International Lampoons, Working Vacation: JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL #3 (JLI 39)

[tcampbell1000]

This annual’s main story is about planting seeds. It introduces a whole new cast of characters to serve as story anchor points, associated with the JLI embassies outside of New York and Paris--including one new embassy founded in these pages. Some of these characters would be focal to multiple Giffen-DeMatteis plots; some would get cameos of varying interest; some would never be seen again. Most would be utterly forgotten after Giffen and DeMatteis left.



We open on the tropical island of Kooeykooeykooey, whose natives are debating a plan that could rescue their way of life…or destroy it. They would seem to have no problems…they’re “in harmony with nature and each other”…but the chief and his nephew both have Western educations, and they know their situation is as changeable as…as their skin color, apparently.



After a lot of deliberation, the chief agrees to let Herb go on a diplomatic canoe ride:



In New York a few days later, most JLI members from both teams have been gathered for an orientation day: Max is taking them on a “field trip” so they can learn their way around the other embassies. Hey, you never know when supervillains will decide New York’s too well protected and start focusing their efforts on London or Sydney or Rio de Janeiro.



Blue Beetle’s got several gripes about the trip, including that Brazil seems to have a more comfortable setup…




Fire was flirting, sure, but I suspect she was also just enjoying the chance to chat with some fellow Portuguese speakers. After a quick stop in Tokyo, Herb and his entourage are sent to New York.




(DeMatteis seemed to like foreign nationals named “Herb.” He’d used the name for a different character in the previous annual.)



“Around the World with the Justice League” is the only real appearance of Ernesto Lopez (outside of one panel in JLI #12 and a couple more in Justice League Quarterly #2). But at least he gets to chew the scenery. Joshua Barbazon, described in his profile as “the proverbial nicest guy you’ll ever meet,” gets one page here and one page in the next JLE Annual to make an impression…



…and mostly doesn’t. But Mr. and Mrs. Morice do, and they and their hapless assistant will return.




If you’re up on your British TV, you might find the three of them a bit familiar:

Watch on YouTube

The team makes a quick stop in Russia…



As the team gets closer to Paris, Beetle’s mood darkens. Sometime between JLE #1 and #4, Captain Atom’s old team has learned his true past:



This matters to Cap, but also to Beetle, whose predecessor had been Captain Atom’s “friend” in his false history. Meaning their present-day relationship was founded on that lie (Captain Atom #20):



That allows Giffen and DeMatteis to explore two of their favorite internal conflicts: Beetle the jokester who can get dead serious when you least expect it…



And Captain Atom, who flips between decisive leadership and being a big ol’ chrome-dipped LUMP of insecurity…



But not much will come of this. The JLE members weren’t attached to Cap’s fake backstory to begin with, Beetle doesn’t have the social capital to do much about his resentment, and he’ll work with Atom again without drama in Giffen and DeMatteis’ final story, “Breakdowns.” The only real price Atom will pay is his friendship with Oberon, which already got strained after Atom moved to Paris (JLI #19, #24; JLE #1)…



…and although they’d continue to work together, Oberon’s trust in him would never really recover from this blow (JLE #4, #5).



Herb's diplomatic mission will have more consequences.




I’m cutting some “Wally West, offensive horndog” jokes because oh darn, I just RAN OUT OF SPACE!

DC in this overall period was still running Who’s Who Update issues, featuring profiles of its newer characters (like this one, published before Ice's turn in Secret Origins)…



…And this issue had some for the various embassy heads, so here are some for the characters we couldn’t get to.



Gotta say, the main story had a couple jokes at the expense of Rosa’s size, but this copy sort of atones for that by acknowledging that attractiveness has a broader spectrum than superhero comics often show. “…a running total of their male conquests.” You go, girls!

The backup feature revolves around J’Onn investigating the death of Frank, his cop buddy from Secret Origins #34. Although Giffen handles the plot and breakdowns as usual, this feels like more of a DeMatteis story, full of his conflicted thoughts about violence and traditional superheroics. Art is by Tim Gula, who’s better known for animation storyboarding, but whose expressionist style picks up where the Martian Manhunter miniseries left off.



With Batman along for the ride, the investigation ramps up…



Until J’Onn gets the interview he wants.








J’Onn J’Onzz has been a superhero a long, long time. What if he decided it was time to be something else?

Monday: Metamorpho learns he's a deadbeat dad.

Comments

[skjam]

Brazilians speak Portuguese (though ones that travel also learn Spanish because no one ever remembers that.)

[tcampbell1000]

Fixed!

[blueprintstyles]

I want to THIS Captain Atom again, divorced from the Dr.Manhattan influence.

[iamrman]

Was Mr. Morice ever so rude to some German tourists?

[metadronos]

"How ever did they win?"

[metadronos]

Oberon's reaction to seeing J'onn's true form is as amusing as it is... odd. Why should it elicit such an Oedipal reaction in him ("I feel like I've seen my mother naked!")?

[tcampbell1000]

It's a weird bit that reminds us there are some things we don't know about Oberon (he was orphaned at a young age), but I appreciate that the simile clarifies he's not disgusted, just shocked and guilty.