Why have you summoned us to your Earth?

Here we are, the first issue of a three issue run that proved to be a milestone for me, when it came to comic books.

It was here that I first met the Seven Soldiers of Victory. This particular multi-issue storyline cemented me in the ranks of those comic book fans whose tastebuds hanker for more than just single issue fare.

The Justice League of America was the entity that drew me towards super groups, more so than to just individuals operating with super powers on their own.

The more the merrier, seemed quite appetizing to me, back in the day - the day when the comic book was king, when comic book tales were the form of literature truest to heart.

All things considered, however, while the hand that shook the world left itself indelibly etched into my memory, I actually retain less memory of this tale than of one that came along just a few issues later.

Enter good old Uncle Sam and his fellow super-powered patriots who were still fighting the Nazis, after the Nazis won World War II.

Say what?!

If you think that Starbreaker makes for a worthy adversary, try tossing a few Nazis into the mix.

This multi-issue story line was a primary inspiration for me to begin painting the toy German soldiers from my World War II play set. Between this Justice League story and my affinity for Hogan's Heroes and books about World War II, black paint meets plastic equaled Gestapo and Adolph Hitler figures.

Even the orbiting satellite that hung high in the sky, dangling from kite string over that tree limb, traces its roots to this particular tale.

Those were the days, eh?