Justice League #22

Hey, I thought I posted this on Friday!  I swear!

Invasion (Already another crossover!)

 It's amazing what happens when you read 22 issues of a comic in one month.  You do forget that it is two years worth of comics, and, of course, two years of SPECIAL! WORLD-CHANGING! events.  This one is "Invasion."  

I am not exactly sure what the Invasion is, but apparently the entire JLI, other than Oberon and Booster, are all off fighting aliens in Australia, with Wonder Woman.  Booster has to stick around for monitor duty (really, during an invasion?), and since Oberon doesn't have powers, he doesn't get to go either.  Although he seems keen to meet Wonder Woman.  

Apparently, the JLI took the teleport to JLI headquarters in Australia, which means that the aliens can take it back to the US headquarters.  For some reason, the head of the aliens in Australia decides to send tiny little soldiers through.  Well, the tiny little soldiers manage to take out Booster fairly easily, but Oberon was a bit faster on the uptake and manages to get the upper hand, so to speak.  He knocks out all the aliens with one of Beetle's "toys" and saves the day. 

Meanwhile, in Australia, all the other (male) Leaguers are fawning over Wonder Woman.  Poor Fire and Ice are feeling a little left out.  But they band together to distract the invasion force while Etta Candy is rescued.  We'd know what she was rescued from if I had read Invasion.  Oh, well.

I thought the Daily Planet article/Ad was interesting.  Kind of giving an overview of what one might find in the Invasion comics.  It reminded me a little of the map DC put out for Flashpoint.   

Interesting Ads:

Superman ActionLine -- a 900 line (remember these? $2 a call!) that you could call to get more Superman stories.  EVERY DAY.  Benefitting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Americal.  

More OFFICIAL  Licensed Medallions in PURE SILVER!

Sandman: A new series from Neil Gaiman!  Beginning in November. 

Justice League #19/#20

Oh, no.  I missed yesterday.  Drat.  But I did read my comic yesterday, so I will write about it, and JLI #20 today.  

You'll notice that the cover of #19 is very similar to the cover of #18. What's the difference?  Well, Guy is back.  Now he is ready to beat up up Lobo, instead of crying about Lobo.  As much fun as a nice Guy is, girls really prefer the obnoxious Guy...

So Guy sort of pushes Lobo out the window, much to the chagrin of the other JLI members present.  They don't know that Lobo was hired to kill the other members.  They, in fact, think Lobo is on THEIR side, and is a friend of Barda's.  I guess they've never met Lobo before.  Lobo is not on anyone's side (except, apparently, the space dolphins).  

So Lobo gets temporary membership in the JLI, much to the chagrin of Batman.  And Black Canary is officially removed from the roll.  I guess she has more important things to do.  

After things settle down a bit, Ice goes to see Guy, and asks what happened...his behavior is very disturbing.  She has never seen the REAL Guy.  So he is pretty obnoxious to her.  I always wondered what Ice saw in Guy, but now I know that she first got to know him under the influence of a knock on the head.  That explains a lot!

In the meantime, the rest of the JLI is on a membership drive.  Superman says no.  Captain Atom says no to Major Force.  Beetle and Booster can't find the Flash.  Hawkman doesn't want to join, but Hawkwoman says they will join.  Guess who wins?  Hawkman is not happy.  

And in the last panel, Barda and the others in space make it Apokolips while chasing the Cluster.  If Mr. Miracle is such an escape artist, though, why is Barda so worried?

Which brings me to #20, Mr. Miracle for sale!  

 In which we have Lord Manga Khan trying to establish trade with Apokolips by trading Mr. Miracle.  He first meets with Doctor Verman Vunderbar, who is impressed that the Cluster has Scott Free.  Things are looking good to Manga Khan, until he learns that Lobo didn't take out the JLI, and they have, in fact, arrived at Apokolips.  L-Ron, however, has blown up the JLI ship and assume that the JLI is now done for.

