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Of Embassies and Origins - Justice League International Part 2 (Eaglemoss Collection v77)

  Review: Since we are doing a series of reviews focusing on Booster Gold over his nearly 40-year history, we include this one as a collection of some of his earliest appearances, dating to late 1987. That places the original publish date of these tales while his original solo series was still going strong.  This book is a beautiful, glossy hard-cover with smooth and heavy-stock paper inside, although the sometimes-low print reproduction quality leads to blurred and hard to read word balloons on occasion. It is also a rare book here in North America, as Eaglemoss Collections targeted UK fans with this series. At this point in the history of the 1987-rebooted Justice League, they have gained official United Nations recognition and sanction. To ensure their reach truly is global, they rebrand as Justice League International (as does the title of the series!) and they open new headquarters buildings around the world: New York, Paris and Moscow are included here. As this is a product of 19
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"Strengh-Related" Incidents - Review of A-Force Presents volume 2

   

Cover of A-Force Presents volume 2



Review:

Like any collection of single issues from vastly different series, this one suffers from incomplete and disjointed stories. I applaud the ideas behind the creation of this book - creating an all-women team of heroes, the A-Force. In an effort to cross-sell titles, this collection reprints issue #2 from each of six different characters' solo series. The result is a group of stories that have no relation to each other, and often that are mid-stream into the plot evolution of their own series. It's a risky way to put stories together, and it sometimes works and other times not.

Let's look at the individual stories.

Black Widow leads the collection. Phil Noto's panels and pates are almost pieces of art unto themselves, beautifully painted with a watercolor feel. This is a complete, self-contained story, showing some of our hero's espionage and combat skills at work. Nathan Edmondson varies the tempo in the telling, almost matching the energy level of the all too human Natasha Romanov.

She-Hulk's tale nicely establishes the basis for the whole series. After a shall we say "strength-related" incident at work, Jennifer / She-Hulk leaves to start her own law firm and finds the hunt for clients to be as challenging as her super-powered villains. The art style is overly cartoony for my tastes but seems not inappropriate for this giant green woman.

Ms. Marvel is also a charming tale. It demands a little more knowledge of the first issue, compared to the other series in this collection, as we are dropped into the middle of a multi-part origin. How did Kamala Khan, the 16-year-old Muslim awkward teen, get her powers? See issue #1, but here in issue #2 she continues to try and figure out exactly what she can or cannot do. G. Willow Wilson's tale is engaging, with nice nods to what it would actually be like to fight crime in thigh-high boots, a leotard and long hair. Adrian Alphona's art is quirky and stylized and seems perfect for this body-distorting teen tale.

Squirrel Girl, Captain Marvel, and Thor the goddess of thunder round out the set. None of them is especially noteworthy, although the interplay between Thor's Norse/Asgardian language and the internal thoughts of a woman still getting used to wielding the magical hammer is worth checking out.

This is a mixed bag, and we'll give it a middling score of 3 capes out of 5.

Description:

Prepare for excitement and action as Marvel's most spectacular heroes continue their adventures! Black Widow's quest for atonement takes a dark and mysterious turn! Will Captain Marvel survive on the front lines of a war on an alien world? The all-new Ms. Marvel adjusts to her strange and immense new powers, but can she come to terms with her Inhuman legacy? She-Hulk opens her own law practice, but her first client proves to be a ton of trouble! Witness the new Thor in all-out action against an army of invading Frost Giants! And Marvel's most unbeatable hero, Squirrel Girl, must invade Stark Enterprises!

Collects: Black Widow (2014) #2, Captain Marvel (2014) 2, Ms. Marvel (2014) #2, She-Hulk(2014) #2, Thor (2014) #2, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015) #2

Authors: Various
Artists: Various
Published By: Marvel 
Published When: Nov. 24, 2015
Parental Rating: Teen
ISBN-10: 0785198997
ISBN-13: 978-0785198994
Language: English
Pages: 136 pages

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