JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL #1

STORY: Geoff Johns and Dan Didio
ART: Jason Fabok

It really is the end for the Justice League International. After a year of amazing stories, a slowly-expanding roster, and a death in the family, the JLI all but disintegrates before our eyes as Geoff Johns and Dan Didio bid farewell to one of DC's quirkiest titles. It came as a bit of a surprise when DC announced it would cancel Justice League International after it's Annual issue, especially since it wasn't a low performer like other cancelled series such as Mister Fantastic, Men of War, or Resurrection Man. For months, fans and critics have been speculating as to reasons why; was it to set-up a bigger event? Was JLI going to be relaunched under a different name? Was DC planning on revising it's number of monthly titles? We didn't have a lot to go on, and the editorial executives were staying tight-lipped. And this week, DC announced that Geoff Johns and David Finch would be starting a new series, Justice League of America. After I read the initial press release concerning JLA, I immediately knew why JLI was cancelled. It makes sense, on a certain level, to want to expand the 'Justice League' franchise without diluting the name itself. Justice League and Justice League Dark both have clear-cut plot-centric premises, while JLI told more character-driven stories. It really is a shame to see the series go, but Justice League International Annual #1 goes the book justice and sends the team off in an appropriately dour - yet potentially promising - way.

Annual #1 picks up a few weeks after the events of JLI #12, wherein Batwing resigned, the team fought the late Lightweaver's delusional brother, and the future of these characters rested in Batman's capable hands. Bringing the series full-circle, Booster's primary concern is now increasing the team's visibility and public image by way of impressing the United Nations by taking on dangerous missions around the globe. We drop in with our lovable band of misfits in Central Africa, where Guy Gardner is leading a squad against a vicious warlord named Aki Mukassa. As Batwing flies the violent revolutionary away from the riot below, the warlord activates a bomb and kills himself mid-air. The entire situation is symbolic of the JLI's status quo as the team that gets it done, but not very well. While the rest of the team is satisfied with saving numerous innocent lives, Booster is upset that the JLI couldn't hand Mukassa over to the UN.

The breaking point comes later, when Booster informs the team that he's expanded the roster by recruiting Olympian and Blue Beetle. "Where are Superman and Wonder Woman?" asks Beetle, which sends Guy Gardner into a rage that results in his resignation from the JLI. With Rocket Red already dead, as well as Vixen, Fire, and Ice in the hospital, it's as though Booster takes one step forward for every two steps back. He sees that their numbers are dwindling, and he does whatever it takes (a la lying to Beetle about the JLI's roster) to make his team better.

And while the first half of the book is really all about Booster and his insecurities, the latter half focuses on O.M.A.C., who becomes possessed by Brother Eye, the sentient satellite and computer program designed and built by Batman to observe and analyze every metahuman on Earth in order to develop defenses against them if necessary. Since the 'New 52' relaunch, it's been interesting to see what has survived the editorial culling and now exists in the ner universe - the events of Infinite Crisis aren't mentioned anywhere else in the 'New 52' (that I know of), so it could stand to reason the whole thing never happened, but that Brother Eye was still created. And just like in Infinite Crisis, Brother Eye's been hijacked! With a new 'programmer' calling the shots, Brother Eye takes complete control of Kevin Kho's body and mind as it attempts to destroy the JLI and re-upload himself to the satellite orbiting Earth. During the confrontation, O.M.A.C. (apparently) kills Olympian, then uses his overwhelming technology to send Blue Beetle back to the Reach, the alien society where Jaime's scarab originated.

There's a lot of action going on during the finale, but in the end, Booster Gold is the only one who's able to stand up to the brutish, unstoppable O.M.A.C. Using 25th century anti-virus protection, (easter-eggedly called the 'Skeets Protocols') Booster is able to stop Brother Eye's uplink to the satellite and separate Kevin from the O.M.A.C. programming that was making his life a living hell. Of course, this victory is short-lived as Booster Gold from the future-future comes back to warn our Booster of horrible things to come before he simply disappears, as if he never existed. Then suddenly, the same thing happens to our Booster Gold!

