Justice League International: The Later Years, Part I: Formerly Known as the Justice League / I Can’t Believe It’s Not the Justice League

So there have been a number of revivals of the JLI premise over the years. The ones I know of are:

• The original creative team of Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire returned for two miniseries in the 2000s.
• There was a biweekly Justice League: Generation Lost series in the 2010s, mostly using JLI characters.
• A short-lived Justice League International series ran as part of the "New 52" initiative.
• Giffen and DeMatteis teamed up for a Justice League 3000 series (later 3001) with a similar tone to their JLI run, and some cameos as well.
• The 2020s have seen a couple minis focused on JLI alums: Blue & Gold and Fire & Ice. 

But if I were to read all of these, this project—already quite long!—might never end. So I am going to focus on the ones that particularly interest me. That would be the 2000s minis, of course, but also the more recent revivals. Maybe later I'll tackle Generation Lost, the New 52 JLI, and the JL3000/01 series.

This post covers the 2000s revivals. In addition to those two minis, I've picked up a couple single issues of interest to me. 

from JLA Showcase 80-Page Giant #1

"The Flashback of Notre Dame", from JLA Showcase 80-Page Giant #1 (Feb. 2000)
written by Greg Weisman, pencilled by Christopher Jones, inked by Mark Stegbauer, colored by Gene D'Angelo, lettered by Kurt Hathaway

Mostly I have read "continuity insert" stories by when they take place, not by when they were published, but I didn't discover this one until it was too late to do so; it's not included in the JLI International Omnibus volumes, nor is it even mentioned on the Cosmic Teams timeline. I think I discovered it when I looked up the JLE on Wikipedia. It's a JLE story, set between issues #21 and 22 of that title; Blue Jay is a member (he joined after The Extremist Vector, which finished in #21) and the JLE is still based in Paris (the Paris embassy was destroyed in #22). In fact, this story has Kilowog tinkering with the teleporter systems, which he was doing at the beginning of #22, so writer Greg Weisman clearly did his homework when it came to placement.

Anyway, this is a pretty short story about Captain Atom taking his fiancée on a trip to Paris... and of course things get zany, as they always do around the JLE. Specifically, he's attacked by gargoyles come to life, but it's all a misunderstanding that could have been avoided if he just spoke French! (As was constantly bemoaned in JLE.) It's fine enough, but surprisingly it's not very friendly to someone who primary knows Captain Atom primarily from his JLI appearances. Why is he called "Cameron Stewart" here, not "Nathaniel Adam"? I didn't even know he had a fiancée—in JLE, he was always flirting with Catherine Cobert!

from Batman: Gotham Knights #41

"Rubber Soul", from Batman: Gotham Knights #41 (July 2003)
written by Scott Beatty, art by Toby Cypress, lettered by Janice Chiang, colored by Noelle Giddings

I'm certainly not going around picking up every post-JLI appearance by a JLI character, but when researching when Elongated Man and Batman originally teamed up (as referenced in The Teasdale Imperative, see item #4 in the list below), I read an article that made this later Elongated Man/Batman teamup sound quite interesting... and Elongated Man is of course my favorite DC superhero.

The premise of this story is that Sue Dibny is visiting Gotham on a tour promoting the release of her latest mystery novel, husband Ralph in tow, when they're approached by Bruce Wayne in his "Matches Malone" criminal persona, who is looking for insight into a series of grotesque deaths happening in Gotham. They're not linked to Ralph's gingold—but once Ralph smells a mystery, he's staying involved anyway... and how couldn't a bestselling mystery author be of use too? (When was Sue Dibny established as a mystery novelist, anyway? Was that Starman? Been a long time since I read that.)

The story is a fun one; I love it when Batman screws with his former JLI comrades by giving them hints of his sense of humor, and writer Scott Beatty does a great job capturing both Ralph and Sue. Ralph is fun loving but serious about his work; Sue is cleverer than either man when it counts. Lots of good gags. The art by Toby Cypress is sometimes a bit hard to decipher but overall suitably atmospheric This book was very clearly part of a Ralph-and-Sue renaissance of the 2000s... alas, cut short by the events of Identity Crisis. Well worth tracking down if you're an Elongated Man fan.

from Formerly Known as the Justice League #4

"A[nother] New Beginning" / "Déjà Vu All Over Again" / "Dead Man's Hand" / "The Wrath of Manga Khan" / "A League of Their Own", from Formerly Known as the Justice League #1-6 (Sept. 2003–Feb. 2004), reprinted in Formerly Known as the Justice League (2004)
written by Keith Giffen & J. M. DeMatteis, pencilled by Kevin Maguire, inked by Joe Rubinstein, lettered by Bob Lappan, colored by Lee Loughridge

The first JLI revival mini sees Maxwell Lord deciding to resurrect the JLI... sort of. With the high-profile, moon-based JLA in full swing, he decides what people need is a more accessible superhero team, and so recruits some of the has-beens from the old JLI team to populate his new "Super-Buddies": Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Elongated Man, Fire, and Captain Atom, plus L-RON to once again handle administrative duties. (I don't know when L-RON stopped being house in Despero's body, as he was back in Justice League Task Force.) Captain Marvel turns down Max's offer to join up, not looking back on his JLI membership with fondness, but his sister Mary Marvel is intrigued enough to take his place.

While Giffen & DeMatteis's original run could get quite funny at times, it was also very character-based and sometimes quite serious. This reunion series isn't going for that vibe; it's all in on the comedy. There's lots of banter here, lots of back-and-forth between the characters, lots of bickering. Which is fine, because it's so very successful! I was laughing at least once per page, if not more, especially in the first couple issues, where Max and L-RON are putting the team back together. L-RON working fast food, Captain Atom's horrible new appearance, Booster's new marriage, it's all grist for the mill, and I'm sure my wife thought I was even crazier than normal given how much I was laughing. This is all enhanced by the absurd situations the new Super-Buddies end up in; I particularly liked the group of Harvard students who became incredibly dignified street hoodlums!

Reunions are always a touchy business; most of the time, you're left thinking maybe we should have just left the original. But as Max and L-RON went around reassembling the team, I felt the nostalgia wash over me. I know I read this group's original adventures just a couple months ago, but it was so delightful to see them all again just as they were in the old days!

from Formerly Known as the Justice League #6

The diversion into Roulette capturing the Super-Buddies isn't quite as funny but still entertaining; certainly it's the most interesting Routlette appearance I can ever remember reading. Things reach a suitably comic and epic climax when Lord Manga Khan of the Cluster returns to recover L-RON. Is he going to destroy the Earth... or is he just bluffing? And will the real JLA intervene when things get out of hand? Again, lots of good jokes here, especially Max's ineffectiveness, Booster and Beetle's bickering, Batman's forays into humor, Beetle reaching out to Oracle for help, J'onn's embarrassment at having led the JLI, and Plastic Man's skepticism over Elongated Man.

