JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1
The Signal Masters, Part 1

November 2011

Written by Dan Jurgens

Pencils by Aaron Lopresti

Inks by Matt Ryan

Cover by Aaron Lopresti

Synopsis

Andre Briggs, head of the United Nations Intelligence, convinces several UN members than an elite team is required to overcome threats to making conventional armies and law enforcement can’t handle.  In Peru, a UN research team are literally swallowed by the Earth.  At the Hall of Justice, Briggs announces the team and its leader:  Booster Gold.  However, protestors are not happy the UN has taken over the Hall of Justice.  Briggs introduces Booster to the rest of the team.  When Guy Gardner learns Booster is the team leader, he storms off.  Before he leaves, Batman tries to convince Guy to stay, but Guy storms away.  Meanwhile, the team prepares to leave for Peru.  Batman decides to join the team for the mission.  In Peru, the team is investigating the site of the missing team when they are suddenly attacked by mud men.  The team easily dispatches the creatures.  A moment later, a larger creature emerges from the ground. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I think this issue is fairly decent for what it wanted to accomplish, setting up the reasons the team has been brought together, introducing each of the characters and the interactions with each other, and (of course) setting up the first antagonist for the team to fight.  Jurgens is a long time professional, so he knows what he is doing and it shows; this is a very competent, well written first issue of a new team semi-recognizable characters.  Jurgens avoids the pitfall of trying to deal with the new continuity (if there is one) by writing the characters in broad strokes, making them familiar in terms of personality traits without going into any type of continuity. 

The problem with this issue is that there are a couple of other comics, the first book to feature this title as well as the recent Checkmate, that this issue draws comparison to.  And the comparisons are not good.  It lacks the intrigue and political maneuvering of Checkmate and it lacks the humor of the first JLI title.  It sits somewhere between the two, but fails to deliver anything uniquely its own.  It feels like a retreated of other comics, done better for what they were trying to do.  Hopefully, Jurgens can find a voice for this book, something different enough to get past what has been done before. 

What was the deal with the protestors and the Hall of Justice?  Is it some kind of meta-textual commentary on the way DC has co-opted the Hall from the Saturday morning cartoon and made it into a part of the DCU (and now the DCnU)?  If not, the scene doesn’t make sense mostly because we don’t know what the Hall of Justice was used for before the U.N. took over.

Even before this issue hit the stands, it was under a little bit of scrutiny.  If you look at the cover, you’ll notice Godiva occupying the bottom left hand spot.  The cover art originally had a dark-haired woman in that particular spot.  Then, it subsequent releases of the cover art, the woman disappeared.  Some believed the woman was supposed to be the Greek lady from the canceled Booster Gold series, while others thought it was supposed to be Black Canary. 

Strange Sighting

Page 8, to left hand panel, among the crowd of protestors, visible just below Booster’s elbow. 

	Main		Page	NEXT ISSUE