This thread is for discussion of JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #8, scheduled for release April 4, 2012.

A preview of the issue is available here (from Maxim of all places):
http://www.maxim.com/comics/comics-exclusive-justice-league-international-no-8

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Wow Jurgen really does play favourites *g*

So Batwing arrives and gets to sucker punch the badguy. After that he gets saved three times in a row by Booster within TWO pages.

Since I complained alot about the comic being too slow, let's how much happened this time:

The Badguys are introduced, including their Names, Powers and motives
Batwing joins the JLI
Aftermath of the bombing
Omac enters the picture

compared to the last months, that is quite a bit, yet I still had several problems:

Why does Lightwave retreat? Blackwing, as shown here, was no threat to him.
Why does General August think it is a good idea to leave the hospital? Yes their presence makes it a target, but so does the presence of their wounded teammates. If they had evacuated their teammates to a secure location (let's say Star Labs) it would have made more sense. Now they leave their safety in the hands of "normal" guards.
The villians dialog was extremly cliché
Is the new OMAC dcs version of the Hulk? The last few pages certainly leave that impression.

On the other hand, considering which powers Breakdown has, recruiting Firestorm/Firehawk does make sense.

Yeah, that very questionable logic bothered me, too. I guess we are supposed to believe that the "General" has no head for strategy?

As for the villains, no offense meant to Booster's creator, but villains have never been Jurgens strong suit. With their on-the-nose names and garish costumes, this group really reminds me of something we would have seen in BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS back in the 1980s, and that's no compliment. Maybe there's something there we're not seeing yet (he says, hopefully).

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Batman and the Outsiders is exactly what I was thinking this series reminds me of. Annnnd NO, that is definitely not a compliment.

Heroes are defined by their villains...
Superman\Lex Luthor
Batman\Joker
Wonder Woman\ Uhhh hmmm, well 2 out of 3 ain't bad

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1-800-BOO$TER
...please leave a message

Please don't get me wrong, I love Dan Jurgens' work, both story and art, and I'd hope that he would forgive this criticism. That said, so long as he is in charge of the JLI, the team is unlikely to have any signature villains. Jurgens' two biggest weaknesses are plotting team books (wherein everyone comes out looking like a minor supporting character) and villains (can you name any villains from Dan's first run on JUSTICE LEAGUE or TEEN TITANS?). Therein lies the nature of any problems currently facing the title.

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Since Dan Jurgens has been creating comics for more than 25 years (longer than some of the readers of this forum have been alive I'd bet) it goes without saying that he must be doing something right. And since you have a truly AMAZING website devoted to his brainchild (even Superman wishes HE had a fan website this cool), it just goes without saying that you have a great deal of respect for the man. I'm sure he'll forgive you for making any honest observations. And if I may say, his writing and art have improved significantly over the last 25 years (which is rare in comics).

I, on the other hand, having become a Booster booster through the original JLI, and since I'm a HUGE fan of Booster's modern time guardian role I feel that any observations I make regarding Mr Jurgens writing might seem harsher than intended. Nothing could be further from the truth, I have the greatest respect for Dan Jurgens creative abilities, and I'm eternally grateful to him for creating the greatest of the modern age heroes.

Or to make long story short, since I'm still kinda new around here I'm trying not to sound like an opinionated jerk. So if I unintentionally sound overly harsh in a post I hope everyone understands it's with the best of intentions. For the record, I blame any problems with Booster's situation on DC's current direction and editorial policies.

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1-800-BOO$TER
...please leave a message

When Booster tells Batwing he might want to check his name copyright with a guy in Gotham, Batwing says offhandedly "he knows", which is funny and a little scary. So why does Batwing then ruin the moment with the follow up of "and approves", it just makes him sound insecure and trying too hard.

Unless that's a character trait they intend to emphasize, if so never mind.

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1-800-BOO$TER
...please leave a message

My first exposure to Batwing was in this issue, and I didn't find anything that would make me want to read more of him. However, I've heard good things about his series and have attributed his lackluster showing in JLI to... well, being in JLI.

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