THIS WEEK: The world’s greatest heroes take on a deep-space threat in the Justice League Intergalactic Special #1! Plus, a long-lost comic finally sees the light of day in Swamp Thing 1989 #1 (aka Swamp Thing #88)!
Note: the reviews below may contain spoilers. If you want quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendations on the comics in question, check out the bottom of the article for our final verdict.
Justice League Intergalactic Special #1
Writers: Jadzia Axelrod & Nicole Maines
Artist: Travis Moore
Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover Artists: Travis Moore & Tamra Bonvillain
Review by Joe Grunenwald
The introduction of the Justice League Unlimited as part of DC’s All In initiative opened up lots of storytelling doors. With every hero in the DCU now considered part of the Justice League, creators have had a chance to utilize lesser-known characters alongside the typical League mainstays, thus elevating those lower-tier players by giving them expanded exposure. This week’s Justice League Intergalactic Special #1 is another fine example of that, teaming more well-known characters like Green Arrow, Adam Strange, and Star Sapphire with newer additions to the DCU Dreamer and Galaxy.
Writers Jadzia Axelrod and Nicole Maines have their own personal investments in Galaxy and Dreamer. Axelrod co-created Galaxy with artist Jess Taylor in a series of young-adult graphic novels, and has brought her into the DCU proper in 2023’s Hawkgirl limited series. Maines portrayed Dreamer on TV’s Supergirl series, and and has largely steered the adventures of the character in her comics appearances since then. With this issue’s focus on those two characters, Axelrod and Maines work together flawlessly as a writing duo. It’s easy to imagine the two of them going back and forth, hashing out dialogue between the characters. Together they provide clear and engaging introductions for both Galaxy and Dreamer to new readers, and tease out enough of each of their backstories to make unfamiliar readers want to seek out their previous adventures.
The best parts of any team book are the interpersonal dynamics between the characters, and Axelrod and Maines knock those out of the park here. The relationship between Galaxy and Dreamer is front and center, and for all of those characters’ similarities they couldn’t be more different, which makes for great drama between the two of them. The ways they both interact with the other members of the Justice League are also extremely revealing about their characters. Dreamer and Green Arrow in particular have some great interaction that offers an interesting perspective on past events.
Artists Travis Moore and Tamra Bonvillain are a superb team for this story. In an issue about superheroes traveling to an alien world to face a psychic, emotion-manipulating threat, Moore’s smooth, clean linework gives everything a realistic grounding. Moore has a lot of subtle character work to do here in terms of facial expressions and reactions, and he’s more than up for the task. Bonvillain’s coloring gives the visuals the appropriate texture and weight, and drives home both the intensity of the emotions being felt and of the interstellar action of the story. Letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou does great work as always, adding visual flourishes to the dialogue that enhance the impact without distracting from the artwork and storytelling.
Justice League Intergalactic Special #1 is a fantastic one-shot. Axelrod, Maines, Moore, and co. deliver a self-contained story that introduces a pair of fascinating characters to new readers and tells a fun space adventure to boot. That the issue also serves as setup for this summer’s DC Pride event series is icing on the cake.
Final Verdict: BUY.
Swamp Thing 1989 #1/Swamp Thing #88
Writer: Rick Veitch
Artists: Michael Zulli & Vince Locke
Colorist: Trish Mulvihill
Letterers: John Costanza and Todd Klein
Cover Artists: Rick Veitch & Trish Mulvihill
Review by D. Morris
The conclusion of Rick Veitch’s Swamp Thing run was until this year one of the great ‘wish it were finished’ comics. The Veitch version of Issue 88 and the following issues were up there with the Alan Moore and Bill Sienkiewicz series Big Numbers or the perpetually cursed Miracleman. The issue meant to have the Earth elemental meet Jesus Christ, along with a few DC characters of the Roman time period. However, the book would have seen print at a time when both The Last Temptation of Christ and Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses had already generated enormous controversy (and death threats). DC got cold feet and pulled the plug, Veitch quit the book and working for DC for the time being, and an entirely different, and less provocative, version of issue #88 came out with an entirely different creative team.
Now, though, we finally have Swamp Thing #88, more or less as Veitch intended. While the script and the pencils by artist Michael Zulli floated around the internet, it really is a miracle we finally have this story. There’s no reason DC should feel obligated to publish this book or the subsequent issues after thirty-seven years. But they have, and it feels like a victory to see the conclusion to Veitch’s run and in particular this issue.
One can understand why DC at the time cancelled the story. Like The Last Temptation of Christ, which dared to consider Christ’s humanity as equal to his divinity, this story posits Christ as a being in line with a tradition of magicians. That his sacrifice on the cross was the last part of a magical ritual meant for humanity’s salvation. It is an esoteric look at the religious figure that even today is pretty out there and falls more into the wider body of Veitch’s work. Yet, the script never comes across as disrespectful and finds a way that fits them seamlessly into the narrative of the DC Universe. How the character of Swamp Thing fits into all of this is equally as intriguing.
Bringing this to life is the late artist Michael Zulli. This represents his last comics work, which feels fitting given this was supposed to be his first work for DC. If anything in this issue, with its vintage trade dress and period appropriate ads, transports you back to 1989, it’s Zulli’s meticulous pencils, which were a mainstay of the soon-to-come Vertigo imprint. The inks by Vince Locke don’t get quite into the visual noodling that was Zulli’s bread and butter. These pages are a little cleaner than a typical Zulli page. However, he brings forth the humanity and naturalism that also was a trademark of the late artist.
Maybe the toughest work to do might be on the part of colorist Trish Mulvihill. Not just because she’s following a legend like the recently passed Tatjana Wood, truly a difficult act to follow. It’s because she has to evoke a specific limited color palette of that time frame. This book is meant to fall in line with the rest of that late ‘80s run, and thankfully Mulvihill makes sure the book does. If anyone deserves a gold star for this issue it’s her. Meanwhile the legend Todd Klein does an impeccable impersonation of the great John Costanza’s lettering. Also not an easy job to do but it’s Todd Klein. That man can do anything typographically.
Maybe the biggest question though was, was this worth the wait? And the answer is yes. Rick Veitch’s Swamp Thing run was always a great follow up to his predecessor Alan Moore, but had that asterisk of never seeing its actual conclusion. Swamp Thing #88 might not be controversial now, but it is a risky creative turn for both the character and the creative team. Now folks can finally read what all the fuss was about.
Final Verdict: BUY.
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