60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 35

Justice League America #35
Feb. '90
"Lifeboat"
Keith Giffen: plot
J.M. DeMatteis: dialogue
Adam Hughes: pencils
Art Nichols/Jose Marzon + Joe Rubinstein - inkers, each and every one of 'em
Bob Lappan, Gene D'Angelo, Kevin Dooley and Andy Helfer, all doin' that voodoo that they do so well!

Justice League Europe #11
Feb. '90
"Family Ties"
Plot: Giffen
Script: Loebs
Pencils and inks: Sears
Letters: Lappan
Color: D'Angelo
Ed. asst: Dooley
Andy: Helfer


In a turn of events I never would have anticipated, Major Disaster--with an assist from Aquaman and some of his "finny friends"--winds up the hero in JLA when he causes an undersea volcano to erupt beneath the wandering island of Kooey Kooey Kooey, thus anchoring the island. (This is comic-book science; it's best just to roll with it.) Unfortunately for the Major, his reward is paid in Kooey Kooey Kooey kurrency--and good luck spending that anywhere.

Aquaman also turns up with some sharks to rescue Max, Oberon, Ice and Huntress, who were each in a teleporter when the island started moving last issue; the teleporters were shaken loose, and this foursome was subsequently stranded at sea, where they spent the better part of this issue. By the time Aquaman arrives, Ice is in particularly bad shape, and Guy--in a rare moment of selflessness that belies the seeds of something special between these two--rushes her to a hospital. (As a fun fact for anyone keeping track at home, Oberon reveals while stranded that he's 59 years young at this point.)

As noted in the credits, there are three inkers on the book, which unsurprisingly leads to a few inconsistencies, most notably a changing pattern on Mr. Miracle's sweater. Nevertheless, each inker handles the material well, giving all due service to Hughes' pencils, which continue to wow. I didn't think anybody could replace Maguire on this title, but Hughes is undeniably his equal. Even his layouts are top-notch, and when he decides to shake up the grid, he consistently does so in service of the story.

Guy also guest-stars in JLE, where he offers to protect his own personal hero, Simon Stagg, from Metamorpho, who's made up his mind to go after his son. Rocket Red and Animal Man (sans costumes, no doubt to keep a low profile--too bad they're with the Element Man) tag along to make sure things go as smoothly as possible, but the book takes a dark turn when it's revealed that Metamorpho's son is the subject of Stagg's experiments and the source of Stagg's new fuel substitute.

After a brawl that leaves Guy a bloody pulp, the issue ends on a cliffhanger with the Metal Men--whose boss and creator, Doctor Will Magnus, is in cahoots with Stagg--promising to end Metamorpho's rampage. Perhaps even more significantly, this issue actually checks in on Silver Sorceress and Blue Jay, who have been locked up in Russia's People's Center for Meta-Human Studies. I suspect we'll see more of them soon.

JLA's "Justice Log" offers that title's cover credits: "DIS ISSUE'S COVER: Adam Hughes, pencils/inks; Bob Le Rose, colors." No credits in JLE, whose letters page was erroneously also titled "Justice Log" this month. All the same, the cover itself clearly shows the mark of "Maguire & Sears" on pencils and inks, respectively.

Last but not least, can anyone out there offer up some statistics on how many thefts were actually prevented thanks to The Official Batman Secret Code Bike Alarm and Sonic Weapons Center? Inquiring minds, and all that. I've no doubt the "buzz bomb" sent criminals of all stripes running for cover.

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, #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


Secret Code Bike Alarm ad copyright HBC and DC Comics, Inc. All other images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 30

Justice League America #30
Sep. '89
"Teenage Biker Mega-Death"
Keith Giffen - plot
J.M. DeMatteis - script
Bill Willingham - pencils
Joe Rubinstein - inks
Bob Lappan - letters
Gene D'Angelo - colors
Kevin Dooley - asst. ed.
Andy Helfer - ?

Justice League Europe #6
Sep. '89
"No More Teachers' Dirty Looks...?!"
Once again Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Bart Sears, Pablo Marcos, Bob Lappan, Gene D'Angelo, Kevin Dooley and Andy Helfer (as "Uncle Charely" [sic]) present a tale of profound psychological insight, philosophical depth and extraordinary inanity!


Well, it's all downhill from here, dear readers. At long, long last, we've hit the halfway point. Huzzah!

First up, in JLA, the Huntress joins Fire, Mr. Miracle and Big Barda in combating the nameless punk--a member of the street gang "Slash Grinders"--who misappropriated Barda's Megarod in the last issue. And, well, that's pretty much the story. The rod itself eats away at the punk and finally blows his head off, but not until after 18 pages of fighting. Finally, at the end, Maxwell Lord Jedi-mind-tricks Huntress into joining the League.

