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

Spotlight: Constantine #1

(w) Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes     (a) Renato Guedes

Constantine #1 by Jeff Lemire, Ray Fawkes, and Renato Guedes is a solid read. All the right parts are there and technically speaking, everything lines up beautifully. Jeff Lemire  and Ray Fawkes hit all the right narrative beats, and Renato Guedes' artwork fits the series like a glove; rough around the edges to look just realistic enough. Realistically, Constantine #1 will be praised and hailed as another success for superstar Jeff Lemire. And that sentiment wouldn't be wrong. Lemire has a phenomenal grasp on fantasy storytelling -- as evidenced by his work on Animal Man and Justice League Dark -- so it would seem like a natural fit for him to helm the solo series for John Constantine.

What doesn't make sense is that Constantine #1 feels underwhelming. Perhaps it's that Lemire's been writing the character in the pages of JLD for over a year and I've become comfortable with Constantine in a team book, or maybe it's that the snarky Brit doesn't seem to have the same edge he did in Hellblazer. I don't want to discount Lemire's impressive work on this issue because it is good; good enough to make me want to continue reading the series. One of the most impressive aspects of the issue is it's self contained nature that simultaneously sets the stage for Constantine's ongoing adventures. Lemire knocks the ball out of the park in terms of being new reader-friendly, and he conveys the Constantine charm well enough to warrant more than just a passing once-through.

Part of why I'm interested in this series is that Lemire will be writing Justice League Dark, Green Arrow, Animal Man, and Constantine all at the same time, which means there's likely to be a crossovers and guest appearances between these titles in the future. While judging a title on it's potential for future payoff might seem somewhat redundant, it's safe to say that a cohesive comic book universe is part of what makes the medium so much fun. You can find Batman popping up in Metropolis or Coast City because he lives in the same world as Superman and Green Lantern. Similarly, when a creator is charged with multiple titles, it's not uncommon to see said books intermingle even more than the standard fare. And if Lemire's work in the 'New 52' thus far is any indication, we may be in store for some epic crossovers. 



** SPOILERS AHEAD **



Constantine #1 begins "The Spark and the Flame" which sees Constantine up against the Cult of the Cold Flame, an organization that has been floating around for a while now. The general plot progression throughout the issue isn't anything to write home about, but Lemire and Fawkes keep things interesting enough with the dialogue and Constantine's inner monologue between actions sequences to keep the story flowing. One of the biggest revelations is that Zatanna's father, Zatara, was a leader of the Cult of the Cold Flame alongside three other sorcerers who were once agents of good. It's only mentioned briefly in a moment of exposition, but it's an important piece of the DCnU history about a character who has had so little development/backstory in the 'New 52' it's almost painful. 

Of course, the bigger idea gleaned from learning about the Cult's leaders is that they all used to be good men who were corrupted by magic. Ethical quandaries have always been a staple of Hellblazer, and it's fortunate that this element of the character and his overall narrative tone has been kept intact in this new series.

The final pages of Constantine #1 prove that, in a very real way, Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes have a firm grasp on John Constantine. There's a lot to love, not only regarding the story and the characters, but also about the story structure and openness to future potentials. I love the ideas presented in this issue, I just struggle with the presentation itself and how the writing feels like it's vibrating at a frequency only slightly off from our own.

GRADE

8/10

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

(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