Lots of good quips, lots of JLI interaction.  Barda bops back to JLI headquarters to pick up the rest of the crew.  She doesn't stick around long enough to figure out that Lobo is there!  The new members are confused.  

I'll get back on track tomorrow, with issue #21.

Justice League #18

Guy Gardner and Lobo on the cover!  And an extra (FREE) 16 page second feature.  Note that it was EXTRA pages at NO extra cost to the reader. Not an ad.  Not a preview for another comic.  An actual extra story.
Amazing.

Poor Barda.  The JLI has used a boom tube to try to follow the Cluster, but they picked the wrong jump choice.  Barda almost knocks a hole in the hull.  Just as J'onn is preparing to jump them to another location, the Cluster arrives.  Apparently, a boom tube is quicker than a hyperspace drive.

I really like Manga Khan.  This is the third or fourth issue he's been in.  He talks to himself.  He yells or shouts.  He names his robots after SF writers.  He's a walking cliché.  

In this issue, Manga Khan hires Lobo to kill the members of the JLI who are following his ship.  Now, I really dislike Lobo.  I tend to skip comics where Lobo was featured.  But I am committed to the JLI! And I am sure that Lobo will be written to fit in here.

Wait, Lobo feeds interstellar dolphins?  I kept waiting for him to attack and/or eat the dolphins, but he is actually collecting his pay as dolphin food?

So Lobo attacks the JLI ship, and the crew manages to hold him off just long enough for Barda to send him through a boom tube to...somewhere (let's guess where).  Manga Khan hyperspaces out to Apokolips to trade Scott Free off, and then...

We flash to the JLI headquarters back on Earth, where there is a huge explosion, which knocks guy off his chair and --- poof -- he is back to his old, "thoroughly rotten" self.  Next we should see how Fire and Ice, especially Ice, react to the new (old) Guy!  It's about time!

Justice League #17

When we left off, Queen Bee had just ordered Wandjina to kill Rumaan Harjvati, the despot of  Bialya and declared herself Queen.  So, what happens next?

Queen Bee is holding all the important guests in isolation and the outside world doesn't know what is going on.  (I am really enjoying some of the references, but they'd probably go over the head of a young reader now...Jim Nabors?  Really!)  Captain Atom is upset that Batman got the team into a situation they apparently couldn't handle, but Oberon isn't worried.

Meanwhile, in Bialya, the former Global Guardians are getting a little worried about what the Queen is doing, and Batman has changed his disguise from Bruce Wayne to Max Lord.  But was Max even supposed to be there?  How could this fool anyone?  It seems to me that the Bat is not thinking very hard here.  I agree with Captain Atom.  And why weren't the Bialyans the least bit suspicious about the Legion flight ring they found on Booster?  Didn't they realize then he was a
superhero?

Anyway, eventually Bats, Green Flame, Booster and Beetle all meet up again (no one fully dressed except for Batman...hmmmm, maybe he is thinking), and are trying to escape when they run into Wandjina  and...Captain Atom saves the day.  Not quite sure how he got in there.  But he did.  They want to try to take Queen Bee in, but apparently the Bialyans love her and want her in power, so they have to leave her.

But what about the space-bound JLI members?  They get a couple pages here, too.  Barda manages to rig up a boom tube so their non-hyperspace space ship can follow the cluster ships.  Off they go...

I've been getting weird looks when I read these books in public.  I am incapable of not giggling when reading these.  

Justice League #16

Rumaan Harjati is back in this issue.  Max and Batman decide that the League needs to find out what he is up to, and stop it.  So, Batman and part of the team (the part that is not off following Mr. Miracle trapped on a shopping expedition to the stars) go undercover to find out what is going on in Bialya.

Of course, Batman goes undercover as Bruce Wayne.  But none of the others (Green Flame -- I can't get used to that, Beetle and Booster) know that Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person.  And they don't even suspect?  These guys are NOT the world's greatest detectives!  So Flame is posing at Bruce's lastest bimbo, and Booster and Beetle are aide-de-camps/assistants.

