With two Justice League titles running at the same time, it was inevitable that the two were going to crossover at some point. While Justice League America had established itself with thirty issues of good solid and entertaining writing, Justice League Europe was new and, well, lacking something. JLA was always something of a joke, but JLE is even more so. Therefore, The Teasdale Imperative seemed to be an opportunity to change things. Giffen and DeMatteis were renowned for their comedic writing, but will this epic four-parter change things fundamentally? Are the happy days of Justice League International behind us? Is it time for the dark age of the 1990s to commence?
While Justice League America 31-36 was published from October 1989 to March 1990, Justice League Europe 7-10 was published from October 1989 to January 1990. All stories were written by Keith Giffen, with J.M. DeMatteis continuing his writing duties
on JLA while William Messner-Loebs became co-writer on JLE with issue ten. I’ve read these stories in their original issues.
The Teasdale Imperative --- Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Adam Hughes, Joe Rubinstein, Bart Sears, Pablo Marcos, Art Nichols, and Bob Smith
Although rare, Giffen and DeMatteis had penned several stories before The Teasdale Imperative that were dark and often violent. Most notably, Justice League International (vol 1) 25 featured a rabid vampire test subject, who hides in sewers only to strike in the dark. Aside from that classic, most of the other issues ranged from mildly comedic to extremely hilarious. But as the two writers here have proved themselves when it comes to writing more gritty tales, surely The Teasdale Imperative is going to be something spectacular?
Justice League America 31 kicks things off in a destroyed Eastern European village, where the mysterious Spectre wanders the empty wasteland only to meet the Gray Man. It’s been a while since he last turned up in Justice League International (vol 1) 7, and while there are bags of mystery here, this first part is pretty empty in terms of plot. Much of the time, it features Justice League America being as wacky as ever as they head towards the destroyed village. Although this issue is obviously entertaining, I think Giffen and DeMatteis honestly go overboard with it all here. There really isn’t’ much story here and while I love the mystery as it builds up, the start of The Teasdale Imperative is disappointing. All it perhaps is really noteworthy for is the inclusion of a new Doctor Fate. Although I’m not a regular reader of any Doctor Fate title, the writers do a good job to explain why Kent Nelson is absent from his godly role, resulting in his wife Inza taking up the post. It makes way for some funny dialogue, but more than that, it actually makes Doctor Fate into a more intriguing and party-amateur character. Unlike her husband, Inza is very new to being a superhero, and therefore she doesn’t know the full extent of her powers. With the appearance of the Gray Man, it’s clear that Doctor Fate will play a big part in this story, and this change makes things tenser. Justice League America 31 leaves you wanting more action than it delivers, but it does end nicely with the Spectre promising some good old destruction.
Although this story includes both titles, I get the feeling that The Teasdale Imperative is far more relevant to the European team, and Justice League Europe 7 begins to explain why. Unlike the previous issue, this one throws readers right into the action with the European branch heroes fighting against hordes of vampires. For some reason, most of the heroes dismiss the idea of vampires, but when you live in a universe with flying Supermen aliens and men dressed as bats, surely, you’d believe in anything. Anyway, it turns out that these creatures are vampires and a single bite from one will convert anyone to their zombie-like army. Suddenly however, the sun rises and the vampires head to their retreats. Once again, there is little plot here, but this time there is even more character and quite a bit of backstory. Starting with the latter, it turns out that a representative of the infected nation visited the JLE embassy for help, but the story doesn’t really go further than that as the European league experience the same thoughts and dialogue as the American league (i.e., “vampires don’t exist!” While everyone else does nothing, there is a great few page featuring Batman and Elongated Man, that great old detective duo, as they explore the destroyed village and conduct some tests on the vampires. All it really entails is Batman forcing his elastic chum to throw a vampire out into the sunlight to watch it begin to burn, but it’s an interesting duo to see working together. Along with that, it’s also great to see the two leagues speaking and they all have their own relationships. I suppose the plot really gets going at the end of this issue. Although the Gray Man is involved somehow, we meet another of his cohorts: Professor Teasdale. Okay, just ignore the fact that the titular character doesn’t appear until the half-way mark; on the whole, Teasdale is your average mad scientist. That’s about it for now. While the issue may end well with the Spectre uniting with the new Doctor Fate, this part doesn’t offer much plot overall. It might head in a better direction in terms of character and some of the European heroes shine, but at the half-way mark, The Teasdale Imperative has the right elements, but they are badly used.
