Writers: Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Artists: Kevin Maguire and Joe Rubinstein
Publisher: DC
Those forgotten heroes (and writers) of the late '80s are back in this, the follow-up to Formerly Known as the Justice League's debut. While not the view of perfection the first issue was, it still is a fun romp, and even includes an action sequence to let the heroes strut their stuff once again. And who doesn't like the new smell of that paper stock?
Maxwell Lord has done it again, this time bringing the former Justice League into an urban setting. What Mr. Lord's true intentions are, we've yet to know. Amidst the team still catching up with each other after all these years, the neighbors are not very happy with the League moving in, fearing it may attract villains. And that's just what happens…a series of Harvard dropouts who take the identity of street people, storm the Justice League complex "less buss they ass!", and display their superpowers for all to see. You can only imagine the resultant fun when these heroes who have come out of retirement join a battle again!
The feel that the writers have created here is incalculably amusing. You have a nostalgic sense coming from the League's return, but then you also have the fact that this is a book that doesn't take itself seriously. Granted, it's not supposed to be an intense drama, but the fact that it exists solely to be a parody of itself returns us to a more welcome day in comics. I'm particularly pleased at the intelligent direction as well, with Messrs. Giffen and DeMatteis refusing to make this one-sided stand-up material. There's actually an underlying plot here that I'm interested in, and the fact that it contains such biting wisecracks make it all the better.
Wizard recently named Kevin Maguire the best artist in modern comics for facial expressions. He rightfully receives the award for doing just that, but also gets points for drawing this in realistic proportion, instead of crafting a irrational cartoon. It properly places the book in a universal appeal, as well as the time frame for which this book originates.
The jokes may be a bit repetitive, and some simply not funny, but for the most part, this is as good as it was last issue. There are so many reasons to come back to this book, and I'm very pleased that DC has allowed a second miniseries to go ahead.
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