Back around the time I first joined Comics Daily, I expressed my love of the Keith Giffen and J.M. Dematteis Justice League International run with a review of one of the annuals – and have continued to express it on various occasions since. But I series I haven’t talked about quite as much was the revisiting perpetrated by the writers (and artist Kevin Maguire) in 2003, the Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? to the original run’s The Likely Lads – Formerly Known As The Justice League.
The thing about the original JLI run is that while it was generally a superb slice of character-driven comedy, it still had a responsibility to be a “proper” superhero book. It very firmly wasn’t, as some people have subsequently described it, a “spoof” – these were proper, competent heroes, who took on potentially world-shattering menaces, but who just happened to bicker with one-another relentlessly whenever back at their headquarters. In fact, what the writers did so well was to judge perfectly the balance between humour and action – a balance perhaps best demonstrated by JLI issue #10, a Millennium crossover that applied the book’s writing and comedic style to serious characters like Superman, Hal Jordan and Hawkman – yet at the same time introduced G’Nort. So although at times a very funny series – and on occasion being allowed to fully cut loose, such as with the awe-inspiringly brilliant Justice League Antarctica annual – JLI was often merely “light” rather than “comedy”. You needed to be able to take the characters seriously as superheroes, so not every line of dialogue could be a joke.
Formerly Known As The Justice League, however, operates under no such constraints – and as such, its six issues make up pretty much the funniest comic I’ve ever read.
An undoubted aspect in its favour is the fact that it was able to more deliberately select its cast – JLI was limited to what was available at the time, but here, Giffen and deMatteis were able to carefully blend the character types, choosing them from past JLA and JLE rosters to get the best balance. Despite not necessarily all having previously been teammates at the same time or in the same place, the dynamic among the group is beautifully played. And then there’s the masterstroke of throwing in Mary Marvel – not previously a member, but brilliantly taking on a role similar to (yet distinct from) that played by Captain Marvel in the earliest JLI issues. In particular, the way she’s used as a foil for the foul-mouthed Fire is inspired.
As you’d expect from a Giffen and deMatteis comic, the chief draw is the dialogue – and moreso than in anything else they’ve done, it simply rattles along here at such a frenetic pace (with a gags-per-minute ratio that heads towards Airplane! territory) that it’s almost difficult to keep up. The humour derives from multiple sources, whether the pure sitcom nature of the characters’ relationships (particularly Beetle and Booster’s incessant bickering, or Ralph’s obsession with only being rated “a four”), a handful of madcap ideas (the Harvard-educated superpowered street toughs are particularly inspired), or simply the reflection on the situation the characters have found themselves in (both in-universe, and in a publishing context). Crucially, too, despite often relying on snarky dialogue, it’s incredibly warm – there’s clear affection for these characters, something that feels slightly sad (even moreso in the sequel series I Can’t Believe It’s Not The Justice League) when you consider how some of them have been treated by DC since.
After ramping up the humour levels issue by issue, the series explodes with the exquisite issue #6 – which not only features the return of the brilliantly despotic intergalactic barterer Manga Khan, but sees the real JLA drop in to keep an eye on affairs. Their reactions are a mixture of amused bafflement (all the members who weren’t in the JLI) and exasperated intolerence (J’onn J’onnz). And then there’s Batman. You wouldn’t have the character pegged as a comic genius usually, but in his brief appearances here (in which, interestingly, you never see his face) the team’s very first leader gets some of the best lines of the entire series:
(these are non-concurrent scenes, by the way)
Meanwhile, the series has running gags that would put Arrested Development to shame, rewarding those who read all six issues (but never really relying on that much knowledge of the prior series – it’s perfect for readers new to characters, even though those who aren’t are more likely to understand why G’Nort making an appearance is so great). And another thing it has in its favour over the original run is that although JLI went through a variety of artists – some better than others – Formerly Known… is all Kevin Maguire, all the time. His mastery of facial expressions adds another string to the comedy bow – and means that sometimes, the writers don’t even have to rely on verbal gags to make you laugh out loud.
There are very few comics I’d recommend more than Formerly Known as the Justice League – and I can’t think of a single one that I’d place over it for its sense of humour. It made me laugh loads when I first read it, and it still makes me laugh loads every time I do now.
