60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 59

Justice League America #59
Feb. '92
Breakdowns Part 13
"Ex-Factor"
It's the final stretch for those tired, old racehorces:
Keith Giffen, plot & layouts
J.M. DeMatteis, writ & wit
Bart Sears, pencils
Elliott/Beatty, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin Dooley, coming around the far turn
Andy Helfer, headed for the glue factory

Justice League Europe #35
Feb. '92
Breakdowns Part 14
"The Ceremony of Innocence"
A fond farewell from the battered and weary team of Gerard Jones, Darick Robertson, Romeo Tanghal, Willie Schubert, Gene D'Angelo, Kevin Dooley, and the most battered and most weary: Keith Giffen and Andy Helfer.


Marking the return of Kevin Maguire to cover duties (a great concept somewhat poorly executed), JLA finds the League taking its fight to KooeyKooeyKooey, where Dreamslayer (still in Max's body) has ensorcelled the natives into mindless obedience. Bart Sears--again aided and abetted by the one-two punch of Elliott and Beatty--delivers another solid issue, and one which ends on a serious cliffhanger: While Silver Sorceress bleeds to death on KooeyKooeyKooey, J'onn, Beetle, Metamporpho, BlueJay, Power Girl, Rocket Red and Fire are all brain-drained by Dreamslayer, who turns these Leaguers into "the new Extremists" and sends them back to the JLI's cave HQ to wipe out their fellow teammates.

In JLE, Darick Robertson (with inks this time by Romeo Tanghal) turns in his best issue to date, with stunning art and pitch-perfect layouts. After his somewhat brazen disregard for the page grid in recent issues, he here shows some real restraint that supports the issue's somber tone. However, he does have the chance to experiment with some more creative layouts when Silver Sorceress lures Dreamslayer into her own mind for a final showdown. As her body lay dying, Silver Sorceress finally manages to destroy Dreamslayer, and in so doing frees the captive minds and bodies of Maxwell Lord, much of the Justice League and all of the surviving inhabitants of KooeyKooeyKooey. Before dying, she also manages an explanation of sorts for the disparity between her name and the color of her costume: Turns out, Silver Sorceress was colorblind.

Worthy of note is this "Announcement!" from "Justice Log," detailing the fates of the League books and creative staff:

Since it's already a done deal (and so there's nothing you can do about it--NYEAH-HA-HA!) here is the new regular creative team on JLA/E (Kaiser roll, please): with #61 Dan Jurgens will be the main force behind JLA, both as writer and penciller. Over at JLE will be Gerard Jones, writer, and Ron Randall, penciller, with #37. Brian Augustyn, editor of THE FLASH, OUTLAWS, THE JAGUAR, THE FLY, and THE SHADOW STRIKES! will be the new editor. When asked what he thought about editing this...cacophony, Brian was heard to say "HA-HA-BWAH!" So expect something completely different. We think that all Justice League fans--yes, every single solitary one of you--will enjoy what's going to happen here.

Keith Giffen will still be plotting LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, the LOBO PARAMILITARY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (not for the weak-hearted), a new ECLIPSO series, and a fun, fun, fun title with a new hero called THE HECKLER.

What are those two crazy editorial kids going to do? Andy now has the esteemed position of Group Editor for Experimental Projects at Piranha Press, so expect interesting new things from that quarter. Kevin is now the editor of GREEN LANTERN (with more spin-offs to come), AQUAMAN, RAGMAN, THE HECKLER, and more.

Both issue's lettercols offer cover credits. From "Justice Log": "Kevin Maguire, pencils; Terry Austin, inks; Bob Le Rose, colors." From "Europinion": "Darick Robertson, pencils; Romeo Tanghal, inks; Bob Le Rose, colors."

See you in seven days for Week 60 of 60 Weeks with the Justice League, or: The End (as we know it).


