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

EXTRA! EXTRA! (JAN 16-22, 2013)

All-New X-Men #6

(Bendis, Immonen)

After a five-issue opening salvo, Brian Michael Bendis begins his second arc with All-New X-Men #6 by focusing on Jean Grey and Cyclops as they each start to adapt to the modern day through trials by fire. For Jean, those trials involve dealing with her newfound powers, while Scott discovers a completely new world once he drives off the school grounds with Wolverine's motorcycle. Bendis does an excellent job playing Jean and Scott off of Kitty Pryde and Logan respectively -- Kitty teaches Jean a psychic cool-down technique Jean taught Kitty years ago, while Logan begrudgingly tries to be civil toward a young Scott Summers fearing for his safety because of something he hasn't done yet. I was worried, early on, that Bendis wouldn't be able to sustain All-New X-Men beyond the shock value of the original five X-Men being in the present, but he's proved that there's a lot that comes with being time-displaced amongst your future self, and that's what's going to keep this series alive for a long time.

GRADE: 9/10

Batgirl #16
(Simone, Benes)

I mentioned in my review of Batman #16 that "Death in the Family" is getting a bit long in the tooth, and that fact is quite evident in Batgirl #16, an issue that not only grasps at Joker straws for plot advancement, but also calls into question the entirety of Joker's actions in general. Joker explains to Barbara (after saying it to basically everyone else in one form or another) that Batman's allies are his weaknesses and the only way to make him stronger is to eliminate those weaknesses -- so Joker decides to kill the others and...marry Batgirl? The whole idea is cool from a theoretical standpoint, but the concept of Joker wanting to maim and wed Batgirl is just kind of silly; there's no real reason for Joker not wanting to simply kill Batgirl, and the inclusion of James Gordon Jr. is the only thing that kept me reading, as he was obviously the wild card that was injected to make a rather mediocre "DotF" tie-in worthwhile. I like Gail Simone, but her event crossover issues have just not been that good, and it all comes to a rather uninspired conclusion here in in Batgirl #16.

GRADE: 5/10

Demon Knights #16
(Vendetti, Chang)

Demon Knights #16 moves forward 30 years to reconnect the Demon Knights with each other once again to take on an impossible task: defeat the monster Cain before he can reach the island of Themyscira and turn the Amazonian population into his unstoppable army. Every member of the original team is imbued with some sort of agelessness, except for Al-Jabr, who has built a grand city of innovation in Spain, though has grown old as well. Robert Vendetti does an exceptional job catching up readers to the current status quo without giving too much away (what's up with Ystin and Exoristos' relationship going all sour?), as well as making the issue accessible enough for new readers to be able to understand who these characters are and why they're together. I've heard rumor that Demon Knights is next in line to be cancelled, and if that's true it would be a real shame because Paul Cornell -- and now Vendetti, as well -- has built up such an amazing a focused vision of DC's history.

GRADE: 8/10

Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #16
(Kindt, Ponticelli)

It's the final issue of Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., which is sad because it's such a great series, but it's good because it means Matt Kindt and Alberto Ponticelli poured their all into issue to send the series off in good fashion. "The Monster Bomb" really doesn't differ much from the Creature Commandos' normal missions -- they're tasked with stopping a dirty viral bomb from being dropped on Central City by a terrorist cell known as The Plague -- so it's Karl Martin's parallel story that makes the issue more interesting. Martin's testimony to his superiors as to the legitimacy of monsters running around a major city land him a forced leave of absence to help deal with his delusions of a shadow organization employing cliche monsters to do in hours what federal organizations do in years. Matt Kindt decides to play it up for this series finale, giving us two sides of the same story and offering a more relatable situation that also acts as a way to bow out with dignity.

GRADE: 8/10

Indestructible Hulk #3
(Waid, Yu)

Slow-burn is the name of Mark Waid's game with Indestructible Hulk -- he has been taking deliberate steps to frame Bruce Banner's new designation as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., allowing the idea of the Hulk being an employee of an international peacekeeping/espionage organization to sink in a bit. That being said, Indestructible Hulk is moving a little too slow at times, and the action sequences are few and far between; case in point, this month's issue only really has one big fight scene, and it's over in a matter of panels. I'm predisposed to like Waid's Indestructible Hulk purely based on what I've seen the man do with other characters, but I'm worried there might be a lot of self-fulfilling prophecies and writing to expectations instead of what's good.

GRADE: 7.5/10

New Avengers #2
(Hickman, Epting)

If high-concept, science-saturated, ethically-complex storytelling isn't your cup of tea, New Avengers is going to be your least favorite series of the year -- Jonathan Hickman packs so much into New Avengers #2 that it might take you more than a fair share of rereads to understand what's really going on. Because Earth seems to be the constant incursion point in a chain reaction of imploding universes, the Illuminati gathers to discuss how to deal with the rapidly approaching end of all existence without resorting to killing other worlds to save our own. Mister Fantastic, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt, Namor, Captain America, Black Panther, and Iron Man all have their work cut out for them as they must keep the multidimensional apocalypse a secret, and also because one of the flash-forwards might possibly have revealed the origins of the coming Age of Ultron! Hickman and Epting have developed a stunning series with this new volume of New Avengers, and it's only going to get bigger and better.

