I can't tell you how thrilled I am to hear that Keith Giffen, JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire are teaming up to do a mini-series (and if this does well, an ongoing!) about the Defenders.

I lurv these guys.

So much so that the classic trade that I am recommending today is Justice League: A New Beginning, by the same creative team.

This trade, collecting the first 7 issues of the Justice League comic book (before it was retitled Justice League International) is just an excellent blend of humor and action.

Yes, Captain Marvel is probably portrayed as being a bit too dumb.

Yes, Blue Beetle's maturity level is lowered a bit (and the guy had had a DC Comic for, like, a year at this point).

But everything else is note perfect.

The art, by newcomer Maguire, was excellent.

The plots from Giffen were inspired, and the dialogue from DeMatteis was miles and miles better than anything DeMatteis had ever done in the past.

Forgetting the fact that this particular approach to a major superhero team really had never been attempted before, these issues are just plain good reads.

Highly recommended.