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Justice League International Volume 1 by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire
01/05/2008 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Titan Books. 192 page graphic novel hardback. Price: £24.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-84576-787-7. Buy Justice League International in the USA - or Buy Justice League International in the UK  check out website: www.titanbooks.com and www.dccomics.com
Back in the early 80s, the Justice League Of America had a workover to introduce new characters and didn't do as well as the original line-up especially as it lacked the main-selling DC heroes in it. In the mid-80s, a second attempt was made with the unusual combination of Keith Giffen plotting and J.M. DeMatteis scripting. Both of them, based on their previous work, would have seemed an unlikely pair to bring to the comicbook. The thing is, they did, combined with the artistic talent of newcomer Kevin Maguire inked initially by Terrry Austin and then Al Gordon. The chemistry mixed and brought out some brevity. Of the original JLA, only Batman, Martian Manhunter and Black Canary remained on regular duty. Brought in were Mr. Miracle and his assistant, Oberon, Blue Beetle, Dr. Fate, Captain Marvel and Guy Gardner. This last character was a very important ingredient to the mix because Gardner has a very big ego and a Green Lantern power-ring to back it up. It meant character friction, especially between Gardner and Batman, something DeMatteis knew how to play. To off-set this, Blue Beetle and later, Booster Gold, provided essential humour. Sales rocketed as well as intrigue when Maxwell Lord intruded his PR machine on them. In some ways, he did do some good. The 'Of America' was dropped by the seventh issue and they became 'Justice League International' under UN authorisation, providing they brought in Captain Atom and Rocket Red.
This graphic novel covers the first seven issues of their tales and made siginiticant changes to the DC Universe that have reflected in their stories to the present day.
If anything, having a team of very powerful super-heroes to take out super-villains can seem awfully unfair. In the old days, any one of them alone were often more than capable of achieving victory. To pit yourself against the JLA would have seemed madness. Having the level of overall powers of the team much lower meant for better team tactics and if anything, just a bit more of a fair fight. All right, so villains have to be defeated just not over-whelmed.
Re-reading these stories, its obvious that the creators were having a ball generating these stories, especially as much of the time they didn't have to worry about continuity with any of the other titles. Picking out highlights here is tough. It could be a trio of characters from another dimension trying to rid the Earth of nuclear missiles having seen what it did to their own world to the supernatural Gray Man who takes over a town or working out just what Maxwell Lord is up to. If you missed these the first time around and need to see how things developed, then you'll be in for a treat. This book is loads of fun and sets the foundations for what's to come.
GF Willmetts
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