Now, I am not sure, but does everyone (the world, or just the JLI) know that the Blue Beetle is Ted Kord?  Is Ted Kord head of Kord Industries at this time? Because I would have thought that Ted could get invited to this, too.  Unless Rumaan knows that Ted is the Blue Beetle.  Argh.  No wonder DC wants to start over every now and then.

I am not sure what the deal is with Flame's hair.  It looks like she is wearing a mop for a wig.  I am sure that the JLI could afford better wigs for her!  But we do find out that is actually "Ms. Dacosta" -- so this is actually Fire -- and Bruce knows her secret identity.  If it is actually secret.

(Did you know that Fire served the longest of any JLI member?  I didn't.)

So, we find out that Rumaan is in cahoots with Queen Bee, and several former members of the Global Guardians. (Is this how the Bialyans figured out that Bruce and his bimbo weren't who they seemed to be? Someone recognized Flame!) Rumaan unveils his secret weapon, who is actually the alien superhero Wandjina (who in a previous issue was exposed to a nuclear reactor in Russia, while saving the world).
Queen Bee has Wandjina kill Rumaan and takes over Bialya.

Wow, what an issue.  And this doesn't even include the space chase -- a few pages dedicated to the JLI'ers who are in space to rescue Mr. Miracle.  

Justice League #15

"Gnort and South"  Ha!  

This issue was full of great jokes.  I love the dialogue in this JLI.  So, our story continues from the last issue with the interstellar cluster attacking Earth to "barter" goods.  Gnort attacks the fleet, destroying their cloaking device, which lets the JLI see who they are attacking.

I loved that J'onn, Captain Atom and Rocket Red were all in space suits.  Then Captain Atom realizes he can't use his powers without damaging the suit.  Ha!

Green Flame and Ice Maiden help out in Australia, where the rest of the JLI is fighting the early advance team of the cluster.  Sometimes Green Flame has green hair, and sometimes she doesn't.  This confuses me.  

So, L-Ron (the robot sidekick of the cluster's chief officer Manga) figures out that with all these attacks, they aren't going to make a profit on Earth, so off they decide to leave.  And Scott Free accidently gets trapped in the ship in Australia and taken back to the cluster.  This makes Barda very angry.  

BARDA SUITS UP!  Maybe this will lead to Barda joining the JLI...  

I really like how some of the members are forming relationships/friendships that are going to carry through issues and issues, up to the recent reboot.  I really have high hopes for the new JLI book to continue in this mode, and maybe get us another great pair of friends like Booster and Beetle, Ice and Fire.  

Justice League #14

I haven't even started reading this, and I am excited already.  Fire and Ice!  Yes!  

<brief break to read comic>

Wait a minute...is that Fire?  Green Flame -- and she doesn't really look like Beatriz.  Ice Maiden I can accept.  Hmmm...

<Go back to reading...>

Gnort!

<okay, finish the darn comic already...>

Excellent!  We have an invader from space that gives the Earth an ultimatum (and has wisecracking robot sidekicks and lackeys).  We have Blue Beetle, Mr. Miracle and Booster Gold bonding over football (but why isn't Barda in the JLI, too?).  We have Green Flame and Ice Maiden trying to worm their way into the League, and maybe get a paycheck.  And we have Gnort, who might save the world, or something.  

Last issue, I complained about Black Canary being out of the League (because that's what the letter column said), but this week Martian Manhunter just refers to her being out of touch.  Hmmmm.  Guy and Captain Adam made the cover, and were seen standing around, but really didn't have anything to do.  Is the League too big?  I don't think so.  Not everyone has to be be in every issue, do they?  

Overall, I thought this was A GREAT issue, and hope it continues in next month's book.