By the time we reach the final pages, the team is technically down to just Godiva and a heavily-injured August General in Iron. Rocket Red and Olympian are dead, Batwing and Guy Gardner have resigned Blue Beetle is on the other side of the galaxy, and Booster is deleted from time and space. Justice League International Annual #1 is not only the JLI's most exciting issue, but it sets up the next chapter of the collective 'Justice League' story very well. At the very end, Batman has a chilling conversation with his creation, Brother Eye: "Eye am home and eye will be waiting for my new programmer's signal. He is coming, Batman. And you will join him or die." recites Brother Eye as if from a script. The emotionless, yet highly sophisticated, Brother Eye looks to be the focal point of things to come. Perhaps in the same vein as Infinite Crisis, Batman's presumptuousness concerning other heroes became paranoia, resulting in some of the darkest days in DCU history.

GRADE

A+

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #12

STORY: Dan Jurgens
ART: Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan

It's the beginning of the end for the JLI. Save for Justice League International Annual #1 - being released in this month's fifth week, along with a slew of other Annuals - Dan Jurgens' seminal series has come to a close with the "Funeral of Rocket Red". While the story title itself is a bit of a misnomer, this month's issue takes the team to Russia to visit Gavril Ivanovich's grave for a proper send-off by the teammates that stood by him in the end.

As the end of a series, Justice League International #12 has a lot of loose ends to tie up. Fortunately, Jurgens takes the time to bring proper conclusions to the plot points that matter. Last month, the late Lightweaver's twin brother, Malik, vowed to destroy the JLI, whom he believes was the responsible party in Lightweaver's death. If you read JLI #11, you saw that it was actually the government-ordered strike that killed Lightweaver. The fight between Malik and the JLI serves mostly to symbolize the team's position as the most accessible and relatable Justice League team. The League proper deals with situations that are so big, so dire that the end nearly always justifies their means, while the 'Justice League Dark' operates outside the public eye - their methods kept secret due to their controversial nature. The JLI sits in the middle of this spectrum as the Justice League that isn't quite perfect, yet are still accountable for their actions. In this sense, Malik's ambush works on both a technical and narrative level.

The group's trip to Russia to honor their fallen friend also points to their humanity. The death of a teammate is never taken lightly in the pages of DC's comic books, but rarely is it given the respect it deserves. Often, whole slews of characters will be killed off in major events, only to be noted in a mass-funeral or memorial wall in a later issue. Very often, death is taken lightly in comic books. Going against that trend, Dan Jurgens sees the importance of grieving and finding closure after the death of a friend and uses these emotions to weave a tale that brings the JLI full-circle and looks forward to the future and the potential it holds.

While Guy Gardner uses his GL ring to transmit a live feed from the hospital room of Ice and Vixen, Fire is inexplicably left in her induced coma, unable to even remotely attend the funeral. Jurgens doesn't give any reason for this story choice beyond the medical decision, which is a total cop-out. Knowing this would be the last issue, it would have been nice if Jurgens had brought everyone together. Perhaps I'll get my wish in JLI Annual #1 later this month.

Batwing resigns from the team for no other reason than he was barely on it to begin with; he cites "too many duties elsewhere", but he was never really all that interesting anyway. Batman's reasons for leaving are a bit more poignant. Bruce takes the time to explain that he's no longer needed, that Booster Gold is more than qualified to lead the team, and that their old headquarters and bankroll had been reinstated. Much in the vein of the JLI's history within the DCU, Batman sees the potential in this rag-tag group and gives them a chance - the chance no one else was willing to give them after a less-than-perfect inaugural outing.

GRADE

A

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #11

STORY: Dan Jurgens
ART: Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan

Dan Jurgens has done an excellent job with Justice League International in the 'New 52'; it's one of my favorite titles out right now. Each issue adds more character development that has taken a group of misfits that couldn't make it in the Justice League proper and turned them into a formidable team that sheds their original United Nations sanction to take care of themselves.

