World Famous Comics: Justice League International, Volume 2
Justice League International, Volume 2
By: Keith Giffen, J.M. Dematteis Publisher: DC Comics Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: DC Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 208 Publication Date: August 19, 2008 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: August 19, 2008
One of the greatest runs on a comic book ever Funny, exciting and entertaining. The Giffen/DeMatties run on Justice League was easily one of the greatest runs on a comic ever. I hope DC collects every issue these two comic greats wrote so that everyone can see what comic books should be like.
When comics were fun! Justice League went through a time when the bigs (Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.) weren't allowed to be in the team. Instead, Keith Giffen and company took a different method, and made JL one of the funniest books ever written. In the middle of serious missions, the team was allowed to act like normal human teammates and fought accordingly. They just don't make them like this anymore!
Another Winner from Keith Giffen and Crew I recently read `I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League' and `Formerly Known as the Justice League' enjoying them both. It's not intentional but I seem to be working my way backwards through Keith Giffen's tenure with the Justice League. These stories are a lot less wacky than `I Can't Believe' and `Formerly' although there are still quite a few jokes which unfortunately often miss their mark. The strength of this book is actually the non-joke material in particular the portions with Maxwell Lord. My first experience with Maxwell Lord was in Countdown to Infinite Crisis where he ruthlessly killed Blue Beetle. Next I got the goofball Lord from ICBINTJL and FKATJL and now this version which sits somewhere between the other two.
This book peaks at issue 13; the only one fully penciled by Keith Giffen, and then drops off dramatically. The next issue isn't even from JLI; it's an issue of the Suicide Squad which picks up where 13 left off. The Suicide Squad issue is a necessary inclusion but it's pretty weak. The finale of the book is a JLI Annual that is a dramatic departure from the other stories and in my opinion not nearly as interesting.
These stories are now 20 years old but they don't feel dated. In fact it's kind of a hoot when they feature the then current president of the United States and it's Ronald Reagan. Several of the lesser character like Blue Beetle and Booster Gold have done quite well in the past two decades and it's interesting to see them when they first became famous in the DCU. Mostly this collection is interesting because it's still relevant to more current DC storylines like Infinite Crisis and 52.
I didn't love this collection but I did enjoy it very much despite the fact that it loses a lot of steam after issue 13.
I love this comic like pie! But I'm gonna be a little harsh on this edition, and mainly tell you about some things to watch out for. The paper quality isn't all it could be, being only slightly better than the original issues' newsprint. Same goes for the reproduction -- there are several bits where the dialogue drops out and simply can't be read. Much of the volume takes place during DC's massive "Millennium" crossover, which means we get some irritating catch-up pages in between a few issues.
If you have the old "The Secret Gospel of Maxwell Lord" trade paperback, you have the same material with better reproduction. If you don't, however, buy this immediately. Because for all my griping, it's the JLI, and it's awesome.
Volume 2 of my favorite incarnation of the Justice League There was a time, back in the late '80s, when Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire were on top of the comic book world, when their title JUSTICE LEAGUE - soon changed to JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL - ruled the roost. Giffen and DeMatteis rapidly developed their own wildly popular sub-genre, the dizzy screwball comic book. This style struck a chord with the fans and was so fresh and distinctive that no one else (including Giffen and DeMatteis, in later projects) was able to quite recapture its brand of magic. But, thankfully, these Justice League stories are again available in all their nuttiness.
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL, Volume 2 reprints issues #8-13, Justice League Annual #1, and Suicide Squad #13. As layed out in issue #7 (Justice League International Vol. 1), the United Nations had just granted international status to the Justice League, now become the Justice League International. This trade collection opens with the very funny "Moving Day," as the League establishes embassies in New York, France, and Russia, and has a rough time doing it. The next two issues are the tie-ins to the Millennium crossover event, with issue #9 unveiling the Manhunter traitor to the team and #10 chronicling the heavy-hitting assembly of superheroes which invades the Manhunters' homeworld.
Issues #11 and 12 are devoted to Maxwell Lord's disturbing origin. Issue #13 begins the two-part crossover with the Suicide Squad, as Nemesis is captured and held prisoner in Russia. Well, you just know field team leader Colonel Flag isn't about to let his teammate stew in stir. So the Squad goes on a break-out mission. And when the President deploys the JLI to Russia, well, it is on! Except that if you're familiar with the roster on both teams, then you know it's not that clear cut. There are friends and allies on both teams, and it's fun seeing some engage in tepid fisticuffs, while others end up embracing. Captain Atom and Nightshade actually end up having a tickle fight. Having said that, Suicide Squad #13 is particularly noteworthy for the vicious, no-holds-barred tussle between Bats and Colonel Flag.
Bill Willingham, creator of the Elementals, provides nice artwork for Justice League Annual #1, in a tale of strange mind possession as the League members are weeded out, one by one. Keith Giffen, lest people forget, can draw a little bit as well as write. In several issues, he illustrates story segments focusing on the Guardians of the Globe, the international team the JLI had just dethroned. He also handles full interior artwork in JLI #13. But I won't mention that I've always found Giffen's pencils to be static-y (ooops).
In this span of issues, Giffen and DeMatteis are still telling fairly straightforward stories, although they've already begun to hone in on that wacky wavelength. "Moving Day" happens to be the most lighthearted story here, a day in the life in which nothing much goes right for the team as they move into their various embassies. The writing team strikes gold right away with Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, whose buddy chemistry would provide collosal dividends for the life of the series. In fact, if there were a heart and soul to this title, it has to be the goofy friendship between Booster and Beetle. Meanwhile, Guy Gardner is still in his bonked-on-the-head nice guy mode. The Black Canary is still on her feminist trip. We first learn of J'onn J'onnz's obsession with Oreo cookies. We get a glimpse of Green Flame and Ice Maiden, who would soon become integral members of the League, as Fire and Ice. And what of Batman? The eternally grim Bats continues to be a perfect foil for all the loopiness. The nice Guy Gardner and new member Rocket Red, Dmitri, especially wear on his nerves. Captain Atom is also on board. He manages to tick off Mr. Miracle. I got a chuckle out of that sequence.
Oh, and yet another member quits.
How big of a following did JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL garner? Enough to spawn several spin-off comic books. In its heyday, the Justice League was featured in JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE, JUSTICE LEAGUE QUARTERLY, and JUSTICE LEAGUE TASK FORCE. I mean, there was even a Justice League Antarctica!
Tongue-in-cheek and harebrained the stories tended to be, but Giffen and DeMatteis were writers enough that they make you care for their characters. The banter may have been excessive at times, but, frankly, the dialogue here was more realistic than some of the stuff you read in other, more conventional comic books. This incarnation of the League connected with me and a busload of other readers; from 1987 to the early '90s, it was like hanging out at a college dormitory with my best buds.
Kevin Maguire's distinctive, fantastic artwork serves as a counterpoint to Giffen and DeMatteis's brand of loony. Maguire's expressive faces and poses emphasize the writers' punchlines and give life to the action sequences. In fact, it's very fair to say that without Maguire's realistic renderings, the humor wouldn't have gone over so well.
Anyway, Justice League International Vol. 3 and Justice League International Vol 4 are just around the corner. The wackiness continues.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
