The Justice League (International/America/Giffen-DeMatteis-League)
has been something of a comfort food for me over the past 15-20 years. It is one of those legendary comic runs that keep
me coming back. I probably run through
the hundred or so (if we include JLQuarterly and JLEurope) issues twice a year,
contributing much to the growth of my pile of unread comics, new and old. Reading as many comics as I have over the
past 30 years, I often read an issue once, and file it away likely never to be
seen (or read) again.
The Giffen-DeMatteis era Justice League, however, is
different. It’s special. It’s a near perfect mix of super heroics,
soap opera, and sit-com with unforgettable characters.
I was introduced to this version of the Justice League
almost by accident. It was during 1992’s
Death of Superman storyline. The
Giffen-DeMatteis era had already come to an end, however, much of their cast
remained. Justice League America #69 “Down
for the Count” was where I “met” this League.
Growing up a Marvel kid, I expected a more “Super Friends” Justice League
than I got. Where was Aquaman? Wonder Woman?
The Flash? Who is this
bowl-haircut having Green Lantern?
Fire? Ice? I was lost.
These characters all looked, for a lack of a better term… cheap. I remember reading it, and just waiting for
Superman to show up. I was only reading
this book to follow him, anyway.
Being a completionist, I picked up the next couple of issues
of Justice League America that were part of the Funeral for a Friend storyline
and the post-Doomsday restructuring. It
was during these issues (#70 especially) that the character dynamics hit
me. Booster Gold and Blue Beetles
friendship was on display as Ted lay critically injured. Booster’s own crisis, with the destruction of
his costume which resulted in the loss of his “powers” was riveting. Guy Gardner finally showing his respects for the
fallen Superman by wearing the black armband was the final straw. These characters were rapidly winning me over.
Imagine my disappointment reading Justice League America
#71, where many of the characters I’d just fallen for were replaced. My only hope in following the Justice League exploits
of Booster, Beetle, Guy and the rest lay in the back issue bin. This was 1992-1993. The speculator market was still a thing. Month-old issues of many comics were priced
up to double cover price and placed in the bins. My hopes for collecting the previous 68
issues of Justice League America with my meager lunch-money budget were slim at
best. Or so I thought.
I stumbled across Justice League #1 for $2.50 at my local
comic shop. This was over 3x the
original cover price… but it was a NUMBER ONE.
In 1993, “Number Ones” may as well have been a brick of solid gold. I guess this would be a decent place to begin
the review/discussion of the issue, thank you for reading this block of
self-indulgent text. I hope these first
few entries won’t be too much of a chore to read through as I shake the
blogwebs loose.
Justice League #1 (May, 1987) $0.75
Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis (plot/script), Kevin
Maguire (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Gene D’Angelo (colors), Bob Lappan
(letters), Andrew Helfer (edits)
