A tribute to the late Keith Giffen, co-creator of the funniest version of the League…
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UPDATED 10/11/23: Comics mainstay Keith Giffen has died at the age of 70. His frequent collaborator, Paul Levitz, said tonight on Facebook: “The sad news is now official: Keith Giffen has gone off to create new worlds that are beyond our living reach. Keith was probably the most fertile creative mind of our generation in comics. He had an infinite number of ideas, pouring constantly out. Many, thankfully, never saw print as wholly insane or inappropriate. But the ones that did! We did over 60 stories together. Many of them he made far better than they might have been with any other collaborator, because of his ideas and contributions to character moments and drama.” We re-present this piece from Nov. 2017, in slightly altered form. More Giffen links can be found below. — Dan
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“Come on, Beetle — it wasn’t that funny!”
Oh, yes it was. It most definitely was.
Justice League/Justice League International/Justice League America by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, Kevin Maguire and other artists including Adam Hughes and Ty Templeton, were/was one of the best comics of the ’80s. I remember picking up the first issue and being thrown off guard by how damn funny it was. Perfect for a smart-ass college student.
Well, this week, we’ve been celebrating the Justice League of years past — what with that pesky movie coming out — and there’s no way I wasn’t going to dedicate a 13 COVERS salute to the JLI of the ’80s.
Oh, and don’t forget to check out our 13 COVERS celebrations of the JLA in the Silver Age (click here) and the Bronze Age (click here).
As if you would.
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Kevin Maguire pencils, Terry Austin inks
Maguire and Austin
Test cover, issued only in select markets. Note the logo, upper left. Looks like Maguire pencils and I think Austin inks. GCD (see below) has it as a ?.
Maguire pencils and Al Gordon inks
Maguire
Maguire and Gordon
Maguire and Gordon
Adam Hughes
Maguire
Maguire and Gordon
Maguire pencils and Joe Rubinstein inks
Maguire and Rubinstein
Maguire and Rubinstein
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MORE
— LEVITZ AND GIFFEN: When the LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES Was at Its Best. Click here.
— 13 AMBUSH BUG COVERS: A KEITH GIFFEN Salute. Click here.
September 9, 2022
I remember! (“So this is the mind of the Blue Beetle…” I’ve loved that bit for thirty years!
October 12, 2023
The most original and entertaining run ever for the Justice League. Definitely my all time favorite
October 13, 2023
There’s no denying the artistic value in the style presented. It just wasn’t ever my cup of tea.