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 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 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 45

Justice League America #45
Dec. '90
"A Date With Density, Part Two: Hell On Ice!"
Another lesson in the fine art of male/female relations as brought to you by
Keith Giffen, married, with children
J.M. DeMatteis, divorced, with child
Russell Braun, will gladly show you his etchings
John Beatty, never discusses his private life
Bob Lappan, discusses it with everyone
Gene D'Angelo, limited palette
Kevin Dooley, S.W.M.*
Andy Helfer, J.A.B.**
* Single White Male
** Just Ask Brenda
Assisted and abetted by Adam Hughes, José Marzan Jr., and Malcolm Jones III

Justice League Europe #21
Dec. '90
"Blood, Sweat and Tabloids"
Just a bit of sport from...
Keith Giffen - plot & breakdowns
Gerard Jones - script
Marshall Rogers - pencils
Joe Rubinstein - inks
Bob Lappan - letters
Gene D'Angelo - colors
Kevin Dooley - tea and
Andy Helfer - crumpets


So far as plots are concerned, December 1990 was a slow month for the JLI, and can be summed up like this: Guy and Ice went on another date--this time to see the Ice-Capists--and said date was rudely interrupted by a prank pulled by Beetle, Kilowog and Fire; meanwhile, the JLE moved into the London Embassy and did a bit of shopping.

There are, however, some important developments concerning the membership. First, Oberon decides to peace out so he can spend more time with Scott and Barda.

Then, Max puts Catherine Cobert in charge of the JLE (leaving Captain Atom as field commander).

Once in charge, Catherine cleans up the team's roster files, deleting Wonder Woman (who never bothered to show up, anyway) and Animal Man (whose own book has apparently gotten just too damn weird to jibe with the League anymore). Meanwhile, Inspector Camus of the Paris police--to his everlasting chagrin--is assigned to a Metahuman Crisis Unit and made the direct liaison officer to the JLE. Perhaps most importantly, though, is the revelation that Uncle Mitch himself is alive and well and on his way to Disney World, having survived his run-in with Dreamslayer.

By far the best part of these two issues is the Adam Hughes art in four pages of JLA. Russell Braun's work is passable for a filler issue, and Marshall Rogers' work in JLE just disappoints; he nails some tertiary characters, but he butchers Max, and his treatment of the rest of the League leaves much to be desired after Bart Sears' phenomenal work. Speaking of art, ignore the credits on the cover of JLA, but feel free to heed the cover credits in both books' letters pages: "Justice Log" notes, "Cover by Adam Hughes, inks by Karl Story, colors by Bob Le Rose," and "Europinion" offers, "Cover pencils, inks and colors by, respectively, Marshall Rogers, Bruce Patterson, and Bob Le Rose." Also in "Europinions," Kevin Dooley dances right around the multiple questions about a certain incongruous flashback from JLE #16.

More next week!


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, #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


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

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 31

Justice League America #31
Oct. '89
The Teasdale Imperative Part One
"Crossed Wires!"
Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Joe Rubinstein, Albert De Guzman, Gene D'Angelo, Kevin Dooley and Andy Helfer (as the Beaver) proudly welcome new penciller Adam Hughes aboard the J.L.A. Express!

Justice League Europe #7
Oct. '89
The Teasdale Imperative Part Two
"Teasdale Unbound!"
Part two of the first JLA/JLE crossover courtesy of:
Keith Giffen: mastermind
J.M. DeMatteis: wordsmith
Bart Sears: visual vizier
Pablo Marcos: embellisher
Bob Lappan: lettermonger
Gene D'Angelo: colorizer
Kevin Dooley: boyish enthusiast
Andrew Helfer: grouch


And so begins--and concludes the first half of--the first JLA/JLE crossover, a.k.a. "The Teasdale Imperative," so named due to the mysterious machinations of one Irwin Teasdale. But, before that's revealed in Part Two, an awful lot of ground is covered in Part One, which also brings penciller Adam Hughes into the fold, and a welcome addition he is. His pencils are the best fit for the style set by Maguire that we've seen since Maguire's departure.

In addition to unveiling Fire and Ice's new duds, this issue finds the JLA's shuttle getting a refit ...

... Dr. Fate re-joining the League--or rather joining for the first time as a woman ...

