Out of the Retroactive books that DC Comics announced, there was one in particular I was excited about. Keith Giffen, J.M. Dematteis, and Kevin McGuire returning to the Justice League America/International for one more adventure. You have to wonder though, would they have that magic left in them for another story with the Justice League America. In every Retroactive they’ve shown an untold story from each era, this one plays with The Injustice Gang, a team just as beloved during this period of this Justice League. The issue intertwines the Injustice Gang of this period. The Injustice Gang were composed of Cluemaster, Big Sir, Multi-Man, Clock King, and their leader Major Disaster. This one definitely struck a chord with me.
The issue starts out with a great sequence that only this creative team could pull off. The 12 panel grid. It’s in the talent of Giffen and Dematteis, with the amazing facial expressions of Kevin McGuire, that make this work. The facial expressions, the hilarious conversation, gets you going for this story right from the start. This is authentic Giffen and Dematteis Justice League America, hooking you into the story. It all involves Multi-Man and one of Darkseid’s Parademons in a Poker game. With Big Sir being moral support, as the case may be. As the poor Parademon is out of all the money he has, the hilarity begins when he gives Multi-Man a special piece of Apokoliptian Technology. I love the expressions on the Parademon as he’s giving this device to Multi-Man. The nice part of this early story set up is for this being more than likely the final run of this team on JLI, this has the feel of a classic story from that period. You’re going to have to feel bad for Big Sir once you see what happens with the tech in the midst of the Injustice Gang’s argument in their apartment.
As the Justice League America gets involved, you get a great moment with each of the characters. This One-Shot is more than likely the last hurrah for these characters for a long time, so Giffen and Dematteis are having their fun while they can. This issue shows why this Justice League America is beloved. For all the people who get annoyed by it being too much of a sitcom, all the characters act like real characters. With no big names on the team there was a lot of leeway to what the Giffen and Dematteis team could do. How each character plays off of this situation with the Parademon or not is hilarious. You can tell McGuire is having a blast drawing each of these characters. Every character he draws shows emotion. Knocking it a notch above your typical story. Any emotion they feel, you feel along with them just with their facial expressions. Between the Injustice Gang and Justice League America, he’s having a lot of fun, and this shows with each page. There’s even a quick Justice League Europe reference with Power Girl and the Cat.
When all the characters come together, with the Injustice Gang trying their hands at being good guys setting this just before Justice League Antartica, as the are Justice League dealing with the interesting effects of the Tech, and nothing beats a giant monster roaming the streets of New York. It’s hard for me to review this without telling you the entire issue. For people who want to see the Max Lord of that period one last time, you get that in spades. You want to see one last ride of Blue and Gold, the Blue Beetle and Booster Gold team, even seeing Fire and Ice together one last time.
This is probably one of the most personal reviews for me, I’m a huge fan of this period of Justice League America. This is a great comic, a true love letter for this team, and a sad but happy farewell. This is a review that’s more in vein with my Secret Six review. For the big thing with the Retroactive’s is if you’re a fan of the period or a fan of that character, you’re more than likely going to pick this up. Same goes for this one-shot, if you see Justice League America, and you see the team with the Injustice Gang on the cover you’re going to grab this. Between the great references to old continuity, from Justice League Antartica, the Cat from Justice League Europe, and everything else, this is a must buy. If you’re a newer fan who’s looking for a primer on why people love this team so much, take a look. I can only imagine what Justice League International, with a similar team to this old iteration, will hold in store for us in the DC Relaunch.
