It’s hard to believe, but the Justice Society of America hasn’t been a major presence in the DC Universe in nearly a decade. Seemingly wiped from existence by the onset of the DC’s New 52 reboot in 2011, other versions of the JSA did eventually appear, but not in their original incarnations as the elder statesmen of the DCU. But beginning with 2016’s Rebirth special, and continuing with hints in the pages of The Flash and Doomsday Clock, it was clear that DC Comics once again had plans for the original Justice Society, and it was only a matter of time before they returned.

And return they did in the dramatic final page (illustrated by Francis Manapul) of Justice League #30, as Green Lantern (John Stewart) and The Flash (Barry Allen) met their Golden Age counterparts Alan Scott and Jay Garrick, along with Sandman, Wildcat, Starman, Hawkman, Hourman, the Atom, and Doctor Fate. The JSA’s involvement in the “Justice/Doom War” story doesn’t really begin until the following issue of Justice League, though, as Barry and John try and come to terms with the idea that there was once an entire team of superheroes from the 1940s that they’ve never heard of. Writers Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV told us all about the return of DC’s original super team, beginning with how Justice League #31 artist Jorge Jimenez helped illustrate each member’s unique personality, whether it’s Jay Garrick’s casual “hands in pockets” body language or Alan Scott’s action-ready demeanor.

“I think Jorge is just such a natural talent at ‘acting’ and he loves the characters so much as well,” Snyder says. “He’s one of the biggest Justice League and JSA fans. But I just say, to James’ credit, really, in those initial issues, he took the lead on a lot of the dialogue and the back and forth between the JSA and the Justice League. I feel like that really announced the relationships, it did such great characterization with them that it gave them a very clear map. Usually, I’ll do a draft and then he’ll go over it, or he’ll do a draft and then I go over it, depending on who’s writing the issue, who’s doing the heavy lifting. That one I read and I was like, ‘There is nothing for me to change in this damn thing.’ You know what I mean? The dialogue was great. Then I had fun writing them in #32.”

Before their apparent disappearance from DC continuity in 2011, the JSA had often been placed in the current era, older and wiser from their 1940s heyday, offering advice and training younger heroes. Since All-Star Squadron ended its run in the 1980s, only a handful of modern stories have dealt with the Justice Society in their prime during World War II. But thanks to some time travel shenanigans as a result of the “Justice/Doom War” story, Barry and John meet the JSA in 1940, when they are very much at their fighting best. And it sounds like we’re going to see even more of them in this period soon.