80-Page Thursdays: Justice League Quarterly #7!

Justice League Quarterly #3 is one of my favorite 80-page issues ever. Today's book, Justice League Quarterly #7, not so much. The lead story, "Klaarsh Reunion!" (Written by Michael Jan Friedman, pencils by Eduardo Barreto, inks by Carlos Garzon.) features Blue Beetle going back to his high school reunion, something admittedly I don't recall seeing that often in comics. Ted brings Booster, Fire, and Ice; and when the school is pulled up by an alien tractor beam, his classmates confess they're actually aliens. Ted and his family were the only normal humans in Marquette, IL; which makes him seem a bit thick for not noticing. The aliens' overlords, the Klaarsh, show up to bring them back; the JLI stops them. A little thin, disappointing since I've liked other work from Friedman and Barreto.

The first back-up feature is a General Glory sixties pastiche, "If this be my Destiny...?" Written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Mike DeCarlo. It's very, very, very much in the mold of a Lee/Kirby Tales of Suspense era Captain America story; more of a straight homage than a winking parody this time. While not knocking my socks off, it's the second GG back-up I've read that was better than his appearances in the regular JLI book.

The rest of the issue features Dr. Light and Rocket Red; and I'd only recommend them if you're a fan. Not the best.