Justice League International Vol. 2

Justice League International #2

by Keith Giffen, Kevin Maguire (Illustrator)

In 1987, a new generation of the World's Greatest Super-Heroes took center stage. But they were the most unlikely grouping of heroes you'd ever expect!

The adventures of the classic comedy/action era of the Justice can be found in this collection. This incarnation of the League features Batman, Blue Beetle, Martian Manhunter, Guy Gardner, Black Canary, Mister Miracle, Dr. Fate, Booster Gold, Doctor Light, and the power of Shazam! Included here are JUSTICE LEAGUE ANNUAL #1, JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8-13 and SUICIDE SQUAD #13.

Rediscover the book that redefined the term "super-hero team!" for a generation.

Genres: Comics, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1988

About the author

Keith Ian Giffen was an American comic book illustrator and writer. He is possibly best-known for his long runs illustrating, and later writing the Legion of Super-Heroes title in the 1980s and 1990s. He also created the alien mercenary character Lobo (with Roger Slifer), and the irreverent "want-to-be" hero, Ambush Bug. Giffen is known for having an unorthodox writing style, often using characters in ways not seen before. His dialogue is usually characterized by a biting wit that is seen as much less zany than dialogue provided by longtime collaborators DeMatteis and Robert Loren Fleming. That approach has brought him both criticism and admiration, as perhaps best illustrated by the mixed (although commercially successful) response to his work in DC Comics' Justice League International (1987-1992). He also plotted and was breakdown artist for an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Curt Swan for DC Comics.

Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios)., T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote XO-Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.

He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.

He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. He also wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest. He currently writes Doom Patrol for DC, and is also completing an abandoned Grant Morrison plot in The Authority: the Lost Year for Wildstorm.

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well...the story is...interesting to say the least, and less cliched and one-dimensional than I'd expected from a mainstream comic from 1987 (back when I was just a toddler!)

(1) Captain Marvel isn't here anymore! OMG the injustice!!!!!

(2) A lot of Green Lanterns flying around! I wonder what they are doing here. You know, space mission really isn't my thing!

(3) I wonder when and how Guy Gardner had managed to piss off the Russians. XD

(4) The older-version of the Suicide Squad and Amanda Waller! I'm doing a happy dance in their names!

(5) But somebody please just does something to help Guy! He has been so nice to everyone for a whole book it is just not normal!!!

(6) The bonus story is only so-and-so, though.

(7) Batman is quitting the League!? I wonder how it will go...

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not as strong as volume 1 it is still really funny.

This time we have Manhunter step up and take control of the team. Of course this team is all over the place, half not listening, half barely smart enough to tie their shoe. We have the manhunters or whatever the Millennium guys are for the crossover. This is just okay but seeing Supes and the JLA team up was pretty great. Also ton of funny moments with Manhunter this time, that had me cracking up, as well as Guy being super sweet to everyone since his brain injury.

Listen, it's not perfect. But man, do I get a good laugh out the interactions. A 4 out of 5.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a shame. I feel like the creative staff had really gotten a handle on the characterization and tone they wanted to go with for the series, and it could have been really good. Unfortunately, it got snared in crossovers (something about Manhunters, I don't even know) and team-ups (Suicide Squad, which ok) and couldn't really be its own book. That said, reading the characters reacting to the events is still quite entertaining.

A super nitpicky side note: this collection includes the '87 annual. At the end of the book. Which would be fine, except that the annual was published before (and takes place before) ever regular issue here. There's actually a note inserted before the annual explaining that it comes before everything else in the book. So why is it here, and why is it last? Baffling.

[Christian Zamora-Dahmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

After all this time, I still love the Justice League International.
The Annual wasn’t the best, and the Suicide Squad crossover was a bit lacking, but in its regular schedule, this book is just perfect. Not even the Millennium event made it bad, haha!
Interaction is perfect and it makes for a fun sitcom/superhero match.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Issues #8-12 in this volume are the finale to the first year of JLI, answering the secrets of Maxwell Lord. There's definitely too much tell and not enough show, but Lord still gets some drama that helps to redeem his character. Meanwhile, the rest of the League has increasingly funny adventures, because Giffen and DeMatteis have really honed their art of being witty and clever in their dialogue. The big problem with this volume is the unfortunate Millennium crossover, which really sets back the story of the League's first year, particularly issue #10 which stars almost none of our regular characters, and feels pretty out-of-place. So, despite its good ending, there's just not enough coherency in this volume for it to be a good story.

