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 21st
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.
