Written by Dan Jurgens
Illustrated by Aaron LoprestiWith the growing presence of super beings around the world, United Nations resolves to create a new group called Justice League International.
Batman, Booster Gold, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, August General in Iron, Fire, Ice, Vixen and Rocket Red are charged with promoting unity and trust — but can they reach that goal without killing each other first?
Justice League International was one of the new 52 that I was most excited about; last year’s Justice League: Generation Lost was a really fun book, and I have always loved the mix of humor and action from the classic Justice League International days. With Dan Jurgens in place as writer, a guy who certainly knows how to write Booster Gold (since he created him), and a lineup mixing classic JL characters and some newcomers, this book looked like a must buy for me.
However, the more I dig into issue #1, the more I found myself doubting the book’s necessity for a spot in my pull list. Keep reading after the cut for why.
The first page of the book depicts a large screen with an assortment of heroes on display, all potential candidates for the UN’s newly funded Justice League International. The screen shows all the characters featured on the cover, alongside some fun surprises (Metamorpho, Plastic Man, Creeper, B’Wana Beast) and, in a move of ass-covering if I’ve ever seen it, characters leading their own books that may or may not last (Hawkman, Blue Beetle, Hawk and Dove, Frankenstein, Captain Atom, Green Arrow) — so fear not Rob Liefield, if your book gets canned, you can draw an arc on JLI!
However, if Liefield did draw an arc, it would be a detriment to the book, as one of its finest qualities is the art by Aaron Lopresti, who continues his fine work from Generation Lost. The tone he sets with his art is both relaxed and classic, which is exactly the mix needed for the book. On the same page, he nails Plastic Man’s goofy act, Frankenstein’s sewn-together fragments and August General In Iron’s rough exterior. Versatility is key with drawing a team book like this, and Lopresti handles it pretty well. The only real criticism is that some of the other heroes on the splash page don’t exactly meet up with their rebooted images, specifically Hawkman and, to some degree, Green Arrow. That said, the interiors on this issue could have been done long before those looks were solidified.
The first hero we meet in the flesh is Booster Gold, sadly sans Skeets (if Skeets got written out of continuity, I will have to pour one out for the little guy; he is one of my favorite minor DC characters). Skeets was always useful for a little help with exposition, something this book seriously lacks; we find out the country of origin for each of our players, but very little about their history or their powers. All of the New 52 were supposed to be jumping on places for new fans, and there is very little here to help shepherd a new reader into this book. Booster mentions to Rocket Red later on that he has seen “China and Russia be tremendous allies in the future.” This is literally the only mention made of Booster Gold being from the 25th Century, and without any context, could be quite confusing for a new reader.
What could also be confusing is the use of the Hall of Justice. We see protestors outside of it, who are angry because this public building is being taken over by the UN for “their” Justice League. Was the Hall the independent Justice League’s headquarters that the UN purchased? Is it a public memorial to heroes? Is it a former Best Buy that got a makeover? We are never told, we are just supposed to ooh and aah at the Hall of Justice, which is sloppy and could have been easily fixed. This also leads to some protestors attempting to burn it down; if this is the type of political content we will see in this book, don’t be surprised if we get a 9/11 analogue sometime soon, as subtlety clearly isn’t part of the equation.
Continued belowAdding to the confusing pile is Godiva, a minor character revived in the Flashpoint universe whose power is — wait for it — the ability to control her hair. However, we never see that. We also never see that Vixen can take on the abilities of animals, or get any clue what August General in Iron can do. Obviously, you can’t do everything in a first issue, but there is a scene where each member is reviewed by a committee, and it would be as easy as throwing an extra sentence on each character’s introduction to cover that aspect so that a new reader might have some idea of who is who.
The mission that the team is sent on is laughably minor, but not meant to be or even played that way for humor’s sake. Rescuing some lost UN teams in Peru? That is the type of thing that any number of heroes do in a stand-alone issue between arcs. If this was done to give the group a little brother complex to the main Justice League, that would have been totally appropriate, but only Guy Gardner, who departs early on, seems to think of this as the minor leagues.
Despite being very frustrated by parts of this issue, I am willing to give it a second try next month. There are some really great characters as a part of this team, and the UN-angle will give lots of interesting opportunities for stories all over the globe. There are some fun elements already at play: Rocket Red and August General in Iron feuding is fun, and Godiva seems to be as over the top as Booster, which might lead to some inspired scenes of bravado to come. Batman’s involvement is a well-thought out one and fits in well with his character, even though I have no idea how DC can justify having Batman a regular part of SIX monthly books (that is Deadpool territory).
I also think a book like this is a great place to feature new or underused characters and test their ability to carry their own book. In fact, between this and DC Comics Presents, there is a pretty nice avenue in place to bring minor characters up to the big game: feature them in an arc of JLI, give a creator 5 issues to tell a store in DCP, and go from there. It also provides a great platform for crossovers with books like Batwing that take place outside the US. Also, the use of B’Wana Beast, even as a throw-away gag, shows that DC paid attention to the great success of Cartoon Network’s Batman: The Brave and the Bold, which featured some very minor characters in featured roles. This book, with it’s history of humor, could become something really special if it continues to embrace the smaller characters, the laughs, and provides some bigger threats than rock monsters.
But overall, it is a little too early to call this one a success or a failure; much like the other Justice League #1, this just doesn’t provide enough to make a call either way.
Final Verdict: 5.5 – Browse
