JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8

[ TWO FOR ONE ] 

When a team suddenly has a breakdown. It reminds me of a WWF Shakedown. Booster takes it hard. Godiva quotes the Bard. And August General looks very silly dressed as a clown. Sometimes anyway, according to Writer: Dan Jurgens; Artist: Aaron Lopresti; and Publisher: DC Comics in May 2012.

So what’s the STORY morning glory?

In this instalment of Justice League International, entitled 'Collision Course', we are presented with a fight, an escape, plus a couple of dilemmas, which is as muddled as a ball of string in a washing machine.

THE FIGHT: In the Blue and Gold corner; we have Booster Gold and some old friend of Vixens called 'Batwing'. Whilst in the... errmm... git corner; we have one of the bad guys who blew-up the United Nations building two issues ago, Lightweaver. So who wins, huh? Is it power in numbers? Or is it he who looks like a 'power-ranger' the most, gets away to fight another day'?

Regrettably, the latter statement is true I am afraid to say. But that does not mean the battle is lost, right?

THE ESCAPE: Another one of the bad-guys who blew-up the United Nations building two issues ago, Roland Norcutt, has been caught, and is now being taken to prison.

NOT!

You see, this elderly looking-nut job is the super-powered being called 'Breakdown'. And he is able to kill his guards, before reconnecting with his team, Lightweaver and Intersek, not so long thereafter. 

THE DILEMMAS: The JLI are just one unlucky bunch of bananas all in all. Batman informs Booster Gold and Batwing that Breakdown is free. Guy pines over Ice. Plus, in addition to this, Guy, Ice, and August General, get a good telling off by Chairperson Bao in the hospital, as they then get into a fight with Omac outside the hospital. 

Ooops!

What is the most memorable SENTENCE OR CONVERSATION spoken in this issue?

Although he was the bad-guy in this tale, I liked the words used by Roland Norcutt just prior to his escape.

'All the government want to do is control us. Keep us occupied with whatever crap is on TV so we don't pay attention to what's really going on. Don't you get tiered of being pawns? Of having no control over your lives? We're all prisoners to our mortgages and credit cards just the way they like it'.

OK, I know that I could continue with this quote, but I won't. Instead, I would just like to say that this statement screams revolution, and it does make you think. Agreed?

What was the BEST thing about this issue?

Apart from the Roland quote I just mentioned, I have to say that I liked the tone of this issue a lot more than most. Moreover, I also have to mention that I really enjoyed it when Guy threatened Chairperson Bao and that other diplomatic git at the hospital, plus the way that August General defended Godiva. Very personable tit-bits.

What was the WORST thing about this issue?

I only have one small gripe with this issue really. It was the end scene where Omac suddenly turned up and started a fight with Guy, Ice, and August. It felt a bit too samey to me. Too tried and tested as a plot device.

Also, I am still unsure about Batman's stance on this team. His attitude on 'JusticeLeague #7' counteracts with his attitude on this book.

What was the most CREATIVE thing about this issue?

STORY: I like the idea that Batwing has a history with Vixen. Please note, I do not pick up David Zayimbi's other book. Therefore he is a new element to me, one I wouldn't mind to see more of on this title in the future. He seems like a cool chap. 

ART: For months now I have moaned about the blaze colours used on this book, and though and behold, this issue, the pallet appears slightly more muted. Great. What Aaron has to fix next, is Lightweaver and Intersek's silly looking costumes. Well, they do both look like a pair of very camp bikers, huh? Not a couple of villains.

If you had to CAST TWO CHARACTERS in this comic book, who would they be and why?

ROLAND NORCUTT: Couldn't you just imagine Sean Connery playing this role? He'd be perfect. He has a beard. He has a bold presence. And he has a speaking voice that would make any government tremble with fear.

CHAIRPERSON MAO: OK, I know that she's a cartoon character, but doesn't Edna Mode from 'the Incredibles' look a lot like this up-tight bitch to you?

If this issue had a MOVIE TAG LINE, what would it be?

Keep Your Friends Close. Keep You're Enemies Closer. But Always Remember To Check For Bombs.

If this issue were a MOVIE, an OBJECT, or a piece of MUSIC, what would that be and why? 

There was a dirge like quality to this tale that had a promise of something special ahead. I like to think of it as a ray of hope in the cold light of day, which reminds me of the Eurythmics song 'There Must Be An Angel'.

FINAL thoughts...

This title has really turned me around since it first came out. The personalities in the characters are starting to shine through. Dan and Aaron are beginning to synergize together as a creative team. Plus the overall 'good will' that this book has presented us with over the last three months, is kicking it higher and higher as an entity on its own right. Not a pastiche of what has come before.

MARKS out of 10? 8.5