Review:
Can a group of people survive indefinitely in an environment of chaos and conflict? Of course not, neither in real life nor in comics superhero teams.
As this early-90s incarnation of the Justice League crosses the five-year mark with issue #61, the creative team recognized the need for some changes. Bigger-name characters enter, trying to instill leadership by being the adults in the room; newer characters bring a breath of fresh air and a needed upgrade in the team's power levels.
To make these changes, DC Comics put the Justice League America series in the creative hands of Dan Jurgens, for both the writing and the art duties. This volume starts with Jurgens' arrival. Jurgens brings Superman into the mix, starting a run of major DC heroes leading the JL that Jurgens and others would stretch for the next 30+ issues of the series, and for our purposes they would be collected into four volumes that we will review in turn. The volumes reprint issues from the early to mid 1990s, and were released over 2016 and 2017, tying in nicely with the cinematic release of the Justice League movie.
Jurgens immediately begins having some fun with the art. Fire has a different outfit every couple issues (including a racy lingerie photo shoot); Blue Beetle contorts into stunning acrobatic shapes and movements; various Green Lanterns weave fantastical structures out of their rings - my favorite being the 40-story-tall yellow Guy Gardner; inter-dimensional transfers lead to great use of inks and colors for fading in and out, and landing in stunningly exotic and dangerous landscapes.
Two recurring themes Jurgens weaves into the stories are what it means to lead such a chaotic team, and how it compares to the JLA glory-days of Hal Jordan, Superman, Aquaman and the classic team.
Superman and Batman have a long history, one that is beautifully explored in the Superman / Batman series that followed a decade later. Here, seeing them holding long discussions about working solo vs leading and mentoring this team is a fascinating glimpse into an earlier moment in their relationship, as Batman declines to join the team but cajoles and persuades Superman into not only joining but lead it.
And Hal Jordan, the Atom and Aquaman all pile on in their disdain for the levels to which, in their opinion, the team has sunk.
So, it is all the more amazing to see this team defeat the Weapons Master, with Beetle using brains over brawn to outsmart him; or Guy and Maxima collaborating to scam the alien Chaq and his properly certified deed to the entire solar system. Or the whole crew working together, with a big assist from mysterious new teammate Bloodwynd, to free Maxima's home world from the powerful Starbreaker.
But half the charm of this series is the team dynamics, the interpersonal relationships. And Jurgens has lots of fun in that area too. Flip through these pages and be amazed at how many of the pages are spent in Headquarters or their individual rooms or travelling together to their next battle. These are hardly filler moments, in Jurgens' hands; rather they are central to the stories he is telling.
Since we are doing a series of reviews related to the evolution of Booster Gold, I will end by noting that his involvement in these pages is almost entirely as a supporting character. His participation in the battles make minor contributions; his bromance with Blue Beetle continues, with witty banter and by challenging Beetle's obsession with Bloodwynd; and he hits on just about every woman in the room. The conflict with Fire over those racy photos is brief but very funny! The most poignant is a tender 2-page scene when he attempts to comfort Maxima as she grieves her losses. But is this a real or a put-on sensitivity? By this point in his history, the solo series (also created, written and drawn by Dan Jurgens of course!) has ended, and I anticipated seeing Jurgens make full use of his creation, but was disappointed in Booster's trivial and largely superficial contributions to these stories.
Description:
Dan Jurgens takes over as writer and artist on the classic JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA—leading directly into the legendary DEATH OF SUPERMAN!
The Justice League of America is in disarray. With only a few heroes left on the team, they are now a shadow of their former selves. Superman, seeing that the JLA is in crisis, decides to rejoin and inadvertently becomes their leader. Now the Man of Steel—alongside Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Fire, Ice and new members Bloodwynd and Maxima—must face some of the deadliest threats that the League has ever seen.
Collects: JUSTICE LEAGUE SPECTACULAR #1 and JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #61-68 (1992)
Authors: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Dan Jurgens
Published By: DC Comics
Published When: March 29, 2016
Parental Rating: PG-13
ISBN: 9781401260972
Pages: 240 pages
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