Justice League #13

Well, I am getting pretty tired of cross-over stories.  Apparently, in some other title, Black Canary left the JLI.  I knew she'd leave eventually, but I would have like to have seen it addressed WITHIN the actual book, not in another title.  And here, again, we have a story that is finished in another book.  Argh.  I don't know if I care enough to even say anything else about this.  

Justice League #12

So, we can blame Martian Manhunter for the fact that Maxwell Lord lives another day, and eventually kills Ted Kord.  Thanks, J'onn!

Yes, this issue we finally learn the truth about Maxwell Lord and why he got JLI together.  It was a plot hatched by an alien computer that was afraid of death.  The computer coerced Max (it wasn't really too hard) to try to take over the world.  Max, though, had second thoughts after the his "death" at the hands of a Manhunter, and wrecked the computer, killing the sentience.  In doing so, he also destroyed the force that was repairing his body after being shot, and he almost died again.  

I am not sure I would have let Max continue to be involved with the League.  In fact, it seems to me he committed a number of crimes that J'onn should have learned about (hiring the Royal Flush gang and the terrorist gang at the UN), and that should have sent him to jail at the very least.  He certainly wasn't a very nice guy before the computer took charge, either.

I was reading the letter column, and I noticed the DC Statement of Ownership on the last page.. Some interesting information from therein:  

Annual Subscription Price:  $9.00

Print Run:  280,284.  

Sales through dealers, newstands, etc.:  182,550

Subscriptions:  1568

Free Copies:  980

Returned Copies:  89,220

I am going to have to check some more recent issues to see if this information is still published.  It seems very interesting, especially comparing it to current sales figures.  

Justice League International #11

I almost forgot to post my comic today.  It would have been a sad end to my streak of reading one a day.  I did read it, even if I am a little late posting.

Millennium is over (good) and we are back to our normal JLI.  I am relieved, but Maxwell Lord is not.  He wants the more powerful members, not the second-stringers (Blue Beetle, both Captain Atom and Martian Manhunter agree, is the second-stringer he is referring to).  Max is in trouble and needs help.  (I really need to find out what happened in Millennium.  Last time I saw Max, he was bleeding on floor, shot by his assistant.)

Well, the second-stringers do manage to save Max at least once, when weird robots take over his building.  Construct, whom they've faced before (when?), is defeated, and flees to his "Master."  That's when they discover they are really up against Metron.  Now that name is familiar, but I will have to ask Mark or look him up.  He must be from New Gods or something, since Mr. Miracle knows him.  But maybe I'll learn more in tomorrow's exciting edition. 

Hopefully, I won't be posting that at 11 pm!

Justice League International #10

What's with this cover?  None of the people were in my previous JLI! Superman, go away.  Hal Jordan? -- No way, where's my GUY?  Two GLs I don't even recognize.  Hmmmmm.  I guess this Millennium thing is bigger than I thought.

The Millennium story appears to be winding down.  In this issue, Superman, the Hawks, a bunch of Green Lanterns, Fate, Firestorm and Captain Atom have made their way to the planetary home of the Manhunters.  Through a bunch of luck and some subterfuge, they manage to kill (is it kill when it is a robot you are offing?) all the Manhunters and scare off Momma Manhunter.  Of course, she was the only thing holding the planet together, so it pretty much disintegrated when she left.  

Oh, and Gnort was there.  Hal and the other Green Lanterns were desparately trying to avoid him.  I am not quite sure why Gnort made an appearance here, but maybe we'll hear more from him in a future issue?

I really want to get back to the REAL JLI.  According to the letter column, we'll learn Max Lord's story soon. (Cue sinsiter music.)  

We did have a short back up story of Blue Beetle and Mr. Miracle trying to figure out a Manhunter ship, with a guest appearance by Kilowog.  

Justice League International #9

Okay, I am lost.  This issue of JLI was part of the big crossover event called Millennium.  Apparently, a lot of the people are taken over by Mannhunters.  This did remind me of the recent series where a lot of people were taken over by OMACS.  Or by Black Lanterns.  Apparently this is a fairly common plot device in comics.  You’d think the heros would start expecting it by now. 

