(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
(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
(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
(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
(w) Jeff Lemire and Ray Fawkes