GRADE: 9/10

Superboy #16
(DeFalco, Coello, Pinna)

There are really not adequate words to describe how bad Superboy #16 really is; aside from the lazy art and completely nonsensical plot points, Kon-El's personality goes through wildly changing iterations, Flash's internal monologue is some of the stupidest I've read in months, and "H'el on Earth" has become more confusing as opposed to more clear, which is what a story is supposed to do the farther along it gets. Throwing the Justice League into this issue is a blatant play for sales of a book that's simply bad -- Kon is basically just the League's pawn this issue, and their overall plan to use his telekinesis to overpower H'el's forcefield around the Fortress of Solitude is so dumb it's laughable (and Batman admitting he doesn't know what to do?!?! WHY TOM DEFALCO? WHY!?!?) There's really not a whole lot to like about Superboy #16, whether you're coming in as a new reader intrigued by "H'el on Earth", or you're a regular buyer who keeps up with the book. It boggles my mind as to why DC is so flippant with how they're handling their flagship teen hero and making him a cardboard cutout of a protagonist in order to pump up a severely fractured and uninteresting story.

GRADE: 2/10

THE WEEK (JAN 16-22, 2013) [update]

For all you regular readers out there, I want to apologize for not updating very much last week. It was a busy, stressful week that only got busier and more stressful with each passing day. It all culminated with a 5 1/2 hour drive to Washington D.C. on Sunday and the same drive back on Monday. With that being said, I'm ready to get back on the wagon and bring you as many reviews as I can this week! Enjoy!


FEATURED REVIEW
Savage Wolverine #1
(Cho)
Frank Cho tackles one of the two Wolverine titles for 'Marvel NOW!', taking the X-Men's most dangerous member to the Savage Land for some good old animalistic fun times! I mean, it's Wolverine and Shanna the She-Devil vs. dinosaurs? Count me in.

Batman #16
(Capullo, Synder)
I really hope DC keeps Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo together on Batman for as long as possible because that pairing is just a dream. Early reviews already call Batman #16 not only a turning point for "Death of the Family", but also an excellent use of a villain that's recently become a little over-exposed.

Batman and Robin #16
(Tomasi, Gleason, Gray)
It's Batman vs. Robin! Last month, Peter J. Tomasi left us hanging with a Joker venom-infected Batman coming after the Boy Wonder! Who will win? Joker, obviously. Because the villain always wins right?

Captain America #3
(Remender, Romita Jr.)
A lot of people aren't feeling Rick Remender's Cap' after all those years with Ed Brubaker, but I've thoroughly enjoyed both issues so far. I've always been a fan of John Romita Jr.'s artwork, and Remender's Dimension Z epic is just that: epic.


Indestructible Hulk #3
(Waid, Yu)
It's Hulk's first mission as an official Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.! What could go wrong? Mark Waid is just one of the best writers currently working, and Leinil Yu's amazing, beautifully chaotic artwork just makes the book.

Saga #9
(Vaughan, Staples)
There's not a whole lot to be said about Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' amazing Saga that hasn't been said about a thousand times. But I'll try because I love it so much.

Threshold #1
(Giffen, Raney)
Spinning out of the events in Green Lantern: New Guardians Annual #1, "The Hunted" begins as Jediah Caul is tuck in the Tenebrian Dominion with a giant target on his head! While I really wasn't impressed with "Threshold #0" in GL:NG Annual #1, I'm more interested in Giffen introducing DC's space-faring heroes, as well as Larfleeze's back-up story written by Scott Kolins!

Extra! Extra!

All-New X-Men #6
(Bendis, Immonen)

Batgirl #16
(Simone, Benes)

Demon Knights #16
(Vendetti, Chang)

Frankenstein - Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #16 - Final Issue!
(Kindt, Ponticelli)

New Avengers #2
(Hickman, Epting)

Superboy #16
(DeFalco, Silva)

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

THE WEEK (OCT 10-16, 2012)

Before I start, I want to just say how excited I am that Marvel is finally, finally, finally bringing back Young Avengers! Announced early on Tuesday, the second volume of the team's adventures will be written by Kieron Gillen of Uncanny X-Men and Journey Into Mystery. I absolutely loved the original run of YA, written by Alan Heinberg and drawn by Jim Cheung. The Young Avengers is hands-down my favorite superhero team, even when they were handed around Marvel's creative network like a village bicycle before returning to their creators' hands with The Children's Crusade. Seriously, if you haven't read any YA, do yourself a favor and read the original 12-issue run, the Presents series, and The Children's Crusade. You will not be sorry. And check out CBR's exclusive interview with Kieron Gillen and artist Jamie McKelvie about their Young Avengers starting in January 2013.