I think this is one of those books that totally and precisely accomplishes what it sets out to do, and thus I feel a bit churlish complaining. But I do have two nits. One, I did sometimes feel the bickering was turned up a bit too much; this people liked each other... right? In particular, I wasn't sure why Bea was so rude to Max (and vice versa), with whom I felt she had a particularly good relationship back in the day. (See, for example, Justice League Quarterly #8 in item #10 below.) The other is that the book plays continuity a little loose, kind-of-ignoring-but-not-totally things that happened to these characters after the original Giffen/DeMatteis run. For example, Max is a cyborg here (I think this comes from the Gerard Jones JLA run, which I skipped), but Wonder Woman doesn't seem to know Booster, Beetle, or Fire... even though she led the JLA when they were on it (during the Jurgens and Vado runs)! I think in both cases it comes down to the writers picking whatever they think will be funniest, and the bit when Wonder Woman doesn't get why Fire doesn't like her is funny, but it did jar to read this so shortly after the Jurgens and Vado runs.

from JLA Classified #5

I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League, from JLA Classified #4-9 (Apr.-Late Aug. 2005), reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 3 (2024)
written by Keith Giffen & J. M. DeMatteis, pencilled by Kevin Maguire, inked by Joe Rubinstein, lettered by Bob Lappan, colored by David Baron

This story came out after Identity Crisis, but is clearly set before it; it would be last hurrah for these characters. (Shortly after this, I suppose, Sue Dibny and Ted Kord would both be brutally murdered; the latter by Max Lord in a moment of character assassination. Oh, and then Max would be killed by Wonder Woman. Though the closing caption says they all lived happily ever after, so perhaps in Giffen & DeMatteis's minds, Identity Crisis and Countdown to Infinite Crisis just didn't happen.)

We get a second run of the reunion here; as they say, "Second verse, same as the first: a little bit louder and a little bit worse!" Which is to say, I enjoyed this just fine but not as much as its immediate precessor, which had a much better hit rate when it came to the jokes. I don't think anything here was bad per se, but I was definitely not laughing as much as I did in the first book. It has its moments: it was fun to see Guy and Kara again, in particular. The foray into the dark parallel universe felt like the weakest part, though it was nice when the characters finally pulled together at the end. Honestly, I wanted more of the Super-Buddies in the real world, which is when I think they're at their strongest.

from JLA Classified #9

Still, the story did rectify one of the problems I had with the previous one; we get some more serious character moments and references to the Vado run all in one! When the Super-Buddies end up in Hell (or is it?), they encounter the dead soul of Ice. Guy and Fire are desperate to get her out of the underworld, but in a classic Orpheus moment, Fire looks back and Ice vanishes. It's totally in character and totally devastating, a really well done moment from the whole creative team.

Reading these reunion stories made me a bit surprised that there hasn't been a more recent attempt to revive the JLI (or, perhaps, a JLI show). Surely its character-based workplace humor is totally the vibe Millennials love! Market it as a DC version of Parks and Rec, c'mon! Obviously I'd buy it.

This is the antepenultimate in a series of posts about Justice League International. The next covers Blue and Gold and Fire & Ice. Previous installments are listed below:

1. Justice League #1-6 / Justice League International #7-12 (May 1987–Apr. 1988)
2. Justice League International #13-21 (May 1988–Dec. 1988)
3. Justice League International #22-25 / Justice League America #26-30 / Justice League Europe #1-6 (Jan. 1989–Sept. 1989) 
4. Justice League America #31-36 / Justice League Europe #7-12 (Oct. 1989–Mar. 1990)
5. Justice League America #37 / Justice League Europe #13-21 (Apr. 1990–Dec. 1990)
6. Justice League America #38-50 / Justice League Europe #22 (May 1990–May 1991)
7. Justice League America #51-52 / Justice League Europe #23-28 (Feb. 1991–July 1991) 
8. Justice League America #53-60 / Justice League Europe #29-36 (Aug. 1991–Mar. 1992) 
9. Justice League America #61-65 / Justice League Europe #37-42 (Apr. 1992–Sept. 1992)
10. Justice League America #66-69 / Justice League Europe #43-50 (Sept. 1992–May 1993) 
11. Justice League America #70-77 / Justice League Task Force #1-3 (Jan. 1993–Aug. 1993) 
12. Justice League America #78-83 / Justice League International #51-52 / Justice League Task Force #4-8 (June 1993–Jan. 1994)
13. Justice League America #84-85 / Justice League International #53-57 / Justice League Task Force #9 (Aug. 1993–Feb. 1994) 
14. Justice League America #86-88 / Justice League International #58-64 / Justice League Task Force #10-12 (Nov. 1993–May 1994) 
15. Justice League America #89-92 / Justice League International #65-68 / Justice League Task Force #13-16 (June 1994–Sept. 1994)

Justice League International Year Five, Part II: Breakdowns (JLA #53-60 / JLE #29-36)

Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis wrapped up their five-year run on Justice League International with a massive fifteen-part crossover called Breakdowns; JLE scripter Gerard Jones would continue on that title without Giffen, but JLA would receive a wholly new creative team.

As I've said before, I read JLE in college, but I did not read its sister title, and most of the time that was fine... but it did leave this storyline totally incoherent. So, twenty years later, I was quite looking forward to finally understanding what was going on here!

Overall, these issues are sequenced perfectly in the omnibus, except that JLA Annual #5 obviously goes before JLA #53, but is placed after it. I appreciate that the omnibus includes both Green Lantern #18, a Breakdowns tie-in, and JLE #36, which Giffen didn't work on, presumably because it's branded as "Part 16 of 15" of Breakdowns. Subsequent issues of JLE by Jones will presumably never be collected, but we'll get to that in my next post, I suspect.

from Justice League America #54

"Tomorrow's League Today!" / Breakdowns, Parts 1-5 / "An Old Beginning" / "Too Much Time" / Breakdowns, Parts 6-7 / "One Angry Guy" / Breakdowns, Parts 8-16, from Justice League America Annual #5 (1991), Justice League America #53-55 & Justice League Europe #29-30 (Aug.-Oct. 1991), Justice League Quarterly #5 (Winter 1991), Justice League Europe Annual #2 (1991), Justice League Europe #31 & Justice League America #56 (Oct.-Nov. 1991), Green Lantern vol. 3 #18 (Nov. 1991), and Justice League Europe #32-36 & Justice League America #57-60 (Nov. 1991–Mar. 1992); reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 3 (2024)
plots and breakdowns by Keith Giffen; scripts by J. M. DeMatteis, Gerard Jones, and Kevin Dooley; pencils by Steve Carr (with Chris Sprouse, Marshall Rogers, Dan Jurgens, Joe Phillips, Ty Templeton, Linda Medley, Russel Braun, Keith Giffen, John Beatty, Randy Elliott, and Curt Swan), Chris Wozniak, Darick Robertson, Andy Smith, Joe Staton, Bart Sears, and Kevin Maguire; inks by Jose Marzan Jr., Bruce Patterson, John Beatty, Bob Smith, Carlos Garzon, Randy Elliott (with Michael Golden), Art Nichols, Romeo Tanghal, Terry Austin, and Robert Campanella; letters by Bob Lappan, Willie Schubert, Tim Harkins, Michael Heisler, and Albert De Guzman; colors by Gene D'Angelo, Tom McCraw, and Matt Hollingsworth

