DeMatteis & Giffen on the origins of the JLI

At the 2018 Raleigh Supercon, JMD and Keith Giffen discuss how they came to work on Justice League International.

[Bargoth]

I still remember that day, (on lunch from my job at Marshall Fields and Co. in downtown Chicago), February of '87, going to the 12th or 13th floor of a building across the street from Fields, walking into a small comic book shop, and seeing Justice League No. 1.
(Just Justice LEAGUE; no Of America.)
I was like, "All right, I'll give it a try." (I had known of Justice League of America for years prior, but wasn't really much of a fan.)
Needless to say, I was hooked; right up to Issue No. 50 (Justice League America), and Issue 36 (Justice League Europe), and the first four Quarterlys.
Thank you Mr. DeMatties, Mr. Giffen (RIP), Mr. McGuire, (whom I had the good fortune of meeting at Chicago's C2ES back in 2020, with a pic of the two of us as well as his traditional "smirk" in the pic), and all the rest of the talented team on the series; making me laugh (and sometimes sniffle), but most of all providing a truly unique perspective on DC's most profound super-hero group.
As one letterer wrote, and I'm paraphrasing here: "The humor of Justice League was akin to watching an episode of "I Love Lucy", and all of a sudden Ricky Ricardo is shot at the Copacabana nightclub."
No "Month after month" of villainous destruction, so that when a super threat was brought to the page, its impact hit, and hit hard.
Thank you again, Sir.

[markboyd]

I just caught the tail end of a live interview/chat w you.
I’d like to offer my condolences, I’ve lost one of my favorite creators but you’ve lost a friend.
Take care

[mmorange]

Came back to watch this video after starting to read the new Human Target series. Love the information and exposure.

[davidvargas]

Thanks Masters!!! From Argentina! I love Justice league of America/Internacional!!!

[jeremycline]

Who made the decision to give Ted Kord more depth? I really appreciate that.