Throwback Thursday: Justice League 3000 #12 Review

Blue and Gold and Laughs All Over

Written by: Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Art by: Howard Porter
Cover Price: $2.99
Release Date: December 3, 2014

I have mentioned it in reviews and also in an article (HERE) that Justice League 3000 is one of the funniest books in the DC lineup and also one of my personal favorites. The whole "cloned" Justice League is so familiar and fresh at the same time and did I mention it's just plain fun? Unfortunately, the book hasn't caught on the way it should have so DeMatteis, Giffen and Porter are upping the ante and going for the comedy jugular...Blue Beetle and Booster Gold! Yep, Blue and Gold are in the house and they are as hilarious as you'd hope and even though the whole idea is bananas, they fit right in. That's the beauty of this book, almost anything can happen and it still makes sense. I suddenly have a huge conflict of interests, though. I love Booster and Beetle so much, I want this book to only be about them. However, the brief bit we get with the Justice League is also good, so is it crazy for me to ask for a book for each?

Last month ended with an excavating team digging up a cryogenic chamber containing the still alive bodies of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold.  These aren't clones, they are the real thing.  That's cool enough, but they are the Pre New 52 version of Blue and Gold.  Mind officially is blown.  The reader gets to stand alongside two of DC's greatest characters while they try to acclimate themselves to their strange situation.  It's as great as it sounds.  Actually, it's better.

I want to thank DeMatteis and Giffen personally for this issue.  I never thought that we would get to see Ted Kord and Booster again for a long, long time, possibly not to the Year 3000?!?  Well, here they are.  Better yet, this is really them.  Their personalities and interactions are spot on and I'll mention it more below, but Howard Porter does a great job bringing them to life. I had a smile on my face the whole entire issue.

I probably wouldn't have complained (much) if DeMatteis and Giffen just threw these two together, made a couple of jokes, had them mug for the camera...just had some fun with them.  That's not the case here at all.  While I can't wait for them to meet the Justice League (Seriously, I can't wait) and it looks like they are going to have to deal with Terry soon, the immediate situation is already great.  Not only do they have to find a way off Takron-Galtos, but Ted Kord isn't the only Blue Beetle on the Prison Planet...kind of.  I am not exaggerating when I say that this storyline and the character involved may be the funniest thing I've read in the New 52.  I hope it continues for at least a couple more issues.

Of course, the issue has some Justice League action as well.  It is brief and feels a bit like "don't forget who the other stars of the book are", but it's still good.  Superman is still an egotistical jerk, Hal is still tiny and Wonder Woman finally gets the spotlight she's deserved.  It's a full page ass-kicking that proves how great Howard Porter's art is on this book.

Porter doesn't need to prove anything to me.  I have been a huge fan of his art from the first issue and I have mentioned that each issue has been better, but this one has jumped light years ahead.  I don't know if it's the fun of Booster and Beetle, but this is one of the best looking issues I've read in a long, long time.  Throw in great color work by Hi-Fi and we get an issue that makes me sound like a gushing fanboy.  Guilty as charged.

Bits and Pieces:

I have been a fan of JL 3000 from the start and this issue still blew me away.  I figured having Booster and Beetle would be fun and it is hilarious, but how DeMatteis and Giffen make it fit in the book is the best part.  Howard Porter's art is excellent and I can only beg people to start reading if they aren't already.  Believe me, the begging is a selfish gesture...I want this story to continue.

10/10