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 23

Justice League International #23
Jan. ‘89
“Gross Injustice”
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, script
Kevin Maguire, pencils
Joe Rubinstein, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D’Angelo, colors
Andrew Helfer, editor
and introducing Kevin Dooley, King of the Universe


A bittersweet issue, this. Sweet, because it contains probably the most madcap plot we’ve yet seen in this book, supported by the best script DeMatteis has yet penned and pitch-perfect art from Maguire. Bitter, though, for two reasons: one, the story ends with a twist concluded in Invasion! #3, so I may never learn “the deadly secret of the atmospheric inversion”; and two, the letters page reveals that Maguire will be leaving the book after issue 24. (Lessening that second blow, Ty Templeton will take over regular penciling duties; while he’s not Maguire, his work in issue’s 20 and 21 was solid.)


Still tying into DC’s Invasion! event, the story begins with the League cleaning up a Khund crash site on “a small island in the South Pacific.” The zany knob gets dialed to 11 when a band of buffoons calling themselves the Injustice League hotwire a Thanagarian starship. Hellbent on world domination--or at least knocking over gas stations--the villains catch the ire of Guy Gardner, and in turn, that of the entire JLI.

Seen on the cover above, the Injustice League includes (from left to right) Big Sir, Clue Master, Major Disaster, Multi-Man and Clock King. Not pictured is the gang’s technology “expert,” Bruce:


This is brilliant fun, the best this book has been in its first two years, and aside from being continued in a different title, the story does a good job of standing on its own, so a new reader can easily catch on to the madness. And just look at Maguire’s acting chops--Templeton’s got some big shoes to fill.



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, #24, #25/1, #26/2, #27/3, #28/4, #29/5, #30/6, #31/7, #32/8, #33/9, #34/10, #35/11, #36/12, #37/13, #38/14, #39/15, #40/16, #41/17, #42/18, #43/19, #44/20, #45/21, #46/22, #47/23, #48/24, #49/25, #50/26, #51/27, #52/28, #53/29, #54/30, #55/31, #56/32, #57/33, #58/34, #59/35, #60/36


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