... Maxwell Lord going on Geraldo ...

... and Guy taking the time to write a response in the letters page regarding his behavior in issue 28:

"I ain't pretentious. Ice just made the wrong assumption. Is that my fault? That was my ideal date and one day I'll find a girl who likes the same thing--a match made in ... wherever. Black Hand is a bad guy; bad guys get stomped by good guys; I'm a good guy, like it or not. Remember, scum stays on top of the water. You gotta handle your boss like I handle Max Lord. Walk right into his office and demand what you deserve. Only be careful ... you might get it."

All that, plus the JLA flies off to a small village in Eastern Europe to join up with the JLE in a battle against--wait for it--vampires!

Yes indeed, the populations of one small village after another have been falling prey to some weird vampire-plague that makes them bite the uninfected and seek shelter from the sun. And, as semi-spoiled above, it all seems to be the doing of Irwin Teasdale, who holds some grudge against Simon Stagg (of Metamorpho's supporting cast--see JLE #5 if you need a refresher).

But wait! Could it be that Teasdale is actually just a pawn of--the Gray Man?! His hairdo's gotten weirder since last we saw him, but he's still up to no good, that's for sure.

JLE's letters pages also give us that book's cover credits: "pencilled by Bart Sears, inked by Joe Rubinstein, and colored by Bob Le Rose, with inspirational thanks to Joe Kubert."

In case my enthusiasm hasn't been clear to this point, let me simply say, this crossover is radtastic. Be here next week to see how it all wraps up. Yo-ho!

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, #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, #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 25

Justice League International #25
April ‘89
“Repossessions”
Keith Giffen: plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis: script
Ty Templeton: pencils, pp 1-3, 22
and introducing Mike McKone: pencils, pp 4-21
Joe Rubinstein: inks
Bob Lappan: letters
Gene D’Angelo: colors
Kevin Dooley: assistant editor
Andy Helfer: editor

Justice League Europe #1
April ‘89
“How Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm After They’ve Seen Paree?”
Keith Giffen: plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis: script
Bart Sears: pencils
Pablo Marcos: inks
Bob Lappan: letters
Gene D’Angelo: colors
Kevin Dooley: asst. editor
Andy Helfer: drinks too much coffee


Well, friends, it’s April of 1989 (in our trip down the JLI’s memory lane, that is), and that means we’ve hit the fateful period when DC decided to cash in on the League’s success by launching Justice League Europe. I’ve had mixed feelings about the second book’s launch, and only partly because it means I now have two books to write about every week. I tend to view spinoffs with more than a little trepidation. Granted, this is just the first issue, so for now I’ll withhold my full judgment, but after reading in JLE’s letters page that “JLE will be more serious” than JLI, I’m even harder-pressed to be hopeful.

Enough with the generalities, though. Let’s talk about the books themselves. JLI presents a rather weirdly placed one-off story in which Booster and Beetle are hired to capture an escaped vampire and return him to Jacobs Research Labs. It’s essentially a comedy caper through the first two acts, but act three takes a shift for the serious when the two Leaguers come to realize that the vampire, Caitiff, is the misunderstood last of his kind; then, unwilling to be subjected to the same inferred scientific horrors that befell his family, the last vampire impales himself on a stalagmite. Perhaps the sober ending is intended as a transition into JLE? (Also worth mentioning is the appearance of McKone on penciling duties for the majority--but not all--of the book. He does alright, although he’s a bit too Todd McFarlane for my tastes, and he never quite captures the beautiful zaniness of the cover.)


JLE presents the art of Sears and Marcos. Technically, they do nice work, but their panels feel full of lines, almost cluttered even, and really make me long for the elegance of Kevin Maguire’s illustrations. However, it’s truly incredible how far D’Angelo’s colors and Lappan’s letters go toward bridging the look of this book with that of the flagship title.


It’s undeniably strange to read a Justice League book with a bunch of characters who, by and large, haven’t been in the previous 24 issues--sort of like watching Joey after years of Friends. Nevertheless, Giffen and DeMatteis present an intriguing script with three distinct acts: In act one, the team moves into their Paris digs; act two presents a murder mystery; and act three finds a mob attacking the embassy. Even better, the mob scene gives Metamorpho a chance to shine.


Keep your fingers crossed for issue 2…


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


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