Justice League Dark #20

(w) Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes
(a) Mikel Janin and Vicente Cifuentes


** SPOILERS ABOUND **


Last month's "WTF" edict demanded that each title in the 'New 52' drop some big revelation or surprise somewhere in their April issue. For the most part, writers were able to organically integrate this concept into their current narrative. But for some, it felt very forced. Like Earth 2 #11's inclusion of Mister Miracle even though he wasn't actually part of the story at all. Or how the revelation that Eclipso was behind the scheme to destroy House Amethyst in Sword of Sorcery #7 was a surprise to no one who actually read the series. 

Justice League Dark #19 guest starred not only Swamp Thing -- which made sense, as Swampy is a Dark-themed character -- but also The Flash. Unfortunately, it was all of a one-page spread. This was an instance where the "WTF" moment felt very forced, like editorial knew Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes were gearing up to use Flash in Justice League Dark #20, and just wanted to make #19 all the more attention-grabbing, just for sales. But that's all just my own beef with DC higher management.

Justice League Dark #20 is a fantastic issue. I wasn't expecting it not to be, as Lemire and Fawkes have been delivering amazing issue after amazing issue for months now. I'm always just a bit skeptical of guest appearances that seem too good to be true; like Flash working with the JLD.

Barry Allen is unique in the 'New 52' as one of the only characters who is written so consistently across every title he's featured in -- the Flash is always his good-natured, generous, laid-back self, whichever book you're reading. That's rare these days as many writers simply use guest appearances as a plot device instead of deriving real character relationships from the experience. Barry isn't there just to be fast: He provides a significantly different perspective on how to be a hero. Even after John Constantine berates him in front of everyone else, he still stands up for the surly mage when his compatriots turn against him.

If you're not reading Justice League Dark, you should be. I know that's a cliche thing to say in comic book reviews, but hear me out. It checks off a lot of boxes on the "who would like this?" list. It's a supernatural series (1). It includes well-known heroes like Constantine, Deadman, and Zatanna (2). It's consistently one of the best titles DC publishes each month (3). It's an integral part of this summer's "Trinity War" crossover (4). Mikel Janin's artwork is superb (5). That's five good reasons to read this book.

GRADE

9/10

REVIEW: JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #16

(w) Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes
(a) Mikel Janin

Justice League Dark continues to be one of my favorite series from DC's 'New 52' thanks to it's unique take on the superhero genre. Jeff Lemire has crafted an incredible ongoing narrative that isn't confined to separate arcs, but rather builds upon itself with each storyline. Things started off with "The Black Room", which quickly turned into "War for the Books of Magic", and now, we're shoulder-deep in "The Death of Magic" that's bringing Lemire's big epic to a head. 

Though it sits in the middle of this newest arc, Justice League Dark #16 doesn't fall prey to the 'filler syndrome' -- it's full of intense action, story development, and some not-at-all-annoying exposition that gives readers a better look at how magic originated in the DCnU. I've mentioned in past reviews how much Lemire's Justice League Dark resembles a serial television drama in it's structure and pacing. Much like LOST, True Blood, or Game of Thrones, each issue of JLD has enough self-containment to feel satisfying as a stand-alone story while contributing to a much grander vision.

Using context clues, it's been pretty evident that this world our heroes have found themselves in was once a magical realm that has since been taken over by a fascist, scientific society. The somewhat lengthy history lesson about Timothy Hunter's ancient mystical ancestor reveals a lot about how things came to be in this world known as Epoch, how men became jealous over their inability to wield magic, and how that led to a campaign to exterminate all magic from their world. Lemire is doing a absolutely amazing job at mixing traditional fantasy tropes with high concept superhero drama, and it shows in the way he seamlessly juxtaposes the mystical concept of the series against a world where magic is considered the ultimate heresy.

Mikel Janin's artwork is beautiful as ever. While many of the characters featured in Justice League Dark are featured in other titles, they seem to always look the best when Janin is as the table (except for maybe Bernard Chang's Madame Xanadu in Demon Knights). Especially John Constantine, whose facial expression perfectly match his confused and frustrated feelings over losing his silver tongue.