Later editions of this volume also include the Suicide Squad crossover, which includes JLI #13 and Suicide Squad #13, and which is another highlight. Not only is it great to see JLI humor applied to the Squad, but the authors also do a great job of connecting up the characters in the Squad and the JLI and producing some intense and funny character moments.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

poor stories. just not that interesting.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Good God!”

“GOD, Comrade Alexei…?”

“I mean…Lenin’s Ghost!”

Still pretty chaaaaaaaarrrrrmmmmminnnggggggg. Though I think this volume gets a little tangled in some crossover nonsense (remember “Millennium”? Because I sure as hell did not), but still the charm of the creative team and the tone they’ve already built with the team keeps those issues from being completely lost in the sauce.

I also didn’t remember the crossover stuff with the Ostrander Suicide Squad run either and this kinda neatly proves how tonally and narratively similar those titles end up being, despite JLI’s insistence on going for the gag while SS usually goes for the gut-punch (much to both title’s benefit).

But now I’m really excited because this coming stretch is the stuff I don’t remember at all so it will kinda be whole new comics for me now as an adult. Hell yeah sayeth the Kite Man.

[Ondra Král · Rating 4 out of 5]

Druhé čtení - DCKK. Oproti originálu osekané, takže neúplné Millennium zabírá až moc prostoru. Hrozně moc linek se tu jen naťukne (diktátor, Fire&Ice, Maxwell) a bez pokračování vyšumí do ztracena, komplet měl zůstát jen u jedničky.

V kontextu celé řady - 4*
V kontextu DCKK - 3*

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neste segundo volume, a Liga da Justiça finalmente se torna "Internacional". Isso porque foram incluídos em suas fileiras o Capitão Átomo, chancelado pelos Estados Unidos e o Soviete Supremo, trazido por parte da URSS. Mais uma vez a Guerra Fria é o epicentro da revista. E, mais ainda, as inteligências artificiais tomam seu espaço nesta edição. São os Caçadores Cósmicos, ligados à megassaga Milênio, um robô gigante chamado Construto e uma inteligência artificial inserida em Maxwell Lord, o pretenso líder da Liga da Justiça Internacional, que não é nomeada. Todas essas ameaças refletem o espírito da época do final da década de 80. Assim como as grandes corporações, o inverno nuclear e as novas tecnologias apavoravam e encantavam quem vivia aquela época. Não poderia ser diferente nos quadrinhos. Este volume, contudo, é menos engenhoso e cômico que o primeiro, embora traga o Gnort e a dupla Fogo e Gelo. Aliás, devemos acrescentar, que Al Gordon dá conta dos interlúdios sobre o fim dos Guardiões Globais com a ascensão da LJI. Claro, mais uma vez sinto um gostinho de quero mais com essas histórias, mas, para lê-las, somente procurando pelas revistas antigonas e em formatinho da Editora Abril, infelizmente.

[Emma Kay Krebs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ted was really embarrassing. Dinah looked awesome and put up with so much shit (read: Ted Kord). Ted and Booster went on a date in Paris. Everything about Batman was lampshaded; Bruce Wayne, go to therapy challenge. Martian Manhunter-focused annual admittedly made me emotional about Martian Manhunter, a seeming impossibility. It was incredibly funny. Did I mention that Ted was embarrassing? Oh, and Dinah is just. UGH. DINAH. DINAH!!!

That is my full review. God bless the JLI.

[Bene Vogt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forget about the first volume, here is where the JLI the elderly mutter about in positive tones actually starts!

[Roland Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A decent read. Very funny and well written.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still funny, but kind of all over the place. I’m not crazy about the way they write Batman, and the crossovers had me checking out a little bit more than I’d have liked to.

[Nate]

There’s a lot going on this volume: new members, event tie-ins, a Suicide Squad crossover, Maxwell Lord’s origin, and a flashback story. As a result, it doesn’t read as well as the streamlined superheroics and team building of the first 7 issues. The fun factor is still there, just not as upfront as before. Welcome to modern comics, where events and crossovers are guaranteed to mess with your favorite titles! That said, I actually enjoyed the Suicide Squad crossover - I’ve been meaning to read that run and now seems like the perfect time. The Millenium issues, on the other hand, are less great. Everything I’ve read surrounding that event has been crap, frankly. As for new members, Captain Atom is an interesting choice, though I can’t say Rocket Red has aged well, particularly his design. Elsewhere, this series confirms Martian Manhunter as one of my favorite DC characters. There’s still good character stuff here, it’s just a shame the storytelling is hijacked by DC nonsense. Also, why does the annual, which takes place before all the other issues, come at the end of the collection? No idea.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the good stuff.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints Justice League (1) Annual #1, Justice League International (1) #8-13, and Suicide Squad (1) #13 (June 1987- May 1988).  The threat of the Manhunters has come to Earth and the Justice League finds itself teamed with heroes and Green Lanterns to stop the Manhunters’ plans.  Maxwell Lord’s origins are revealed as the JLI questions who is pulling their strings.  Plus, a political prisoner situation in the Soviet Union has Waller’s Suicide Squad going head-to-head with Lord’s JLA.

Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, Justice League International—Volume 2 is a DC Comics superhero team-book.  Following Justice League International—Volume 1, the collection features art by Kevin Maguire, Keith Giffen, and Bill Willingham.  The series continues under its new Justice League International title but also contains Justice League Annual #1 which was released before the title change.

I like Justice League International.  It is one of the “fun” 1980s DC books in a time when the gritty realism of the ’80s was at its peak.  Despite this, the JLI didn’t take itself seriously at all, and for that reason it works…but it is also a mess.

The series has great kismet between the team members but due to the roll out as Justice League, the switch to Justice League International, and the big Millennium crossover, it feels like the series has yet to really get traction.  The actual interactions between characters work, but the bigger stories still struggle.

The Millennium story doesn’t really stand on its own (and Millennium itself was rather confusing), but after years, I still really don’t get the whole Maxwell Lord-computer story which is self-contained.  It is confusing and poorly executed and the fact that Lord is the team’s leader creates problems since it isn’t entirely clear what is going on with him (even when they try to clear it up).

It is followed by a so-so crossover with Suicide Squad which launched at the same time as Justice League.  This crossover makes a lot of sense because the JLI and Suicide Squad are supposed to be opposite sides of the same coin, but what doesn’t make sense is that since Suicide Squad is a secret “team”, the Justice League who doesn’t know this don’t seem to be asking the right questions.  It is a weird, stuttered two issue crossover that further gets bogged down by the involvement of Red Star and the Soviets who seem to just push the story along.

Despite these criticisms and the fact that the series is so hodgepodge at this point, I still enjoy reading Justice League International.  I wish Giffen and DeMatteis would strengthen the storylines (or would have brought someone in to do that) while they stuck with dialogue and scripting…it would have made an entertaining book much more solid.  Justice League International—Volume 2 is followed by Justice League International—Volume 3.

[Max Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume ups the amount of jokes to the perfect quantity, I'd argue. It's still not overwhelming the adventure narrative to its detriment, but makes you chuckle quite often. This is the one that features the infamous One Punch scene, too. Guy Gardner gets it from Batman and combined with later events, this transforms him into a pretty much Shazam clone. Golly, that's swell for multiple reasons. One is that it increases team cohesion drastically. New Lantern is much more controllable than the old one, so for the next ten issues or so the team is working together much better. The other is, of course, the running Guy gag that is introduced into the mix. Due to machinations of the still mysterious billionaire, Maxwell Lord, Justice League International has finally been established officially by the UN sanction with the full support of the USA and the USSR behind. As a result, the team gets a Russian member, called Rocket Red. Cue the vodka jokes... actually, no, I can only remember one, and it was probably from the next volume. The comedic duo of Booster Gold and Blue Beetle gets its share of good laughs, too. Previously, Kevin Maguire's art felt a bit rough, but now, with digital restoration applied, it shines, adding to the overall experience.



Three of the issues are parts of the Millenium crossover event and this is the time where I have to really applaud DC. I've been reading the digital DC collections for a few years now and this is the only book that features brief one-page summaries of what the hell happened before in the event. It's incredibly helpful for the people that do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of the dozens of the crossover events that happened over the years and sets up the scene for the story in the issues quite nicely. Now, what's baffling is that no other collections I've read have this feature. Anyway, the second volume seems to be the best so far out of the three I've read, so it's a big recommend.

[Ondřej Halíř · Rating 4 out of 5]

Začátek druhého volumka začal neskutečně skvěle, skoro až bych měl pocit že jsem četl sitcomovou verzi JL. Bavilo mě jak si hlavní hrdinové stěhovali věci do nových poboček Justice League a různé komické patálie kterého u toho prožívali a Guy Gardener jako pozitivní usměvavé sluníčko je láska.

