Justice League International #1

By Dan Jurgens, Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan

Back in 1985, the Justice League of America had outlived its popularity. As strange as it may sound, the team of Superman, Aquaman, Batman, Superman, the Flash, Green Lantern and others had fallen from favor. In a desperate attempt to give the team some new personality, it was reborn in Detroit and led by Aquaman. The team was a mish-mash of heroes that would never be considered 'League material' from Vibe to Gypsy, Commander Steel and Vixen. The 'Detroit JLA' has its fans but by and large it is a laughing stock and often pointed at as a prime example of a comic book in dire need of a reboot.

J. M. De Matteis, Kieth Giffen and Kevin MaGuire assembled the most unlikely team of heroes as their new Justice League. It wasn't just the line-up that was peculiar, the tone was humorous and absurd. The team members hates each other, were very inexperienced and more often than not stumbled their way through a problem. It was a massive hit with readers and remains a touchstone of the superhero team for modern fans of comics. When the comic transformed into Justice League International, it found its own identity at last and the series really took off.

The new JLI series is an attempt to recapture that rare commodity and in most cases it accomplishes that. An international team of heroes assembled by the United Nations, each member represents a different nation (or in the case of Green Lantern Guy Gardner, a different alien power). Booster Gold is team leader, but from behind the scenes, Batman advises (just as he had in the 1980's run). There is a refreshingly large portion of female characters here, something that DC Editorial realizes that they must address. I can't think of another book where the team is split down the middle gender-wise.  Hopefully that situation will remain constant in the months to come.

The team is an odd one, consisting of Booster Gold, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, August General in Iron, Fire, Ice, Vixen and Rocket Red. Even I have little knowledge of most of these characters which can be distracting, but it is their personalities and not their super abilities that are key here. For super powers, look at Justice League of America. Dan Jurgens (one of the chief architects of the Death and Return of Superman) is a workman like author, but he is no J. M. De Matteis nor is he a shadow on Kieth Giffen. Fortunately, he has no interest in impersonating the previous JLI run and instead offers up straight forward superheroic action with some added quirks.

I wasn't bowled over by this comic, but it did just what it claimed on the wrapper and that's not bad. With many of these new reboots I fear the need to start from square one and inject the authors' own take on the way things 'should be,' but that is not the case here. This is by the books Justice League action. If you enjoyed the cartoon, you'd probably like this.

I remember when I picked up the 1st issue of the Justice League back in the day and was delighted at how bizarre and unique it felt. This series is just getting started but it is a perfect example of the 1st issue done right. Nothing is unexplained, everything is new and it's all very appealing for a reader looking for a superhero team with a little something new.

I have been looking outside of my local comic shop where these issues are sold out and finding a few copies of the new 52 at scattered bookstores. If you don't feel as adventurous, Justice League International #1 can be downloaded at Comixology.