Justice League Dark #16 is another excellent chapter in "The Death of Magic" and the series in general. Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes have such a knack for fantasy writing it's uncanny. There are so many different elements that affect the story at any given time, and each of them is handled with care and precision to create one of the most entertaining and fun books DC currently publishes.

GRADE

8.5/10

REVIEW: JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #15

(w) Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes
(a) Mikel Janin

In this modern era of fascination with all things magical and mystical from our entertainment outlets, it takes a lot of courage to challenge the status quo of how people perceive "the supernatural", as a media concept. Just look at the popularity of True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Once Upon A Time, Grimm, or any other number of supernatural shows (including Supernatural) that all seem to have a concept of magic based around a shared aesthetic: magic is chaotic, everywhere, and cannot be contained, hence how and why people can utilize it for their own means. While all of these shows have different storytelling methods and dramatization processes, they all stick within a fairly narrow definition of "supernatural".

Jeff Lemire is taking a different approach with Justice League Dark, specifically this "The Death of Magic" arc that was prefaced by the discovery that the ancient and mythical Books of Magic were actually highly advanced technological machines seemingly capable of imitating what humanity knows as magic or mysticism. One of the most common shared elements of magic-based fiction is that magic is ever-present. Lemire has penned an arc that challenges this standard by flipping it on it's head.

At the end of Justice League Dark Annual #1, Timothy Hunter opened the Books of Magic before he and Zatanna were teleported, by the books themselves, to a new and unknown world. This month, Lemire reveals that in this new world, anything remotely connected to magic is hunted down and exterminated with extreme prejudice. Zatanna also discovers her backwards magic is super-charged in this new place, and uses her heightened ability to fend off an assassin gunning for the two individuals who just used teleportation illegally.

The only problem I had with this issue was Amethyst. Constantine uses a crystal he stole to summon Amy from GemWorld in order to help stop Nick Necro, then in JLD #14, she's seen exploring the House of Mystery with Black Orchid and Frankenstein, then in this issue, she's just gone. Granted, she does mention something about Constantine giving her the port crystal once everything had settled down, there just isn't a scene or even an off-handed comment about Amy's departure. It feels like that detail just slipped through the cracks, which wouldn't be a big deal except Amethyst didn't really need to be there in the first place, so bringing her in then dropping her from the book without even a modicum of explanation is kind of frustrating.

Justice League Dark #15 does an excellent job of setting up "The Death of Magic". Lemire is playing around with the idea of magic in the DC universe, something that's only ever been lightly done, due to the ingrained nature of continuity-based comic book mythology. As long as I can remember, magic has always been regarded as a more 'powerful' or 'enigmatic' force than science in comic books. With the 'New 52', all bets are off, so making magic and science more equivalent doesn't seem like such a far-fetched idea.

GRADE

9/10

REVIEW: JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #14

(w) Jeff Lemire

(p) Graham Nolan and Vitor Drujiniu

Often, comic book writers will waste little time in moving from one story arc to the next. One of the best examples of this phenomenon was Brian Michael Bendis' run on Ultimate Spider-Man, a series that saw a young Peter Parker battling one foe after the other for quite some time. Eventually, Bendis started to add side stories and smaller arcs, but for the most part, his structure of constant action stayed true. Jeff Lemire, on the other hand, seems to be taking the opposite approach to Justice League Dark, a series that he pulled up from being a rather weak 'New 52' title to being one of the best. Justice League Dark #14 is the interlude between the recently-completed "War for the Books of Magic" and the upcoming "The Death of Magic" that will find the JLD searching for Zatanna and Tim Hunter, as well as weathering a war between the Trinity of Sin....Trinity War, anybody?

