Comics Reviews: Justice League America 44, Justice League Europe 20

Justice League America #44 – “Pastiche” – Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis/Adam Hughes/Jose Marzan Jr.

Last issue, a struggling tabloid reporter named Wally Tortolini won a poker game with a bunch of supervillians, collecting their various weapons (Brainstorm’s helmet, Crowbar’s crowbar, Sonar’s gun, Cavalier’s sword, Black Mass’s armbands, and Blackrock’s … uh, black rock) as his winnings. Unfortunately, Wally was also bragging about a notebook he compiled about all the Justice League’s secrets and now some mysterious men in black suits want that book. This issue opens with Wally enjoying his new accoutrements, until he blows a hole in his apartment wall and decides to go somewhere else in case some superheroes show up looking for him. The guys in black are waiting outside and Wally is scared at first, but as soon as he realizes they’re not cops or government agents, he unleashes his new powers on them. Their boss, a mysterious businessman type (whose name is apparently Mr. Biggers), watches remotely but isn’t impressed with his men’s performance. The villains are still at the bar bitching about losing all their stuff when they see a news report about Wally’s rampage. They go to retrieve their stuff (and chastise Wally for misusing it) and the men in black take off. The Justice League show up in response to the disturbance and pound the crap out of the villains. The villains try to blame Wally, but he’s nondescript enough to blend in with the crowd and slip away. But when he notices a car following him, he goes back and gives his notebook to J’onn. Max and J’onn aren’t happy that someone could glean so much sensitive information about the League just by going through their garbage and swear to take precautions in the future.

Justice League Europe #20 – “Rue Britannia” – Keith Giffen, Gerard Jones/Marshall Rogers/Bob Smith

This one starts at the League’s London Embassy, with caretaker Michael Morice deciding to don his father’s costume and become the new Beefeater so he can join the JLE. His wife isn’t too supportive, but Morice goes ahead with his plan. (This whole thing is a take-off on Fawlty Towers, with Morice looking like John Cleese and his wife resembling Connie Booth.) In Paris, the League is enjoying some leisure time by playing football, sunbathing, and ogling Power Girl. Beefeater shows up but decides to avoid the crowd of rubberneckers outside the Embassy and slip in using his Embassy credentials. Unfortunately, Kilowog is souping up the security system and there’s a bit of a glitch, with the Embassy’s automated defenses attacking Beefeater. He and Kilowog don’t recognize each other as good guys and Beefeater ends up destroying the new tachyon power source for the Embassy, which causes the entire building to implode. Luckily everyone else was outside, but they’re not to thrilled with Beefeater. Later, Blue Jay and Silver Sorceress arrive to settle into the Embassy, only to find there is no Embassy anymore.