Bwa-hah-ha-huh?: Justice League International #1 Review

EDITOR’S NOTE: This review contains spoilers.

I love the Foo Fighters, but I have trouble listening to more than a song or two in a row. Because whether it’s on purpose or what I bring to the music as a listener, I very quickly become convinced that every song is Dave Grohl singing about Kurt Cobain. In Your Honor. Friend Of A Friend. My Hero. Darling Nikki. Courtney Love Chokes Pole. Rob Shouldn’t Write Reviews While Drinking. You get the point.

I got the same feeling reading Justice League International #1: almost every panel seemed like it was about the DC Comics reboot.

Look: the first line in the book is:

Confidence in every level of authority is at an all-time low.”

A page later, this exchange between a member of the UN Security Council and head of UN intelligence Andre Briggs happens:

Hm. Andre Briggs…

looks familiar…

There are a ton of examples in the book, but here’s one that UTTERLY drills in the point:

But let’s step back from all that and talk about the book. Art-wise, the book looks pretty good. Aaron Lopresi, who also did last year’s Justice League: Generation Lost about the JLI, is on pencils, which are solid if not spectacular. He’s obviously going all-in on has facial expressions, which is a nice nod to the JLI’s 1980’s glory days, if not as purely awesome as Kevin Maguire’s faces during those days. The biggest issue I have with the art in this book is that Lopresti can’t seem to decide between Batman’s new armor and his old spandex, but I doubt he’ll be the only waffler we see on that front.

Storywise, the UN’s decided to put together their own pet Justice League, apparently because the real Justice League is too independent, what with Batman being Batman and Superman shrieking “GD” in people’s faces and whatnot. So, like most bureaucracies, they build a team of misfits by committee, including Guy Gardner, Rocket Red and Booster Gold – because the team is, after all, Justice League International, and while DC might have thrown out continuity, their readers haven’t – and rejecting Blue Beetle because he’s a rookie and Dan Didio like to make JLI fans whimper, “But… bwa-ha-ha?” while a tear rolls down their cheeks.

As JLI headquarters, the UN has purchased the Hall of Justice, which has enraged members of the general public and made them threaten to storm and occupy the building… I’m guessing because they thank that Zan and Jayna are still in there. In the meantime, Batman is skulking around conspiring to become a secret member of JLI with his closest ally… Guy Gardner… which I guess means that the only way we’ll hear “One punch!” in the post-reboot DC Universe is if it’s intimate and of the donkey variety.

If this was almost any other book, I’d toss it back on the pile with a dismissive, “Eh; too meta. Trying too fucking hard to be cute.” But I’m willing to give this a continued day in court, if only because of the title. I loved the original post-Crisis Justice League International; it was a unique mix of comedy and straight-up superhero action that, if you tried to describe it, would sound like it could never work.

And in my opinion it COULDN’T work if you tried to straight-up reproduction; the original JLI was a product of time, circumstances, and solid Keith Giffen plots, sharp and funny JM DeMaettis scripts, and Kevin Maguire’s expressive art. It’s a recipe that was greater than the sum of its parts, and you can’t reproduce it…

…and Dan Jurgens doesn’t seem to be trying. If I’m reading this book right, he seems to be taking the promise of the JLI name – action comedy – and tacking into action satire. A satire of the entire DC Universe. Which is an interesting enough take that I’m willing to give it another shot next month.