At last, some plot! Justice League America 32 features the return of the crazed vampire mob, but things get interesting as out of nowhere, Simon Stagg appears. He appeared as the villain in Justice League Europe 5, but his link to the plot is far greater than the fact that he knows Metamorpho, who attempts for most of the story to beat the hell out of the elderly businessman. It turns out that the gas which transformed these villagers into vampires was created – surprise surprise – by Stagg Enterprises. However, more of the story is revealed in Teasdale’s insane monologue. At first just a regular scientist, Teasdale was hired by Stagg to create a perfect chemical weapon and, to cut a long story short, he was ordered to fire the weapon at this village and that is how this all started. Obviously, Stagg doesn’t mention that he ordered Teasdale to create and fire the weapon, but he wants to recover his financial losses from the mission. Meanwhile, Teasdale’s scientific genius was discovered by the Gray Man, who wanted to harness the powerful dream-essence from the resurrected dead, and he promised Teasdale that he will get his revenge on Stagg for using him. It’s not a bad plot. Actually, I quite like it. The problem is that it goes on a bit and becomes too complex for its own good. I think it just buries the vagueness of the vampire disease and what it actually does, aside from turning people into braindead bloodsuckers. Either way, as the Spectre begins to realise concurrently that he’s been used by the Gray Man, it is revealed that Stagg is still holding onto the dangerous gas in his factory and Teasdale decides that that is his next target.
As a conclusion, Justice League Europe 8 begins well. The heroes witness the power of the unified vampires as they break into Stagg’s factory. Inside, Teasdale and the Gray Man are confronted by Doctor Fate, but then things turn rather mystical from there as (continued)
the Gray Man grows into a giant with the death of every vampire. The heroes attempt to fight back against the Gray Man, but to no success (oh yeah, Power Girl is injured, remember that!). Even Doctor Fate gives it a go, but doesn’t do any better, completely destroying any character development she might have had from the start. Instead, the Spectre arrives with the Gods of Order and Chaos. This is where the J.M. DeMatteis of the story becomes clear. The Spectre confronts the Gray Man with these abstract beings and the dialogue morphs into technobabble. All you need to know is that the Gray Man loses his power, and like a mindless zombie, walks into an electric fence. A shocking but great ending. With that, the ending really takes of itself, and it is all very grim. The villagers are all dead, and Teasdale dies fairly unremarkably. It would have been good I think to reflect on that a bit more. Not to make everything grim, but when a JLA is as happy and jovial as this one, I think it’s essential sometimes to show that it’s not always fun and it’s extremely dangerous. Overall, The Teasdale Imperative is a great and chilling idea, but the execution ruins it. The first two parts are empty when it comes to the plot, and while things may improve in the third part, the conclusion falls into pretentiousness. Sure, there are some stand-out moments and a few great character moments, but overall, it’s sadly forgettable.
Just to get the same old art out the way, Bart Seats still isn’t very good, and he is somehow worse in this story. In some panels, the characters just don’t look like themselves and the terrible inks make the finished pages look dreadful. The tone and storytelling may be fine, but the detail is woeful. As for Hughes and Nichols, their art is far more rudimentary and often boring, but never as unattractive or terrible as Bart Sears’s efforts.
Story: 5.5/10
Art: 6/10
Under the Skin (The Teasdale Imperative: Epilogue) --- Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Art Nichols and Bart Sears
So, remember when Power Girl got knocked into a coma by the Gray Man? Neither did I. I accept that this is more of a criticism of The Teasdale Imperative, but Justice League Europe 9 focuses primarily on healing Power Girl. All Justice League Europe 8 gives you is a small panel to show the moment, and it isn’t written in any significant way. But despite a poor set up for this story, I quite like this one. Power Girl is in a coma, and the doctors can’t revive her because of her extensive injuries. No human tool can piece the skin of a Kryptonian. It seems that all is lost, and it is interesting to see the reactions of the different JLE characters. All are tense and worried, but some like Elongated Man try to humour everyone in these dark times. Meanwhile, Captain Atom is severely angry and guilty, and for once he comes across as interesting. However, fortunes change when Superman arrives and, by using his powers and new science, Power Girl is saved, but at a cost. It turns out that she is nowhere near as powerful as she once was – but the ending isn’t exactly damning as Power Girl can still fly and still has super strength. It does sort of ruin the drama of the story slightly and spoilt the potential for similar stories in the future, but it’s still a good character-full read. It also has some great additional scenes, like one featuring Metamorpho as he still fails to fit in with his teammates. Overall thought, Under the Skin has a strong main focus, but it is diverse as it focuses on other aspects of Justice League Europe. In short, it is full of intriguing drama.
