The Justice League International are returning. Marvel may have tried to bury the news with their Spider-Man woes, but they can’t hold back the most important comics announcement of the year: the return of the Justice League International.

Hot on the tails of yesterday’s announcement of a bi-weekly Brightest Day series by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi, DC have just announced a second bi-weekly series called Justice League: Generation Lost to be written by Keith Giffen and Judd Winick. Justice League: Generation Lost will run on alternate weeks to Brightest Day. The preview cover to JL: Generation Lost (above) is by Tony Harris. Not only that, he tweeted that he and his colourist JD Mettler will be the cover artists of Generation Lost throughout 2010.

The JLI was a seminal Justice League run from the late 1980s, from the time we normally associate with grim-and-gritty comics. The JLI was a rejection of that ethos and focused more on character than angst. Yes, at times it did wander into sitcom or slap-stick territory, but mostly it delivered character-driven action with a sharp line in smart, witty dialogue. The JLI series was plotted by Keith Giffen and scripted by J.M. DeMatteis. For this revival DeMatteis is succeeded by Judd Winick. However, Giffen and DeMatteis and will be collaborating as the new writers on the Booster Gold book.

Giffen and Winick were interviewed by Vaneta Rogers for Newsarama. Giffen related that he was attached to the story first and that over time is morphed from Generation Lost into Justice League: Generation Lost.

Giffen: [DC Executive Editor] Dan [DiDio] and [editor] Mike Siglain shanghaied me onto this project about six months or so ago, well before it had the Justice League heading. Back then it was just plain Generation Lost and I was the only firmly committed writer on board. Six nerve racking months, and more than a few co-writer misfires, later I found out Judd had drawn the short straw and drawn it just days before the writers summit that was to kick off the project.

Keep in mind that Justice League was not on the table at this point so it’s not like Judd signed on for the project’s (alleged) cache’. Oh, and if there’s anything funnier than a jet-lagged Judd Winick, I’ve yet to find it.

And if anybody needed confirmation about what the title will actually be about:

Nrama: Wait a second, this comic will be about the Justice League International?

Giffen: Captain Atom, Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, Fire, Ice, Rocket Red. It’s like the family reunion from hell and I, for one, couldn’t be happier.

Winick: Me either. I get to write JLI with Keith Giffen. It’s one of the greatest assignments I’ve ever had. Swear to God.

The question then becomes which Blue Beetle and which Rocket Red. The JLI Blue Beetle was killed by Maxwell Lord back before Infinite Crisis and a new Blue Beetle title was launched (with Giffen as co-creator). The JLI Rocket Red is also dead. Both have been seen in Blackest Night as Black Lanterns, but all bets are off post-Blackest Night. That blacked out figure at the centre of the preview cover above looks like the Martian Manhunter – another character who is running around as a Black Lantern.

I’m rather looking forward to this. The various JLI characters have individually made something of a come back over the last 5-years or so. Ice was returned to life in Birds of Prey. Guy Gardner returned to GL status in GL: Rebirth and is the co-lead in Green Lantern Corps. Booster Gold has his own book. Captain Atom – post Countdown – is back in the silver and is a co-feature in Action Comics. Fire resurfaced as an agent for Checkmate. The Martian Manhunter, Rocket Red, and Blue Beetle are dead, but we’ll see how that plays out post Blackest Night. Big Barda and Mister Miracle are presumably off with the rest of the New Gods on Earth-Kirby post-Final Crisis. Even Doctor Light (Kimiyo) has got a lot of screen time in the current Justice League.

And for the record:

Bwah-ha-ha-ha!!!

(sorry)