60 WEEKS WITH THE JUSTICE LEAGUE: Week 44

Justice League America #44
Nov. '90
"Pastiche"
Let's have a round of applause for those adorable little rascals:
Keith Giffen, nervous breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, psychobabble
Adam Hughes, going on vacation
José Marzan, Jr., inker
Bob Lappan, letterer
Gene D'Angelo, colorist
Kevin Dooley desperately wants a promotion
Andrew Helfer actually went on an airplane

Justice League Europe #20
Nov. '90
"Rue Brittania"
More sequential panel art fun from:
Keith Giffen
Gerard Jones
Marshall Rogers
Bob Smith
Bob Lappan
Gene D'Angelo
Andy Dooley
Kevin Helfer

Despite telling Max he needed some time away back in issue #42, J'onn is still taking it easy with the rest of the League--and mind you, I'm not complaining. More importantly, after showing up in some bizarre duds, Orion's back to wearing his traditional threads this ish. These are important points, dear readers, because the JLA needs to be at its very best to take down "Wally, the amazing Tortolini-Man." Armed with all of the gadgets he won in last issue's poker game, Wally tries to hit the road but is immediately thwarted by a team of mysterious operatives working well outside the law. Undaunted, the erstwhile reporter decides to give his weapons a field test, and based on those weapons, Sonar, Black Mass, Brainstorm, Crowbar, the Cavalier and Blackrock are all assumed to be the parties responsible.

It's a delicious mix up that leads to a fun--and mercifully short--punch up between the League and the band of accused villains, all of whom wind up in the clink by issue's end. Adding to the good times, of course, are Hughes' pencils, which feel better complemented by Marzan's inks this time out--it's a weak point to make, no doubt, since I can't put my finger on just exactly what it was that didn't work as well for me about the inks last issue, but this time the whole package just feels a bit more put together. As for Wally himself, all the excitement prompts a change of heart, and he decides to hand over J'onn the notebook he's been carrying filled with the JLA's secrets.

JLE, meanwhile, welcomes Marshall Rogers to the fold with mixed results. Some of his pages and character acting are great, but others feel rushed or like a halfhearted attempt to mimic the Maguire/Hughes style. All the same, it's an important story in that it sees the accidental destruction of the Paris embassy at the hands of the Beefeater, otherwise known as Michael Morice, the caretaker of the League's London embassy. I suppose this is what happens when readers keep writing letters demanding Europe be better represented in these pages.

Both books only present one page of letters apiece, as opposed to the usual two, but manage nevertheless to fit in cover credits. From "Justice Log": "This issue's cover art by Adam Hughes, color by Bob Le Rose." From "Europinion": "Cover by Marshall Rogers, pencils; Bruce Patterson, inks; and Bob Le Rose, 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, #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 43

Justice League America #43
Oct. '90
"If You Play Your Cards Right..."
Kevin Dooley, DC Comics' finest assistant editor, proudly presents
Keith Giffen, plot
J.M. DeMatteis, script
Adam Hughes, pencils
José Marzan, Jr., inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Andy Helfer, editor
(There, Kevin--isn't that better than a raise?)

Justice League Europe #19
Oct. '90
"The Extremist Vector Part Five: Pushing the Button"
Uncle Keith Giffen, plot & breakdowns
Gerard Jones, words
Bart Sears, pencils
Randy Elliott, inks
Bob Lappan, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin D'Ooley, stuff
Andy D'Helfer, nonsense


As mentioned last week, JLA #43 was one of the two issues of this series I actually acquired during the book's run, so there's a certain degree of nostalgia involved in turning its pages again now. However, I don't think I pored over this issue quite as intently as I did the previous book--once again I no doubt wondered who these characters were, and even Blue Beetle's not as prominent this issue. Nevertheless, reading the book now, the story's a winner. (Hughes' art is also a welcome sight, although Marzan's inks give it a different flavor than I'd been used to with Art Nichols--there seems to be a stronger emphasis on dense shadows, for one.) Giffen and DeMatteis dug deep into DC's back catalog to unearth such forgotten villains as Sonar, Crowbar, Black Mass, Blackrock, Brainstorm, Cavalier and Quakemaster. Rather than forming their own Injustice League, however, they all get together to play cards at the hole-in-the-wall bar known as The Dark Side, whose clientele exclusively comprises super villains. Earlier in the issue, intrepid garbageman/journalist Wally Tortolini rescues Sonar from a run-in with the League, and in return Sonar (a.k.a. Bito Wladon of Modora) brings Tortolini to the card table. Hoping for a story, Tortolini instead leaves armed with the villains' myriad accoutrements.