As the letters' page reveals, "[Huntress] is officially in part-time." (The good ol' "Justice Log" also offers up these cover credits: "Kevin Maguire-pencils, Joe Rubinstein-inks, Bob Le Rose-colors.") The issue is penciled by a young Bill Willingham, whose work is hit or miss, but when he's on, he's on, and I wouldn't mind if he had to fill in again somewhere down the line.

In JLE, Captain Atom has enrolled his team (save Ralph, who already speaks the native tongue) in a French class. To celebrate the occasion, Power Girl decides to look like Mick Jagger--or is that Madonna?

As luck would have it, the Injustice League--last seen in JLI #23 and since relocated to Paris--has enrolled in the very same class. One can imagine how this all wraps up.

All told, it's a great romp in keeping with JLI's humorous spirit. It seems my early fears that this title would take itself too seriously were unfounded, and thank goodness for that; otherwise, the next 30 weeks could be a bumpy ride, indeed. Check you brakes for the downhill slope, and be here next week for:

Advertisers, take note: More Airwolf, please!

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, #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


Airwolf panel (from an Acclaim ad) copyright Universal Studios, Inc., Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. and Nintendo of America, Inc. All other images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 26

Justice League America #26
May ‘89
“Slice and Dice! Or, ‘There’s Something Very Wrong With the Blue Beetle!’”
Keith Giffen: plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis: script
Ty Templeton: pencils
Joe Rubinstein: inks
Bob Lappan: letters
Gene D’Angelo: envelopes
Kevin Dooley: stamps
An’ the Man Helfer: editor

Justice League Europe #2
May ‘89
“Somebody Up There Hates Us!”
Keith Giffen: plot
J.M. DeMatteis: script
Bart Sears: pencils
Pablo Marcos: inks
Robert Lappan: letters
Gene D’Angelo: colors
Kevin Dooley: asst. editor
Andy Helfer: in need of therapy


Issue 26 marks the third title change for the League’s flagship book as it adopts the moniker Justice League America, suggesting that both the JLA and JLE teams are part of the overarching JLI organization. No mention of the switch is made inside, though, as the story instead focuses on Blue Beetle.


Answering the phone while pulling monitor duty, Beetle is brainwashed and proceeds to chase Maxwell Lord with a large kitchen knife. The hunt spills onto the street and finally into an alley, where Beetle is shut down by the Huntress, who in turn is shut down by Batman, since he’s late joining the fun and missed the whole part where Beetle went nuts. The book ends with questions lingering, but my money’s on everything tying back to Queen Bee and the remnants of the Global Guardians.


Speaking of the Global Guardians--namely the now-crazed Jack O’ Lantern--they and the Queen Bee are revealed to be pulling the strings over in JLE, making it appear the League is linked to Nazis. It’s a weird way to discredit the heroes, but it makes for an entertaining issue as the Leaguers partner up to investigate three different Nazi groups with links to meta-human activity. Each mini-team is intercepted, though, by a different super-powered whacko (all, interestingly, first introduced in DC's Super Friends comic in the late '70s) convinced the Leaguers really are Nazis: Captain Atom and Animal Man face the Wild Huntsman; Power Girl and Rocket Red battle the Rising Sun; and Metamorpho, Elongated Man and Flash fight Tuatara.


Now, I don’t want to sound like a complete pushover after last week’s skepticism regarding this JLE book, but I must confess, I really enjoyed issue #2. And even if Rocket Red and Power Girl do share a serious moment touching on the horrific legacy of Nazism, the book by and large keeps its tongue in its cheek, and consistently to good effect. Interestingly, on the art side, Giffen’s not credited with JLE’s breakdowns, but I’d say the layouts here look truer to JLI than did the last issue’s. Also, I think the Sears/Marcos dynamic is growing on me, especially when it comes to the fun they have with Metamorpho and Elongated Man.


Meanwhile, in news from JLA’s “Justice Log” letters page, a bit of backstory is revealed on the members of issue 23’s Injustice League. Writes Dooley, “Cluemaster was an old Bat villain; Big Sir was from Flash’s Rogues Gallery; Clock King was an old Green Arrow baddie; Major Disaster was a Green Lantern foe; and Multi-Man battled the Challengers of the Unknown.” Additionally, Dooley explains Mike McKone’s pencils on issue 24: “He’s our ace-in-the-hole fill-in artist (with another great issue in #28) to give Ty time to work on his own stuff (news of which will be forthcoming).”



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, #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.