Justice League Dark #14 is split into two narratives that each contain vital information going forward for the team and the series, et al. First, we focus on John Constantine, Deadman, and Steve Trevor as they attempt to understand how the Books of Magic aren't magic-based at all. Meanwhile, Black Orchid has convinced both Amethyst and Frankenstein to explore the House of Mystery with her. The narrative of JLD#14 isn't particularly amazing or outstanding, but it conveys what's happening and for an issue that's supposed to bridge to story arcs, that's all it really needs to do. Yes, we do get some character development -- Constantine's anger at the prospect of not having Zatanna back for a long, long time -- but that's not the point of "Enter the House of Mystery". 

Rather, for Constantine, Deadman, and Trevor, the point is finding two missing people, while the reason for Black Orchid, Frankenstein, and Amethyst's journey comes to a head near the end of the issue when Orchid finds a room filled with personal and private information about many of the world's operating super-people. This is probably the best sequence of the issue, as Black Orchid scans over Constantine's notes about the Justice League, Stormwatch, and various other heroes, revealing some information we already knew ("The Rot is Rising" and "New GL: Terrorist or worse?") along with a lot we didn't know ("Frankenstein: Connection to the Rot? Possible 'cure' for it?", "Cyborg: Red Room!", and "Adam One: Is he the Big M?").

Overall, Justice League Dark #14 is a bridge issue that suffers only because it's the starting point for a lot of plot going forward, meaning it's an issue filled with questions with positively no answers. And even then, there's something exciting about being given a whole load of new mysteries to ponder as we wait for the next issue. Jeff Lemire is writing one hell of a series and I'll be sad to see him leave once he takes on Green Arrow in a few months.

GRADE

8/10

REVIEW: JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #13

(w) Jeff Lemire
(p) Mikel Janin

Last month's Justice League Dark #0 gave readers a look into the romantic history of John Constantine and Zatanna, which included a master mage named Nick Necro. In previous months, a mysterious man smoking a cigarette has been the guiding hand behind the JLD's troubles concerning the Books of Magic. How I did not infer that Nick Necro was the mysterious smoking figure from the last few issues is beyond me. But there you have it: sometimes you win, sometimes you totally miss the obvious clues.

The Justice League Dark seems to be getting smaller, with it's members either ditching the team altogether (see Andrew Bennet) or revealing themselves to be traitors (see Doctor Mist). With the coming cancellation of Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Jeff Lemire is planning on bringing Franky over to JLD bringing the roster back up to five including Constantine, Zatanna, Black Orchid, and Deadman. It's not a huge deal, but it's just interesting to see how many different characters have now been members of the JLD, and it's only issue 13.

Basically, Justice League Dark #13 is the prelude to the conclusion of "War for the Books of Magic". Nick Necro is putting his final plans together to find the Books, part of which includes Felix Faust retrieving Timothy Hunter, the boy who is supposedly the key to finding the books and unlocking their power. Fortunately, Madame Xanadu is on site and whisks Timothy away before Faust can take him. Meanwhile, the rest of the team takes on the combined power of Nick Necro - recently returned from Hell with a cadre of new powers and abilities - and Doctor Mist. This isn't the final battle. Mostly, Lemire uses this issue to put all the pieces into place for the coming showdown. Yes, there's a lot of magic being thrown around, but it's the personal relationships that take the heaviest beating this month. Constantine, Zatanna, and Necro have a past and it comes back to bite them. And we only have to wait one week for Justice League Dark Annual #1 for the final chapter!

GRADE

8/10

DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #0

STORY: Keith Giffen, Dan Didio, James Robinson, Rob Liefeld, and Tony Bedard
ART: Keith Giffen, Dan Didio, Scott Koblish, Tom Derenick, Marat Mychaels,

In true form, DC Universe Presents #0 offers an anthology of stories within an issue of an anthology series. Last May, DC cancelled six series to make way for the "Second Wave" of 'New 52' titles that included Earth 2, Dial H, World's Finest, Batman Incorporated, G.I. Combat, and The Ravagers. Some of these cancellations actually made sense - when a series didn't look to be going in any concrete direction - but some were canned purely for fiscal reasons. Either way, many of these titles gained a fan base, and DC wanted to do the cool thing and feature these characters left in the proverbial rearview mirror. With December solicitations out, the recently cancelled Captain Atom is featured in The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men, meaning DC seems intent on keeping these characters around, even if they don't have their own solo ongoing.