The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #41/17, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #48/24, #49/25, #50/26, #51/27, #52/28, #53/29, #54/30, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #58/34, #60/36


All images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 58

Justice League America #58
Jan. '92
Breakdowns Part 11
"Mayhem"
No--"Breakdowns" ain't over yet! So, drop to your knees and say a prayer for those forgotten, overworked souls:
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, script
Bart Sears, penciller
Beatty & Elliott, inkers
Bob Lappan, letterist
Gene D'Angelo, colorer
Kevin Dooley, slave driver
Andy Helfer, slave owner

Justice League Europe #34
Jan. '92
Breakdowns Part 12
"Blood-Dimmed Tide"
Keith Giffen--plot & breakdowns
Gerard Jones--dialogue
Darick Robertson--pencils
Randy Elliott--inks
Willie Schubert--letters
Gene D'Angelo--colors
Kevin Dooley--associate editor
Andy Helfer--editor


After the lackluster performance of December 91, the "Breakdowns" team rings in 1992 with what is hands down the best issue yet of this storyline. I was hesitant going into JLA #58--it's one of those dreaded "punch-up" issues, continuing the three-way battle between the League, Despero and Lobo--but then DeMatteis upped his game significantly, turning in a phenomenal script with some of the best (and most consistent) humor of this book's entire run. Then, making things better still, Bart Sears tackled the penciling duties (with inking responsibilities shared by John Beatty and Randy Elliott), and man-oh-man are his skills a sight for sore eyes after the Wozniak debacle. Here are some of the issue's highlights:

J'onn finally uses his ability to shapeshift in a fight...

...and then he gets fed up with the whole show. Yet again.

Metamorpho gets in a one liner at Guy's expense...

...while Guy and Lobo knock the blue blazes out of one another.

Blue Beetle achieves, but fails to recognize, spiritual illumination...

...and then goes on to destroy the Lord Havok robot, who's been terrorizing the cave.

And most poignantly of all, L-Ron sacrifices himself so that Despero can be stopped.

JLE then picks up the thread, but the package isn't quite as dynamite as JLA. Most regrettably, despite some fine penciling, Darick Robertson does a lot of unnecessary breaking of the grid, and the layouts strike me as looking more "forced" than "creative." Happily, though, story-wise, L-Ron lives on ... after a fashion: In JLA, he had Kilowog turn him into a controller for Despero's malfunctioning collar, and in this issue, when Kilowog uses said controller, it zaps L-Ron's "consciousness" into Despero's body. It's all pretty wacky, I know. And speaking of wacky, Dreamslayer (in Max Lord's body, don't forget) has turned the inhabitants of KooeyKooeyKooey into a mindless army.

"Europinion" marks L-Ron's final lettercol, since he'll be rejoining Manga Khan to scout the stars for bargains, and so we can forgive him for neglecting to note that Robertson and Patterson did the cover (with colors, I presume, by Bob Le Rose, but I could be mistaken). Also, he advises that to say "G'nort" correctly, "Hold your nose and pronounce it like the 'n' in onion (and because G'nort stinks when he's wet)." In "Justice Log," the erstwhile robot notes, "Cover pencilled by Chris Sprouse and inked by Bruce Patterson with colors by Bob Le Rose." Additionally, when asked "why we never see Guy charge his power ring," L-Ron answers, "Because his oath won't get past the Comics Code." I'm gonna miss that robot.


The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #41/17, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #48/24, #49/25, #50/26, #51/27, #52/28, #53/29, #54/30, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #59/35, #60/36


All images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 54

Justice League America #54
Sep. '91
Breakdowns Part 3
"The Boot!"
"Krazy" Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
"Jolly" J.M. DeMatteis, script
"Swiss" Chris Wozniak, pencils
"Bold" Bob Smith, guest inks
"Battlin'" Bob Lappan, letters
"Gallant" Gene D'Angelo, colors
"Kooky" Kevin Dooley, associate editor
Mr. Andy Helfer, editor*
*He's far too dignified for these kinds of idiotic nicknames.