As a whole, Justice League International is a classic 'rags to riches' story for each member in their own way. Unlike the major Leaguers - who aren't depicted as having a need for adoration or praise - the members of the JLI are characters who are much more grounded, and thus more relatable. Booster Gold pretty much a joke in the superhero community, Godiva's a small-time street hero with no worldly experience, August General in Iron attempts to make a better name for himself and his country, Red Rocket wants to honor the legacy of his title, Batwing works to make himself a better hero for his home and for Batman, and O.M.A.C. just wants to be normal. It's this sense of making oneself better that makes JLI so enjoyable. Everyone has wanted or needed to prove themselves at some point in their lives, and these characters need to prove themselves to the superhero community and the world at large.


Guy Gardner narrates Justice League International #11 as the team has their final stand against Breakdown and his anti-superhero agenda.  The eponymous villain wants to see the end of superheroes because of in the inequality in both physical ability and social hierarchy. With the help of a few small-time villains and growing animosity from a civilian mob, Breakdown manages to put up a good fight against the JLI. It's not often than writers feel the need to delve into the personal lives of villains - unless that's the point of the story, in which case most tend to flub it up - Dan Jurgens uses minor criminal Lightweaver as the emotional core of the "Breakdown" arc. 

We've already seen interactions between Lightweaver and his younger brother debating the nature of good and evil, and this month, Breakdown's right-hand man is murdered during the final fight, only his younger brother at his side in his final minutes. Obviously, Lightweaver's brother acted as a physical conscious, encouraging him to end his current life of crime, but Lightweaver consistently ignored these warnings until it was too late. It's a sub-plot that deals in emotional ramifications, familial issues, and a desire to be something greater.


O.M.A.C. presents a similar situation, as Kevin - the boy stuck in the big, blue body - has to fight himself to take control of the overwhelming power and drive than comes with being a One Man Army Corps. The team must first incite O.M.A.C.'s rage to help free them from Lightweaver's energy prison, then later calm him down when he loses control and starts rampaging through the city, even though the fight is over. O.M.A.C. is such an interesting character, it's a shame DC cancelled not only his self-titled series, but has now doomed Justice League International to the chopping block. Here's hoping Boy Blue can make a third, successul comeback.


Dan Jurgens loves the JLI. He's nurtured this book since day one, and it's been a slowly evolving tale that just gets better and more cohesive with each issue. It really is a shame that such an excellent series is ending so soon.

GRADE

A

(COMIC) JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8

STORY: Dan Jurgens
ARTWORK: Aaron Lopresti, Matt Ryan

This month heralds the arrival of Batwing as the newest member of the JLI. Though Batman's African counterpart is an obvious - and easy - choice for a team made of up of international heroes, Dan Jurgens seriously flubs this introduction. Justice League International #8 is the least cohesive and most scatterbrained issue of the series thus far. Jurgens tries to interweave too many plots and after a few pages, it becomes difficult to understand exactly what it happening. Also, Batman keeps changing his tune concerning the JLI; one month he wants them to disband, and now he's recruiting members.

The team is still reeling from the bombing at the end of issue six; Booster Gold is facing off against the new Lightweaver, Fire and Ice are still in the hospital, Red Rocket is still dead, and Jurgens another villain who somehow fits into the scheme of the story. Roland Norcutt is a new character (at least I think he is) whose ability lets him break anything down to it's basest of forms, then repurpose that raw matter into whatever he likes. Taking the name Breakdown, Roland escapes from his prison transport and convenes with Lightweaver and some other villains.

I understand that Jurgens is building towards something. It's obvious that this issue is a 'filler' issue meant to introduce some characters and little else. The story doesn't advance at all from last month, and the only real exciting part about this issue is the arrival of Batwing, which itself is pretty lackluster. I've been extremely happy with Justice League International every month, and one hiccup isn't enough to turn me off of a great, great book.

GRADE:

C+