From "Born Again" in Justice League #1, May 1987. Keith Giffen plot & breakdowns, J. M. DeMatteis script, Kevin Maguire pencils, Terry Austin inks, Gene D'Angelo colors, Bob Lappan letters.
Great anthology. Mostly lighthearted, but also includes a Star Trek adjacent allegory for law enforcement gone wrong that is, you guessed it, still relevant.
Justice League International #16 “Bialya, My Bialya”. Keith Giffen- Plot and Breakdowns; J.M. DeMatteis- Script; Kevin Maguire- Pencils; Al Gordon- Inks; Bob Lappan- Letters; Gene D’Angelo- Colors; Andrew Helfer- Editor
Summary: At Maxwell Lord’s request, Batman agrees to go undercover in Bialya. Rumaan Harjavti is holding some sort of press conference to announce Bialya’s new “secret weapon,” and Max wants Batman and a team of Leaguers to infiltrate the meeting in secret (thus avoiding compromising the League’s U.N.- sanctioned International status).
Batman assembles a crack team: Green Flame, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold. Exactly who you’d want at your side during a high-stakes mission.
The team flies into Bialya,with Batman posing as “Bruce Wayne”.
Bwa-Ha-Ha: Beetle’s disguise is great.
Batman and the Green Flame flirt a bit, as you’d expect.
Meanwhile: Scott is trapped on Manga Khan’s ship, and Barda, J’onn, Rocket Red, and G’Nort go to space to try to find him.
Kevin’s Expressions: Check out G’Nort, Barda, and J’onn on this page. It’s so nice to have Maguire back after those fill-ins.
Manga Khan’s ship goes into hyperspace (or warp speed, whatever) before the Leaguers can get to it. For the time being Scott is lost.
Back in Bialya, we meet the Queen Bee and learn of her plan to kidnap the diplomats at the big press event.
Hey, it’s Jack O’ Lantern! What’s up, buddy?
Oh dang, he’s working with the bad guys. Shit.
At the press conference the Bialyans’ secret weapon is revealed as...
Oh, gross, it’s Wandjina the Thunderer, all messed up from the nuke back in issue #3.
Rumaan Harjavti, RIP:
Next: All Hell Breaks Loose!
Thoughts: Now this is more like it. After those fill-in issues Kevin Maguire is back doing what he does best. This issue has everything- comedy, intrigue, space opera, a shocking twist ending, and the muthafuckin Jack O’ Lantern for good measure.
