Fans of the 1990s rejoice! Dan Jurgens returns to writing Superman with issue #7 hitting stands today. For the entire decade, Jurgens either wrote or drew that series. It's good to have him back at the reigns, making the DCnU a little more familiar (even if Superman is still wearing that stupid armor).

Dan Jurgens' greatest creation, Booster Gold, also will appear in a book released today. Booster's cameo appearance in Justice League of America #47 is included the issues collected in Justice League of America: Dark Things. Despite its name, this collection also collects 2 issues of JSA and is chock full of characters that have yet to appear in the DCnU.

Skeets may still be unhappy not to appear in the DCnU, but there will be complain if you decide to support Dan Jurgens. (Making Dan Jurgens happy is the surest way to get Skeets back on panel.)

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If you haven't yet read Justice League International #7, stay far, far away from this month's "International Exchange" column at ComicBook.com. Once you've read the issue, rush over for Russ Burlingame's grilling of Dan Jurgens about the events of the paradigm-shifting issue.

IX: Going on the assumption that I made last issue—that [Rocket Red's] armor would have been infected by that interface... does that now put Skeets at risk?

DJ: Perhaps. Or it's possible that Skeets might make a startling discovery of his own. Or none at all. Or might just go to an ATM to withdraw cash. Hard to tell at this point.

Believe it or not, for this issue with plenty of focus on Booster Gold, Burlingame and Jurgens don't even mention our hero. However, a hinted implication that we'll be seeing more Skeets in the future is a happy substitute. An unasked, unanswered question is whether we'll actually be seeing Skeets, who has yet to appear on panel since Flashpoint, over half-a-year ago. Where have you been hiding, Skeets?

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In the year 2001, mankind's freedoms were sacrificed for the sake of security by a tyrannical government that seized power after a well-planned attack on American soil. Thankfully, this kind of scenario could only happen in comic books.

On this day in 1991, DC Comics launched their summer crossover series Armageddon 2001. The book was created by an all-star cast: written by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Dan Jurgens and Dick Giordano. However, it is far more famous for the illogical resolution to its story, which DC changed at the last minute due to the conclusion being leaked to the public. In the non-stop media-hype of the 21st century, that action seems rather quaint in hindsight.

The setup for the story revolved around the mystery of which DC hero betrayed the rest to become a world-dominating tyrant. A time-traveler from the future makes it his mission to investigate the heroes of the 20th-century in an attempt to forestall his own horrible fate. Naturally everyone was a suspect, including Booster Gold.

Honestly, Booster plays only a small part in this story and probably then only because Jurgens was the artist. Perhaps it was too far-fetched an idea that foolish Michael Jon Carter would one day wield the power to control the world. More likely, it may have been impossible for readers to believe that an egomaniac like Booster Gold would rule hiding behind a mask.

Despite Booster's tangential involvement, the story is actually quite entertaining. Betrayal and the temptation of power are themes regularly investigated in super hero comics. This story simply takes those themes to a logical extreme and with the addition of time travel, provides a frame story that allows the creative teams of the era to incorporate the crossover event into their series in organic and entertaining ways.

If you can get past the tragically unsatisfying ending, this 2001, like the year itself, is worth a second look.

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In the most recent "International Exchange" interview, Dan Jurgens implied that he hoped to bring some verisimilitude to the pages of the Justice League International. It appears that he is doing something right.

The website of Foreign Policy magazine recently ran the article "The League of Extraordinarily Bureaucratic Gentlemen" by Colum Lynch. The article uses Jurgens' JLI to reflect the historical peacekeeping role of the United Nations and question the United States of America's leadership role in the global environment. Quote:

Jurgens says that while he, personally, has been favorably disposed to the United Nations he sought to portray the world organization as morally ambiguous, neither intrinsically good nor bad, and a target of intense affection and revulsion, much as it is in the real world.

The decision to place the United States in the background was also intentional. "Within this country we're probably arrogant enough to think that the U.N. should be an American-controlled institution. I don't have that thought," says Jurgens.

The article identifies Booster Gold as an American (ignoring DiDio's recent jest that Booster is a Canadian), partially because it fits with the author's supposition about the decline of America's leadership position. Frankly, we could all do a lot worse than replacing "American exceptionalism" with "American Booster-ism."

Agree or disagree, the article is worth a read if only to see how the politically-minded, non-comics reading population interprets the latest politically correct Justice League International. You can find the entire article at foreignpolicy.com.

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This month's installment of Russell Burlingame's "International Exchange" column includes a small sampling of Dan Jurgens' breakdowns for the issue. It also includes a bit of social commentary.

IX: It's funny—Batman's comments about people feeling angry and pushed to the brink by governments they no longer trust is as true in a world without aliens and superheroes and madmen with atomic backpacks as it is in-continuity. Was that an intentional observation or just the way life and art play together?

DJ: Very intentional.

I've made it clear from the start that there are elements of this book that are supposed to reflect the world we live in. Consensus has become an impossibility. Any topic or situation seems divided with one party on one side, the other party on the other. MSNBC take an unreasonable stance to one extreme, FOX News the other.

And the minute one party actually does achieve supremacy and do something, like in Wisconsin, the opposite side goes so far as to try to throw a governor out of office. It's not a question of, "I want government to get moving again." It's more, "I want government to do what I want it to do." There's a big difference.

So, yeah, people are angry. If the DCU is to reflect our own world, there's no way everyone would embrace heroes because there's no way it could happen in our reality. With that in mind, Batman's commentary extends to both worlds.

After DC's last major continuity reboot in 1985, the first major crossover was Legends. At the time, America was embroiled in conflicts ranging from drug wars to class wars, cold wars to cola wars. Reflecting the social and political turmoil, Legends was primarily concerned with exploring both the role of super-heroes in the contemporary DC Universe as well as the public's reaction to them. After all, what good is Superman to a world that ignores or hates him?

It sounds like Jurgens is interested in re-investigating some of the same territory a quarter of a century later in the light of the terrible economic times and divisive political culture of the modern day. Hopefully, Jurgens and his fellow writers don't take reality too seriously. I'd hate to one day realize that the DCnU isn't a nice a place to live, and I wouldn't want to visit there.

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