The first story is O.M.A.C., written and illustrated by former series regulars Keith Giffen and Dan Didio. I absolutely loved the adventures of Kevin Kho and Brother Eye - each issue was an homage to quirky, sci-fi books from the 60s and 70s that were about action and supernatural boogeymen. While this prequel story - "Origins Matter After Cancelation" - doesn't feature Kevin or his O.M.A.C. persona, Giffen and Didio take us back to when Brother Eye worked for Maxwell Lord and Checkmate. Mostly, Brother Eye gives Max an expository dump about how the satellite came to be and why. Of course, Max knows all of this, and info overloads normally make me cringe, this is Giffen and Didio's style for O.M.A.C., especially since this is only a short story intended to give more backstory that offers foreshadowing to future events. In that regard, it succeeds in spades.

Second at bat is James Robinson and Tom Derenick's Mister Terrific prequel. In essence, this short story reads just like the MT series - full of scientific jargon, quantum mechanics, and a willingness to let those two amazing elements do the heavy lifting. Especially in this story, wherein Michael Holt basically learns everything about his life by jumping through an uncalibrated portal technically linked to the Ninth Dimension. Robinson is careful to remind readers that this is one of many possible outcomes, leaving the door open for Michael's future to deviate from the visions of latter days. Of course, Mister Terrific can't be running around knowing his entire life's path, and Michael's memory is purged once he steps out of the malfunctioning portal door. I wish there was more about Michael Holt as a person and less foreshadowing for the future that only really served to clue in us readers. But for what it is, this tale does the trick.

I've never liked Rob Liefeld. Even in the 90s, I couldn't stand his artwork or his writing. It's one of the reasons I stuck to DC mostly during that era, and it's the reason I never got beyond the first issue of Hawk and Dove last September. Hawk and Dove is an example of a series cancelled because it was bad, plain and simple. The characters weren't engaging, the stories weren't interesting, and the artwork was classic Liefeld, which meant over-exaggerated everything. Liefeld smartly abjures the pencilling duties for this origins story, but it just makes his uninspired narrative all the more obvious. "Balance of Power" focuses on an argument between the celestial gods of Peace and War (how DC justifies their existence against the Greek gods in Wonder Woman is anyones guess) over the newest avatar of Peace, Dawn Granger. Similar to how Scott Lobdell info dumps on a regular basis in the pages of Teen Titans, Liefeld uses this debate between the gods as a means to give a character history. It's so damn boring! And it really doesn't even matter because I can't imagine DC is planning on reintroducing Hawk and Dove to any other book any time soon.

Next up is "Mother Machine", the origins story of the title's namesake, and prequel tale to Blackhawks, a series that could have been DC's equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D. if they had handled it better. Unfortunately, there's not much to talk about concerning this story - beyond revealing that the Blackhawks participated in the battle against Apokolips' armies, this is all about Mother Machine coming to be. Everything makes a bit more sense now, as it's obvious Mother Machine came from an Apokoliptan Mother Box. The ending tagline says we'll see more of Mother Machine in the future, which could spell the return of Darkseid.

The final story about Deadman comes from Tony Bedard and Scott McDaniel, both of whom do a fantastic job telling the tale of Boston Brand's first mission of possession. In a cruel twist of fate, the goddess Rama sends Boston to save the soul of the man who murdered him. Of course, Boston rejects his task until he's forced back into the situation and winds up saving the day anyway. It's a telling moment for Brand, the moment he recognizes that his actions have consequences, not only for his own well-being, but also for those he's charged with helping. Deadman doesn't get enough page time in Justice League Dark, though I supposed I should be thankful he's a recurring character at all. Bedard's "Instant Karma" reminds one of why the first five issues of DC Universe Presents are still the best.

