60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 49

Justice League America #49
Apr. '91
"Glory Bound, Pt. 4: Glory and Shame"
Guns at the ready, a patriotic song on their lips, those freedom-fighting daredevils of DC strike again!
Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, script & kibitzing
Linda Medley, pencils
John Beatty, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin "Halls of Montezuma" Dooley, asst. editor
Andy "Montezuma's Revenge" Helfer, editor

Justice League Europe #25
Apr. '91
"Nightcrawlers!"
Keith Giffen, creepy plot
Gerard Jones, crawly dialogue
Bart Sears, squirmy pencils
Randy Elliott, wriggly inks
Bob Lappan, slimy letters
Gene D'Angelo, slippery colors
Kevin Dooley, squishy assistance
Andy Helfer, soil aeration


In the penultimate chapter of the "Glory Bound" saga, General Glory's accused of committing war crimes back in the Second World War, namely destroying an Allied P.O.W. camp and killing everyone therein. What with his amnesia and all, the good General can't say for certain that he's innocent, and goes willingly into custody--although Guy Gardner isn't quite so willing to stand by and watch this happen, and it takes the rest of the League to keep him from absconding with Glory and grinding the feds to pulp.

As the story unfolds, Schmidt takes flight in yet another Nazi superweapon, this one a flying sphere called "The Evil Eye." Meanwhile, Joe Mason, the artist of General Glory's old comic book, steps forward to help the League clear Glory's name. It's pretty fantastic (not to mention meta) that the fate of this hero seems to lie in the hands of his illustrator.

Speaking of artists, Medley continues to do excellent work in her fourth consecutive issue, but it's JLE whose pages really shine. The usual team of Sears and Elliott again handle the art chores, but Elliott seems to have upped his game significantly for the final chapter of the Crimson Fox origin arc, truly fleshing out Sears' pencils and adding three-dimensionality to the 2-D page. (Credit, of course, is also due D'Angelo's coloring prowess.) I've liked his inks since he joined this title back in issue 16, but here his contributions clearly elevate the already impressive art.

There being two sisters who share the cowl of the Crimson Fox, and my being pretty in the dark about the character beyond the JLE issues we've so far covered, I did wonder whether one of the two would prove to be expendable in the creators' eyes, but in usual heroic fashion, both D'Aramis sisters survive to continue fighting crime. There's no such happy ending for the giant worms, however, nor for the D'Aramis' sworn nemesis, Puanteur, whose thirst for vengeance completely blinds him to any practical considerations, such as preserving his own neck. This is a morality tale, after all.

"Justice Log" offers some fun facts this issue, great for keeping people entertained at parties, to wit:

The most important question we've ever been asked comes form Michael Thibodoeau, Edmunston, New Brunswick, Canada. It's "What does J'onn prefer most: Oreos, Oreo Double Stuff, or chocolate-coated Oreos?" Answer: yes, but usually the plain ones.
Lots of basic questions from Sigurdur Jonas Gudmundsson, Paris, France, like when we published and who was in our first JLA magazine. The first JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA was in 1960 and starred Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, and J'onn J'onzz. ... He asks who was DC's first character--probably Oswald the Rabbit in NEW FUN COMICS in 1935.

And of course, what's a letter column without cover credits? From "Justice Log": "Cover Credit Cards: Adam 'Mastercard' Hughes on pencils, Karl 'Visa' Story on inks, and Bob 'AMEX' Le Rose on colors." And from "Europinion": "Cover by Bart, Randy, and Bob--pencils, inks, colors."

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, #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 42

Justice League American #42
Sep. '90
"Solicitations"
It's the album of the decade brought to you by those lovable mop-tops:
Keith Giffen, acoustic & electric guitars
J.M. DeMatteis, lead vocals
Mike McKone, bass
José Marzan, Jr., piano
Gene D'Angelo, percussion
Bob Lappan, drums
Management: Kevin Dooley
Produced by Andrew Helfer

Justice League Europe #18
Sep. '90
"The Extremist Vector Part Four: The Happy Place"
Keith Giffen, plot/breakdowns
Gerard Jones, script
Bart Sears, pencils
Randy Elliott, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin Dooley, wacky
Andy Helfer, wicky