Breakdowns is a complicated story, and this ultimately proves to be its downfall, I think. The inciting incident is that Maxwell Lord gets shot, and then the UN replaces him as the head of the JLI; this ultimately turns out to be a plot by the "Queen Bee" of Bialya. Max getting shot is great, in that the early issues here have a lot of good character focus as a result; the JLA argues about what to do for this man to whom they owe so much, and even the Injustice League gets involved, but in a good way. But I felt like this was wrapped up fairly abruptly; the whole conspiracy thing seemed over before it even began. (I do wonder if plans were derailed by the fact that Captain Atom dies between parts 5 and 6, thanks to the events of the Armageddon 2001 crossover; his beef with Bialya played a big role in some of the earlier installments.)

from Justice League America #56

At the same time all this is playing out, Despero escapes Lord Manga Khan's custody (see item #6 in the list below) and Dreamslayer of the Extremists (see #5) occupies Maxwell Lord's vacant mind and uses his mental powers to take over Kooeykooeykooey. I see what Giffen and DeMatteis were going for—you have two of the biggest threats to the JLI return at its lowest point—but in practice I felt like we ended up with a story that wasn't really a unified whole, but rather lurched from point to point. A lot of the individual parts are great—I particularly liked the battle with Despero and the way it was resolved—but it doesn't feel like a story so much as a bunch of things happening. This is probably at its worst where there's a whole issue that goes nowhere about the JLI finding weird stuff in the original JLA's cave headquarters, which has been borrowed by the Doom Patrol.

It also doesn't help that it feels like the JLI breaks up and reforms like three times in fifteen parts. How many times can these people realize that despite their bickering they do all belong together? (Or there's this weird bit where the UN assigns Doctor Light and the Tasmasian Devil to join the League... and they're out like two issues later, having never done anything.) However, some of those moments work well; I loved Guy Gardner and General Glory becoming roommates and Guy getting mad because General Glory runs a soup kitchen out of their apartment! It's good to see some focus on Guy as a serious human being in GL #18, too.

from Justice League America #60

Still, the story does have its high points. There's good character moments throughout, but particularly (as I said) in the battle with Despero and in part 15, where the League regroups after the intense events of the previous fourteen issues. The final scene between J'onn and Max was genuinely moving stuff; I've come to love these guys. I know they both persist as League members in future books, but I will miss these particular versions of them nonetheless.

Weirdly, part 15 ends with the League resolving to go on and then part 16 has them disbanding, with a lot of beats that directly contradict what just happened in part 15! It's very clearly just there so that the League can triumphantly come back together in the Justice League Spectacular (see my next post) but surely it could have been handled better given Gerard Jones scripted half the installments of Breakdowns, entirely wrote part 16, and cowrote JL Spectacular!

from Justice League America Annual #5

Of the other three stories here, two are Armageddon 2001 tie-ins. This was a 1991 crossover where a guy named Waverider came from the year 2001, seeking the hero who would become the tyrant "Monarch" in his era. He had the power to touch people and see ten years into their future, which let every story tell a story about what its characters would be up to in the future. The JLA and JLE ones are both cleverly put together, giving us a series of quick glimpses of each teammember, which the reader assembles to get a complete picture. In the JLE one, Waverider is confused because he keeps glimpsing each hero in the past, but in the end, you figure out how it all came to pass. This one is mostly goofy: Rocket Red becomes an Arthurian knight, Power Girl becomes General Glory's sidekick during World War II, Elongated Man eclipses Sherlock Holmes as the greatest sleuth of Victorian London, and so on. (There is a Mrs. Miniver reference in the Power Girl story, which was not something I expected!) 

The JLA one is proper great, though; the JLA isn't together anymore in the future, but across the course of the different glimpses, you see how much these people all meant to each other amidst all the jokes. I particularly like the moment where Ice gets Guy to admit his "nice" and "mean" selves are really just the same guy. But also some great jokes, like when Mr. Miracle decides to break Blue Beetle out of prison.

Lastly, there's a Global Guardians story here, about what they do after liberated from Bialya. Despite having to squeeze a dozen-member superhero team into a small number of pages, it has them teaming up with a second dozen-member superhero team. This is... not the way to get me to ever care about these guys. 

This is the eighth in a series of posts about Justice League International. The next covers issues #61-65 of JLA and #37-42 of JLE. Previous installments are listed below:

1. Justice League #1-6 / Justice League International #7-12 (May 1987–Apr. 1988)
2. Justice League International #13-21 (May 1988–Dec. 1988)
3. Justice League International #22-25 / Justice League America #26-30 / Justice League Europe #1-6 (Jan. 1989–Sept. 1989) 
4. Justice League America #31-36 / Justice League Europe #7-12 (Oct. 1989–Mar. 1990)
5. Justice League America #37 / Justice League Europe #13-21 (Apr. 1990–Dec. 1990)
6. Justice League America #38-50 / Justice League Europe #22 (May 1990–May 1991)
7. Justice League America #51-52 / Justice League Europe #23-28 (Feb. 1991–July 1991) 

Justice League International Year Five, Part I: Nightcrawlers! / Stars in Your Eyes (JLA #51-52 / JLE #23-28)

This post covers fewer issues of the two JLI monthlies than normal, because the next post covers all sixteen issues of the Breakdowns crossover in one go, leaving just eight issues of JLA and JLE to cover here. Those are supplemented, though by three issues of Justice League Quarterly, each of which is as long as four regular issues, so it definitely evens out! The JLQ issues are roughly placed by publication order in the omnibus, but I think they read better in the gap after JLA #50 (since General Glory is in most of them) and before JLE #23 (since #23-28 make a continuous run that leads straight into Breakdowns). Note, though, that the main story of JLQ #5 probably takes place significantly earlier based on the status of Guy and Ice's relationship; I'd guess around the time of JLA #38 / JLE #21.

