Reader Copies: Welcome and Justice League 1

Welcome, Nerds and Nerdettes, to the first installment of Reader Copies.  In this series, we will be looking back at old comics that can be picked up in back issue usually for someplace between 50 cents and 10 dollars – and it better be a damn good comic if I drop 10 dollars for it!  I will, of course, lean toward Super-Hero comics but other genre may crop up from time to time. 

A “reader copy” by the way is a copy of a comic that is in less than perfect (Mint) shape, driving down its price, but is still in a readable shape – no missing pages/panels, cover usually still attached. 

Justice League 1 (1987)

4/5 Stars          Excellent Jumping On Point              

Justice League was the first renumbering of the long running DC Comics series Justice League of America.  Way back in the Silver Age of Comics, the JLA was comprised of the top DC characters – Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, etc.  – but over the years the ranks began to fill with less and less important heroes – Firestorm, Vibe, and Gypsy to name a few.  Then came the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot that shut down the history of the DC Universe and let other younger heroes step up – if by younger heroes you mean guys like Captain Marvel and Blue Beetle who had been around almost as long as Superman and Batman. 

Anyway, a couple months after Crisis ended, DC published Legends, which set the tone for the comics of the 80s and 90s.  Heroes were no longer trusted by the masses, they were gruffer and more violent as a hole.  The fun was officially out of comics… for the most part.  There were titles that resisted the darkening of the comic world, and among them was Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’s run on the Justice League (sometimes called Max’s League or more often Justice League International).

Though this issue isn’t the JL at its greatest, all the key elements are there. Humorous, wisecracking heroes, as flawed and incompetent as they are heroic.  One or two A-listers playing second string to a group of B- and C-listers who steal the spotlight when it isn’t outright given to them.  Several of the classic members are already present: Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, Oberon.  But most are still issues away. 

Maxwell Lord is at his manipulative devilish here as the backer of the issues villains – a role that will be played well throughout the Giffen and DeMatteis run, but completely miss used later by other authors in the 21^st Century. 

Green Lantern Guy Gardner is the show stopper here – as he often will be in future issues – as the arrogant would be leader of the team.  His interactions with Batman are especially amusing (though they don’t reach their true greatness until issue 5 and the infamous “One Punch” scene). 

The terrorist villains are boring and forgettable – appearing on only about 8 of the issues 25 pages.  They are functional, serving the purpose of establishing Maxwell Lord’s ruthlessness, but the Justice League – even *this* Justice League – deserves better from a premier antagonist, especially in the wake of Legends Darkseid centric storyline. 

Overall, Justice League 1 is a good read, though it can be disappointing, especially if you have already read later issues of the run.  Disappointment aside, I remain very fond of this title and this issue, while not its best, is still leagues above many later Justice League series.