When I first heard Justice League International was one of the New 52 Titles, I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, the original JLI from the 80s/90s is one of my favorite books ever. It was the perfect blend of action, characterization, humor and drama. It was also a great counterbalance to the “grim and gritty” comics of the day that were brought on by things like dark Knight Returns and running rampant with the mass popularity of characters like Wolverine and the Punisher. On the other hand, catching lightning in a bottle twice is almost never achievable. I wanted this book to succeed, but was worried the creative team would be too worried about trying to live up to the past than trying to make their own version of the JLI.

I read this book not really knowing what to expect. I feel like this is a book that hasn’t really found its identity yet. The core concept is the same: the United Nations is sponsoring a group of super heroes to be “their’ Justice League, with different characters representing different nations from across the globe. The team is run by a shadowy figure who is pulling the string while making the team believe they are calling the shots. With the vastly different personalities involved, tensions are high and tempers flare easily, and the jokes come pretty fast for a super-hero book.

In some cases, the humor seems a little forced, like Jurgens is trying too hard to channel the JLI of old and coming off as an inferior knock off. But in other instances, the writing seems much more natural and comes across effectively. Its only the first issue, so the relationships between the team mates are not yet really established, but the potential seems their for some great interactions. August general in Iron and Rocket Red seem like they could be a lot of fun together. Also, the way Batman was included on the team was a master stroke that was both funny and in character for Batman.

The art by Aaron Lopresti didn’t blow me away, but there was nothing i really found fault with either. It was stronger in some points than others, and I found his Booster Gold to be the strongest rendition of the bunch, which is a good sign, as Booster seems to be the “star” of the book, if their is one among the ensembe.

Overall, this was a good enough first issue to keep me reading. It was fun and showed a lot of potential. I think if Jurgens can find a unique voice for a series which admittedly has a lot of preconceptions surrounding it, this could be a great title.