from Justice League Quarterly #3

"Burning Bridges" / "When You Wish..." / "The Sunnie Caper" / "Cracked Ice!" / "CATales" / "Be Careful What You Wish For!" / "Light Housekeeping" / "Jillion Dollar Legs" / "My Dinner with G'nort", from Justice League International Special #2 (1991), Justice League Quarterly #3-5 (Summer-Winter 1991), and Justice League America #51 (June 1991); reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 3 (2024)
plots by Keith Giffen and Marshall Rogers; scripted by Joey Cavalieri, Gerard Jones, Will Jacobs, J. M. DeMatteis, Mark Waid, and Bill Loebs; pencilled by Joe Staton, Mike McKone, Jason Pearson, Darick Robertson, Marshall Rogers, Jan Duursema, Mike Parobeck, and Adam Hughes; inked by Pablo Marcos, Bob Smith, Randy Elliott, John Beatty, P. Craig Russell, Andrew Pepoy, Jan Duursema, Ty Templeton, and Joe Rubinstein; lettered by Albert De Guzman, John Costanza, Bob Pinaha, Bob Lappan, and Tim Harkins; colored by Tom Ziuko, Gene D'Angelo, Tom McCraw, Matt Hollingsworth, and Rick Taylor

This is a set of standalone stories, some of them published a bit later, set in the lull of events prior to Breakdowns. In that sense, it's sort of a last hurrah for the Giffen/DeMatteis status quo, the last time we'll get to spend time with these characters in these configurations. The first story is the second (and final) issue of JLI Special, focusing on the Huntress. I actually read this a long time ago, back when I read through the 1989-90 Huntress ongoing; this serves to cap off that series, which was cancelled. Unfortunately, even though it's branded as a Justice League story and not a Huntress one, it gives no quarter to people who have been reading Justice League but not Huntress; it's filled with characters and situations that I did not know, and I found it largely incomprehensible. But it is nice to see some Joe Staton artwork.

The stories from Justice League Quarterly are hit and miss. The story from JLQ #3 is, like the one from issue #1, a long 72-page story. This one is about the Extremists again; Kilowog and Uncle Wacky, the Walt Disney pastiche who accidentally created the Extremists, travel back into the world that he, Silver Sorceress, and Bluejay came from in an effort to reverse its destruction via time travel... only because they reconfigured Imskian tech, they end up miniaturized. The members of the JLI need to track them down and stop them. It's a good premise, but I found the story meandered a lot; in particular, the bit at the end where everyone ends up in the JLA cave HQ back when Barry Allen was alive feels tacked on. Also this was the first story when I noticed that Mike McKone for some reason draws Guy Gardner with outrageously large boots. (Also, I don't think previous stories depicted Sorceress and Bluejay's world as an alternate Earth, did they?)

from Justice League Quarterly #5

JLQ #4 features the Injustice League again, but in a story not by Giffen & DeMatteis, and I didn't find it very funny, unfortunately. Its two backup stories are, thankfully better; one advances the Guy/Tora romance, with them having their first kiss, while the other is a series of three-page strips told from the perspective of Power Girl's cat. If you don't like this stuff, you don't like life! 

Lastly, JLQ #5 establishes what will be the format of the series going forward: a thirtyish-page main story with three backups (though one of the three backups is set during Breakdowns, and thus positioned later in the omnibus). The main story is okay; Guy is very much negging Ice over her confidence (this must be set earlier than #4), but proves she has enough willpower to operate his power ring and save the day through her compassion. One of the backups is about Ice again, along with Fire, as she deals with an overenthusiastic letter writer. It was fine, and I always love some Jan Duursema art (she was surely born to draw Fire). Originally I was confused why are Fire and Ice living in a rundown apartment building, not the JLI embassy, but eventually I realized it's probably set after Breakdowns, before Justice League Spectacular, when the team has broken up. Lastly, there's a General Glory story told in the style of the Golden Age. Good jokes, sure, but the real selling point is that you know Ty Templeton was born to draw this.

Finally we get back to JLA, with a funny story about J'onn, Kilowog, and G'nort going out for a night on the town. This is the last time we get a standalone comedy story from the classic Giffen/DeMatteis team, and it's a great one to go out on. I love their characterization of the long-suffering J'onn.

from Justice League Europe #23

"Foxy Ladies" / "Worm Food" / "Nightcrawlers!", from Justice League Europe #23-25 (Feb.-Apr. 1991), reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 2 (2020)
plot by Keith Giffen, scripts by Gerard Jones, pencils by Bart Sears, inks by Randy Elliott, letters by Bob Lappan, colors by Gene D'Angelo

These three issues are reprinted in volume 2 of the JLI Omnibus (because of their publication sequence), but they lead straight into issues #26-28 of JLE, which lead straight into Breakdowns, so I think they read better in volume 3. In these, we learn the secret of the Crimson Fox, and then there's a bunch of stuff about giant worms. It's fine, but a bit action-heavy, like a lot of recent JLE stories; I don't feel like the characters pop as much as they should.

"Stars in Your Eyes" / "The Vagabond King" / "The Man Who Wears the Star" / "The Battle of the Century! Decade! Year! Month?", from Justice League Europe #26-28 (May-July 1991) and Justice League America #52 (July 1991), reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 3 (2024)
plot and breakdowns by Keith Giffen, dialogue by Gerard Jones and J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Bart Sears and Trevor von Eeden, inks by Randy Elliott, letters by Bob Lappan, colors by Gene D'Angelo

from Justice League Europe #27

The last three pre-Breakdowns issues of JLE see the return of Starro. These I enjoyed a lot; there are some clever twists and turns as Starro takes over J'onn J'onnz and the JLE must figure out how to defeat the most powerful member of the League. Finally, we get a fairly ridiculous story where Blue Beetle and Guy Gardner challenge each other to a boxing match... but Ted is getting too overweight to be an effective fighter, and Guy goes too far... and even he knows it. It's another solid character-based comedy, the very last one because the issue ends with a cliffhanger that leads into Breakdowns. But more on that next time!

