america), the first superhero team in comics, and for the first appearance of [Wonder Woman](https://www.edgepedia.org/wonder-woman). It ran for 57 issues and was revived in the 1970s.[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1) • [2](https://comicbooks.com/series/all-star-comics-1940)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Jointly published by All-American Publications and National Periodical Publications, which merged into modern DC Comics in 1946[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1) |
| Run | 1940 (cover date "Summer") to 1951 ("February–March" issue), 57 issues; revived in the 1970s[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1) • [2](https://comicbooks.com/series/all-star-comics-1940) |
| Justice Society debut | Issue #3, December 1940; created by Gardner Fox and Sheldon Mayer, the first superhero team[3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Justice_Society_Publication_History) |
| Wonder Woman debut | Issue #8, on sale October 21, 1941, cover date December 1941–January 1942, cover price ten cents[4](https://comicbooks.com/issue/all-star-comics-8) |
| Principal creators | Most frequently written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Irwin Hasen[2](https://comicbooks.com/series/all-star-comics-1940) |
| End of the run | Issue #57 (1951) was the last to carry the Justice Society; with #58 the title became All Star Western[5](https://firstappearanceof.com/groups/justice-society/) |
## Origins
The series grew out of two successful anthologies for the 1939 and 1940 New York World's Fairs, *New York World's Fair Comics* #1–2, after which the publisher decided to keep presenting its most popular characters in a single publication.[6](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/all-star_comics) What made the title a rarity was that All-American Publications and National Periodical Publications at first put it out together, filling its roster with the popular heroes from each company's regular superhero anthologies; in 1946 the two firms merged, forming what is now [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics).[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1)
The first two issues were anthologies of individual adventures. Issue #3, cover-dated Winter 1940, was retooled to introduce the Justice Society of America, which then became the lead feature for the rest of the run.[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1) • [7](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/) The team consisted of popular characters who did not headline their own series, since Batman and Superman were reserved for their own books; in the first meeting the heroes largely introduced each other and sat around a table.[3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Justice_Society_Publication_History) • [8](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/justice-society.html) Regulars included Jay Garrick's [Flash](https://www.edgepedia.org/flash-jay-garrick), Al Pratt's Atom, and Dr. Mid-Nite, and each issue usually carried at least one separate feature such as "Hop Harrigan" alongside the JSA chapters.[2](https://comicbooks.com/series/all-star-comics-1940) • [1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1)
## The Justice Society of America
The Justice Society was created by writer Gardner Fox and editor Sheldon Mayer and first appeared in All-Star Comics #3 (December 1940).[3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Justice_Society_Publication_History) The JSA's adventures took up the bulk of each issue for the rest of the [Golden Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-age) run.[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1)
The team's significance outlasted the series. It was the first group of heroes assembled from across other comic books, and it established the template for team-up storytelling that later series such as the [Justice League](https://www.edgepedia.org/justice-league) and the Avengers followed.[9](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunns-superman-quietly-revealed-some-of-the-new-dcus-300-year-legacy-of-superheroes/) • [2](https://comicbooks.com/series/all-star-comics-1940) In the Silver Age the JSA was replaced in DC's lineup by the Justice League.[3](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Justice_Society_Publication_History)
## Wonder Woman's debut
Released by All-American Comics, Inc., All-Star Comics #8 hit newsstands on October 21, 1941 bearing a December 1941–January 1942 cover date, and presented Wonder Woman, Princess Diana of Paradise Island, in a nine-page back-up story scripted by [William Moulton Marston](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-moulton-marston) under the name "Charles Moulton" with art by Harry G. Peter.[4](https://comicbooks.com/issue/all-star-comics-8) • [10](https://www.curiocomp.com/comic-books/all-star-comics-8-1941-first-wonder-woman) The story was an untitled insert placed at the back of the book and not advertised on the cover; the title "Introducing Wonder Woman" was assigned only when the story was reprinted in *All-Star Comics Archives* Vol. 2 in 1993.[4](https://comicbooks.com/issue/all-star-comics-8)