So our story starts off with the group returning from somewhere. I should have read Millenium #1 first, according to the editor’s note.  J’onn is a little confused by what the Zamorans and Guardians told the group.  Since I don’t know what they were told, I am doubly confused.  And I also wonder why sometimes the flight-enabled heroes ride inside the JLI shuttle, and sometimes they fly.  Depends on how they feel that day?  So anyway, Booster, Guy (still nice Guy) and J’onn are flying outside the shuttle, while inside thre rest of the crew is confronted by Rocket Red, who declares he is a Manhunter (isn’t J’onn “the Martian Manhunter”?  How does that relate to these guys?  Does it at all?).  He asks them to join him, or die.  Meanwhile, he is steering them into Bialyan airspace.

Never fear, though, after a big fight (and some jokes from Batman – I would almost believe this is really Dick Grayson rather than Bruce Wayne), the other Rocket Reds respond to save the day.  But they have flown into Bialya.  What will happen there?  Turns out, not much.  But I am SURE something will be happening here.  Our back story shows the Bialyan “president” trying to arrange for his own super-powered terrorist team. 

Oh, and Max Lord is shot by his assistant, Ms. Wootenhoffer, who is a Manhunter.

I did see an interesting ad in this issue, for 50^th Birthday Superman medallions.  You could get them in bronze, gold-plated bronze, and pure silver ($18.95 for silver).  I was curious, and checked E-Bay.  Not much listed, but a huge price range for a variety of Superman-related coins.  Too bad we didn't invest in these!

Justice League International #8

It's moving day for the JLI!  Issue #8 doesn't really give us any JLI action.  It does supply plenty of JLI banter and shenanigans.  The team has to set up embassies around the world (all in one day?), and conditions aren't always the best.  The New York building is falling apart.  The Soviets don't want Guy, and the women in France shoot down Booster's attempted pick ups.  All-in-all a very tidy issue, and one I enjoyed a lot.  

One thing I noticed, though:  J'onn likes Oreos.  I think in later books, they refer to the cookies by a different name.  I wonder who complained?  Did Oreos not like them using the brand name?  I can hardly imagine that.

I also don't know anything about the Global Guardians mentioned in the book.  I guess they must have had a book of their own at one point.  Apparently, they were the superhero group previously sanctioned  (sort of) by the UN.  With the JLI in, the Global Guardians are out.  I assume that we will see more of them in future issues, as there might be some ill-feelings.

Finally, Millennium is coming.  That must be the big crossover event of 1987/1988.  I wonder if I will understand what is going on.  If not, there is always wikipedia.

One last note, the New 52 version of JLI #1 came out this week, and Mark and I will be talking about it on the podcast this week.  I may express some opinions on it after we tape, but we are trying not to discuss our opinions before then.  I think it should be very interesting...

Justice League #7

It's finally here!  The title changes to Justice League INTERNATIONAL!   Now we're getting to the fun part...

I really enjoyed this extra-long special issue.  We start off in JL headquarters, with poor Guy recovering from his "interaction" with Batman.  Unfortunately, he whacks his head again when he is trying to find his ring, and ends up passed out under a counter.  Poor Guy!  

Meanwhile, back in Bedford Falls (opps, Stone Ridge), the rest of the League starts waking up from the Gray Man debacle to find that Fate has already taken care of the problem.  He could have handled it all along.  Thanks, Fate, really.

We finally get to see Barda (Scott Free's wife), in a way I am not used to at all.  Shorts and bunny slippers?  Gotta love it.  Poor Scott seems a little hen-pecked, though.  It would be a brave man who could be married to Barda.

Hal comes to JL headquarters to talk to Guy.  And they discover Guy's personality has been totally changed by the bonk on the head.  He's a nice, considerate Guy now, leaving everyone bewildered.  How long with this last?