Justice League Europe #30
Sep. '91
Breakdowns Part 4
"The Widening Gyre"
Keith Giffen - plot and breakdowns
Gerard Jones - dialogue
Darick Robertson - pencils
John Beatty - inks
Gene D'Angelo - colors
Willie Schubert - letters
Kevin Dooley - associate editor
Andy Helfer - editor


Here's hoping Kevin Smith paid for the rights to JLE's title--nevermind William Butler Yeats. Seriously, though, folks (yeah, I know, I just started this post with a bad joke followed by "seriously, though, folks"--what can I say, I've been reading too much JLI), "Breakdowns" continues at a breakneck pace in these two issues. In JLA, Ambassador Heimlich continues to mess with a good thing, firing Beetle and Ice and replacing them with Tasmanian Devil (who, according to the sacrosanct letters column, was a member of JLAustralia, anyway) and Doctor Light. (That's right, the same Doctor Light who wanted nothing to do with the League back in the beginning, but has no trouble showing up now, and in costume, no less.) On a bright note, it takes little more than a page for Tasmanian Devil to knock Guy Gardner on his ass, and that's always good for a laugh. Oh yeah, and apparently Manga Khan is in the process of bartering away Despero.

Meanwhile, it's revealed that Jack O' Lantern has allied himself with Sumaan Harjavti, the brother of the late Rumaan Harjavti, and the two arranged the assassination attempt on Max Lord to look like it was the Queen Bee's doing; Jack wants sole control of the Global Guardians, and Sumaan wants to rule Bialya. Speaking of Bialya, the members of the Ex-Justice League--namely Captain Atom, Elongated Man, Blue Beetle and Ice, aided and abetted by Crimson Fox and Inspector Camus--sneak back into that country in the hopes of getting to the bottom of the apparent Queen Bee connection, which leads us into JLE. Naturally, the heroes' snooping doesn't go according to plan, and when Jack O' Lantern catches them in the Guardians' Dome, all hell breaks loose. It's all pretty standard fare until Atom dodges one of Jack's power blasts, which winds up decapitating Little Mermaid. (Somehow, Jack keeps all of the other Guardians in a suspended state until he wakes them; they're all seated around their meeting table throughout this fight. And yeah, that's a little awkward. Also, and perhaps more importantly, until reading this issue, I had no idea there was a DC Comics character named Little Mermaid. What a world, you know?) Naturally, the erstwhile Leaguers are now charged with murder, inciting yet another Major International Incident. Oh yeah (again!), and it turns out Heimlich is one of the Queen Bee's drones.

The best part of these two issues is undoubtedly the banter between Ted Kord and Ralph Dibny--it's like the best of Beetle's repartee with Booster, and it makes me wish these two would have crossed paths more often during this run. I don't mean that to sound dismissive of the story, though; this is a big piece of work that feels as epic as DC no doubt wanted the readership to believe it was. After four parts, it seems to be shaping up as a fitting send off to this incarnation of the League, but it does suffer in the art department. (Tangentially, Lappan and Schubert swapped books this time around, and I'm still not a fan of the latter's work in this series.) However, I do totally love the awkward stiffness in this panel from JLE, showing Crimson Fox and Ice in the heat of battle while done up in their civvies:

"Europinion" reveals JLE's cover credits: "Chris Sprouse and Bruce Patterson, pencillerer and inkerer, Bob LeRose, colorer." I'm not sure about that, though, seeing as that although no cover credits are listed in JLA, the cover itself bears Sprouse's signature (as well as "PCR"--anybody?), and that cover's style looks nothing like JLE's. A mystery for the ages, I suppose. Also, in a sign of the shifting winds, Dooley does, in all seriousness, ask the readership in "Justice Log," "Should we put Hal in the League?"

Lastly, and apropos of nothing, if ever I should have access to a time machine, I'm totally going back to '91 and taking advantage of both of these offers:

The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #41/17, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #48/24, #49/25, #50/26, #51/27, #52/28, #53/29, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #58/34, #59/35, #60/36


Ball Park ad copyright Hygrade Food Products Corp. The Seagal ad's copyright is anyone's guess. All other images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 53

Justice League America #53
Aug. '91
Breakdowns Part 1
"Blown Away"
JUSTICE LEAGUE LEADER GUNNED DOWN ON DOORSTEP OF NEW YORK EMBASSY by Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
Blood stained the steps of the New York Embassy of the Justice League International this morning as police searched for clues to the identity of the would-be assassin who pumped four bullets into Maxwell Lord. Police inspector Andy Helfer noted that Lord was found in the library after Professor Plum was seen leaving with a gun. However, this testimony came from a dubious Miss Scarlett who had spent several hours working over a large bottle of V.S.O.P. (continued on page 3)
SCHUBERT AND D'ANGELO ARRESTED IN BRAWL
"I've never seen two men so wildly out of control," said witness Kevin Dooley, as he stood on the street outside the Machismo Club in the West Village. "It was wonderful," Dooley added. The fight allegedly started in the back of the club's main phone booth when the two men dived for a quarter which fell out (continued in Lifestyle Section, page 4)
Photo: Chris Wozniak and Bruce Patterson