I've been looking forward to this week with both excitement and trepidation since beginning this whole "60 Weeks" experiment. Indeed, for me, JLA #42 is where it all began. Back in 1990, I'd only recently gotten into reading comics, but it didn't take long to hear about the Justice League of America, the premier assemblage of the World's Greatest Heroes. Superman! Batman! The Flash! Other characters whom I was still getting to know! I explained the premise to my folks and how this must surely be the greatest comic book ever put to press, and, if I recall correctly, my dad soon thereafter brought this and issue 43 home for me after stopping by Cleveland's Super City Comics on his lunch break. Admittedly, it wasn't exactly what I'd anticipated--who were these strange characters on the cover? (Hell, I asked myself the same thing before reading it now, in 2010.) At least this Blue Beetle guy looked pretty cool.

Now though, with 20 years having passed and having finally read the previous 40 issues, I must say this issue is fantastic through and through. Hands down one of my favorites of the series. Even McKone's art seems to have taken a quantum leap forward into greatness since just the previous issue, where I was still dogging it; his characters here show tremendous acting chops, and his layouts are all first rate. He still might not be an Adam Hughes or a Kevin Maguire, but he clearly stands on his own and knocks this membership-drive story right outta the park. And speaking of the story, let's finally get to it.

Recognizing the need for more muscle on the team, Max sends Blue Beetle and Fire out to recruit El Diablo, Guy Gardner to recruit Starman, and Ice and Huntress to recruit Hawk and Dove. Each bit, more or less, turns out like this:

Complicating matters further, J'onn feels the need to take some time away to clear his own head after the Despero debacle. His absence should have been mitigated when the real Scott Free returns to Earth after completing his indentured servitude to Manga Khan--it turns out that kooky Mr. Miracle that was blown up and then buried last issue was one of Manga's robot duplicates--but instead he decides to let the world continue thinking he's dead while he takes some time off to barbecue with Barda. All's not completely hopeless, though: First, Max trades the test-tube remnants of Despero to Manga Khan for Manga's erstwhile robo-servant L-Ron; then, on the last page, New Gods Orion and Lightray arrive at the embassy, ready for action.

JLE's also a fine piece of work this time out, and definitely the most entertaining chapter yet of "The Extremist Vector" storyline. Trapped in Silver Sorceress' nuked-out dimension, the Leaguers are summoned to Wacky World, a pristine amusement park populated by lifelike robots who, in turn, demonstrate a religious devotion to the park's "visionary" (apparently a sort of cross between Walt Disney and L. Ron Hubbard) and his living servant/prophet/freakazoid, Carny. Carny, in turn, has been holding Silver Sorceress captive, and now he's bent on keeping the JLE imprisoned in his house of horrors. Zaniness ensues, and when said zaniness goes against Carny's plans, the big boy throws a fit and blows up Wacky World. The League, protected by Metamorpho, appears to be safe; the Sorceress' fate is less clear; and the last page reveals a mysterious figure waking from some techno-slumber contraption. Perhaps it's the visionary himself?

"Justice Log" alerts us to these cover credits for JLA: "Adam Hughes, pencils/inks; Bob Le Rose, colors." No letters page this month in JLE--instead, there's an ad for Justice League Quarterly, which I won't be covering during this initial 60 Weeks project, but I do hope to come back around for sometime next year--but how about that cover, referencing JLI #11?

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, #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 38

Justice League America #38
May '90
"Spy"
Story by Giffen & DeMatteis
Art by Hughes & Rubinstein
The parody of "Spy" in this issue is published with the permission of "Spy Magazine." "Spy" and "Separated at Birth?" are registered trademarks belonging to Spy Publishing Partners, LP.

Justice League Europe #14
May '90
"You Oughta Be In Pictures"
Keith Giffen, plot and breakdowns
Gerard Jones, dialogue
Linda Medley, pencils
Jose Marzan Jr., inks
Albert De Guzman, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin Dooley, best boy
Andy Helfer, key grip
And who says you can't do film in comics?

