Or, How to Write a Good Justice League Story could have been added on to the title of this nostalgic-yet-modern resurrection of Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire’s light-hearted Justice League International run, which lasted from 1987 to 1994 and remains critically acclaimed to this day.

Freshly returned from the dead at the end of Blackest Night, former 80s business guy turned mind-controlling supervillain Maxwell Lord is up to his old tricks. Using his advanced psychic powers, he makes the whole world forget about him and his past evil deeds, giving himself a fresh start. The only ones who remember him are some of his “ex-clients” from the JLI: Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire and Ice. With everyone on the planet thinking they’re insane, they must find out what Max is up to and stop him before it’s too late.

And I know what you’re thinking: Surely Max’s evil scheme has a few holes in it? What about strong-willed people, or telepaths? What about physical records? I had such cynical and humourless questions too, and to Judd Winick’s credit, he answered them head-on. It would have been all too easy to just hand-wave such matters, but Winick managed to make the story even creepier by explaining them.

Max Lord didn’t just mind-wipe everybody. He hypnotised them too. They can’t help but ignore blatant evidence of his existence, and become dismissive or even aggressive whenever the main characters start talking about him. This also thickens the atmosphere of hostility towards our central players.

That was always the appeal of JLI — these guys aren’t Superman or Batman. Most of them were barely C-list before that run. They were like children playing at superheroes with an innocent naivety and a slight frustration at not being taken seriously. Now, in Generation Lost, they have reached their teenage years. The world’s turned against them and nobody’s looking out for them except themselves.

Generation Lost features characterisation-on-the-run where more recent Justice League stories have stumbled. None of the tense plot is sacrificed in favour of fleshing these guys out, yet we still get an in-depth look into just who they are. As I said, they’re all grown up now.

Just like he did with Jason Todd, Winick has made me care about these previously insignificant characters. Even the new Rocket Red, who is so blatantly comedic relief that you could paint a sign on him, has a unignorable charm.

Although it ties in with the mysterious Brightest Day (even the sinister Max has his part to play), JL: GL does a pretty good job of standing its own while also dabbling in the rest of the DC Universe. It is an action-packed, emotional story driven by excellent character work, and, like most comics that come out these days, I am excited to see what comes next.

The main Justice League title may only just now be starting to pick up steam, but Generation Lost had me hooked from the get-go. The grown-ups are getting upstaged by the young-‘uns.