The tables are turned for this issue as Art Nichols provides the pencils and Sears the inks. Nichols may not be as creative in his designs, but it’s not terrible. Even Sears’s inks, while far from outstanding, are tolerable. A pleasant surprise.
Story: 9/10
Art: 6.5/10
Nitwits, Kunckleheads, and Poozers/Club JLI/Lifeboat --- Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Adam Hughes, Art Nichols, Jose Marzan. Jr, and Joe Rubinstein
After a pretty dark four-parter and a fairly grim Power Girl story, trust Justice League America to raise our spirits. Justice League International Annual 3, a great joke of a story, introduced the JLI to a new home – an island annexed by the league named Kooey Kooey Kooey. Now, just to look past its name, the island is full of natives who effectively sold part of the place to the JLI, and starting with Justice League America 33, Kooey is finally given a purpose. First of all, however, Giffen and DeMatteis commence with a very different plot as everyone’s favourite Green Lantern Guy Gardner gets into a fight with Kilowog, another Corps member who the Guardians have left to protect Earth. Guy and Kilowog go way back and the two get on like a house on fire, despite some destructive fights. However, Guy manages to get Kilowog into the JLI (despite Maxwell Lord’s wishes) only for Blue Beetle and Maxwell Lord to employ the giant pig-like superhero to build a fully-fledged resort on Kooey. From the start, you can just
tell it’s a Giffen/DeMatteis story, and it’s packed with all sorts of hilarious anecdotes from characters. For instance, the natives on Kooey Kooey Kooey are great because they are not as dim as Beetle and Booster think they are. Most of them are Harvard educated and look down on the JLI. I suppose my only problem thus far is that Kilowog’s persona here is far dumber than he is usually seen to be. Sure, he’s always been something of a brute (and that is visible here), but I’m not sure he is the mindless zombie we see here. Regardless, this feels like more of a prelude to the following two issues, and it ends brilliantly with Aquaman warning the heroes not to step foot on the island. What does he know about Kooey that we – or the JLI – don’t?
Justice League America 34 is a classic issue. It defines the genius of the whole run in all sorts of ways. While Kooey Kooey Kooey officially becomes Club JLI and is open to the public, in a run-down apartment, Major Disaster and Big Sir are strapped for cash. These two were undeniably the best characters from the Injustice League, and their return here is both funny and tragic. Basically, Major Disaster is Big Sir’s carer, but the latter has spent his time memorising playing cards. This gives Major Disaster an idea. Meanwhile, Giffen and DeMatteis continue with their typical (but freshly hilarious) writing as Maxwell Lord discovers that Beetle and Booster broke the bank by opening up JLI and the organisation no longer has any money. And just when things couldn’t get any worse, Major Disaster and Big Sir arrive on the island and, by using the latter’s memory tricks, win the jackpot in a game of cards. There goes all of Club JLI’s money too. This middle-issue does follow a very one-thing-after-another approach, but that isn’t at all bad when there is a real sense of comedic drama. Everything just goes wrong, and with Giffen and DeMatteis grasping excellently the characters of pretty much everyone, from Beetle and Booster on the island, to Maxwell Lord’s fury on-land, Justice League 34 is amazingly entertaining. Plus, it features one of the great cliff-hanger endings.
So, Kooey Kooey Kooey is alive. It wasn’t just any old island; it’s in fact a living one. Justice League 35 begins brilliantly with that bizarre fact settling in just as Maxwell Lord uses the JLI teleporter to transport himself (and Huntress, Ice, and Oberon) to the coordinates of a missing island. In other words, they end up in the ocean. Although Ice creates an ice raft to keep them all afloat, she is dying from stingray injuries. Therefore, this makes for a tense and somewhat horrible, but also funny part of the story. With Ice dying, Huntress looks after her while Oberon imagines that he is hearing voices and Maxwell Lord is still furious at Beetle and Booster. Oh yeah, there’s also a mention of Maxwell Lord’s power of manipulation which he got from the events of Invasion, but they are barely mentioned. Meanwhile, chaos ensues on Kooey Kooey Kooey as civilians panic and Kooey Kooey Kooey drifts away. However, Major Disaster comes in handy here as, despite losing his fortune, he helps Aquaman secure the island to an exploding volcano’s lava, sealing the rocks together. In the end, everyone is rescued from near-death, and as a punishment, Maxwell Lord gives Beetle (continued)
and Booster the task of cleaning the JLI American embassy. After something so grim and frankly dull as The Teasdale Imperative, the Club JLI story easily reinvigorates the run and energises it with three excellent issues. The first issue may be the dullest, but the second and third are terrific as Giffen and DeMatteis capture every character fantastically and the humour is unforgettable.