The issue also introduced Queen Hippolyta (spelled "Hippolyte"), [Steve Trevor](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-trevor), the Amazon Mala, and the goddesses [Aphrodite](https://www.edgepedia.org/aphrodite) and Athena, and in the main story, "Two New Members Win Their Spurs," Dr. Mid-Nite and Starman were formally inducted into the Justice Society.[4](https://comicbooks.com/issue/all-star-comics-8) Positive reader response to the insert led to Wonder Woman headlining *Sensation Comics* #1 (January 1942), followed by her own solo title about six months later.[4](https://comicbooks.com/issue/all-star-comics-8) In this debut Diana did not yet possess the Lasso of Truth, which first appeared in *Sensation Comics* #6.[4](https://comicbooks.com/issue/all-star-comics-8)
## Decline and end of the Golden Age run
Superhero sales fell after World War II, and All Star Comics felt the decline: issue #57 (1951) was the last to carry the Justice Society, and with #58 the title became *All Star Western*, reflecting the industry-wide shift toward Western, romance, horror, and science fiction genres.[5](https://firstappearanceof.com/groups/justice-society/) • [11](https://guides.loc.gov/comic-books/comic-book-history/golden-age)
The series was revived in the 1970s.[1](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1)
## Reprints and collections
DC reprinted the Golden Age JSA stories in the hardcover *All Star Comics Archives* line. Volume 0 (2006) collected the individual adventures from issues #1–2, and Volumes 1 through 11 reprinted every JSA adventure from the Golden Age in sequence.[12](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/all-star-comics-archives-1997/all-star-comics-archives-vol-0) [Individual](https://www.edgepedia.org/individual) key issues have also been reprinted in facsimile and collected formats, including *All-Star Comics* #3 as a facsimile edition[13](https://static.dc.com/2023-08/DCConnect_40.pdf) and *All-Star Comics* #8 in the Millennium Edition series of 2000–2001 and in the [DC Finest](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-finest-trade-paperbacks) line.[4](https://comicbooks.com/issue/all-star-comics-8)
## Legacy
The beginning of cohesive comic book universes with shared continuity is traced to the first hero team-up in All-Star Comics #3.[14](https://academic.oup.com/mississippi-scholarship-online/book/22493/chapter-abstract/182796332) The Justice Society remains a fixture of DC's publishing and screen adaptations: a version of the team appeared in the film *Black Adam*, and the JSA appears in the mural of DC's screen universe in [James Gunn](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-gunn)'s *Superman* (2025).[9](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunns-superman-quietly-revealed-some-of-the-new-dcus-300-year-legacy-of-superheroes/)
## References
1. [All-Star Comics (1940–1978), DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/All-Star_Comics_Vol_1)
2. [All-Star Comics (1940) — full issue run, ComicBooks.com](https://comicbooks.com/series/all-star-comics-1940)
3. [Justice Society Publication History, DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Justice_Society_Publication_History)
4. [All-Star Comics #8 "Two New Members Win Their Spurs, Introduction", ComicBooks.com](https://comicbooks.com/issue/all-star-comics-8)
5. [1st App of the Justice Society: All Star Comics #3, First Appearance Of](https://firstappearanceof.com/groups/justice-society/)
6. [SFE: All-Star Comics, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/all-star_comics)
7. [History of the Justice Society, Cosmic Teams](https://www.cosmicteams.com/jsa/)
8. [Justice Society, DC Continuity Project](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/justice-society.html)
9. [James Gunn's Superman quietly revealed some of the new DCU's 300 year legacy of superheroes, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunns-superman-quietly-revealed-some-of-the-new-dcus-300-year-legacy-of-superheroes/)
10. [All Star Comics #8 (1941): The First Appearance of Wonder Woman, Curio Comp](https://www.curiocomp.com/comic-books/all-star-comics-8-1941-first-wonder-woman)
11. [Golden Age, Library of Congress Comic Books Research Guide](https://guides.loc.gov/comic-books/comic-book-history/golden-age)
12. [All Star Comics Archives Vol. 0, DC Comics](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/all-star-comics-archives-1997/all-star-comics-archives-vol-0)
13. [DC Connect #40 solicitation for All-Star Comics #3 facsimile, DC Comics](https://static.dc.com/2023-08/DCConnect_40.pdf)
14. [High Society: Historical Revisionism in Justice Society Comics, Oxford Academic](https://academic.oup.com/mississippi-scholarship-online/book/22493/chapter-abstract/182796332)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Illustration and illustrators › Comic books and characters › Comic book series and storylines*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license