The Justice Machine is a fictional team of superheroes originally created by Mike Gustovich and appearing in comic books from many small publishers in the 1980s and 1990s. In addition to Gustovich, writers Tony Isabella and Mark Ellis have also had lengthy creative associations with Justice Machine. Publication history Volume one 1981–1983 (Noble Comics) The characters debuted in Justice Machine #1 (June 1981), created by writer-penciler Mike Gustovich, published by the small independent publisher Noble Comics, with a cover penciled by John Byrne and inked by Gustovich. The Justice Machine series lasted five issues, cover-dated June 1981, Winter 1981, April 1982, Fall 1982, and Winter 1983. The first three issues were published in magazine format, with the fourth and fifth issues appearing in traditional comic-size format. (The final two issues were also flip books with another Gustovich property, Cobalt Blue). Noble Comics folded after the publication of Justice Machine #5. 1983 (Texas Comics) A new publisher, Texas Comics, licensed the characters from Gustovich, putting out Justice Machine Annual #1 in 1983. The annual featured a crossover with the then-defunct Tower Comics' superhero team T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, by writer William Messner-Loebs (as Bill Loeb) and penciler Bill Reinhold. A second story, by writer-penciler Bill Willingham, introduced the superhero team the Elementals. Texas Comics had planned to bring out a bimonthly Justice Machine series, but in the end only produced only the one comic before it too folded. Volume two 1986–1989 (Comico) In 1986, Comico: The Comic Company revived Justice Machine — and the Elementals — putting out a limited series, Justice Machine Featuring the Elementals #1-4 (May-Aug. 1986), by writer Willingham and artist Gustovich, which rebooted the series' continuity from the original Noble Comics/Texas Comics series. Comico subsequently published an ongoing Justice Machine series (vol. 2) that lasted 29 issues (Jan. 1987–May 1989), plus a 1989 annual. That series' initial creative team consisted of writer Tony Isabella co-plotting with artist Gustovich (who stayed on for the whole series). Picking up from the end of the Justice Machine Featuring the Elementals, the ongoing title became one of Comico's best-selling series, selling upwards of 70,000 copies of each issue at its peak. Other writers on vol. 2 included Doug Murray (issues #14–26) and Michael Eury (issues #20–29). 1989–1991 (Innovation Publishing) Innovation Publishing published a three-issue limited series, The New Justice Machine (Nov. 1989–March 1990), by Mark Ellis with pencils by Darryl Banks and others,