Judging by the letters pages all these many months, it was a minority of readers who wanted JLA to abandon its jocular tone in favor of grim 'n' gritty, no-holds-barred punch-ups. Nevertheless, being the giving people they are, the creative team decided to give that minority its day in the sun, beginning with issue 38. The book starts innocently enough, with five pages of Wally Tortolini's reportage for Spy magazine, laid out to look like the real publication. Basing his story on the clues found in the League's garbage, the journalist manages to connect a lot of dots, correctly identifying, for example, the alter egos of Fire and Blue Beetle. Fortunately for the League, the DCU's version of Spy is owned by Vivian D'Aramis, a.k.a. Crimson Fox, and she quickly and quietly kills the story before it hits the presses.

The JLA's problems are far from over, though. First, Booster and Claire Montgomery start laying the foundation for their own super-team by recruiting Maxi-Man to the cause. Far more seriously, though, the alien that emerged last issue is now clearly identified as a reconstituted Despero, and he wastes no time returning to Earth seeking revenge against the old members of Justice League Detroit. First, he rips what's left of Steel out of the life-support tube that had kept the hero hanging on by a thread, and then, without batting his third eye, he flies off to suburbia and kills Gypsy's parents. When Gypsy returns from studying at the library, Despero chases her across town, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake. All hope for Gypsy seems lost until, on the last page, J'onn intervenes.

For anyone needing a bit of levity after all that carnage, things don't get any lighter than JLE #14. Unfortunately, there's too much fluff even for me. The story hinges on a nameless milquetoast who's basically married to his VCR and extensive library of VHS tapes (yeah, this one's a bit dated). One day, he receives the ability to transfer bodies with anyone--or anything--he sees onscreen. The sauce thickens when he travels to the Cannes Film Festival in the guise of movie star Flint Clintwood; when he finds himself in a pinch, he then becomes in turn a giant Godzilla-esque monster, a chainsaw-wielding murderer and "Winki" the dog. Lest you wonder what the hell any of that has to do with the JLI, Flash, Power Girl and Elongated Man (and his lovely wife, Sue) have also traveled to Cannes for a bit of PR, and once there they bump into Fire and Ice, who happen to be in France because, I don't know, nothing happens in America I guess.

Linda Medley's pencils shine when dealing with the Japanese monster, but her Flash looks like he fell out of an Archie comic. The worst offenses, though, lie with the plot, which is flimsy and riddled with holes I find hard to ignore even for a genre that consistently stretches the limits of suspending one's disbelief. Just one example: Movie-Man (my name for him, and I know it's not a good one) manages to outrun the frickin' Flash.

Anyway, and apropos of nothing, there's been something very strange about Mr. Miracle these past two issues of JLA.

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, #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 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 11

Justice League International #11
March ‘88
“Constructions!”
Keith Giffen: plot and layouts
J.M. DeMatteis: script
Kevin Maguire: pencils
Al Gordon: inks
John Workman: letters
Gene D’Angelo: colors
Andrew Helfer: editor


This issue’s a real return to form after the whole Millennium debacle. The cover alone is worth the price of admission, and the show inside lives up to every inked line. Despite having been gunned down by his secretary, Maxwell Lord appears alive and well, at least until he’s attacked by his own skyscraper. The League saves him, though, and then follows his paranoid ramblings to a fight with the giant robot known as the Construct. And as if those hijinks weren’t madcap enough, the whole show ends with a reveal of Metron sitting back in his magical La-Z-Boy and just daring the League to make him stand up.


In other good news, the backup story from the past few issues—the one that never made any sense so far as I could figure—seems to have been scrapped, and in rather anticlimactic fashion, the letter’s page has at long last been christened Justice Log.