This is the seventh in a series of posts about Justice League International. The next covers issues #53-60 of JLA and #29-36 of JLE. Previous installments are listed below:

1. Justice League #1-6 / Justice League International #7-12 (May 1987–Apr. 1988)
2. Justice League International #13-21 (May 1988–Dec. 1988)
3. Justice League International #22-25 / Justice League America #26-30 / Justice League Europe #1-6 (Jan. 1989–Sept. 1989) 
4. Justice League America #31-36 / Justice League Europe #7-12 (Oct. 1989–Mar. 1990)
5. Justice League America #37 / Justice League Europe #13-21 (Apr. 1990–Dec. 1990)
6. Justice League America #38-50 / Justice League Europe #22 (May 1990–May 1991)

Justice League International Year Four, Part II: Glory Bound (JLA #38-50 / JLE #22)

As mentioned in my previous post (see item #5 in the list below), during the fourth year of Justice League International, the two titles were largely independent of each other. My first post for year four covered a bunch of JLE issues with one JLA; here, I do the opposite. JLE #22 is best read shortly after JLA #44 because it picks up on a small plot element that had been running through JLA, but at that point jumps over to the other series.

from Justice League America #40

"Spy" / "Blow Up" / "Hell on Earth" / "Maximum Force" / "Solicitations" / "If You Play Your Cards Right..." / "Pastiche" / "Corporate Maneuvers (and leveraged buyouts)" / "Catnap", from Justice League America #38-44 (May-Nov. 1990), Justice League Quarterly #1 (Winter 1990), and Justice League Europe #22 (Jan. 1991); reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 2 (2020)
plot & breakdowns by Keith Giffen; scripts by J. M. DeMatteis and Gerard Jones; pencils by Adam Hughes, Mike McKone, Chris Sprouse, and Marshall Rogers; inks by Joe Rubinstein, José Marzan, Jr., and B. D. Patterson; letters by Bob Lappan and Bob Pinaha; colors by Gene D'Angelo

Other than the fact that Booster Gold had left the team by this point, this might be the peak of JLA. Almost every issue is firing on all cylinders, we get hit after hit after hit. First comes a story where old-school Justice League villain Despero comes back to Earth, out for revenge after his defeat at the hands of the Detroit-era JLA. (I own the omnibus of that, but have never read it. Should I have read it before this? Oh well too late.) This means he attacks former JLA member Gypsy, murdering her entire family before the Martian Manhunter finally gets involved.

At the same time this was running in JLA, The Extremist Vector was running in JLE (indeed, I think the reason the JLA is temporarily out of contact during the early stages of that story is because that's when they're battling Despero), which just like this, was a very serious turn for an often comedic title. This story even starts with a bunch of jokes about the tabloid press getting hold of the JLA's trash! But while the turn into darkness in Extremist Vector didn't work for me, the one here did. I think the difference is that this turn into darkness feels earned, in that just like the comedy does, it springs from the characters. Specifically, the story—written as always by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis, and beautifully pencilled by Adam Hughes and—focuses on the Martian Manhunter, the alien man who found his home and his family on Earth in the Justice League, and thus responds particularly strongly to an enemy who threatens that family. The battle with Despero is brutal, but the core of the story is the way it pushes J'onn to his limits in order to protect those near and dear to him.

I was even surprised by how effective the death of Mister Miracle was. He's not really dead; this is the android double Scott for some reason deployed to cover for him back during JLI Special #1, but all of his teammates think he's really dead, and it's genuinely sad. In particular, the way that Beetle lashes out at Booster is really well done. So while I do think this subplot is one of the series's rare misfires, I did really enjoy what was done with it here.

from Justice League America #44

After this, we move back into more comedic territory, notably with a story about the JLA trying to recruit more members... and failing... except that out of respect for their fallen comrade, the JLA is joined by Orion and Lightray of the New Gods! This is, of course, hilarious. Orion and Lightray don't stay on the team for long, but Orion in particular is comedy gold. From this we go into a story about a tabloid journalist who ends up fleecing a bunch of down-on-their-luck supervillains in a poker game and ends up with all their equipment. Farce ensues, of course; these issues had a lot of fun stuff going on in them, especially the mediocre supervillains all chilling in a bar.

Two more stories complete this set. This first is the first issue of Justice League Quarterly. I assume the Justice League titles were doing really well sales-wise at this point, because now not only do we have two monthly ongoings, but also a new quarterly ongoing... but as its issues were all eighty pages long, it was like getting a whole extra monthly comic. This gives Giffen, DeMatteis, and their collaborators a broader canvas; here, they use that to tell a story about what Booster Gold has been up to since quitting the JLA. He becomes the leader of a new, corporate-backed superhero team. I found it surprisingly cute, as this group of B- and C-level players tries to navigate doing what's right in a world where that's difficult, and the end up rising above their origins. Also, we get to meet one of Maxwell Lord's ex-wives!

Finally, there's a JLE story where Power Girl's cat is kidnapped by a couple dumb young louts hoping for a payday who end in over their heads because, 1) that cat is awful (at one point it chews through a wall!), and 2) a evil consortium is attempting to kidnap the cat for their own purposes. This is the perfect set-up for comedy, and of course I loved it. 

from Justice League Quarterly #2

"Designing Humans!" / "Running Hot and Cold!", from Justice League Quarterly #2 (Spring 1991), reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 3 (2024)
plot & breakdowns by Keith Giffen, scripts by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Tom Artis and Aldrin Aw, inks by Randy Elliott (with Bruce Patterson) and Macolm Jones III, letters by Bob Pinaha, colors by Gene D'Angelo

This issue of JLQ is collected in volume 3 of the JLI Omnibus, but must take place during volume 2, before issue #45 of JLA, because Oberon hasn't yet quit. Mister Nebula (a Galactus parody) comes to Earth to seek the wayward Scarlet Skier (a Silver Surfer parody). I was a bit worried this would be taking a good joke and spreading it too thin, but I needn't have worried; anything featuring the neurotic Scarlet Skier is always good stuff... especially if you toss in G'nort. It was great. I also really enjoyed the back-up, where Fire and Ice go shopping together and run into some old enemies of the Silver Age Flash, Heatwave and Captain Cold, who complain that superheroes just aren't as good as they used to be.

from Justice League America #47

"A Date with Density, Part Two: Hell on Ice!" / Glory Bound / "Ktrrogarrx!", from Justice League America #45-50 (Dec. 1990–May 1991), reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 2 (2020)
plot & breakdowns by Keith Giffen; scripts by J. M. DeMatteis and Kyle Baker; pencils by Russell Braun, Linda Medley (with Paris Cullins), and Kyle Baker; inks by John Beatty, Jose Marzan (with Dave Elliott), and Kyle Baker; letters by Bob Lappan; colors by Gene D'Angelo

Finally, we get a one-off story about Guy Gardner and Ice going on another date, while Blue Beetle is up to some hijinks. The panel where Guy sees what's in his bed is comedy gold, perfectly timed. Beautiful stuff. This leads into a five-part storyline about Guy discovering that a WWII-era comic book character he used to read about when he was a kid, a thinly veiled Captain America pastiche named General Glory, was actually a real person. I could see that the jokes underlying General Glory could probably grow thin fast, but they are the exact kinds of jokes I love, and I really enjoyed the storyline. (The whole thing finishes out with a weird backup story about Guy Gardner visiting the DC offices to complain. I didn't really get it but sure, why not.)

