60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 55

Justice League America #55
Oct. '91
Breakdowns Part 5
"Bialya Blues"
"Breakdowns" continues, courtesy of Giffen, DeMatteis, Wozniak, Patterson, Lappan, D'Angelo, Dooley & Helfer. (Okay, we admit it--we couldn't think of any funny credits this month. Readers who subscribe only for the funny credits should contact our subscription department for an adjustment. They can use a laugh.)

Justice League Europe #31
Oct. '91
Breakdowns Part 6
"Things Fall Apart"
Giffen
Jones
Robertson
Beatty
D'Angelo
Schubert
Dooley
Helfer


... And just like that, "Breakdowns" seems to break down. Story-wise, JLA is a fine piece of work, although it feels curiously like it ought to be the last chapter in this crossover. Sumaan Harjavti plays his hand, exposing the Queen Bee's mind-control infrastructure and snapping the Global Guardians out of their collective, brainwashed stupor. (Oh, and it turns out that all this time, the dude wearing Jack O' Lantern's duds wasn't the real Jack. Convenient, or just confusing?) Then, when the Queen tries to flee the country, Harjavti kills her, and by issue's end is being hailed as Bialya's new leader. Meanwhile, Camus exposes Heimlich (who this issue is named Rolf, although two issues ago he was Kurt, but I digress), sending the U.N. into yet another emergency session. Too bad the art makes all of this as hard to decipher as possible; these pages look like the worst that Marvel comics had to offer back in the early '90s, with some downright awful layouts that do their best to confound rather than guide the reader's eyes.

There are also a few lettering mistakes from Lappan that really pained me to see. While I'm still not sold on Schubert's work for the League, this issue of JLE features his best lettering yet, and furthermore, Robertson and Beatty's art is (for the most part) outstanding through all 22 pages. Even when Robertson decides to get creative with his layouts, they're still a pleasure to behold and easy for the eyes to follow.

Unfortunately, JLE fails miserably in the story department. As if it weren't enough that we're in the sixth chapter of a 16-part League crossover event, the plot here also ties into the DC-wide "War of the Gods" storyline, resulting in roughly half the book being wasted on a portion of the team fighting Thor, Baldur and Loki (but not the Thor, Balder and Loki you're thinking of). Perhaps most egregious, as a result of the "Armageddon 2001" storyline that ran through all of DC's annuals in '91, Captain Atom is now (apparently) dead, but all we get to signify the passing of this book's team leader is a cursory reference.

Ultimately, only a few pages actually advance the overall "Breakdowns" storyline: First, Despero (predictably) escapes after battling Khunds in the depths of space, and now (predictably) he wants revenge (again) on the League; and the U.N. revokes the JLI's charter, leaving uncertain the fate of the JLA and immediately disbanding the JLE. Somehow I doubt next week's installment here at the D.D. will be much cheerier...

In other League news, L-Ron here officially takes over duties on both books' letters pages, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Most interestingly, "Justice Log" had to be printed following page 6 of the story proper in order to accommodate two painful double-page spreads. (At the opposite end of the interesting scale, L-Ron lets slip that Green Lantern #18 will be a "Breakdowns" crossover. Yeesh.) "Justice Log" and "Europinion" also accidentally run the wrong cover credits--blame it on the robot--so here I'll put things in their proper order. For JLA, it's "Sprouse by Chris pencils, Patterson by Bruce inks, Le Rose by Bob colors ... Oops, circuits got a little crazy there." And for JLE, it's "pencils by Darick Robertson, inks by John Beatty, colors by Bob Le Rose." Finally, in a sign of the awful things awaiting the League following JLA #60, the letters pages include this ballot:

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, #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 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 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 49

Justice League America #49
Apr. '91
"Glory Bound, Pt. 4: Glory and Shame"
Guns at the ready, a patriotic song on their lips, those freedom-fighting daredevils of DC strike again!
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, script & kibitzing
Linda Medley, pencils
John Beatty, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin "Halls of Montezuma" Dooley, asst. editor
Andy "Montezuma's Revenge" Helfer, editor

Justice League Europe #25
Apr. '91
"Nightcrawlers!"
Keith Giffen, creepy plot
Gerard Jones, crawly dialogue
Bart Sears, squirmy pencils
Randy Elliott, wriggly inks
Bob Lappan, slimy letters
Gene D'Angelo, slippery colors
Kevin Dooley, squishy assistance
Andy Helfer, soil aeration


In the penultimate chapter of the "Glory Bound" saga, General Glory's accused of committing war crimes back in the Second World War, namely destroying an Allied P.O.W. camp and killing everyone therein. What with his amnesia and all, the good General can't say for certain that he's innocent, and goes willingly into custody--although Guy Gardner isn't quite so willing to stand by and watch this happen, and it takes the rest of the League to keep him from absconding with Glory and grinding the feds to pulp.

