Nice feature on one of my very favorite Justice League America stories from the Giffen DeMatteis era - Justice League America #38-40 where they battle Despero.
https://www.cbr.com/justice-league-g...-bleak-battle/
Giffen also plotted some very serious and well-done issues of Justice League Europe around the same time. JLE vs The Extremists and Starro were very good. The humor was always present, but it showed that there could be a serious threat along with the jokes.
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02-26-2020, 07:05 AM #1Extraordinary Member
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Giffen, DeMatteis and Hughes Prove That They Can Do Bleak, Too
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02-26-2020, 07:46 AM #2insulin4all
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No one who's read the stretch in JLA Classified (4-9) could possibly state that Giffen and DeMatteis can't do serious and heart-breaking.
Originally Posted by caj
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02-26-2020, 08:03 AM #3Extraordinary Member
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Agree with you there. That splash page at the end of one issue where Guy and Bea are crying in each other's arms brought tears to my eyes for sure. Originally Posted by CaptCleghorn
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02-26-2020, 11:02 AM #4Ultimate Member
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It’s really a shame that the JLI is so misunderstood by people who only saw it from the outside.
Giffen and DeMatteis had a type of rhythm to JLI where they would balance the seriousness and the humor.
The first year of JLI was a very compact example of both, then we had the seriousness of Queen Bee’s Bialya mixed with the humor of Manga Khan.
JLI stayed pretty balanced until JLE launched and then JLE followed the original JLI formula as it became the more serious of the two.
JLI (now JLA) still had some serious moments but they were spread out more.
Despero’s attack (a very good story worthy of any Justice League), Teasdale Imperative (which was planned to be the first in a long series of JLA/JLE crossovers, fashioned after the JLA/JSA crossovers) and then the bleakest if the bleakest: Breakdowns.
The balance of seriousness and humor was based on how co-workers in the real world act towards each other. It made the characters in JLI just feel more real. And that’s why people who did read and like JLI still do many years later."There's magic in the sound of analog audio." - CNET.
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02-26-2020, 11:33 AM #5Extraordinary Member
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Very well said. You described that era of JLI/JLA/JLE perfectly. Originally Posted by Lee Stone
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02-27-2020, 02:04 PM #6Extraordinary Member
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Giffen proved that back in the 5 Years Latter... Legion run. It was very dark in places. Just look at the fate of poor Sunboy to see that.
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02-28-2020, 03:01 AM #7Extraordinary Member
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one of my top three (or top two) favorite run of justice league. perfectly written and perfectly drawn. Originally Posted by caj
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02-28-2020, 04:06 AM #8Ultimate Member
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That story took so many ppl off guard because of the book’s normally lighthearted tone. Originally Posted by caj
Like Lee Stone said, ppl who only saw it from the outside are missing out.
The mixing of tones is what made the book work.
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02-28-2020, 11:15 AM #9insulin4all
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The creators mentioned have done serious work elsewhere, but the question was geared towards the JLI stories which had far more of a comic tone. Originally Posted by Zero Hunter
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