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 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 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 40

Justice League America #40
Jul. '90
"Hell on Earth"
Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Adam Hughes, José Marzan Jr., Bob Lappan, Gene D'Angelo, Kevin Dooley, and Andy Helfer present perhaps the strangest Justice League tale ever! (And considering how weird this book usually is, that's saying a lot!)

Justice League Europe #16
"The Extremist Vector Part Two: Conquest"
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
Gerard Jones, dialogue
Bart Sears, pencils
Randy Elliott, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin Dooley, sound
Andy Helfer, fury


First, a confession: I was remiss in my duties last week and failed to mention the debut, in JLE, of Power Girl's new threads. Of course, looking at the outfit, perhaps you'll wish I'd continued to spare you from acknowledging this embarrassing historical footnote.

So long as we're taking people--myself included--to task for clerical errors, let's also note that JLE's cover credits mistakenly name DeMatteis in place of Jones. Inside the book, I failed to recognize that Randy Elliott took over inking from Pablo Marcos this issue, but I suppose that just goes to show you that editorial did a bang-up job finding a replacement for Marcos. The story itself finds the JLE boarding a borrowed JLA cruiser to fly to Moscow, lest the Extremists slaughter them as they materialize in the transporters. By the time the League arrives, however, Moscow--and her protectors, the Rocket Red brigade--have been laid to ruin, and it doesn't take long for the Leaguers themselves to be incapacitated, leaving the Extremists to go destroy the next city they encounter. This is gonna be an ugly, protracted battle, I suspect.

Most bizarre in this issue of JLE is a completely unnecessary retcon of the Blue Jay/Silver Sorceress/Wandjina backstory. I understand that the creative team is trying to work in the Extremists, but saying Blue Jay and co. jumped back and forth between worlds a couple of times, and then showing them trading punches with Hal Jordan, is completely uncalled for. We know how this stuff played out back in Justice League #2, and boy howdy, this ain't the way it was:

Over in America, I'm not entirely sure the book lives up to its title-page promise of being stranger than ever--Kooey Kooey Kooey is still fresh in my mind--but it is a pretty fascinating read, ably complemented by guest inker José Marzan Jr., who does a fine job filling in for Rubinstein, although I hope the latter returns soon, all the same. Divided evenly into two acts, the book's first half finishes the Despero storyline, with J'onn infiltrating Despero's mind and offering the alien villain "mayavana," a once-in-a-lifetime Martian offering that creates a perceived reality in the receiver's consciousness that's even more convincing than the actual reality in front of his eyes; with this gift, J'onn convinces Despero that he's succeeded in defeating the Justice League and destroying the Earth in toto. The whole experience reduces Despero to a fetus-like state of suspension (from which he'll no doubt be resurrected again down the line).

Complete with costumed heroes attending a funeral and bold black borders lining every page and panel, act two is all about mourning for Scott Free, a.k.a. Mr. Miracle, whom Despero blew up last issue. Forgive me if I sound callous here, but JLA and JLE's letters pages run solicitations for Mr. Miracle's book, so I feel confident he's not actually dead. However, my confidence isn't shared by the cast of characters. Barda blames Max and lets him know with a powerful haymaker. Superman tells Batman (who in turn tells Max) that the League hasn't got enough muscle, and unless it gets more, Scott will be the first of many casualties. After thoughtlessly trying to recruit Gypsy for his new team at the cemetery, Booster gets scolded by Beetle and returns to his new Conglomerate office, where he's in no mood for Claire Montgomery's news that Praxis has sent "a confirmation." And then, there's Guy and Ice:

It's time once again for cover credits! From "Justice Log":"Adam Hughes did pencils 'n' inks, Bob Le Rose did colors 'n' stuff." From "Europinion": "Bart Sears on pencils, Joe Rubinstein on inks, Bob Le Rose on colors, Andy Helfer on lead guitar."

Meanwhile, the Dick Tracy marketing train keeps chugging along:

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, #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


Dick Tracy ad copyright Disney. All other images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.

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 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 28

Justice League America #28
July '89
"A Date with Density!"
Giffen: plot
Templeton: pencils 1-3, 22
McKone: pencils 4-21
Rubinstein: inks
De Guzman: letters
D'Angelo: envelopes
Dooley: asst. ed.
Helfer: Mr. Ed.

Justice League Europe #4
July '89
"Bialya Burning!"
Keith Giffen, plot and breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, woids
Bart Sears, pencils
Pablo Marcos, inks
Albert De Guzman, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin Dooley, has just about had it with--
Andy Helfer, editor


This week's award for most entertaining read goes to JLE, which among other things gives us this great panel showcasing Wally West's chauvinism:

The issue also finds Flash, Power Girl, Animal Man and Metamorpho infiltrating the Queen Bee's operation in Bialya, where they discover the Queen's in cahoots with a Dominator left over from Invasion! (That story does have a way of continually creeping into these pages.) The book takes a dark turn near its end, though, when the Leaguers strike a deal with the Queen and then skip the country. it seems her end of the deal included severing relations with both the Global Guardians and the Dominator (referred to simply--albeit ominously--as "Doctor"), and she keeps her end by seeing that both are killed. That's what I call dirty business, and even if it's not what the League intended, aren't they at least partly culpable?

Meanwhile, JLA would be pretty great if not for Mike McKone's pencils through most of the book. For one thing, the transition between Templeton's work and his is frighteningly jolting, and McKone really managed to draw some of the gnarliest women I've ever seen in a comic book.

On a brighter note, though, the story focuses on Guy's failed attempt to get inside Ice's pants by taking her to see a skin flick. It's pretty entertaining stuff, and what there is to the plot thickens when it's revealed that the porno theater is owned by none other than the Black Hand. No doubt the foundation for this whole Blackest Night fiasco was set right here.

As usual, blame Guy Gardner.

Also, hell yes:

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, #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


Airwolf ad copyright Universal City 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.