Adam Hughes is present once again the Justice League America title, and despite a good story to work with, I don’t think his style fits. As ever, the storytelling is fine and works well dramatically, but some of the finishes and panel layouts look off. The inking too is especially poor, especially in Justice League America 34. It’s too scratchy and detailed for something as jovial as Club JLI. That said, it’s nothing too bad.
Story: 9.5/10
Art: 6.5/10
G'nort by Gnortwest --- Written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis with art by Tom Artis and Art Nichols
These last two tales are really quite short and serve as nice little additions to this monolithic run. Justice League America 36 finally gives G’nort the stage to himself as he faces off against a robotic villain intent on destroying him. On the planet known as Cairn, the villainous Scarlet Skier is released from L.E.G.I.O.N 90’s prison and he heads to Earth to murder his archfoe G’nort, who spends most of his time annoying the JLA. A battle ensues between G’nort and Scarlet Skier, but when the latter loses his battery power and realises his reputation is in ruin, he tries to throw himself off the World Trade Centre. However, G’nort rescues him after telling the JLI heroes that Scarlet Skier once worked for Mister Nebula, an alumnus from the Manga Khan School of robotics who spends his time redesigning planets. G’nort’s story does little to enthral the JLI, but in the end, the pup offers to help Scarlet Skier return to full strength. It’s a heart-warming tale, but it ends depressingly when G’nort realises he can’t do anything for Scarlet Skier, and they are both back to square one. The ending may be inconclusive and hugely underwhelming, but I do really like G’nort as the main feature here and it provides some laughs and enough entertainment for a single story. Just don’t analyse the plot too much!
Tom Artis provides an engaging cartoony style of art to a story featuring a dog Green Lantern in a plot which can be often depressing. Yet somehow it all works well, especially with Art Nichols’s decent inks.
Story: 9.5/10
Art: 8/10
After the Fox --- Written by Keith Giffen and William Messner-Loebs with art by Bart Sears and Pablo Marcos
Justice League Europe 10 begins as if it should belong in the American title. Bruce Wayne attends a fundraiser hosted by businessman woman Vivian D’Aramis. There,
collected money is placed into a large glass globe of the Earth, which (very predictably) gets stolen by thieves via helicopter. As Bruce tries to hide away to become Batman and get after the crooks, Vivian disappears and next thing you know, a heroine named the Scarlet Fox clings onto the helicopter. Wow, I wonder who that is. Anyway, Batman tags along and together, he and Scarlet Fox take out the crooks and the helicopter crashes straight into the JLE embassy. In the end, Scarlet Fox is accepted into Justice League Europe on Batman’s advice. It’s a very quick read, but not at all a bad one. It’s full of action, and despite being very predictable, it introduces a character who really should have been included in JLE earlier. It’s about time the team featured more continental heroes just to prove and convey their international status. Overall, Justice League Europe 10 may be another fill-in, but it has the potential to spark greater and more interesting stories.
With much of this story taking place during the night skies of Paris, I think Bart Sears actually works well for a change. The scratchiness and grimness are appropriate and while Pablo Marcos cleans things up as ever, you can actually tell who the characters are meant to be. Sure, being in the darkness for most of the story may hide any artistic blemishes, but the point stands!
Story: 8.5/10
Art: 7.5/10
VERDICT
Overall, despite its grand status as a crossover, The Teasdale Imperative is disappointing. It never really gets going, and it quickly devolves into lazy and pretentious writing. That said, the epilogue featuring Power Girl is emotionally powerful, and Club JLI stands out as one of the most bizarre and funniest tales told by Giffen and DeMatteis. G’nort’s solo adventure is a nice comedic addition, and the emergence of Crimson Fox does much to boost Justice League Europe’s rather unimpressive reputation. Overall, a good set of stories brought down by a disappointing crossover.
Stories: 8/10
Art: 6.5/10
Next Week: Justice League International: To Antarctica! (Justice League Europe 11-14, Annual 1, Justice League America 37, Annual 4, Justice League International Special 1). Written by Keith Giffen, William Messner-Loebs, J.M. DeMatteis, Gerard Jones, and Len Wein with art by Bart Sears, Mike McKone, Bob Smith, Adam Hughes, Art Nichols, Chris Sprouse, Keith Wilson, Linda Medley, Jose Marzan. Jr, Joe Phillips, and Bruce D. Patterson.
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