As a whole, DC Universe Presents #0 is a good read. As individual stories, the tales about O.M.A.C., Mister Terrific, and Deadman are considerably better than those about the Blackhawks and Hawk and Dove. Read them all, or just read the ones you want. It's kind of up to you when it comes to an anthology format such as this. I only read one issue of the "Challengers of the Unknown" arc because it just wasn't my cup of tea. But I jumped right back in with "Savage", then regrettably "Kid Flash". DC Universe Presents #0 is definitely worth the buy, if only for the fact that you get five stories from five different creative teams at a whopping 48 pages.

GRADE

B-

(COMIC) JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #10

STORY: Jeff Lemire
ART: Mikel Janin

After a stellar reboot of the team in Justice League Dark #9, Jeff Lemire hits the brakes hard this month and brings readers an issue mostly full of technical details. The team has a new objective, which means they need to regroup and figure out a plan of action. Steve Trevor originally asked John Constantine to retrieve the map to the Books of Magic, but after discussing the Books' power, the team rethinks handing over the source of all magic power to the US government. But where to go that's hidden and safe? The House of Mystery, of course.

Constantine leads the group to the House of Mystery, which is situated at the crossroads of the mystical multiverse, to go off the grid while they figure out how to keep the location of the Books safe. A fun side story involves Deadman possessing Black Orchid, since Orchid's only involvement with the group is via Steve Trevor, the man they're now trying to avoid. Doctor Mist objects on the grounds that he too is an A.R.G.U.S. agent and a subordinate of Trevor, but he understands the importance of their new mission, and he's sure Black Orchid will understand as well. Mist doesn't have much of a personality beyond 'mysterious new character', but it's still nice to see an old school character coming out of the woodwork.


Andrew Bennett leaves, but Constantine uses this exit to explain that by accepting his initial invitation into the House of Mystery - which he "owns" - every member of the team is now bound to the House and can be recalled to it whenever Constantine desires. Zatanna's anger is exacerbated by the fact that the members of the team would have entered anyway, that deception wasn't necessary. I'm a little worried that John Constantine is turning into a big douchebag. It's one thing to be an asshole - apparently, people accept that some people just live their lives negatively. But it's a whole other matter when Constantine starts blackmailing and taking advantage of his own teammates. I understand the desire to make old Johnny a badass - he's a character that's always been reliable in that role. It makes no sense, however, to use him as the universal scapegoat for heroism wrapped in deceptive means. Basically, Constantine shouldn't always be the total anti-hero.


Madame Xanadu pops up to have another vision then whine about how no one listens to her. Xanadu really isn't that interesting in Justice League Dark. It seems in the centuries separating her current person from her younger self - in the pages of Demon Knights - have turned her into something of a lump on a log with premonitions of the future. It's unfortunate for characters who see into the future, but they rarely get developed beyond they gift of foresight. This is Xanadu's problem as a narrative character: she's solely based on her visions of apocalyptic futures.


The segue into the next issue begins when the team attempts to open the map to the Books of Magic, tripping a mystical lock on the map set by Felix Faust! Soon, the team is attacked by the Demons Three who are indentured slaves under Faust's command. The demons attack quickly before teleporting into an A.R.G.U.S. facility where Steve Trevor is interrogating Faust. This 'ah-ha' moment comes when the team realizes that Faust wanted to be in A.R.G.U.S. so his demons could help him break into the Black Room, the warehouse filled with all the mystical artifacts collected by the US government over the years.

GRADE

B+

(COMIC) JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #9

STORY: Jeff Lemire
ART: Mikel Janin

With a name like Justice League Dark, it's not hard to see why this series might not be high on most readers' radar. You've already got the main Justice League, along with the extremely competent Justice League International, as well as Teen Titans and Green Lantern Corps to round out the whole 'team-based series' quota, so why the need for an occult-related team and why call it the JLD? The answers: because the team is awesome and the name is as much a satire as it is an indicator of what these folks are actually up to. Alien invasion? Superman and Green Lantern have you covered. Some witch bending reality as a result of her inherent madness? You call these guys.

