Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: A[nother] New Beginning
Written by: Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis
Penciled by: Kevin Maguire
Inked by: Joe Rubinstein
Colored by: Bob Lappan
Lettered by: Lee Loughridge
Editor: Dan Raspler
Publisher: DC Comics
I don’t think many comic readers out there, who grew up in the 80’s, didn’t love the Giffen/DeMatteis era of the JUSTICE LEAGUE franchise. Giffen plotted and did the pencil breakdowns on the revolutionary book, while DeMatteis came up with the amazing dialogue. Quite a number of pencillers came through the title, as well as its spinoff JUSTICE LEAGUE: EUROPE, none captured the team as perfectly as Kevin Maguire. Giffen with DeMatteis and Maguire crafted perhaps the funniest book in recent memory! Along the way they told some great stories, in the process building up some of the second tier characters in the DCU far beyond what could ever have been expected.
It’s uncanny just how well FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE, captures the vibe of the original works. It’s truly rare for a group of entertainers to catch the proverbial lightning in a bottle, twice! Each element of the book resonates the glory days of the 80’s. Starting with the cover, which is a takeoff of the first issue cover of JUSTICE LEAGUE and JUSTICE LEAGUE: EUROPE, you know that they’re back. The interior doesn’t fail to please either. Everybody is at home again, all the elements including the wacky creator credits, perfectly captures the vibe from the classic series. Now if you’re looking for a tongue in cheek laugh out loud comic, this is the book for you. If you want straight up superhero action that takes itself seriously, go grab a BATMAN title.
Max Lord is the man that brought the Justice League together after they were decimated during the LEGENDS mini-series. With a United Nations sanction they often served to quell international crisis, but always did it with style, and more than a little humor. The onus of the first issue follows Maxwell Lord, in his usual bullheaded fashion, as he attempts to put the team back together.
While big names like Batman, Captain Marvel, and Flash served on the various teams, it was more often about the second stringers Characters such as Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Elongated Man never shined as brightly as they did during their time under Giffen and DeMatteis. The characters while not created by the pair are perfectly written by these craftsmen, and amazingly the characters themselves almost seem to know that they were never better than when these men “led†them.
While the issue is only 22 pages, Giffen and DeMatteis allow each character time to shine. The conversations with Lord and Ted Kord (Blue Beetle), and later Lord and Booster Gold are so funny I laughed out loud. That’s a great compliment coming from me, as it takes quite a bit for me to more than smile while reading a comic book. I don’t want to give away a lot of the jokes or sight gags, but just know that this is one of the most fun comics I’ve read in a long time.
Kevin Maguire is one of the premier talents out there today. He lends such life to these characters, even though their behavior and the situations are quite ludicrous. The fight scene between Captain Atom and his (snicker) arch-nemesis Man O’ War is wonderfully detailed, and jumps off the page in its entire scene stealing glory. To top that off I don’t think I’ve ever seen Mary Marvel look as good as she does right here. You go Kevin!
I can’t believe that DC actually went ahead with this book! You’d think DC would worry about their JLA cash cow looking silly. Thankfully they get the joke! DC has gotten behind this book, even giving it a glossy cardstock cover, ala the Ultimate titles at Marvel. The worst thing about this series is that there are only five issues left. I can’t thank DC enough for allowing three grand storytellers to come back and tell one more spectacular tale with a bunch of 80’s retreads.