This is the sixth in a series of posts about Justice League International. The next covers issues #51-52 of JLA and #23-28 of JLE. Previous installments are listed below:

1. Justice League #1-6 / Justice League International #7-12 (May 1987–Apr. 1988)
2. Justice League International #13-21 (May 1988–Dec. 1988)
3. Justice League International #22-25 / Justice League America #26-30 / Justice League Europe #1-6 (Jan. 1989–Sept. 1989) 
4. Justice League America #31-36 / Justice League Europe #7-12 (Oct. 1989–Mar. 1990)
5. Justice League America #37 / Justice League Europe #13-21 (Apr. 1990–Dec. 1990)

Justice League International Year Four, Part I: The Extremist Vector (JLA #37 / JLE #13-21)

The fourth year of Justice League International largely avoids significant crossovers, except for the two-issue Furballs one right at the beginning, and a small thread that goes from JLA to JLE right at the end, so for it I'll first do a post that covers most of the year's JLE issues with a single JLA issue, then a post that covers most of the year's JLA issues with a single JLE issue.

from Justice League America Annual #4

"What's Black and White and Black and White and Bl—⁠" / Furballs, from Justice League America Annual #4 (1990) and Justice League America #37 & Justice League Europe #13 (Apr. 1990), reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 2 (2020)
plot & breakdowns by Keith Giffen; scripts by J. M. DeMatteis; pencils by Mike McKone, Adam Hughes, and Chris Sprouse; inks by Bob Smith, Art Nichols (assists by Joe Rubinstein & Jack Torrance), and K. S. Wilson; letters by Bob Lappan and Albert De Guzman; colors by Gene D'Angelo

This sequence begins with JLA Annual #4, which very well may be the comic peak of JLI. In this issue, the Injustice League accidentally foils a robbery and ends up being branded heroes, so they decide to go legit and offer their services to Maxwell Lord. Much to everyone's consternation, Max decides to take them on—but makes them the JLI's Antarctic branch, where they can't cause any problems, and adds Gnort and the Scarlet Skier to the mix, to keep them out of trouble too. What results is hilarity, as the JLAnt soon comes under attack from the remnants of a mad scientist's experiment left in Antarctica, an army of penguins infused with killer piranha genes. I read this in bed while sick, and it cheered me up immensely; I was cackling over something on basically every page.

After this comes the two-part Furballs crossover, where a stray cat makes its way into the JLA embassy, defeating (among others) Guy Gardner; at the end, it escapes into the teleport tubes, making its way to the JLE embassy, where it causes still more issues... but ultimately ends up adopted by Power Girl. This is the kind of character-based irreverent comedy one comes to JLI for.

from DC Retroactive: Justice League America 1990s #1

"Apokolips No!", from DC Retroactive: Justice League America 1990s #1 (Oct. 2011), reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 3 (2024)
plot & breakdowns by Keith Giffen, script by J. M. DeMatteis, art by Kevin Maguire, colors by Rosemary Cheetham, letters by Carlos M. Mangual

This is the last-ever JLI story by Giffen, DeMatteis, and Maguire, written as part of 2011's DC Retroactive event. I read it around this point, but it's chronologically unplacable. It must go before Furballs (JLA #37 and JLE #13) because Booster is still on the team, and he quits at the end of JLA #37, but it also must go after Furballs, because Power Girl has her cat. Also, at the time of JLA #37, Mister Miracle had been replaced by an android duplicate, but this is definitely the regular Mister Miracle. Additionally, it seems to precede JLA Annual #4, because its events set up the Injustice League becoming JLAnt... though in a totally different way to what we see in JLA Annual #4. I did toy with the idea that maybe it (along with JLA Annual #4) could happen during Furballs, but, no, that's not really possible.

I'm not mad about any of this; it was twenty years later, and the creative team's main objective was surely to provide an entertaining story with a classic line-up of characters and set-up, even if that set-up never quite existed at one moment in time. At that level, it succeeds perfectly: more comedy with the Injustice League is always worthwhile, everyone's reaction to Power Girl turning up with her cat is great. A great way for this great creative team to go out. (That said, it did bother me that in this story, Fire is skeptical about shopping and Ice loves it, the exact opposite of their characterizations in the original 1990s stories.)

from Justice League Europe #21

"Bialya Blues" / "You Oughtta Be in Pictures" / The Extremist Vector / "Rue Britannia" / "Blood, Sweat and Tabloids", from Justice League Europe Annual #1 (1990) and Justice League Europe #14-21 (May-Dec. 1990), reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 2 (2020)
plot & breakdowns by Keith Giffen; scripts by J. M. DeMatteis and Gerard Jones; pencils by Linda Medley, Bart Sears, and Marshall Rogers; inks by Jose Marzan Jr., Pablo Marcos, Randy Elliott, Bob Smith, and Joe Rubinstein; letters by Albert De Guzman; colors by Gene D'Angelo

This run of JLE stories begins with an annual focused on a tussle with the Global Guardians, who are now operating out of Bialya, under (unbeknownst to most of them) the control of the Queen Bee); it also sees Gerard Jones take over as scripter of the title, a position he will continue in even once Keith Giffen departs as plotter. I liked the initial Global Guardians arc in JLE #1-6 (see item #3 below), but beyond that, it never quite works for me; I think fundamentally there are just too many Global Guardians, and I feel like every story with them piles on still more of them.

After this comes a fun story about the JLE (along with Fire and Ice) going to Cannes and encountering a guy whose power is to become real-life versions of movie characters; here, he almost accidentally becomes Godzilla. This leads, though, into probably the most serious JLE story of all, The Extemist Vector, where the Extremists, who destroyed the world the Silver Sorceress and Bluejay came from with nuclear weapons, make their way to the DC universe and attempt to do the same thing there. This is probably the low point of the JLE I've read so far (as the point I write this, I'm up to issue #31). It's not that I think JLI can't be serious, but the seriousness here seems largely independent of the characters; this story is five issues long but really tells us nothing about them as people. Compare the next JLA story after this (the one with Despero), which is also very serious, but manages to also have a lot of heart and character moments. Part of the problem is the Extremists themselves, who are harbingers of the worst sorts of 1990s "extreme" villains.

The next two issues bring some significant changes to the JLE; in #20, their Paris embassy is inadvertently destroyed, and in #21, they settle into the JLI's London location. I did not find #20 very funny, and it was quite obviously intended to be so; I do remember Gerard Jones doing some funny work later on in this title, but he hasn't really hit that here yet. I did enjoy the next issue more, which has some good bits like Captain Atom's sheer joy at learning he's been relieved of command of the JLE, and Power Girl's cat killing local dogs! I am a bit sad to lose the Paris setting, because it led to good cultural clash; thankfully, Giffen and Jones have the grumpy French police inspector who hates the JLE, Camus, dispatched to London along with them.

