Justice League of America #54

Justice League of America #54 (On Sale: April 25, 1967) has a nice cover by Mike Sekowsky and Murphy Anderson. As a kid I remember thinking the Royal Flush Gang were cool villains, but after this appearance the disappeared for almost ten years.

Inside we have the cover story "History-Making Costumes of the Royal Flush Gang" by Gardner Fox, Mike Sekowsky and Sid Greene. Hal Jordan ends up hospitalized when he tries to deliver a treasure map for an explorer who died in a car crash. Aware that Hal is secretly Green Lantern, the Flash calls the Justice League in to complete the mission, only to find not only Hal, but also others, under attack by characters dressed as a knight, a judge, a queen, a serpent, and a Greek warrior.

Batman deduces that their foes are actually the Royal Flush Gang, since, according to the history of cards, the King of Clubs was derived from Alexander the Great, the Queen from Queen Elizabeth I, and the Jack from Sir Lancelot, while the ace is called a serpent in Spanish, and three tens, in poker, is called a Judge Duffy.

Deciphering the treasure map as best they can, the Gang locates ancient weapons and books saved from the lost libraries of the ancient world, which they use against Batman, Flash, J'onn J'onzz, Wonder Woman, and the Atom. Reprinted in the Justice League of America Archives Vol. 7 HC.

Edited by Julius Schwartz.