Before yesterday's blog post even went live at 10AM, DC published solicitations for August. Included in those solicitations was the note that Justice League International will both crossover into Batwing #12 and be canceled.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #12
Written by DAN JURGENS
Art by AARON LOPRESTI and MATT RYAN
Cover by DAVID FINCH and RICHARD FRIEND
On sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
• It's the funeral for ROCKET RED.
• Several members resign from the team — who will be left?

BATWING #12
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art by MARCUS TO and RYAN WINN
Cover by MARCUS TO
On sale AUGUST 1 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
• The secrets of mad dictator LORD BATTLE revealed!
• NIGHTWING in action in Africa!
• Plus: JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL vs. BLOODSTORM!

JUSTICE LEAGUE #12
Written by GEOFF JOHNS
Art by JIM LEE, SCOTT WILLIAMS and others
Cover by JIM LEE and SCOTT WILLIAMS
On sale AUGUST 15 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
• "THE VILLAIN'S JOURNEY" part four!
• The team struggles to stay together as they try to combat their newest foe.
• A shocking last page that will have the world talking about this special, extra-sized issue!

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL #1
Written by GEOFF JOHNS and DAN DIDIO
Art and cover by JASON FABOK
On sale AUGUST 29 • 48 pg, FC, $4.99 US • RATED T
• Will this issue be the final adventure ever for JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL?
• The true nature of O.M.A.C. revealed!
• Ties in to the shocking events of JUSTICE LEAGUE #12!
• Guest-starring BLUE BEETLE!

What to make of this news? Is this part of the first big New 52 crossover event? Will the JLI return in September, renumbered from 0? Will the series be getting a new title, new writers, new artists? Will Booster Gold get his own series back? Where's Dan Jurgens going? Will we ever see Skeets again???

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On Friday, DC announced via their blog that Justice League International Annual #1 will be shipping August 29, 2012. DC promises that "the ramifications of this [issue] will be felt across the board," but the best part of this news is that Geoff Johns will be co-writing the book.

Johns is probably on-board for this one-shot because the issue will tie-in with his regular gig as writer of Justice League (issue #12, specifically). For his part, co-writer DiDio is probably on-board to tie-off some loose ends dangling from the his recently-canceled gig as writer of OMAC. Fans of either series should be excited about the crossover potential here, especially since Johns and DiDio are Chief Creative Officer and Co-Publisher of DC Comics, respectively, and therefore are in a position to see that what happens in their issue of JLI is relevant to events throughout the company.

If the solicitation cover is any indication, it looks like the first thing that the powerful pair has done is ensure that Booster Gold no longer has any gold on his cowl. That's already a change for the better.

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There's no avoiding it: the DCnU Justice League International suffers from a bit of decompression, making reading each new issue an exercise in patience. Fortunately for those of us with a need for immediate gratification (e.g., Americans), today DC releases the first six issues of the series in a single, collected trade paperback, Justice League International, Vol 1: The Signal Masters.

The volume is advertised at $14.99, a savings of 50¢ off cover price -- per issue! Better, DC advertises this trade at 144 pages. Each of the first 6 issues is 21-pages long (including covers) for a total of 126 published pages. What's making up the 18-page difference, hmm?

Skeets is beginning to think that with deals like this, only suckers should buy individual issues anymore. Buy this collection and prove Skeets right.

(UPDATE 05/09/12 7:49PM: these bonus pages are mostly unfinished pencils and uncolored inks from the covers and a few character sketches. There are a few character design sketches for Fire, Ice, and Vixen. Nothing previously unseen featuring Booster Gold.)

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A rotating roster, shifting mandates, even headquarter relocations. Sometimes, it seems the only thing that's constant in the Justice League is the once-a-decade need for reinvention.

Not even two years earlier, the Justice League International concept had given way to the three-headed Justice League America / Justice League Task Force / Justice League West (aka Extreme Justice) teams, yet by 1996 the winds of change were already swirling again. In order to clear the board for the imminent Magnificent Seven of Grant Morrison's JLA, the bulk of the Justice League America team was shot into deep space in Justice League America #112, the next-to-last issue of the series.

As Wonder Woman and the Flash grasped at straws to save their team, the other two Justice Leagues did little more than idly stand by. Maybe because he's a time-traveler with knowledge of what's to come, or maybe because he's a student of history with perspective of what's been before, Booster Gold doesn't bother to open his mouth in the current emergency. Our hero leaned against a wall, coffee in hand, as Blue Beetle represents the Extreme Justice team in the Justice League America's final story. (Booster's not the only character to be seen but not heard: the rest of Extreme Justice poses in an awkwardly mid-1990s fashion. Firestorm in particular appears to hover around the ceiling like a human candelabra.)

Justice League America #112 is no better than an average comic and is probably representative of why the series was being rebooted for a more iconic line-up. The book is ugly, confusing, and chock full of characters today's audience wouldn't even recognize. It is, however, a great reminder that every once in awhile, reboots are necessary to reinvigorate even the most high-profile comic books. Take comfort in knowing that it has happened before, and it will happen again.

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The latest of Russ Burlingame's "International Exchange" interviews with Dan Jurgens is up at ComicBook.com. I may have my problems with the decompression in Jurgens' recent JLI stories, but I have to say that I really admire his willingness to discuss each issue afterwards. That's above and beyond the call of duty for a professional with his portfolio.

IX: It's interesting—the dialog between Batman and Batwing suggests that even the superhero community isn't really clear on Booster's "deal." Did you want to roll back the number of people in the hero community who knew his "secret?"

Dan Jurgens: No. It's just that we tend to be a skeptical society now.

If an individual suddenly shows up and claims to be from the future, some people are bound to be skeptical. On top of that, I think Batman, more than any other hero, would be the type to check into it on his own and make sure.

Now, if you wrap that into the idea of a hero who advertises projects and tends to hype himself, well, you can see why Batwing would have assumed it was an act.

I'm skeptical about the implication that we were not a skeptical society "then." I don't think there has been a point in history where the general population would believe a man's own claims about being from the future. Even in 1955, we'd want a doctor to take a look for head trauma in that "future boy."

What I'm still more skeptical about is the possibility that Batwing isn't a jerk.

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