Justice League Europe #29
Aug. '91
Breakdowns Part 2
"Turning and Turning"
Keith Giffen, plot and breakdowns
Gerard Jones, dialogue
Darick Robertson, pencils
John Beatty, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin Dooley, associate editor
Andy Helfer, editor


The JLA creatives get, well, creative with their credits this week, peppering them throughout the text on a splash page made to look like the front page, above the fold, of the Daily Planet. And the creative energy stays high throughout the first chapter of the paradigm-changing "Breakdowns" story, which features appearances from the Injustice League--and we all know I'm always happy when they turn up--and Manga Khan. More importantly--plot-wise, anyway--the U.N. General Assembly replaces the comatose Max Lord as head of the JLI with the mysterious Kurt Heimlich, whose leadership will not bode well for the cast of characters we've grown to know and love in both JLA and JLE.

Chris Wozniak takes on penciling duties in JLA, with inks by Bruce Patterson, and the team does a fine job; I would have been perfectly happy to see these two do some fill-in issues earlier in the run, either here or in JLE, but considering the importance of this storyline, it feels all wrong to not have Adam Hughes--or even Kevin Maguire--on pencils. Furthermore, Willie Schubert takes over lettering responsibilities, following the completely dynamite run of Bob Lappan (since issue #1!), and man, it just looks wrong. (To be clear, Schubert's work here is fine, but his style ain't the same as Lappan's, and after 52 issues--not to mention JLE--the change is jarring.)

Fortunately, Lappan's still doing what he does best in JLE, but there again (despite what the cover says) penciling and inking are handled by a different team than Sears/Marcos or Sears/Elliott, who set the visual tone for this title and should be aboard for the last big story. Instead, Darick Robertson does pencils and John Beatty inks; their work is strong, but it would have been better suited to a fill-in. Anyhow, the story really gets moving here, as Heimlich conducts one-on-one interviews with the JLE's members and begins his structural shakedown of the organization: Heimlich fires Captain Atom, replacing him with BlueJay as field commander, and Ralph Dibny is also out, but his wife Sue is asked to stay on for monitor duty. With clues surfacing that Max's would-be assassin hails from Bialya, Atom then flies off half-cocked to confront the Queen Bee, only to be taken down by the Global Guardians, who were tipped off to Atom's impending arrival by none other than Heimlich. (Oh yeah, and Jack O' Lantern and his teammates are alive and well. Also--but I could be mistaken about this--I think Harjavti might be back, too.) As if that weren't enough Mr. Bigger and his Metawise organization are still spying on the League by means of the camera they installed in the cat's eye. Yeesh. And to think, people used to write into the letter col and say nothing happens in these JLI books.

Speaking of letters pages, it's cover credits time. "Justice Log" notes, "Cover by Chris Sprouse; Robert Le Rose, colors." (To which I reply, "How come Sprouse never illustrated the inside of one of these books?") And "Europinion" tells us, "Bart Sears, pencils and inks; Bob Le Rose, colors." (To which I reply, "Does anyone else think that cover doesn't much look like Sears' style?") Also in "Justice Log," readers just keep on asking for Blue Devil to be added to the team.

The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #41/17, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #48/24, #49/25, #50/26, #51/27, #52/28, #54/30, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #58/34, #59/35, #60/36


All images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 52

Justice League of America #52
Jul. '91
"The Battle of the Century! Decade! Year! Month?"
Pull up a chair, sports fans, as those pusillanimous pugilists...
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, script
Trevor Von Eeden, pencils
Randy Elliott, inks
Bob Lappan, letterer
Gene D'Angelo, colorist
Kevin Dooley, trainer
Andy Helfer, referee
...get ready to knock you out again!

