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 1987, with the Cold War still raging, geo-political reality factors in. The United States insists that Captain Atom be a part of the new JLI. The Soviet Union likewise does the same, installing one of their Rocket Red Brigade on the Moscow-based squad,

But the politics, like everything else in this series, is kept light-hearted and suffused with humor. From the Martian Manhunter's straight-faced delivery and the "is he pulling our leg?" reactions it engenders, to the slapstick and accident-prone Captain Atom and the punny buffoonery of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, it is a fun read that puts the comic in Comics.

These early chapters of Justice League International's history are most notable for two other things, beyond the humor and global politics. First is the crossover with the Millennium event. "No man (or woman!) escapes the Manhunters!" Nearly every character had their own sleeper-agent Manhunter to deal with in their own books, and the whole team was shocked to discover their Rocket Red was an infiltrating Manhunter. They eventually draw on old-Justice League America alums Superman, Hawkman and Hal Jordan Green Lantern for a final confrontation on the Manhunters home world. It is a solid story arc in its own right, and introduces the first appearance of the farcical Lantern G'nort, who would become a recurring character.

The second notable element in these pages is the original origin story of Maxwell Lord. His scheming and manipulative control of the team have been evident from the start, and in the final chapter of this collection we learn of how he is under the influence and control of a sentient bot sent by Metron. The history, origin and character of Maxwell Lord would continue to evolve, of course, to the point that he gets mind control over Superman and then with his bare hands executes a cold-blooded killing of Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle, in the run-up to the Infinite Crisis event. But here in these pages, we get the first hint of his motivations and complexity of character.

Since I selected this book in part for Booster Gold's early history, it is notable that his involvement in these pages is mostly comic-relief. Contrary to the more self-centered arrogance in his own book, Booster is a joker and not to be taken seriously, almost from the start of his Justice League involvement. There are jokes. He is spectacularly shot down and his ego popped by Parisienne women. He does, however, save the day at the climax of the Manhunters crossover - which he, naturally, wants full credit for!

Skeets is nowhere to be found. Perhaps his flying, robotic best-bud and partner from the Booster Gold solo series is redundant here, as Booster bonds with Blue Beetle?

Finally, this collection adds a bonus story: reprinting Mister Miracle #1 from 1971. It introduces Scott Free and his mysterious gadget. While this is one of Jack Kirby's Fourth World stories that cross multiple titles, including the New Gods, in this first issue there is no hint of that larger reality - well, except for the mystery gadget!

Decades later, these stories are still fun although do feel quite dated. And several characters fit the humor mood of the series but contrast strongly with their canonical personalities. The poor print quality of the book also drops its score. Overall I give it 3 capes.

Description:

The World's Greatest Super-Heroes, the Justice League, have dropped the "of America" from their name and are going international! But it's the most unlikely grouping of heroes you'll ever see! Batman, Blue Beetle, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Guy Gardner, Mister Miracle and Booster Gold are now joined by U.S. representative Captain Atom and Russian representative Rocket Red.

But can this ragtag group work as a functioning unit and prevent an international incident from happening, all while stopping the robotic menaces of the Manhunters and The Construct? And just what is the shocking secret of their mysterious benefactor, Maxwell Lord?

Collects: Justice League International #8-12 (Dec 1987-April 1988) and Mister Miracle #1 (1971)

Authors:  Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Jack Kirby
Artists:  Kevin Maguire, Jack Kirby
Published By:  DC Comics and Eaglemoss Collections
Parental Rating: PG-13