I wonder if the All-Star companion Vol. 2 sheds any light on this? I’m gonna have to buy it.

Are sure the skies weren’t showing the red stuff that was the signature of the Crisis? That’s my memory of it. I also remember that COIE went on for an ungodly long time in ASS (but that this was because Roy got permission to not reflect the end of it there until well after everybody else did so as to have time to properly wrap up the strictly Earth–2 aspects of his series). Still, you do have the Quality heroes trip there being less than totally due to the Crisis, I admit.

quoting from pages 19-20 of All-Star Squadron # 31 Uncle Sam recounts how he first traveled from Earth-2 to Earth-X:

“…been right busy whuppin’ Nazi spies, like I was a few months back back when I sudden-like felt somethin’ throbbin’ in my head. I knit my brow and took to concentratin’ right hard, and pretty soon a red-white-an’-blue vortex popped up outa thin air. Us Yankees bein’ inquisitive types, I just naturally stepped right in — steppin’ out into what I knew right off was another America — on another Earth, pretty near like the one I just left — ‘cept for a difference or three: there the Axis Powers were doin’ even better than they are in this world — and there wasn’t a single masked mystery-man to help fight ‘em — can you believe it?”

He recounts this story again in # 32 with a few less apostrophes and while under the influence of Wonder Woman’s Magic Lasso.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover in All-Star Squadron didn’t occur until # 50.

You are quite right, and I do owe Roy something of an apology, as he did indeed try to undo his mistake with the Quality characters (although I do have to wonder why he didn’t acknowledge this in COMPANION). It was a poor job, unfortunately, as I recall that they traveled to Earth–X via disturbances in the space–time continuums caused by the Crisis, which would leave them never there in truly pre–Crisis continuity (this is—or would have been had it been acceptable—one of many pieces of evidence that put the lie to DC’s denial of the fan suggestion that the Multiverse became one Universe in multiple steps, but never mind that).

I’m so there for volume three.

Plus Jerry Ordway’s early artwork in this series is beautiful.

I’ll definitely be ordering a copy of Volume 2 now.

Thanks!

Kurt

Ted Watson makes a valid point about All-Star Squadron and its continuity problems. In fact, not only do I agree with his criticism but so does Roy Thomas, who in hindsight believes he made a mistake in that regard, especially regarding the Earth-X/Quality Comics characters. In fact, I address this very question in the essay I’m currently writing… with Roy’s blessing.

Kurt

I must admit, though, that there’s something very weird about seeing the Spectre run.

Big deal. It’s a shame that SOMEBODY didn’t fact–check him when he STARTED on ALL–STAR SQUADRON. He “established” that ALL of DC’s 1940s–active superheroes were on Earth–2 (in his COMPANION book, he stated that he intended to include Captain Marvel and company, but the powers that be said no) even though many of them had then quite recently been established as native to other universes of the DC multiverse. Manhunter (Paul Kirk version) (via the modern Batman’s involvement in his DETECTIVE series’ finale) and Air Wave (Larry Jordan being blood kin to Hal Jordan, aka the Silver Age Green Lantern) were identified by 1970s stories as E–1 residents; many of the Quality comics heroes were on an Earth where the Nazis won WWII, Earth–X (none of the JSA, or JLA, members at hand recognized any of them, eliminating the possibility of exact counterparts on 2, or 1 either); Zatanna using the JLA to search for her father Zatara (and both of them continuing to live there afterwards) put HIM on E–1; and in his Answer Man column Bob Rozakis flatly placed Steel the Indestructible Man on E–1 when somebody asked (I have absolutely no idea what if anything was actually said to this point in the character’s own comic, but the fact that somebody asked Bob suggests nothing was, which WOULD leave the issue open, wouldn’t it?). More subtly (I freely admit), a then recent JLA–JSA cross–over had established E–2′s Atlantis as that of the Golden Age Wonder Woman stories, which is definitely not the one seen in Aquaman’s GA origin, putting him somewhere else (this very story put Cap. Marv. and several other Fawcett characters on Earth-S, and if that’s why the bosses said no to Roy putting THEM on E–2, why didn’t they catch some of the others?). I literally find it impossible to believe that ASS didn’t get at least a few letters pointing out some of this, even though none were printed.

another great column too, greg.