After Crisis on the Infinite Earths, DC went a somewhat different direction with the Justice League. Not just in the sense that this Justice League was more tied to the governments of the world, with the team having embassies around the world, but in the tone of the book. Superhero teams weren't strangers to characters getting on each other's nerves, going back to at least Ben Grimm wanting to throttle the Human Torch, but that was usually played for melodrama or angst.
While Giffen and DeMatteis had some of that - in the issue above, Batman's increasing frustration is causing him to basically be a dick to the entire team and forces the Martian Manhunter to lay down the law - Justice League International could qualify as a workplace comedy. Because amid Batman's poor attitude, you've got Oberon remarking (under his breath) that Bats could use a good psychiatrist, Canary joking Batman paid the super-villains(read: Suicide Squad) to attack the Russian prison to get permission to go there, and an injured Max Lord deciding it's a good idea to play cute with Amanda Waller. It's not making light of the whole situation, not exactly, but it's not playing things with a perfectly straight face, either.
The roster's a mix of established Leaguers, second-stringers, and a few relative newbies, but it seemed to work better than the Detroit era's attempt did. Certainly most of the characters that got promoted to the big leagues by this title have hung around (even if it hasn't always been pretty what's been done with them.)
Maybe the tone being so novel gave less-established characters a more unique hook. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold running pranks and get-rich schemes when they aren't fighting crime (and sometimes while they are). Guy Gardner being an abrasive loudmouth, except when he's got brain damage and is acting like a sweet-mannered child. Or just trying not to be a jerk because he actually really likes Ice and wants to impress her. Max Lord being the connection to the government, but rather than being a Peter Gyrich-style antagonist, Lord's putting every bit of his used car salesman charm into trying to make the League (and by extension, himself) look good.
Adam Hughes and especially Kevin Maguire are a big part of the book's success. With a title that's as much about conversations and humor as it about fighting super-criminals, the artist has to be good at facial expressions and body language. Not only to help sell the characters as feeling genuine, or sell the humor, but to keep things from looking static and dull. Otherwise, it's just a comic of talking heads, and that can get old quick. Maguire and Hughes both do that. The characters gesture and snarl and hands are thrown up in exasperation (when they aren't burying their faces in them).
3 comments:
I agree - this version of the League was a breath of fresh air (along with JL Europe that formed after Invasion) after the Detroit era.
How long was JL Europe good? I've read some retrospectives online that give me the impression the quality on the books started to slip after about a year or so of there being two titles.
I'd say the first 2 and a half years are worth a read; the Breakdowns crossover with JLA was where (in my opinion) both titles started to flag, particularly Europe. Breakdowns itself wasn't terrible but the restructuring after that worked better for the America team than the Europe team.
The Extremist Vector story in #15 to #19 still holds up today.
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