Finally, there is another international (get it?) issue that requires the Justice League, which prompts the UN to approve their charter as an international group.  Except they have to accept two new members -- Rocket Red from the USSR and Captain Atom from the US.  Although why they need more US members is beyond me.. 

So there it is, Justice League International!

Justice League #6

I wonder how many people read (did before or do now) the letter columns?  I know some people must, since they write in.  Back before the Internet, that was the message board for comics.  Now, though, it seems that the letter column might be a bit redundant.  Letters are two months old before they appear, and the same things have been said on the boards the day after the issue came out.  But I do enjoy reading the older letter columns...

"...the verdict is in, and ...almost ALL our readers gave us a thumbs up to the new Justice League..."

Will we be seeing that in a month in the current JLA?  I don't expect so, but it does apply to THIS Justice League, as quoted from the letter column of Justice League #6, 1987.  

So, in this issue, we really start getting a lot of that interplay between the Leaguers that makes me like this run so much; Black Canary getting annoyed because all the men are trying to save or protect her, Batman almost making jokes, Blue Beetle being amazed at Batman.  

The team faces off against the Grey Man, and ends up being transported to ... somewhere ... by Dr. Fate.  Meantime, Guy is still passed out from Batman's punch, Captain Marvel is knocked out from Martian Manhunter's punch, and Max Lord is talking to Hal Jordan about the Justice League.  And what in the world is Hal Jordan wearing!?  I can't believe Hal would ever wear a sweater with the sleeves tied around his neck, even in 1987!  

I do really love this comic.  

Justice League #5

Finally, the Gray Man is back.  We saw him talking with Dr. Fate in an earlier issue, but I had no idea who he was.  Now we learn that he is some random guy who pursued knowledge too far and wound up a puppet of the gods (the Lords of Order, in this case).  This seems to be a common thing in DC.  I know recently we saw Krona, the evil guardian of War of the Green Lanterns, who turned evil after pursuing ultimate knowledge.  Didn't the same kind of thing cause the Crisis of Infinite Earths?  Is DC's message "Knowledge is Evil"?  Hmmmmm....

Anyway, the Gray Man seems to be holding Dr. Fate prisoner, and is doing something to steal the dream essences from mankind.  Jack Ryder finds out that something is going on with the League in this small town, so goes up for a look.  

In the meantime, Batman vs. Green Lantern!  Who would win in a fight?  Is that a real question?  Guy is still itching to take over leadership of the League, and challenges Batman to a one-on-one, no power rings involved.  Batman takes Guy out with one punch.  Of course!  Black Canary can't believed she missed it; Blue Beetle thinks Batman has been short of courtesy with the rest of the League; and Captain Marvel feels a little out-of-place with the more experienced and older heroes.

The heroes get a message from Dr. Fate that pulls them up to Vermont, where they discover the Creeper already on the scene.  Now, I happen to know that Jack Ryder and the Creeper are one and the same.  I am not sure if all the Leaguers know, though.  It will be interesting to see what happens next.

The first letter column of this series shows up.  Most of the writers really like the book.  And we learn that there is a special extra-long issue coming up where there will be CHANGES in the League.  Yippee!    

Not much Booster in this episode, and no Canary cries.

Justice League #4

Okay, now we're getting into the nuts-and-bolts of the Justice League.  Should Dr. Light and Booster be allowed to join?  What about Max Lord.  The League is sitting around their meeting table (not round, by the way) to discuss who Maxwell Lord is, and why he thinks he can recruit members.  I was a little disappointed that the chairs were just plain chairs, without little sigils or labels to show who should sit where.  And the meeting room must be very cold...Everyone seems to be wearing gloves with their costumes.  I don't really remember that from today's versions of their costumes.  