As the story unfolds, Schmidt takes flight in yet another Nazi superweapon, this one a flying sphere called "The Evil Eye." Meanwhile, Joe Mason, the artist of General Glory's old comic book, steps forward to help the League clear Glory's name. It's pretty fantastic (not to mention meta) that the fate of this hero seems to lie in the hands of his illustrator.

Speaking of artists, Medley continues to do excellent work in her fourth consecutive issue, but it's JLE whose pages really shine. The usual team of Sears and Elliott again handle the art chores, but Elliott seems to have upped his game significantly for the final chapter of the Crimson Fox origin arc, truly fleshing out Sears' pencils and adding three-dimensionality to the 2-D page. (Credit, of course, is also due D'Angelo's coloring prowess.) I've liked his inks since he joined this title back in issue 16, but here his contributions clearly elevate the already impressive art.

There being two sisters who share the cowl of the Crimson Fox, and my being pretty in the dark about the character beyond the JLE issues we've so far covered, I did wonder whether one of the two would prove to be expendable in the creators' eyes, but in usual heroic fashion, both D'Aramis sisters survive to continue fighting crime. There's no such happy ending for the giant worms, however, nor for the D'Aramis' sworn nemesis, Puanteur, whose thirst for vengeance completely blinds him to any practical considerations, such as preserving his own neck. This is a morality tale, after all.

"Justice Log" offers some fun facts this issue, great for keeping people entertained at parties, to wit:

The most important question we've ever been asked comes form Michael Thibodoeau, Edmunston, New Brunswick, Canada. It's "What does J'onn prefer most: Oreos, Oreo Double Stuff, or chocolate-coated Oreos?" Answer: yes, but usually the plain ones.
Lots of basic questions from Sigurdur Jonas Gudmundsson, Paris, France, like when we published and who was in our first JLA magazine. The first JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA was in 1960 and starred Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, and J'onn J'onzz. ... He asks who was DC's first character--probably Oswald the Rabbit in NEW FUN COMICS in 1935.

And of course, what's a letter column without cover credits? From "Justice Log": "Cover Credit Cards: Adam 'Mastercard' Hughes on pencils, Karl 'Visa' Story on inks, and Bob 'AMEX' Le Rose on colors." And from "Europinion": "Cover by Bart, Randy, and Bob--pencils, inks, colors."

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, #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.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 47

Justice League America #47
Feb. '91
"General Glory Fights Again!"
It's a red, white & blue epic, brought to you by those Yankee Doodle Dandies--
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, script
Linda Medley, guest penciller
John Beatty, inker
Bob Lappan, letterer
Gene D'Angelo, colorist
Kevin Dooley, stars in his eyes, stripes on his pants
Andy Helfer, father of our country
General Glory created by J.M. DeMatteis an' Keith Giffen

Justice League Europe #23
Feb. '91
"Foxy Ladies"
Keith Giffen, germs of ideas
Gerard Jones, typing
Bart Sears, lots of little lines
Randy Elliott, dark stuff
Bob Lappan, marks with a pen
Gene D'Angelo, colored splotches
Kevin Dooley, blue marks and phone calls
Andy Helfer, coffee, cigarettes and ceaseless fidgeting


The General Glory storyline continues swimmingly, with Medley's pencils once again perfectly complementing this fun romp. While the penciller does well with the JLA's entire cast, she especially draws a great looking Blue Beetle.

In JLA's first half, the League interrupts a public performance by the then-new Mr. Miracle, a.k.a. Shilo Norman, only they don't know there is a new Mr. Miracle until the old Mr. Miracle--you know, Scott Free--shows up with Oberon to try and set things straight. Mistaken identities are a tried-and-true ingredient of good, wholesome comedy, and Giffen and DeMatteis nail the old trope while still managing to save pages for General Glory to join the League in fighting a fire. Furthermore, as the General runs headlong into the conflagration, he comes face to face with a Nazi Uberbot, rescues a dog and wields a garbage-can lid like it's Captain America's shield. Not bad for a newby.