I came to Justice League Dark a little late, as my aforementioned quandaries regarding the series kept me from even flipping through it's pages. That, along with my normal aversion to horror-or-magic-based titles meant it simply wouldn't be something I would be interested in. So, I sit here at my desk a corrected man. Justice League Dark is great.

That being said, I'm mostly impressed with the last three issues, including the one for this review. For the past two months, Justice League Dark has crossed over with I, Vampire for "Rise of the Vampires", an event that resulted in Andrew Bennet becoming the new leader of all vampires, complete with a whole new host of awesome powers. This month, JLD begins it's third arc (technically) with a new team roster or "the new band" as John Constantine puts it.

Steve Trevor (from the pages of Justice League and the one who coins the term 'Justice League Dark') tasks a reluctant John Constantine to rescue stop a mad Felix Faust and rescue the reimagined Dr. Mist in exchange for five minutes in the Black Room, a single warehouse filled with every single mystical piece of paraphernalia ever ascertained by the United States government. With his own interests always at heart, Constantine rallies the troops to travel to Egypt.

I was only halfway impressed with the lineup choices for the first six issues of JLD. John Shade and Mindwarp were very odd choices to throw into the mix, and they get written out this issue as Constantine explains that he needs to reorganize his magical buddies. John's successful in getting Zatanna and Deadman back into the game, but chooses Andrew Bennet as a new ally, cashing in a favor to guarantee his loyalty. Madame Xanadu refuses based on her past repor, and newcomer Black Orchid - a shapeshifter - acts as Trevor's liaison and extra manpower when magic isn't enough.

Well, it turns out that in defeating Felix Faust, the JLD would also be able to retrieve a mystical artifact lost to the government before it turned up in Faust's hands. After a cunning sleight-of-hand maneuver, Faust is defeated and the team takes a look at the real focus of their trip: the map to the ancient Books of Magic.

GRADE:

A

Review: DC Universe Presents #5

Review




DC Universe Presents #5
Written by Paul Jenkins
Pencilled by Bernard Chang

** Since I've just now started covering DC Universe Presents, I won't be writing a full Review for the title's first arc, "Deadman: Twenty Questions." Starting next month, regular reviews will be written for each issue and it's completed arcs. ***

In the final chapter of "Twenty Questions",  the first arc in DC Universe Presents, Deadman goes philosophically head-to-head with the deceitful goddess Rama for the fate of his soul. If that sentence alone doesn't get you pumped about Deadman, I don't know what would.

Paul Jenkins has done a fantastic job reinterpreting Boston Brand's story for the 'new 52.' By giving Deadman a less altruistic path, Jenkins gave us a five-part tale of higher beings flawed by their very nature (much in the same vein as recent Green Lantern arcs concerning the Guardians of the Universe) and how a simple question can change everything. Jenkins spent the first four issues of DC Universe Presents delving into Deadman's abilities, his 'style' of heroism and how he fits into the new DC universe. At the same time, he wove a philosophical thriller based on the questioning the meaning of life and existence. What makes the arc so satisfying is that you don't need a background in critical analysis to understand the sentiments and feeling create by these questions, by pondering the essence of life. Jenkins' technique involves boiling down the various philosophical idioms presented to their most minimal form and presenting them in fun anecdotes. And while that made for an awesome build-up, it was great to see Brand speaking so frankly to Rama in this final issue featuring Deadman.

While Brand knows he can't "win", in as much as being free of Rama's grip, but at least he can alleviate some of the pressure before giving in to her control. Through a mildly complex series of connected ideas, Brand explains that gods feel no humility which means they could never think to ask one of the most simple, yet most important, questions mortals feel every day of their lives: "Why me?" Everyone has, at some point in their lives, felt victimized and that shared sentiment cannot be felt by those with no true humility. In a true 'thinker' piece, Jenkins crafts a damn near-perfect origin story for Deadman before letting him go to exist between the pages of other books until DC sees fit to give Brand his own ongoing.

Grade: A