Justice League Europe #28
Jul. '91
"The Man Who Wears the Star"
Keith Giffen, plot and breakdowns
Gerard Jones, script and script
Bart Sears, pencils and pencils
Randy Elliott, inks and inks
Bob Lappan, letters and borders
Gene D'Angelo, colors and colors
Kevin Dooley, this and that
Andy Helfer, stuff 'n' nonsense

July 1991 was the month everything started to change for the ol' JLI, taking a turn for the serious and setting up the massive "Breakdowns" storyline that will run through both JLA and JLE for the next eight months. (Don't worry--that's only eight weeks for us.) And what  could trigger such a sea change other than this little cliffhanger?

(JLE also ends with this revelation--after all, this is where the two books' continuities become inextricably--irreparably?--combined.)

The shooting is all the more shocking because the earlier pages in the same issue of JLA are, for the most part, so much fun. After months of slacking off, Beetle decides it's time to get himself back in shape, but when he hits the gym he's mercilessly taunted by--who else?--Guy Gardner. General Glory proposes the teammates take out their aggression in the boxing ring, but when Beetle shows he's the better pugilist, Guy attacks from behind. The dirty move, which does some serious damage to Beetle's ribs, leaves J'onn with no choice but to expel Guy from the League.

The story honestly leaves me feeling sorry for Guy--sure he's an unrepentant heel through and through, but he's shown once or twice that he's made of at least a lit bit of heroic stuff, and he's always been good for a laugh. Art-wise, Von Eeden's pencils look very good, but his layouts (as seen above) are often clunky. (Elliott inks this title in addition to JLE this month, but his work here overall doesn't seem as strong.) The undisputed TKO in the art department, though, is awarded to Bart Sears, whose cover for JLE (with colors by Bob Le Rose) is insane in its detail--I'd hate to be the guy drawing all those stars. (Speaking of covers, JLA's was done by "Adam 'Hulk' Hughes, pencil; Joe 'Rocky' Rubinstein, ink; Bob 'The Rose' Le Rose, color," according to "Justice Log.") Sears and Elliott's work inside the book is nice to look at, too, as the Starro storyline wraps up in very satisfying fashion, with guest-star Ice playing a key role and Manga Khan making a brief appearance.

Be back here next week for the beginning of the end.

The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #41/17, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #48/24, #49/25, #50/26, #51/27, #53/29, #54/30, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #58/34, #59/35, #60/36


All images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 51

Justice League America #51
Jun. '91
"My Dinner with G'nort"
A profound psychological study of lonely, tormented spirits in search of truth ... as brought to you by DC's most sensitive soul-searchers:
"Svelte" Keith Giffen - plot
"Slim" J.M. DeMatteis - script
"Tall" Adam Hughes - pencils
"Big" Joe Rubinstein - inks
"Elliptical" Bob Lappan - letters
"Square" Gene D'Angelo - colors
"Amorphous" Kevin Dooley - asst. ed.
"Hexagonal" Andy Helfer - editor

Justice League Europe #27
Jun. '91
"The Vagabond King"
Still another Giffen, Jones, Sears, Elliott, Lappan, D'Angelo, Dooley and Helfer presentation


As if seeing Adam Hughes' pencils and Joe Rubinstein's inks return to JLA wasn't treat enough, Booster Gold also returns to the pages, dropping by the New York embassy to catch up with his former teammates. And what a night he chooses to return: After being banned from the League following a disaster with Justice League Antarctica (from JLA Annual #4), G'nort nevertheless drops by the New York pad to say hello, and he and Kilowog convince J'onn to join them for an aliens' night out on the town. Naturally, disaster ensues--even Black Hand returns, and ends the issue interred in the Home for the Terminally Bewildered--and Booster and Beetle get to enjoy it all together from the sidelines. This issue's a treat all around.

Apparently JLA #51 takes place before the current story arc in JLE, where Kilowog and the majority of the League's European branch get "starred" by Starro. (If years of fandom have produced an actual term for that process, I apologize for not knowing it and using it here. UPDATE: Issue 28 reveals that "starred" is, in fact, the proper term. Yo-ho!) The only members unaffected are Captain Atom, Rocket Red and Metamorpho, whose "inorganic coatings" prevent the face-hugging stars from bonding. The trio flies all the way to New York to enlist aid (don't ask me why Rocket Red doesn't have a communicator built into his suit that could keep him connected to the League's various embassies), and in the glorious tradition of the JLI, J'onn concocts a maybe-halfway-decent plan that falls all to pieces when he himself becomes the new host for Starro's central consciousness. This is a great second chapter in what's shaping up to be a Starro story for the ages--and yes, it's very much making me want to go back and re-read Grant Morrison's Starro tale from his later JLA run.