JLE, meanwhile, breaks form to deliver 23 pages packed with story--following what may well be the best cover of this book's run--beautifully rendered by Bart Sears and Randy Elliott. (Boy howdy, is it nice having them back!) Getting the better of Marvel Comics by some 17 years, the issue kicks off with an internal dispute over Inspector Camus' mandate that all League members register with Interpol's meta-human cooperative unit; Power Girl is strongly against it, Crimson Fox is for, and Rex/Metamorpho is busy watchin' the Three Stooges.

The story then reveals the secretive Society of St. Cholmondely, a group of robe wearers who feed off hatred and possess a giant tuning fork that summons a monstrous subterranean worm to devour the order's foes. (I'd like to see Sonar try to do as much with his tuning-fork gun.) In the example here illustrated, that foe turns out to be Simon Stagg (yep, him again), who loses his London factory to the worm-monster.

Tying everything together, the Society's leader is none other than Monsieur Puanteur, the sworn enemy of the Crimson Fox, whose true identity is here revealed to be split between identical twin sisters Constance and Vivian D'Aramis--turns out they faked the death of Constance, and now both take turns with the roles of Vivian and Crimson Fox. I know it all sounds pretty convoluted when I try to summarize it, but it actually works in the book, and I've got to give credit to the creative team for coming up with a fairly unique alter ego.

JLA's "Justice Log" tells us that "JLAntarctica no longer exists" and then shares these credits: "Cover by Adam Hughes, pencils; Karl Story, inks; Bob Le Rose, colors." And from JLE's "Europinion": "Cover by Bart Sears with coloring by Bob Le Rose."


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, #48/24, #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.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 46

Justice League America #46
Jan. '91
"Old Glory"
It's a turning point for the Justice League--and champions of liberty everywhere--presented with patriotic pride by those fun-loving flag-wavers
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdance
J.M. DeMatteis, plot assist & script
Linda Medley, guest penciller
José Marzan, inker
Bob Lappan, letterer
Gene D'Angelo, colorist
Kevin Dooley, asst. editor
And let's hear a hearty "hail to the chief" for
Andy Helfer, editor
General Glory created by J.M. DeMatteis & Keith Giffen

Justice League Europe #22
Jan. '91
"Catnap"
Furious feline frenzy as you demanded it, action lovers! From: Keith Giffen, Gerard Jones, Marshall Rogers, José Marzan, Bob Lappan, Gene D'Angelo, Kevin 'n' Andy


It's another year, dear readers. Or, anyway, it was in January of '91, and what better way to ring in the new year than with an old-man fight?

The old timer with the cane is one Joe Jones, a.k.a. General Glory, and the geezer with the giant gun is his antiquated arch-nemesis. The story that unfolds this issue of JLA tackles the Big Issues, diving deep into the culture surrounding comics collecting and taking aim at conventions themselves as Guy Gardner wins an auction for General Glory #1. (His winning bid: 5,000 of the League's dollars.) The only trouble is, Mr. Jones needs to see that comic book himself--he's forgotten the magic words that  turn him into General Glory, which are printed inside--and his repeat attempts to get a peak naturally infuriate the Green Lantern. I'm not sure how this storyline will shake out over five issues, but these first 22 pages are solid, and Linda Medley's art is terrific, a huge improvement over her work in JLE #14. (I would really love to have seen her work on American Splendor--rest in peace, Harvey Pekar--or something else in that vein.)

Across the pond,  Marshall Rogers' art also shows improvement--either that, or after three issues I'm finally getting used to his style. At least in their work with the League, Medley and Rogers both seem to do their best when not illustrating heroes in costume, and fortunately this issue of JLE spends a good deal of time with two young Brits who make the poor life choice of kidnapping Power Girl's cat. Power Girl doesn't take it well at all--she even makes Sue Dibny call up Batman and demand the caped crusader apply his keen detective skills to the case--but ultimately the cat is returned and the catnappers make it through, albeit quite the worse for wear.

However, it must be noted that the cat's return comes only after a pit stop at the mysterious Mr. Bigger's facility. Mr. Bigger was behind the attempt to grab Wally Tortolini's notebook over in JLA #44, and it was all part of a massive intelligence-gathering operation for criminals. Now it seems opportunity has again knocked for the criminal entrepreneur, and Mr. Bigger has the cat fitted with a transmitting camera eye so he can keep a close watch inside the League's London embassy.

Cover credits from "Justice Log": "Cover by Adam Hughes and Karl Story"; and from "Europinion": "Our cover is by Marshall Rogers, Bruce Patterson, and Bob Le Rose of pencilling, inking, and coloring fame."