This is the fifth in a series of posts about Justice League International. The next covers issues #38-50 of JLA and #22 of JLE. Previous installments are listed below:

1. Justice League #1-6 / Justice League International #7-12 (May 1987–Apr. 1988)
2. Justice League International #13-21 (May 1988–Dec. 1988)
3. Justice League International #22-25 / Justice League America #26-30 / Justice League Europe #1-6 (Jan. 1989–Sept. 1989) 
4. Justice League America #31-36 / Justice League Europe #7-12 (Oct. 1989–Mar. 1990)

Justice League International Year Three, Part II: The Teasdale Imperative (JLA #31-36 / JLE #7-12)

This post covers the second half of the third year of Justice League International, taking us up to JLA's thirty-sixth issue and JLE's twelfth. This sequence begins with a four-part crossover, The Teasdale Imperative, that alternates between the two titles, then each series finishes out the year with four issues of its own.

Unlike in volume 1 of Justice League International Omnibus, where there was some attempt to put the stories in a reading order, the ones in volume 2 seem to just be interwoven in publication order. I don't think it works terribly well to be jumping back and forth between JLA and JLE when they are each running multipart stories that don't intersect, so I did my best to read the book in an order that made more sense. 

from Justice League Europe #7

So, to that end, I recommend following Teasdale Imperative with issues #33-36 of JLA and then doubling back to read issues #9-12 of JLE. Justice League International Special #1 is placed later in the book, but I recommend reading it between issues #10 and 11 of JLE, since Metamorpho's comments about wanting to see his kid indicate he hasn't yet gone looking for him. (Obviously at some point I will need to do a "reading order" post for the series.)

The Teasdale Imperative / "Nitwits, Knuckleheads & Poozers!" / "Club JLI" / "Lifeboat" / "Gnort by Gnortwest" / "Under the Skin" / "After the Fox!" / "The Show Must Go On...and On...and On...and On..." / "Family Ties" / "Bringing Up Baby", from Justice League America #31-32 & Justice League Europe #7-8 (Oct.-Nov. 1989), Justice League America #33-36 (Dec. 1989–Mar. 1990), Justice League Europe #9-10 (Dec. 1989–Jan. 1990), Justice League International Special #1 (1990), and Justice League Europe #11-12 (Feb.-Mar. 1990); reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 2 (2020)
plot and layouts by Keith Giffen; scripts by J. M. DeMatteis, Bill Loebs, and Len Wein; pencils by Adam Hughes, Bart Sears, Tom Artis, Art Nichols, and Joe Phillips; inks by Joe Rubinstein, Pablo Marcos, Art Nichols, Bob Smith, Jose Marzon,* Bruce D. Patterson, and Bart Sears; letters by Albert De Guzman, Bob Lappan, and John Costanza; colors by Gene D'Angelo

This run begins with The Teasdale Imperative, a crossover between the two ongoings; the JLA is summoned to a village that the JLE has gone into... and hasn't come out of. I don't think this series is incapable of doing serious, and Giffen in particular has done a great job in portentous mode in other stories (notably his "Five Year Later" run on Legion of Super-Heroes, which was amazingly coming out the same time as this; the man was on fire in 1989!), but I felt like Teasdale Imperative—a somewhat grim story where the team faces down vampires—didn't quite hit the mark. I think maybe, fundamentally, I just don't care about the Gray Man or the Lords of Chaos and Order; I also never really got into the Gray Man story in volume 1 (see entry #1 in the list below).

from Justice League America #33

After this, we shift gears into a run of very comic JLA stories. First, Guy Gardner reunites with fellow Green Lantern Corps member Kilowog, who's at loose ends following the dismantling of the Green Lantern Corps. (I feel like the GLC was being disbanded or destroyed every couple weeks in the 1980s and '90s.) It's a fun story; the two have a knockdown fight... but it's all in good spirits! 

This leads right into the notorious "Club JLI" story, where Blue Beetle and Booster Gold try to make some money by opening a casino on the tropical island of Kooeykooeykooey, which is technically a JLI embassy (following the events of JLI Annual #3; see item #3 below). I found this hilarious: the overly chill but well-educated islanders are always a good gag, Major Disaster and Big Sur of the Injustice League clean out the club financially thanks to card-counting, the island turns out to be alive, Maxwell Lord and a group of JLA members float around the Pacific on a shrinking iceberg. If you don't love this stuff, you don't like life. (Well, maybe you just have different tastes in superhero comics... but surely not very good ones.) Lastly, we get another Gnort story, where he faces down his archenemesis the Scarlet Skier, who he once defeated by accident. Again, hilarity ensues. (The Scarlet Skier is a Silver Surfer parody; instead of working for a massive cosmic force that eats planets, he works for one that redecorates them, but has terrible taste.)

from Justice League Europe #10

Jumping over to JLE, we follow up The Teasdale Imperative by a story where Power Girl, who was injured during the crossover, needs to undergo emergency surgery... only her invulnerability makes it impossible. Sue Dibny has the bright idea to summon Superman, who does it with his heat vision. This issue mostly seems to be there to set up a reduction in Power Girl's powers; I've read enough comics to know an editorial edict when I see one, but it's still a story with some neat moments. Then we get a story where Crimson Fox, a Parisian superhero, joins the team while foiling a group of robbers so incompetent they accidentally try to hide in the JLE embassy.

In the middle of this is the first JLI Special, a one-shot focused on Mister Miracle, setting up some changes for his ongoing series. I actually read this many years ago, but found it much more comprehensible in context... but I didn't really like it. Particularly, I don't think Scott's decision to replace himself with an android duplicate and not tell anyone, even his wife, really makes any sense at all. Like, I get it's there to set up some comedy, but there has to be a basic level of character plausibility for the comedy to work. (Note that the issue is scripted by Len Wein, as opposed to regular JLI scripter J. M. DeMatteis.)

from Justice League Europe #12

The last two issues here focus on Metamorpho tracking down his son. (The son was born while Metamorpho was dead, so he's never met him.) In the first, he faces down Guy Gardner, in the second, the Metal Men. I always like Metamorpho (at least, as he's characterized in JLE, as a Three Stooges–loving bruiser), and he's particularly well served by Bart Sears's exaggerated art style. To be honest, the whole story seems like an excuse for Sears to go all out with wackiness... and is all the better for it.

This is the fourth in a series of posts about Justice League International. The next covers issues #37 of JLA and #13-21 of JLE. Previous installments are listed below:

1. Justice League #1-6 / Justice League International #7-12 (May 1987–Apr. 1988)
2. Justice League International #13-21 (May 1988–Dec. 1988)
3. Justice League International #22-25 / Justice League America #26-30 / Justice League Europe #1-6 (Jan. 1989–Sept. 1989) 

* I assume this is a misspelling of José Marzán, Jr. 