Meanwhile, Booster, Dr. Light and Max all wait in the library for decisions.  But Dr. Light isn't all that interested in the Justice League, or in Max.  She leaves before the rest of the League comes in.  Booster leaves shortly after the League starts questioning Max's secret plan.  But of course, there is mischief afoot, and Booster, while talking to the media outside of JL headquarters, sees the Royal Flush gang break in.  He fights most of them off, while the League watches.  But just as it seems the fight is over, the Ace of Spaces, a giant robot, attacks.  Ace manages to defeat most of the League, but Booster and Blue Beetle work together to stop him.  This cements Booster's place in the League, which Max announces to the press.  What?  Yes, Max is claiming to be the official press liaison for the new League!  Batman has something to say about that.  Which we'll hear about in the next exciting issue...

Some observations:  Booster's hair is the exact same yellow as his costume.  Dr. Light is not really a nice person, or she is very tired.  The Royal Flush gang was able to get into costume very quickly, especially considering all the white body paint needed.  There is still no letter column. 

Justice League #3

I'm still going strong with my "comic a day."  It's been easy this week, since there were only two new comics to read.  And mildly disappointing ones, at that.  So it was with great pleasure that I continued reading 1987's Justice League saga -- Rocket to Russia with the JUSTICE LEAGUE!

On the cover, the JLA appears to be surrounded by robots -- no, wait, it is the Rocket Red Brigade.  Apparently, the USSR's answer to superheroes is to build rocket suits giving Soviet Soldiers their own super edge against bad guys.  The Rocket Reds have apparently just had some sort of encounter with Green Lanterns (as seen in GL Corps -- I love the notes that refer you to the other issues), and they know Guy.  And to know Guy is to try to beat up Guy.  So the Rocket Reds and the JL are beating each other up, when really they both should be concerned about the anti-nuke aliens that are presently trying to destroy the Soviet weapons stockpiles.  Instead, those aliens accidently almost bring about a core meltdown in a nuclear power plant.  Eventually all is resolved, with one of the aliens stopping the meltdown, and then being taken into Soviet custody.  The JL is politely asked to leave the USSR, thank you very much.

There was, again, a great story here.  We got a lot of action; each JL member got to strut his or her stuff.  Canary got to sing, Kimiyo got to light up; really the only one who didn't "see action" was Blue Beetle.  But he was driving.  I do like Giffen's dialog.  He really seems to get the personalities of each different character, and I can almost hear them in my head.  Blue Beetle's slightly sarcastic Spock joke, and Batman's later Star Trek reference, almost on the sly, were perfect.  The Silver Sorcerous' speech to the Soviet soldiers begging them to help dismantle the bombs was plaintive and just right for her character.  I've mentioned before that the artist here seems to like drawing very expressive faces (almost as if the characters were posing in an exaggerated way to make a point), but that is also growing on me.  With such a big cast, not everyone can have "speaking parts" so that is one way to indicate how that character is feeling in a specific scene.

And we're finally, FINALLY, introduced to Booster Gold.  Max Lord shows up in the Justice League "secret" headquarters, and introduces himself and Booster -- as the newest JL member!

Justice League #2

After I read the first page of this comic, I looked on the cover for the Comics Code Authority seal.  Yep, that's why Dr. Light didn't finish calling Batman a "son of a ...."  What could she possibly have been going to say?  Like we we can't infer the swear word.  Which is why I also object to F**K and similar ways of disguising curses.  We all know what F**K means, so why not just say it?  I don't see any validity to using asterisks in place of UC; if it is simply to avoid censors, then there is no point to the censorship, as anyone who reads it knows what it is and, if they were going to be offended, should be offended anyway. End of rant.

So the Justice League is questioning Dr. Light about how she obtained the Justice League signaling device.  What, do they think she stole it?  She's a good guy.  Why should she do that?  I would have thought that they would have the Martian Manhunter try to read her subconscious to see if there were any details about the guy she didn't remember.  But no, instead, they practically threaten her.  Doesn't seem the smartest way to start off.  

It also seems like the artist is practicing various facial expressions.  Everyone has an exaggeratedness that is almost comical.  I wonder if that isn't why Batman was originally drawn with a half-mask -- so the artist wouldn't have to draw his face?  