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, #47/23, #48/24, #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.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 43

Justice League America #43
Oct. '90
"If You Play Your Cards Right..."
Kevin Dooley, DC Comics' finest assistant editor, proudly presents
Keith Giffen, plot
J.M. DeMatteis, script
Adam Hughes, pencils
José Marzan, Jr., inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Andy Helfer, editor
(There, Kevin--isn't that better than a raise?)

Justice League Europe #19
Oct. '90
"The Extremist Vector Part Five: Pushing the Button"
Uncle Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
Gerard Jones, words
Bart Sears, pencils
Randy Elliott, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin D'Ooley, stuff
Andy D'Helfer, nonsense


As mentioned last week, JLA #43 was one of the two issues of this series I actually acquired during the book's run, so there's a certain degree of nostalgia involved in turning its pages again now. However, I don't think I pored over this issue quite as intently as I did the previous book--once again I no doubt wondered who these characters were, and even Blue Beetle's not as prominent this issue. Nevertheless, reading the book now, the story's a winner. (Hughes' art is also a welcome sight, although Marzan's inks give it a different flavor than I'd been used to with Art Nichols--there seems to be a stronger emphasis on dense shadows, for one.) Giffen and DeMatteis dug deep into DC's back catalog to unearth such forgotten villains as Sonar, Crowbar, Black Mass, Blackrock, Brainstorm, Cavalier and Quakemaster. Rather than forming their own Injustice League, however, they all get together to play cards at the hole-in-the-wall bar known as The Dark Side, whose clientele exclusively comprises super villains. Earlier in the issue, intrepid garbageman/journalist Wally Tortolini rescues Sonar from a run-in with the League, and in return Sonar (a.k.a. Bito Wladon of Modora) brings Tortolini to the card table. Hoping for a story, Tortolini instead leaves armed with the villains' myriad accoutrements.

Meanwhile, JLE presents a jumbled mess of a conclusion to "The Extremist Vector." I trust you're sitting down for this. The explosion set off at the end of last issue by Carny--who, it turns out, was also a robot--does indeed awaken "the Visionary," otherwise known as "Uncle" Mitch Wacky, the creator of Wacky World. Back in the day, Uncle Mitch caught the flu, which is fatal in his dimension, and so he placed himself into a cryogenic slumber. Now, of course, he awakens to find his world destroyed, but making things really convoluted, the nuclear holocaust actually wiped out the Extremists who caused it, and it turns out the Extremists currently terrorizing "our" dimension are robots built after the Armageddon to lend an air of excitement to Wacky World. Naturally, the robo-villains went rogue. So, Silver Sorceress (who survived last issue's blast unscathed) transports everyone--including Uncle Mitch--back to our Earth, where Mitch uses a kill switch only he can operate to shut down the Extremists. Well, except for Dreamslayer, who turns out to still be the original and not a robot duplicate. Then Dreamslayer tries to cast a spell on Crimson Fox, but she turns out to be Silver Sorceress in disguise. And so on and so forth. Anyways, the good guys win, but I think Uncle Mitch bit the bullet along the way. Ah well. The pictures are pretty; I really like Elliott's inks over Sears' pencils.

Oh, yeah, and apparently Dr. Light's been hanging out at the League's Japan embassy. I'm trusting that was covered in an Annual somewhere along the way and this wasn't as out of the blue as it first struck me.

"Europinion" gives us these cover credits: "Bart Sears, pencils; Randy Elliott, inks; Bob Le Rose, colors." No cover credits mentioned in "Justice Log," but there are some other noteworthy nuggets. In the spirit of transparency, Dooley responds to Mike Alleni of Staten Island, NY, who wonders why Fire's clothes don't burn: "Do you want a made-up science answer (unstable molecules, I'm sure) or can we just point to that stamp on the cover?" And in response to Greg Schienke of Charlottesville, VA, Dooley offers this insightful summary of what this whole Justice League experiment is all about:

[Justice League] was set up as a sitcom. Read JL #1--most of the action is bickering. Read Andy's intro to 'A New Beginning.' JUSTICE LEAGUE always was about 'the environment our characters inhabit,' 'the simple interrelationships of heroes,' and making the heroes 'act just like people,' funny, silly. As we've said, in this industry of 'normal' seriousness, JL is the aberration. And as Will Rogers put it, "We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can.'

Lastly, remember this show? Boy howdy, was I excited.

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, #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, #59/35, #60/36


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