Meanwhile, JLE presents a jumbled mess of a conclusion to "The Extremist Vector." I trust you're sitting down for this. The explosion set off at the end of last issue by Carny--who, it turns out, was also a robot--does indeed awaken "the Visionary," otherwise known as "Uncle" Mitch Wacky, the creator of Wacky World. Back in the day, Uncle Mitch caught the flu, which is fatal in his dimension, and so he placed himself into a cryogenic slumber. Now, of course, he awakens to find his world destroyed, but making things really convoluted, the nuclear holocaust actually wiped out the Extremists who caused it, and it turns out the Extremists currently terrorizing "our" dimension are robots built after the Armageddon to lend an air of excitement to Wacky World. Naturally, the robo-villains went rogue. So, Silver Sorceress (who survived last issue's blast unscathed) transports everyone--including Uncle Mitch--back to our Earth, where Mitch uses a kill switch only he can operate to shut down the Extremists. Well, except for Dreamslayer, who turns out to still be the original and not a robot duplicate. Then Dreamslayer tries to cast a spell on Crimson Fox, but she turns out to be Silver Sorceress in disguise. And so on and so forth. Anyways, the good guys win, but I think Uncle Mitch bit the bullet along the way. Ah well. The pictures are pretty; I really like Elliott's inks over Sears' pencils.

Oh, yeah, and apparently Dr. Light's been hanging out at the League's Japan embassy. I'm trusting that was covered in an Annual somewhere along the way and this wasn't as out of the blue as it first struck me.

"Europinion" gives us these cover credits: "Bart Sears, pencils; Randy Elliott, inks; Bob Le Rose, colors." No cover credits mentioned in "Justice Log," but there are some other noteworthy nuggets. In the spirit of transparency, Dooley responds to Mike Alleni of Staten Island, NY, who wonders why Fire's clothes don't burn: "Do you want a made-up science answer (unstable molecules, I'm sure) or can we just point to that stamp on the cover?" And in response to Greg Schienke of Charlottesville, VA, Dooley offers this insightful summary of what this whole Justice League experiment is all about:

[Justice League] was set up as a sitcom. Read JL #1--most of the action is bickering. Read Andy's intro to 'A New Beginning.' JUSTICE LEAGUE always was about 'the environment our characters inhabit,' 'the simple interrelationships of heroes,' and making the heroes 'act just like people,' funny, silly. As we've said, in this industry of 'normal' seriousness, JL is the aberration. And as Will Rogers put it, "We are all here for a spell, get all the good laughs you can.'

Lastly, remember this show? Boy howdy, was I excited.

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, #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


The Flash ad copyright DC Comics, Inc. and CBS, 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 37

Justice League America #37
Apr. '90
"Furballs!"
Keith Giffen, plot
J.M. DeMatteis, script
Adam Hughes, pencils
Art Nichols, inks
Albert De Guzman, letters
Gene D'Angelo, colors
Kevin Dooley, still thinks he's editing "Amazing Heroes"
Andy Helfer ... well, the less said about him, the better
Special thanks to Joe Rubinstein & Jack Torrance for invaluable inking assists

Justice League Europe #13
Apr. '90
"Furballs II"
Keith Giffen, plot + breakdowns
J.M. DeMatteis, guest scripter
Chris Sprouse, guest penciller
K.S. Wilson, inker
Bob Lappan, letterist
Gene D'Angelo, colorist
Kevin Dooley, dances divinely
Andy Helfer, always leads

As you've no doubt inferred from the titles above, this week brings us a two-part crossover event, although I use the word "event" loosely. After the serious tone JLE adopted for the Metamorpho & Son story, DeMatteis returns for a lighthearted romp that finds a group of schoolchildren on a field trip to the Paris embassy. At the same time, would-be super-thief Jean-Jean de Jean infiltrates the embassy in a doomed attempt to relieve the building of its art collection, generously donated by the French government. Everything comes to a boil when the JLA arrives in Paris, summoned there by an alleycat who took a nap on the JLE's priority-one alert button.

Three Stooges references strengthen the bridge between the two titles that's built on the cat that lives in the alley behind the New York embassy. The "Furballs" adventure begins when Guy absent-mindedly leaves the back door ajar and the cat slips inside. After the cat frightens Fire and gives Guy a run for his money, Guy tosses the cat into the teleporter, making it the JLE's problem. That's teamwork for you.

JLE's guest penciller, Chris Sprouse--very early in his career at this point--does a passable job, although I wish he would have laid his panels out to a tighter grid. Meanwhile, despite the feline funnies, JLA sets up a number of important threads that'll come to fruition over the next handful of issues, beginning with the return of a mysterious alien ...

... continuing through a reporter for Spy magazine absconding with the League's refuse ...

... and winding up with Booster--who's gone all A.J. Simon with his look--meeting with one Claire Montgomery, which in turn leads us to the issue's surprise finale:

Finally, let's remember that in April of 1990, we were seeing ads for what remains one of the most significant events to ever hit pop culture--and here I use "event" with all the import the word can bear.

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, #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


TMNT ad copyright Golden Harvest, New Line Cinema and Mirage Studios. A.J. Simon frame grab from Simon & Simon, copyright Universal TV. All other images this post copyright DC Comics. Original text copyright Jon D. Witmer/The Danger Digest.