As usual, both books' letters pages offer cover credits. "Justice Log" notes, "Cover by penciller Adam Hughes, inker Joe Rubinstein, and colorist Bob Le Rose." "Europinion" shares, "Cover by Bart Sears and Bob Le Rose--pencils and colors." Also in "Justice Log," L-Ron drops by to respond to a letter from Matt "Elvis" Apple of Annadale-on-Hudson, NY, and writes, "This is my second letter column. You know, I could get used to this. What say you, readers? Shall I answer your letters and give this Dooley-person the metallic boot?" Hard to say whether there will be time for the transition, though, as the book races toward issue 60. Speaking of which, the "next issue" blurb is worth noting: "For those of you who think all we can do is humor, you won't want to miss the last page. Things are going to get real serious real fast, fans." Stay tuned.

The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #41/17, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #48/24, #49/25, #50/26, #52/28, #53/29, #54/30, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #58/34, #59/35, #60/36


All images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 48

Justice League America #48
Mar. '91
"The Last Giant Nazi Robot Story!"
From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli--the saga of General Glory continues, courtesy of our men (and woman!) on the front lines:
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, script & kibitzing
Linda Medley, pencils
John Beatty, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin D'Ooley, point man
Andrew D'Helfer, commander-in-chief
Special thanks to Paris Cullins & Dave Elliott

Justice League Europe #24
Mar. '91
"Wormfood"
A Keith Giffen, Gerard Jones, Bart Sears, Randy Elliott, Bob Lappan, Gene D'Angelo, Kevin Dooley and Andy Helfer presentation.


The third chapter of the General Glory story continues in fine fashion as the General's arch-nemesis, Herr Schmidt retreats to a Nazi hideaway in South America, whence he guides the giant robot seen on the issue's cover. The creative team continues to fire on all cylinders, and most impressive of all are five pages dedicated to the origin of General Glory (not to mention his erstwhile sidekick, Ernie the Battlin' Boy, who was also apparently the inspiration for Guy Gardner's bowl cut). Presented as though pulled from the pages of the General's self-titled comic book, these pages look fantastic and drive home the homage to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby's Captain America.

JLE's giant-worm/Crimson Fox story, on the other hand, falls into the rut of second-act malaise, treading water in the build-up to next issue's conclusion. In this chapter, the Leaguers chase the worms underground and find their communal resting place, but before anyone can plot a course of action, the maniacal Maurice Puanteur summons the worms to the D'Aramis' Revson facility in London, where one of the Crimson Fox sisters lies trapped, awaiting her apparent demise. I'm still hoping for an exciting third act, but this middle chapter just felt worn out. Anyway, as Royal Tenenbaum would say, "That's just one man's opinion."

Following the stories themselves, JLE's letters offer little beyond the cover credits--"Cover art by Bart Sears & Randy Elliott, color by Bob Le Rose"--while JLA's deliver that and so much more. Cover-credit-wise, we're told "Adam Hughes played the penciller, Karl Story appeared as the inker, and Bob Le Rose was Thorny ... uh ... the colorist." Dooley also writes, "To Mike Lansley, Mechanicsville, MD ... and Liz Hunter (no address on letter) who want to know why Orion changed his costume from that nifty new one to the hideous old one? The new one is his ritual garb for ceremonies and job applications, like JL membership." Better still is this nugget: "Welcome back to terra firma to the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The pilot of the mission was a 42-year-old Air Force Colonel named ... Guy Gardner! Maybe someday we'll show you readers the sketches we did for the flight in cooperation with NASA to be faxed up to the shuttle." I don't suppose anyone knows whether those sketches were ever printed? If so, let me know!

The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #41/17, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #49/25, #50/26, #51/27, #52/28, #53/29, #54/30, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #58/34, #59/35, #60/36


All images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.