The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #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, #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 9

Justice League International #9
Jan. ‘88
“Seeing Red”
Keith Giffen: plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis: script
Kevin Maguire: pencils
Al Gordon: inks
Bob Lappan: letters
Gene D’Angelo: colors
Andy Helfer: editor

Backup story:
“Brief Encounter”
Giffen: plot & pencils
DeMatteis: script
Gordon: inks
Mas: letters
D’Angelo: colors
Helfer: long lunches


Despite being a tie-in to a crossover event that I ignored at the time and continue to ignore now--and despite the way-lame cover--this was probably the most exciting issue yet of this incarnation of the Justice League. Consider what happens:

Rocket Red reveals he is a Manhunter:

Oberon does his best Harvey Pekar impersonation:

Pelé organizes the official Tang soccer team, which went on to not make it to the 1990 World Cup :

Mr. Miracle quotes every character from Star Wars at the same time:

Ms. Wootenhoffer guns down Maxwell Lord:

On the other hand, the backup story--which reveals that Bialya’s Colonel Rumaan Harjavti is trying to organize his own super team, starting with the Global Guardians’ Jack O’ Lantern (and which, despite the title, has nothing to do with the David Lean film)--plays kinda like this panel stretched out over six pages:


The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #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, #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 7

Justice League International #7
Nov. '87
“Justice League … International!”
Keith Giffen: plot & breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis: script
Kevin Maguire: pencils
Al Gordon: inks
Bob Lappan: letters
Gene D’Angelo: colors
Andy Helfer: editor


So, the whole Gray Man storyline from the past few issues was essentially a waste of time, as apparently Doctor Fate could have put the kibash on his shenanigans at any point. But whatever—only 6 of this issue’s 38 special pages is dedicated to wrapping up that storyline. What happens then, you ask? Well, sit back and enjoy this show and tell…

Superman speaks!

Hal Jordan dances!

Guy Gardner gets a new ‘tude!

J’onn goes to Disneyland!

Mister Miracle mind melds with V’ger!

Ronald F’ing Reagan!

Also, in no particular order: Doctor Fate and Captain Marvel leave the team, Captain Atom and Rocket Red join, the League is officially sanctioned by the United Nations, and the book’s title change results in a logo I find somewhat less attractive than the one on issues 1 through 7.




The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #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, #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 4

Justice League #4
August ‘87
“Winning Hand”
Keith Giffen: plot
J.M. DeMatteis: script
Kevin Maguire: pencils
Al Gordon: inks
Bob Lappan: letters
Gene D’Angelo: colors
Andy Helfer: editor


For all the humor inherent in making the Justice League logo the “diaper” for this issue’s big bad guy (the Royal Flush Gang’s robotic Ace), Maguire’s undisputed strength lies in drawing facial expressions, and this cover’s wide shot of the Leaguers just doesn’t carry the same punch as when he’s drawing close-ups. Certainly, the book couldn’t survive with only talking heads filling its pages, but you really want the art to shine on the cover, and this one just doesn’t carry a whole lot of sparkle.



As for the inside of the book, my first read-through left me rather nonplussed. After three issues I was happy to chalk up to foundation building, I frankly expected something, well, significant to happen here. At least more significant than Booster Gold almost single-handedly taking down the Royal Flush Gang and earning official entrée into the League’s ranks. Because basically that’s all that happens.



After reading the issue a second time, however, I came away having enjoyed the work a good deal more. Certainly the book hadn’t changed: Booster’s jokes that I thought fell flat the first time around still made me cringe, but Ace’s declaration of annoyance followed up with swift backhand suggested the writers knew the dialogue might have its critics, and I found myself on DeMatteis’ side again.



The heart of this book is the interaction between the characters, and frankly I would be happy to see them tackle the most banal of tasks, right on down to grocery shopping and laundry, except for one fact: Batman is on the team.



Batman’s all seriousness. When he’s around, everyone should be taking care of business. And when he’s with the JL, the team should be preventing worldwide cataclysm. Why? Because he’s Batman, and nothing short of the end of the world should get him to leave the streets of Gotham. If he weren’t in this book, I’d be happy to watch all the rest of the team fight amongst themselves and then drink chocolate malts, but with him here, I expect a much more serious threat than the damn Royal Flush Gang.



I understand the need to have a grounding presence on the team, someone who can be all business all the time, but over the past four issues, Martian Manhunter has performed that role brilliantly, to the point of making Batman redundant. But hey, DC is (and was back in ’87, too) in the comics-selling business, and Batman sells books.



Maybe they should’ve just put Batman on the cover.


More Fun with Maxwell Lord!






The complete 60 Weeks with the Justice League on The Danger Digest:
#1, #2, #3, #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, #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.