Justice League of America #2

Dec 1960 · DC · 0.10 USD

📊 ~143,398 copies sold its debut month

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“Secret of the Sinister Sorcerers!”

★ 1st appearance — Simon Magus

About this Issue

Justice League of America #2 marks the debut of the JLA's first magic-based threat, introducing the three villains Simon Magus, Saturna, and the Troll King — collectively the 'Sinister Sorcerers' — as well as Merlin in his Silver Age DC incarnation, making it a foundational issue for the team's engagement with supernatural antagonists. As only the second issue of the JLA's self-titled series and the fifth Justice League story overall, it established an early template for the team splitting into sub-groups to tackle separate challenges simultaneously, a structural device Gardner Fox would use repeatedly throughout his long run. The issue also deepens Snapper Carr's role as honorary mascot and occasional wild-card, a dynamic that underscores Fox's interest in giving the non-powered teenager genuine narrative agency. Jimmy Carr, Snapper's brother, makes his cameo debut here as well, a minor but catalogued first appearance.

In "Secret of the Sinister Sorcerers!", the Justice League faces a world gone silent as every machine on Earth abruptly fails. With no explanation and no power, the team turns to the legendary wizard Merlin, summoned from the Magic Dimension to uncover the source of the mysterious disruption. Written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Mike Sekowsky, with inks by Bernard Sachs and lettering by Gaspar Saladino, this 1960 issue features a cover by Murphy Anderson that captures the League’s urgency in bold, dynamic lines.

writer Gardner Fox · artist Mike Sekowsky · inker Bernard Sachs · letterer Gaspar Saladino · cover Murphy Anderson

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VG) $122

CGC 9.8 · 1 in census $22,253*

CGC 9.6 · 5 in census $17,325

CGC 9.4 · 2 in census $4,842

CGC 9.2 · 8 in census $3,067

CGC 9.0 · 8 in census $2,644

CGC 8.5 · 18 in census $1,337

Show all 22 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 38 in census $806

CGC 7.5 · 27 in census $586

CGC 7.0 · 38 in census $504

CGC 6.5 · 65 in census $273*

CGC 6.0 · 41 in census $273

CGC 5.5 · 53 in census $222

CGC 5.0 · 74 in census $222

CGC 4.5 · 64 in census $194

CGC 4.0 · 69 in census $151

CGC 3.5 · 51 in census $121

CGC 3.0 · 49 in census $121

CGC 2.5 · 29 in census $89

CGC 2.0 · 14 in census $89

CGC 1.5 · 6 in census $85

CGC 1.0 · 3 in census $77

CGC 0.5 · 4 in census $58

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The issue was written by Gardner Fox, penciled by Mike Sekowsky, inked by Bernard Sachs, covered by Murphy Anderson, and edited by Julius Schwartz — the same creative team that had shepherded the JLA from their debut in The Brave and the Bold #28 through their first self-titled issue. Fox, one of the most prolific writers in DC history with an estimated 4,000-plus stories to his credit, brought a characteristically mythologically literate hand to the villains' names, drawing on the historical Simon Magus, Saturnalian tradition, and Norse/Greek lore to give the trio of antagonists symbolic resonance beyond their Silver Age surface. The issue carried a cover date of January 1961 and an on-sale date of October 25, 1960, published bi-monthly at the standard ten-cent cover price.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearances of Simon Magus, Saturna (Lord of Misrule), and the Troll King — the trio collectively known as the Sinister Sorcerers — all created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky.
First appearance of Merlin in his Silver Age DC incarnation, here depicted as ruler/protector of the other-dimensional Magic-Land; whether this Merlin is the same character as Etrigan's father and Arthur Pendragon's court sorcerer has never been definitively resolved in DC continuity.
First (cameo) appearance of Jimmy Carr, Snapper Carr's brother, who would not appear again until Justice League of America #114.
Story title: 'Secret of the Sinister Sorcerers!' — written by Gardner Fox, penciled by Mike Sekowsky, inked by Bernard Sachs, cover by Murphy Anderson, edited by Julius Schwartz.
Cover date: January 1961 (on-sale October 25, 1960); published bi-monthly by DC Comics at a ten-cent cover price; 32 story pages.
Snapper Carr plays an active — and comedic — role: left behind with Merlin on Earth, he tampers with Merlin's magic and temporarily transforms himself into a giant, requiring Merlin to reverse the spell.
The story was reprinted in Justice League of America #48 (1966), Justice League of America Archives Vol. 1 HC (1992), Showcase Presents: Justice League of America Vol. 1 TPB (2006), Justice League of America Omnibus Vol. 1 HC (2014), and Justice League of America: The Silver Age Vol. 1 TPB (2016).
The issue is the fifth Justice League story published overall (following three appearances in The Brave and the Bold #28–30 and JLA #1) and only the second issue of the self-titled ongoing series.