Reviews
AvX: Consequences #1 of 5
(Gillen, Raney)
The fallout from Avengers vs. X-Men starts here! Even though Uncanny Avengers is also getting started this week, AvX: Consequences will act as a bridge between Marvel's main event this year, and 'Marvel NOW!' I'm ready to see what Kieron Gillen has in store for this first issue of this series, mostly because I want to read as much Kieron Gillen as I can before his Young Avengers run starts next year!

Green Lantern Corps #13
(Tomasi, CAFU)
"Rise of the Third Army" continues this week...there's not much to say about the whole event yet, because this will be only the second of 16 issues dedicated to the story. In Green Lantern #13, the soliders of the Third Army are only featured in a few panels, but that's okay because this even is about the RISE of the army and then the battle with the Green Lantern Corps. Peter J. Tomasi has not been impressing me as of late, so I'm interested to see where his branch of this crossover event will take us.

Superboy #13
(DeFalco, Silva, Lean)
Oh boy; Superboy is crossing over with The Ravagers. That might be the most boring hype-up I've ever seen. Both of these titles are so lacking in their current state, I cannot even begin to imagine the ridiculousness that will come from them crossing over. Wow. At least Kon-El will have to deal with Jocelyn Lure (the detective after Superboy who was instantly forgettable as soon as she was introduced) before heading off to find Caitlin Fairchild, so that might be something...

Team 7 #1
(Jordan, Merino)
I was impressed with last month's Team 7 #0, and I - like many other DC fans - want to know what's happened in the last five years between the emergence of superheroes and the current-day status quo. Team 7 is poised to give us a lot of cool confrontations and team-ups with various superheroes from all over the DCnU.

Dark Was The Knight
Batman #13
(Snyder, Capullo)
"Death of the Family" starts HERE! Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo kick off the five-month long epic return of the Joker to DC's 'New 52' universe. While most of the tie-in titles will get two or three months of crossover issues, Batman is gearing up for a full tale lasting the entirety of the event. Scott Snyder is a genius with Batman, and his "Death of the Family" will probably go down as one of the best Batman stories ever told. "The City of Owls" storyline is high up there, and the Joke is such a fascinating character that Snyder will definitely work wonders with this opportunity.

Batman and Robin #13
(Tomasi, Gleason, Gray)
The last arc of Batman and Robin was a big letdown, and last month's "Issue Zero" was just a rehash of Damian Wayne's life story. Peter J. Tomasi is very much dropping the ball with both of his helmed titles for DC right now, and Batman and Robin still has two months before it's "Death of the Family" crossover, so he's got some time to right the boat before delving into the Joker's madness.

Marvel NOW!

Uncanny Avengers #1

(Remender, Cassaday)

'Marvel NOW!' starts here! After the events of Avengers vs. X-Men, Captain America sets up a new team, evenly populated by Avengers and X-Men. This is going to be the premier title from Marvel for a while, so I'm just glad it's Rick Remender taking the wheel. Plus, Havok is on the team. HAVOK! I know, I know...

Shadowy Happenings
Demon Knights #13
(Cornell, Chang)
The Demon Knights are down in Hell! Literally! Two months ago, Etrigan basically flipped a massive bird to the rest of his compatriots and transported them all down to Hell to answer to Lucifer. Of course, Jason Blood stays in Hell while Etrigan is on the mortal plane, so it will be interesting to see if they'll interact while the team is duking it out against the Devil.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #13
(Kindt, Ponticelli)
While Buddy Baker and Alec Holland are stuck in the realm of the Rot for a year, Frankenstein is battling the surge of Rot overtaking the planet! Frankenstein: AoS has been fantastic so far, and this crossover with Animal Man and Swamp Thing's "Rotworld" makes it even better. On top of all that, Franky is poised to join the Justice League Dark in upcoming issues.

The Phantom Stranger #1
(Didio, Anderson)
The Phantom Stranger strikes a deal with Demon Lord Trigon! And where there's Trigon, Raven will follow. Yes, it's the long-awaited reintroduction of Raven into the 'New 52' continuity! Recent interviews point to a Raven-centric, Teen Titans spin-off starting sometime next year, and this is where it will all begin!

Extra! Extra!
4-SENTENCE REVIEWS are no more, as they are being replaced by 'Extra! Extra!', the section of titles that don't get standard reviews and also don't fall into an specific category of new columns. This isn't to say that these issues are any less good (or bad, in some cases) than the titles featured under the standard REVIEW header, it just means that I found a way to more eloquently talk about them in four sentences better than I could in four paragraphs. It's lika a haiku - sometimes creativity comes out of restrictions.

Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan #2 of 4
(Straczynski, Higgins)

The First X-Men #3 of 5
(Adams, Gage)

The Ravagers #5
(Mackie, Churchill)