YOU OUGHTTA BE IN PICTURES
JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE #14
 Published: 10th July 1980 Cover Date: October 1980 Cover Artists: Jim Starlin Writer: Gerry Conway Penciler: Dick Dillin Inker: Frank McLaughlin Colourist: Gene D’Angelo Letterer: Ben Oda Editors: Len Wein |
Introduction
In one of those strange coincidences we’re picking up with the JLE more or less where I left off last time, though to be fair I’ve been skipping things for a little while. Truth be told the handling of Pee Gee isn’t one of my favourites and having seen them covered recently I’ve held back a little so I could get a little distance for a relatively fresh look at the book (hopefully).
Synopsis
Seven years ago we have a relatively geeky person with his high-tech device of a video cassette recorder! When he’s struck by electricity or lighting, lightning is all good for this in the DC Universe, his consciousness is somehow stuck in the device! But in a piece of good luck he can form a body from a character existing in the tape that he’s watching, the TV screen behind him even shows that the character is removed from the recording itself, though as always with such things it’s probably best not to think about how this works too much. We then cut to the modern day of 1990 where we find that his body goes into a trance whilst the duplicate is in action, and apparently, even though he’s had this power for seven years he’s done nothing with it until now when of all things he tries to get a job as a celebrity look alike. So instead he decides to basically impersonate a celebrity with the not-unsubtle Flint Clintwood, probably not their cleverest wordplay to be honest!
So after a good five pages, we start with a full-page splash of the JLE, in civvies, at the Canne Film festival, which is a little ruined by Ralph (Elongated Man) going all horndog on a billboard image of some female actor. For the celebration Kara has apparent;y decided to cosplay as April O’Neil for this era’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or Hero Turtles for my fellow UK fans) in a yellow jumpsuit! The movie had just come out, and this is, if you couldn’t guess it’s film related so it might be a deliberate choice by the artists.
It’s a tick on my Kara is gay, or bi at least, Wally makes a comment about the view, looking towards a couple of bikini-clad women, with Kara making a comment about the city not being bad either. So not only are the two of them getting on for a change there looking at the same things, the lovely women wandering around the city! She does follow it up by saying that the four of them, Sue Dibny are the final member of the JLE here. But that’s not all because as it happens Fire and Ice are also in the city, when Ralph surprises them by sticking his head where it doesn’t belong Fire decks the man causing Sue and Kara to generally lose it, which he deserves really for being such an idiot by surprising them!
Now we’re about halfway through the issue the plot can start in earnest, our video antagonist is impersonating Flint and flirting with the ladies in an expensive hotel. It seems however the hotel has figured out he’s a imposter and our subtly trying to throw him out of the place. Meanwhile, the heroes are having a drink and generally catching up, with Wally flirting like mad with Beatriz. Ralph is sulking because he got knocked out with one punch (insert sound effect here!). And Kara is just surprised that Beatriz is swallowing Wally’s line, which Tora assures us that Beatriz is the one in control here! It’s actually nice to see Kara actually have a conversation with a female character that’s actually pleasant.
Our arrested antagonist, who’s never named in the entire issue, decides to escape the cop car by taking on the only image he can see from the vehicle that of the totally not Godzilla! And finally, our two plots join together when the JLE, plus Fire and Ice, have to face down our giant “rubber-suited” kaiju. Going straight into the action, not taking time to even change into a costume, Pee Gee and Fire start attacking the monster whilst Flash saves people from the kaiju. Not wanting to face any more of this the monster disappears and in a nearby cinema we get a Leatherface knock-off, where Elongated Man and Ice get to show their own abilities.
Running into another theatre, it’s Canne after all, he changes into a small dog and whilst a toto knockoff would seem appropriate it’s apparently a dog called Winki, though as the comics coming to an end, we never cover the fact that the little dog is missing from the screen, and as he’s not coming back apparently everyone lost interest in the character…
To keep things rumbling along a teeny tiny Bluejay shows up at the Moscow JLI embassy asking for help.
Final Thoughts
To say nothing happens is a little flippant, we have maybe two pages of actions right at the very end of the issue, but it’s a very light issue. Looking at the next issue it feels like a breather issue, a light funny episode before the series gets dark and serious. This is very much what’s going to happen with the next arc, for those in the know it’s the Extremist arc.
As light weigh as it is I can’t help but enjoy the issue for the character’s dynamics, everyone is getting on and for a change actually seem to like each other, Pee Gee is a little grumpy but seems perfectly decently compared to how she will be in later issues.