From the pages of the much-loved 80’s series of hilarious and action-packed stories that re-defined the term “Super-Hero Team” comes DC Direct’s Justice League International action figures! (link)
DC Comics’s Justice League has been around since the 1960’s and gone through many incarnations over the past 50 years. While some of the team’s lineups were more heralded than others, in the eyes of The Blot one team stands above them all…the Justice League International. After the demise of the Detroit based Justice League and spinning out of DC’s Legends mini-series came a new series, lineup and curious direction that no JLA fan could have ever expected.
What ended up coming out of the title’s re-launch ended up becoming one of my top 3 favorite comics as a kid (and probably one of my top 5 comics of all time). Written by Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis and drawn by Kevin Maguire, their run on Justice League International during the late 80’s/early 90’s took a surprising comedic twist that actually worked well for the team’s new lineup of secondary and B-list characters (who am I kidding, most of them were C and D list characters). The lineup changed and expanded over time but came to be known for its focusing on fan favorite secondary characters such as Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, Maxwell Lord, Fire and Ice.
Unfortunately, much of the Justice League International’s legacy has been tarnished over the past few years through storylines focusing around DC’s 2005 mini-series Infinite Crisis, which saw the killing off of many former JLI members. This seems to have rallied together fans of the book and introduced new readers to the brilliance of what was Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire’s run on Justice League.
The team’s new found resurgence in popularity has brought about something I never thought I’d see but had always hoped for, a new line of DC Direct action figures based on Kevin Maguire’s artwork on Justice League International. When this news hit the internet on Monday I was shocked. I had heard zero rumors about the line and then one day out of the blue the news hit. I can’t even being to tell you how excited I am for this line, and while they didn’t include the characters I necessarily would have picked (especially considering there is already a DC Direct G’Nort figure and about a billion Batman figures on the market), I am still extremely pleased with the news.
The first wave of the new Justice League International action figures includes Batman, Black Canary in her costume from the late 80’s, Ice (or Ice Maiden) in her original costume, and Green Lantern G’Nort. These are all classic characters from the series and I hope they sell well enough to garner a second wave. I am assuming this is already in the works since this line of figures is being marketed as Series 1.
Expect Series 1 Justice League International figures to hit stores December 10, 2008. Hopefully we’ll be seeing a DC Direct Fire figure in the next series of JLI figures. It would be a shame if she was the only primary JLI member not to be given a DC Direct figure. While the previously released Justice League Unlimited Fire and Ice three pack was a great release, Ms. Beatriz Bonilla de Costa deserves a fully articulated 6” figure.
You can pre-order the entire set of 4 figures here for $59.99.