I spent a good chunk of the last year reading the entirety of Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis’s JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL run. Growing up, I didn’t read a lot (any) DC Comics, but I was familiar with this particular era of Justice League from coverage in Wizard Magazine in the ‘90s and ‘00s. Eschewing the tone of previous Justice League series, JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL was a comedy and character-first approach to superheroics. It combined the soap opera structure of Chris Claramont’s UNCANNY X-MEN run with very silly sitcom-esque humor, courtesy of a cast of second-stringer heroes who could barely function as a team without punching each other’s lights out.
Griffen and DeMatteis worked on the book for five years, with Griffen providing the plots and breakdowns and DeMattis handling the script. Together, the writers worked with a slew of amazing artists, beginning with Kevin Maguire and including Adam Hughes, Bart Sears, and more. Eventually, the book launched a spin-off (JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE) and a handful of annuals and special issues. All in all, I have read about 100 issues of JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL since I began last spring, and, ladies and gentlemen, I’m in love.
It’s crazy how responsible JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL is for my comic book writing style, even though I had not read it until last year. But it’s true! JLI laid out the blueprints for writers such as Dan Slott and Brian Michael Bendis, whose work I did read during my formative years - their books leading directly to my own comic book scripts. Without Griffen and DeMattis, though, there would be no WHERE WOLF.
JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL is as memorable as it is because of the care and detail the creative team gives to establishing the characters. Coming to the end of Griffen and DeMattis’ run is like saying goodbye to friends I’ve spent years with. A big part of this is the very funny scripts, but the artistic lighthouse built by original series artist Kevin Maguire might be key. Maguire is a master of illustrating facial expressions. I could immediately re-read JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL and spend the entire time just staring at the emotions Maguire filled the characters with.
The biggest testimony to how great JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL was is that it made me want to dig deeper into the weird nooks and crannies of the DC Universe. Early into my read-through, I started making a list of all the mini-series and solo series I wanted to track down after I finished JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL. That’s how you know a comic book is good - when it makes you want to read more of them.
I think I’ll start with this Countdown to Infinite Crisis issue I’ve heard such good things about…
Speaking of superheroes, I finished watching the first season of GEN V this past weekend. I’m a big fan of the television adaptation of THE BOYS, Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic book series. Still, I had put off watching Amazon Prime’s spin-off series until recently. While THE BOYS is a twisted satire of the Justice League, GEN V skewers the X-Men, with the series focusing on a college where young superhumans can learn how to cultivate their band and, if they have time, maybe pick up a tip or two on becoming a responsible crimefighter. Like THE BOYS, GEN V is very funny but I may like the characters in GEN V a bit more - if only because THE BOYS features some of the most unlikeable characters on TV.
GEN V is full of great characters played by great actors. I, in particular, was impressed with Chance Perdomo, an actor whose work I was not previously familiar with. It’s a shame he died so young - I’m curious whether any potential second season of GEN V can hold up its own weight without Perdomo’s presence.
Both THE BOYS and GEN V are produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, proving that they have a truly special skill in adapting Garth Ennis's work. As somebody who loves PREACHER (but acknowledges the comic book is full of painfully cringe juvenile humor that does not hold up), I might actually like Rogen and Goldberg’s television adaptation of PREACHER a bit more in spots. I wonder what other Garth Ennis properties they could get their hands on. HITMAN, maybe?
I finally watched the surprise rom-com hit of last winter: ANYONE BUT YOU. Maybe it’s because I now know how much weddings cost, but if two assholes tried to hijack my destination wedding for their “will they / won’t they” bullshit, I’d send them an invoice.
Last week, I got a Facebook message from a dude in California who saw a picture of my dog I had posted online and was convinced it was his dog, who had gone missing a few years back. He sent a lot of pictures, and the dogs looked very, very, very similar. The only problem was that his dog was a boy, at least a few years old, and my dog was a girl, who was barely over a year old. Before I got to those details, though, my heart skipped a beat. Would I have been willing to give up my dog (who we did adopt from a shelter) if her original owners came calling? Putting aside the financial and mental stake we’ve invested in our pooch, Bingo is now part of our family. I doubt I’d be willing to part with her - even if the family had a sick child and the parents claimed that the dog’s return to their home would be the only way the child would recover. Sorry, kid. Finders keepers.
The whole experience made me reconsider the third act of ROVER DANGERFIELD.
This week, there is only one small update on THE CURSE OF THE WHERE WOLF: Debora Lancianese continues to crush it.
Don’t forget, you can request a copy of WHERE WOLF from your local library or buy a personal copy directly from the publisher, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Brazos Bookstore in Houston, Ghoulish Books in San Antonio, or Whose Books in Dallas. If you've read WHERE WOLF, please consider leaving a rating or review on Amazon, Goodreads, The StoryGraph, or wherever you discover new books.
I’m hosting two events at the Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra this week. Up first is the third film in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s THREE COLORS trilogy: RED. Widely regarded as the critical favorite from the trilogy, RED stars Irène Jacob as a runway model whose life intersects with a bitter retired judge. Interconnected stories prove the fragility of interconnected lives. See it with me on Wednesday, May 1, at 7:30 PM. Buy tickets here!
And then on Friday, join me for MAN’S BEST FRIEND, a ‘90s sci-fi horror jam starring Ally Sheedy, Lance Henricksen, and Max, a genetically-engineered dog trained to be the ultimate killing machine. When the dog is rescued from the government, though, his new family must find out how deep his training goes. See it with me on Friday, May 3 at 10 PM. Buy tickets here!
Finally, I’ll be tabling again at Comicpalooza on Friday, May 24 through Sunday, May 26. I’ll have copies of WHERE WOLF in paperback and hardcover, including the event-exclusive variant edition. In addition, I’ll be participating in a couple of panels with some cool guests, and if I can get away from my table long enough, I'll hopefully pick up some new DC Comics. Come and say hello!
Until next time, beware the moon.