So, what other future players in the comic are introduced in this issue?  We see Jack Ryder, "Mr. Gold" (Booster!  Booster!  But he's not actually ever seen), a mysterious gray man* who talks to Dr. Fate, and some alien superbeings who want to rid the world of nuclear weapons.  And Reagan is president.   

So the Justice League isn't able to go into Bialya to confront this team of aliens (who have taken refuge there with the creepy head of state, Colonel Rumaan Harjvati).  If this isn't a signal to add "International" to their name, I don't know what is.  

There really wasn't a lot of interplay between the JL members.  That's what I really like.  Hopefully, we'll get more of this intro stuff out of the way soon.  And get more Booster Gold.  

 * I didn't ask Mark about this guy.  I have decided I am going to try learning everything from the books themselves.  

Justice League #1

I am a little late posting today.  I actually had a job today!  But I still had time to read Justice League #1.  No, not that JLA #1.

This week, I read two different Justice League #1 comics.  The DCU New 52 version, which came out Wednesday, really was a reboot, no matter what DC says.  The comic introduces the reader to a DCU where Batman and Superman have not yet met; where anything "alien" is immediately suspicious, and anyone smacking of "superhero" is feared.  Comparing this issue to the 1987 Justice League #1 is comparing Christian Slater to Adam West.  

Which did I prefer?  Maybe I have turned into a fan girl, but I really liked the "historical" issue more.  The comic starts with Guy Gardner, sitting alone, practicing in his head the speech he intends to give to take control of the Justice League.  Black Canary is the first to arrive, and what an '80's look she sports!  A headband!  Shoulder pads!  A jump suit!  It's hard to tell, but it looks like she is wearing big, furry boots?  Given a lineup, I never would have picked her out as Black Canary.  Okay, I've had my complaints about skimpy costumes, but this is the burqa of superheroine costumes.  Black Canary is followed by Scott Free (Mr. Miracle) and Oberon (I am not familiar with Oberon, other than from the JLA Retroactive), Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Batman and Dr. Fate.  

Everyone reacts pretty much as a constant reader would expect them too...  Batman is calm but in charge.  Guy flies off the handle.  Dr. Fate is mysterious.  Blue Beetle feels underutilized.  

We meet Max Lord, who at this time appears to be a mysterious figure behind the scenes, pulling strings and setting up the Justice League for something, be it good or bad.  And we meet Dr. Light (Kimiyo Hoshi) who received a mysterious invitation to join the Justice League, and is at the UN to give a speech.  Terrorists attack the UN, the newly-formed Justice League is called in by Kimiyo, and they save the day.  

This very nicely sets up the series.  We get an intro to ALL of the members of the new Justice League; we get a (seemingly) one-and-done bad guy; And lots and lots of story.  Compared to the New 52 JLA, we got a novel!

Granted, the art work in the newer story is much better; in general, given the tools and technology one would expect the art to be much better in the newer version.  I really disliked the faces, especially the women, in the older comic.  But I felt that the newer JLA lacked a little heart.  I didn't much care for any of the "heroes" introduced (Batman, Green Lantern, Superman).  I am curious what they are going to do with Vic (Cyborg).  I also wonder how this ties into the end of Flashpoint.  Since Barry and Bruce obviously knew one another, JLA must be happening much earlier in the continuity than the end of Flashpoint.   

And, once again, I was just as fascinated by the ads in the older comic.  Suicide Squad, The Young All-Stars, and the New Flash were all coming out soon.  And if you subscribed to Superman, Adventures of Superman or Wonder Woman, you would get a cloisonne Superman pin!  Subscribe to Wonder Woman and get a copy of Wonder Woman #1, autographed by George Perez!  And the subscription price was $9.00 a year!  Ah, those were the days.  

I am looking forward to continuing this run of the Justice League!  Tomorrow, more on Max Lord.  And maybe, Booster Gold?