Starting this week, every Wednesday we’ll take turns to delve into our trusty longboxes, pluck out a dusty back issue at random, and give you our thoughts. We’ll also try and place it in the context of the time it was originally published.

This is, I promise you, not a fix. Admittedly there were a couple of false starts (a Flash 80-page Giant with too many stories to review concisely, and one part of the too-recent-to-count JLA/Hitman mini), but after those, I utterly promise you that the first issue picked out at random by my glamorous assistant Rachel just happens to be one of my favourite comics of all time. Sorry about that.

Anyway, in 1989, Keith Giffen and J.M. deMatteis were at the absolute height of their powers on their unforgettable Justice League run, and the annuals had begun to serve as something of a treat for the fans, ramping up the humour quotient and hinging it on plots that weren’t as crucial to the overall series. That’s certainly the case with JLI Annual #3. The plot, such as it is, concerns the inhabitants of a small South Pacific island (the to-become-infamous Kooeykooeykooey), who decide to offer it to the JLI as, essentially, another embassy (at this point, the JLI were an autonomous UN member state, with embassies across the globe. No, really). Meanwhile, a reluctant group of Leaguers are taken on a tour of their existing embassies, with the Kooeykooeykooey delegation struggling to keep up on a whirlwind teleport-booth-fuelled journey.

But really, the plot is immaterial – it’s really just an excuse for some top-notch character humour, sparkling dialogue, and dubious ethnic stereotypes. There are classic examples of deMatteis’ flair with running jokes – namely Blue Beetle’s “Aunt Millie” – and the team, particularly Beetle, Flash and Booster Gold, are at their best, the constant mixture of exasperation and childishness proving a comedic goldmine. The absolute highlight, though, comes with a visit to the London embassy – staffed by none other than Basil Fawlty. Seriously, I’m not kidding. Alright, he has a different name – but he speaks like him, is drawn to look like John Cleese, and employs a waiter who only speaks Spanish. There’s surely a part of me that should get offended by this (what, the British staff can only be well-known sitcom characters?) – but it’s so ridiculously funny that I can’t bring myself to be.

All of this, and there’s even a great backup story revolving around J’onn J’onnz and Batman. It’s not particularly funny – aside from a brief moment with Oberon – but it’s excellent character material that shows just how much of a handle Giffen and deMatteis had on their team. It’s true that the art on the main feature isn’t as impressive as it might have been if Kevin Maguire had still been around – Mike McKone, as with the various replacements on the main title until Adam Hughes arrived, would never be more than a passable substitute – but that’s really the only quibble it’s possible to find.

I picked this issue up at last year’s Bristol convention, having first read it as a wee nipper, and was delighted to do so – even moreso when I found that it made me laugh just as much as it had done back then, if not more. There’s one particular line at the end – I won’t try and repeat it as it won’t work out of context, but it involves surfboards and Metamorpho – that sets me off every single time. It’s as much of a cliché as the JLI’s embassy staff to say it, but they simply don’t make them like this any more.

Tags: J.M. deMatteis, Justice League, Keith Giffen
Publisher: DC, Dusting Off