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.

60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 22

Justice League International #22
“Little Murders”
Keith Giffen: plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis: woids
Kevin Maguire: pencils
Joe Rubinstein: inks
Bob Lappan: letters
Gene D’Angelo: colors
Andrew Helfer: rocket physicist


The only disappointment in this entire issue is that Oberon doesn’t actually sport the duds he’s wearing on the cover. Otherwise, even though this is a tie-in with yet another crossover event that I didn’t read, it was a hoot. Also--and maybe this is just because the issue comes on the heels of two Templeton-penciled issues--Maguire’s pencils seem to be getting better and better all the time--and I loved ‘em back at issue #1. (Of course, any praise for the art would be remiss if it didn’t acknowledge Rubinstein’s inks, which went a long way toward synthesizing Templeton’s work with Maguire’s.)

In addition to acknowledging a terrific (albeit truly bizarre) picture starring the great Elliott Gould, the title references the battle Oberon must wage against a force of diminutive aliens that invades the League’s New York Embassy. The invaders quickly overcome Booster Gold, leaving Oberon to save the day, which he ably does within the first 10 pages.


The second half of the book then finds the rest of the League on Fiji, where they’re helping the military stave off the larger-scale Khund aliens. Essentially, the League needs to keep the alien’s distracted while Wonder Woman extracts operative Etta Candy from the Fijian jungle. Wonder Woman’s presence serves two real purposes here: answering longtime fan demand (expressed in the letters pages) to see her in the book, and giving Blue Beetle and Rocket Red an excuse to trip over themselves while trying to impress her.


Nevertheless, the League gives the Khund aliens hell--in fact, even Ice makes a notable contribution, erecting an ice mountain that takes down an enemy ship. Not all is fun and games, though, as the issue ends with J’onn mourning the loss of so many Khund lives. Here at The D.D., we’ll take it back a few pages so we can end on a brighter note.



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, #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, #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.