Justice League International: Volume 1

The quirky humor and fast pacing really pay off. For those old enough to remember it's like a mini time capsule of the year 1987 in many ways. Giffen and Dematteis somehow took a bunch of heroes no one cares about (minus batman) and some typically bland 80's art style and made a REALLY enjoyable comic. And that's even before Booster Gold shows up who is always entertaining. This volume includes the first 7 issues (Justice League #1-6 & Justice League International #7). If you can pick up a cheap copy, do so you will not regret it. This one is staying on my shelf.

Very very funny....too bad DC decided to kill off many of these characters in the recent CRISIS...

This trade paperback is a perfect reading experience. I recommend it to everyone even to non-comic book fans because everyone likes to laugh and the art is pretty. I think this is the best writing from Keith Giffen (there is such a thing as way too much Lobo) and J.M. DeMatteis (Andrew Bennet, I ... Vampire).

This "re-launch" of the Justice League is one of the high points of any team book in comics history and is essential reading for any JLA fan. Giffen and DeMatteis took the book in an entirely new direction where they focused as much on the characters and their interaction with each other as action involving super villains and world threatening disasters. The petty bickering, insecurities, and borderline psychotic tendencies of Earth's mightiest heroes is highly enjoyable reading to comics fans who are often given only cardboard stereotypes in place of real characterization. DeMatteis mastery of facial expressions is a real plus, Justice League is still the only comic I have ever read where I have laughed out loud just for the look on a character's face in reaction to a situation or a line of dialogue. Giffen and DeMatteis also handle the typical superheroic derring-do very well, although always with a light touch. The "Grey Man" storyline collected here is one of the all time classic Justice League stories and touches on the tragic as effectively as the comic. Giffen and DeMatteis' Justice League is perhaps the best incarnation of the best team book in comic history, I couldn't recommend it more strongly.

This collection collects some of my favourite comics. Its a fresh take on what was starting to become tired and cliched. This is still my favourite version of the Justice League. These first issues introduce the humerous Justice League created by Kieth Giffen and JM DeMaties. The stories in this collection still have a somewhat serious tone when compared to the later stories but they are still hillarious. The first few issues of JL include an absolute classic showdown between Guy Garder and Batman (which was unfortunately written out of continuity by Zero Hour), Dr Fate the way he is supposed to be written and an excellent battle against the Grey Man, who was never written better. The lineup at the time also included Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle and Captain Marvel. Although never officially a leaguer, Maxwell Lord is also a classic character.