Bohužel po skoro až nesuperhrdinském začátku, se schýlilo ke cross overům a bitkám se zlem který ohrožuje naší planetu zemi. No a v ten moment to trošičku skřípalo, protože přeci jen jsem doufal více atmosféry jak na začátku booku.

Díky bohu ale Keith Giffen s Dematteisem i přes akci a cross overy dokáží držet laťku humoru, hlášek a chemie mezi postavami napříč celým bookem a i nějaké ty zvraty se jim povedly. Takže ve výsledku se jedná o fakt fajn pokračování, které mu lehce ubralo až moc akční týmácké zápletky. Ale jinak jsem se dlouho takhle nenasmál u komiksu jak tady !!!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish they're done a better job with the printing. For a nifty hardcover, some of the lettering is unclear, or even unfinished, and though I prefer a flat-paper to the current glossy stuff, the pages here are positively brittle.

Still, great stories. Bruce, Ted, Michael and Beatriz going undercover in Bialya is a great arc, balanced nicely by the fun cosmic adventure of J'Onn, G'nort, Red and Barda chasing Scott across the cosmos. Vol. 2's Max Lord stories, issues 11 and 12, are still among the series' highlights for me.

[Gustavo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque es un poco desparejo (más que nada por ese crossover con Millenium), este volumen cierra más o menos la historia inicial y el misterio de quién es Maxwell Lord y qué es lo que quiere. Me encantan todos estos personajes, aunque extrañé un poco al Capitán Marvel/Shazam, y el Capitán Atom es un poco desabrido todavía, las nuevas adiciones terminan de cerrar la formación clásica de esta época con Flama Verde y Hielo. Me quedé con las ganas de seguir leyendo y de leer la Liga de la Justicia Europa, espero conseguirlas en algun momento.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justice League International Vol. 2

The JLI begin to set up their embassies across the world, but some countries are still wary of the costumed superheroes. The Manhunters attempt to take over the world and Max Lord is shot inside his headquarters.

Giffen and his team keep the adventures and humour front and centre. The artwork is consistently good and the colouring is bright. The intertitles keep readers up to date with the necessary threads from other books, but are a little short.

[SullyIsReading · Rating 3 out of 5]

(THIS REVIEW IS ORIGINALLY FROM STORYGRAPH, FROM 22ND JUNE 2023.)

Enjoyed the comedy of this story, as well as the plot that Maxwell Lord goes through, especially towards the end of the story.

No specific complaints, however I found the collection lacking in some parts - I wanted more, really, and some parts dragged without feeling fully rewarding. It was nice to have a continuation from the first part, however.

[Andy Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tho interrupted by tie-in this is a foundation block in one of the great comics of the 1986-1987 season and the most under rated. Comedy, characterisation, adventure and intrigue, I'm glad I chose this as the topic for my podcast, 'Justice League 1987 - Reinventing Superheroes', because re reading this was a joy.

[Tim Rooney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Between crossover interruptions and leaning a bit too hard into humor to undermine legitimate threats, this thing feels disjointed and listless. The Max Lord revelation here doesn’t land because we have barely seen him in the last six or so issues. The introduction of Fire and Ice adds some interesting wrinkles and I am still invested but hope for something a bit more cohesive in the near term.

[Greg Trosclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful. I had forgotten how good these stories were. There is no doom and gloom nor darkness that today's comic stories convey. Great writing, gorgeous art and fun characters make for some really great stories.

[Scott Filibeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is stifled by a terrible event and a poorly placed (but otherwise decent) annual. Comedy is, unfortunately, not center place and the central plot revolves around the event and its wake. The author also saw fit to have Batman quit like an ungrateful child.

[Tom Malinowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justice League gets better going Justice League International. New Members Captain Atom and Red Rocket join up. Something's going on with Maxwell Lord, and Guy continues to have a pleasant demeanor which shocks the rest of the team. Lots of laughs and intrigue.

[a ☕︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

not as good as the first volume, though it still has its fair share of star trek jokes (yaaay lol). i got a little emotional abt martian manhunter in that last issue, the rest was the usual—or less than, rather.

[James Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as great as the first volume, but still another great follow-up. This has Martian Manhunter take centre stage, as the group deals with Manhunters and the truth about what Maxwell Lord is up to. A solid volume

[Raul Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I really liked the moving day issue, it felt very much like a sitcom, and the suicide squad tie-ins were also fun since most people had a relationship with one another, but I wasn’t too keen on the Manhunter and Millenium tie-ins. Also, the Maxwell Lord storyline wasn’t too interesting.