Justice League International Year Three, Part I: How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm after They've Seen Paree? (JLI #22-25 / JLA #26-30 / JLE #1-6)

from Justice League America #30

Here, we hit the era where Justice League International was doing so well that it was split into two titles. In JLI #24, Max and Oberon decide to add more members to the group, but also to move half of them to the JLI's Paris embassy. Existing JLI members Captain Atom and Rocket Red are put on the new Paris team, joined by new members such as Metamorpho the Element Man, the Elongated Man, Animal Man, Power Girl, and the Flash. Thus, with issue #26, Justice League International is retitled Justice League America, in time for the debut of Justice League Europe. Like JLA, JLE has plot and breakdown by Keith Giffen with scripts by J. M. DeMatteis; Bart Sears pencils with Pablo Marcos on inks.

As I said back in installment #1 (see list below), I read JLE back when I was in college, but at the time I had not read any other JLI titles. So I got a big glow of nostalgia returning to these characters after twenty years... but also now bits of it make a lot more sense to me, like who "Queen Bee" is and why Jack O'Lantern is so mad at the JLE! 

My reading of the last third of the stories collected in the Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 1 was a lot more straightforward than those in the first two thirds, because this time I had no stories outside of the omnibus to work in. I did still tweak the order, though; the omnibus places JLE #1-6 almost at the very end, after JLA #30, but I recommend reading JLE #1-3 after JLI #25, since JLE #1-3 and JLA #26-29 occur simultaneously.

from Justice League International vol. 1 #22

"Little Murders" / "Gross Injustice" / "The Road Less Travelled" / "Hostage!" / "Across a Crowded Room..." / "Repossessions" / "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm after They've Seen Paree?" / "Somebody Up There Hates Us!" / "Another Fine Mess!" / "Slice and Dice!, or There's Something Very Wrong with the Blue Beetle!" / "Mindswap" / "A Date with Density!" / "Nabu on in My Mind" / "Teenage Biker Mega-Death!" / "Bialya Burning!" / "Stagg Party!" / "No More Teachers' Dirty Looks...?!" / "Around the World with the Justice League" / "The Men I Never Was", from Justice League International vol. 1 #22-25 (Jan.-Apr. 1989), Justice League Europe #1-3 (Apr.-June 1989), Justice League America #26-30 (May-Sept. 1989), Justice League Europe #4-6 (July-Sept. 1989), and Justice League International Annual vol. 1 #3 (1989); reprinted in Justice League International Omnibus, Volume 1 (2017)
plot & breakdowns by Keith Giffen; scripts by J. M. DeMatteis and Dave Levin; pencils by Kevin Maguire, Ty Templeton, Dean Haspiel, Mike McKone, Bart Sears, Bill Willingham, and Tim Gula; inks by Joe Rubinstein, Dean Haspiel, Pablo Marcos, Dick Giordano, Bruce Patterson, and Tim Gula

The first two issues are are tie-ins to Invasion!, where an alliance of aliens invades the Earth. Most of the JLI is summoned to help Wonder Woman on an island in the South Pacific, while Booster Gold and Oberon mind the shop back at the New York embassy. The highlight of the first issue is definitely its opening pages, where the aliens send in an miniaturized strike force that immediately knocks out Booster, meaning Oberon must save the day. The second issue is set after the invasion, when the JLI comes up against the group of largely incompetent criminals who have branded themselves the Injustice League. My favorite is their leader, Major Disaster, who goes on about how failing political science caused him to miss his destiny... becoming a borough president in New York!

from Justice League International vol. 1 #24

After this, we get issue #24, which is an oversized issue that contains three stories, and the key one that splits the team into three groups. The first two stories are fun, particularly the second, a Maxwell Lord one where he gets taken hostage, but by the end, the hostage-takers are working for him, and they've paid Booster and Beetle enough to install a nice big tv in the JLI headquarters, but the third is a hoot. In this one, a bunch of prospective heroes are invited to a soiree at the JLI embassy... at the exact same time the miniaturized strike force Oberon imprisoned in some roach motels returns to normal size. Too many heroes all in a big group try to take them down, just getting in each others' ways.

Last in this sequence is a Beetle and Booster–focused issue, where they once again undertake their repossession business (see Justice League International Annual #2). It has lots of good jokes... and then gets surprisingly serious. Well done stuff.

from Justice League Europe #1

As alluded to above, I had a warm glow of nostalgia reading the JLE issues, especially #1, which mostly focuses on the character interactions on moving day. I love these characters, and I love the way they play off each other; obviously Kevin Maguire is a great artist, but Bart Sears and Pablo Marcos are also great in their own way, a bit cartoonier, but strongly expressive. The actual story here is fine, but what makes it all work are the character moments, particularly those revolving around Ralph and Sue Dibny. So many good jokes! You can feel the writers finding their way into what works for some of these characters (e.g., Metamorpho, Power Girl), but the Elongated Man and his wife click right from the off, and Rocket Red is starting to come into his own.

The work of genius here, though, is of course the issue where both the JLE and the Injustice League end up enrolled in the night school French class and cause a diplomatic incident. 

from Justice League International Annual vol. 1 #3

In the stretch of JLA issues collected here, the Blue-Beetle-attacks-Max-Lord subplot is surprisingly dark for this series often painted as a "sitcom," but I particularly enjoyed the story about a teenage street punk getting hold of Big Barda's mega rod... and being seduced by the call of Apokolips. Again, it's pretty dark, showing a side of Barda that's easy to miss—every time she goes into battle, she's resisting the power of this horrific weapon. Also we get a couple appearances of the Helen Bertinelli Huntress, before her retooling as a Gotham scion, when she battled gangsters on the streets of New York. I liked that series, and so was glad to see her here. We also get Ice's attempt to find the nice side of Guy by going on a date with him... which ends in dismal failure. (My favorite part of this was the crook who got out of the supervillain game, but then thinks Guy is after him when it's actually a total coincidence.)

Lastly, we get JLI Annual #3, which has two stories. One is focused on the Martian Manhunter and his trauma, but I felt like this didn't quite come off even if I liked the idea. The other is good fun, though; the JLI tours their embassies around the world, while Martian Manhunter tries to catch up to them with a delegation from a tropical island. Hilarity ensues, of course, but I particularly enjoyed the jokes about how all the tropical islanders had gone to the U.S. for college.

This is the third in a series of posts about Justice League International. The next covers issues #31-36 of JLA and #7-12 of JLE. Previous installments are listed below:

1. Justice League #1-6 / Justice League International #7-12 (May 1987–Apr. 1988)
2. Justice League International #13-21 (May 1988–Dec. 1988)