My Justice League collection

Decided to take out my entire collection of Justice League stuff to take photos of them, for memory sake. It is one of the best DC animations ever (yes, I find it better than the recent DC cartoons and animated films), with Batman Beyond and Batman:TAS close behind. I really enjoyed how all the cartoons were within the same universe, and we got to see that world move from B:TAS all the way to JLU, and ending off with a closure to Batman Beyond too. This whole cartoon is just as satisfying starting as it is watching it end in a good note.

Top row: JL/JLU toys
second row: JL novels and some JLU toys
Third row: JL/JLU comics and novels, JLU second season DVD set
Bottom row: JL first and second seasons, JLU first season (all VCDs)

My Justice League comics are mainly from this company called "Gotham Comics". It was a comic book company that got rights to publish many Marvel/DC titles in small, lower quality comic issues to sell in the Asia region such as India (which I think this company is from?), Malaysia and Singapore. The comics were much cheaper than their original counterparts (eg. 1 TBP would cost SGD $20-$40, but only SGD $10 from Gotham Comics). Unfortunately the company didn't really make it far, so it stopped after a couple of years. But during that time it reprinted many series and Justice League Adventures was one of them. I managed to buy all the issues and "Giant-sized" books, allowing me to collect most of the Justice League Adventures series.

Then there's the JLU comics that I managed to buy at book fairs for much cheaper prices. Really glad they had the huge cut in prices at the book fairs because these small comics cost a bomb (to me)!

The Justice League series also had novels meant for young readers, and only the first book, Secret Origins, was based on the episodes of that same name. The other books were stories of their own.

When the Justice League cartoon came out, I was not wise enough to wait for those "full season" sets, so I went to buy the VCDs when they came out. DVDs were new to me, so I stuck to VCDs. When the DC Comics Classic Collection started releasing all the DC cartoons in full seasons, I went to buy them all. For season one I skipped the first 3 volumes as my 3 VCDs from much earlier consisted of those 3 volumes. Only when the season 2 of JLU came out did I decide to purchase the DVD set, the prior seasons all being VCDs.

The Justice League figures that first came out were Attack Armor and Mega Armor series. I bought the Flash, Batman and Superman ones as they were in their original costumes. However, the toy shops did not have the Martian Manhunter and Green lantern toys, so I didn't get them. At that time I did not know about hunting for toys on eBay, nor the sources to find toys from local sellers. I was a kid, and relied on toy stores to provide me with the figures. Green Lantern appeared again in the Mission Vision series, this series providing figures with more joints to increase articulation. They came with some accessories and a shield that revealed some picture. The 1st three figures were actually repaint of the Mega Armor series, with mild adjustments and replace of the figures with more articulated ones (except for Flash). There was also Wonder Woman and Darksied in this series, but I could never find Wonder Woman.

When the JLU toys came out, I just had to use this chance to get the remaining core members. This series had individual packs and 3-in-1 packs, and it was the 3-in-1 that I could get Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter. I planned my purchases such that the only duplicates I got were of those that I had from the original series that had little articulation. I felt cheated by the Wonder Woman pack though, as she had some random designs on her, despite the packaging showing her in her default costume. Hawkgirl did not come with her mace, although I was too happy having the full core team to bother about all this.

You can tell that DC/Mattel tried to make the figures better from their predecessors. The articulation is much more, and not as loose as the Mission Vision series (I am basing this on my GL figure). The colours are more vibrant too. Height is an issue though, especially for Superman. His height did not increase much, and he is still much shorter than most of his team. However, stability was the price to pay for this new paintwork and articulation. Posing the figures in simple standing position was a hassle, and the female characters with their small feet and closed legs made them almost impossible to stand without support.

It took me really long to get the core team in position for the photo, but I like how it turned out. Despite the lack of 100% accuracy, I still really enjoy collecting them and expanding the roster to new members like Green Arrow and Aquaman. Not too sure why I bought Green Lantern and Dr. Fate though. They weren't on sale, nor are they my favorite characters.

Either way, I'm pleased with my small collection of Justice League merchandise, and will always treasure it as one of the best cartoons in my childhood! :)