We’ve seen in general that DC’s new52 is keeping pace with itself - the good books stay good, the mediocre books stay mediocre, and the terrible books stay terrible. While I’ve heard Stormwatch got way better, most quality jumps stayed fairly small. (I’m still not going to pick it up though.) One of the books that got marginally better with its sophomore issue was Justice League Dark.

Plot-wise, we’re still putting the pieces in place, so it’s still a little disjointed, but in this issue we get some magic dueling, as well as a piece on why Deadman, who is essentially a ghost, can’t be with his (living) girlfriend, Dove. The questions you immediately asked at the end of Brightest Day about their love post-boomerang are somewhat answered here, and definitely enters creepy, Swayze Ghost territory. While a little strange, it did perk my interest in Deadman enough to pick up the first two issues of DC Comics Presents, whose inaugural story centers on Boston Brand himself. Great cross-promotion.  

The only thing that bummed me out some was that other than the Deadman sections, I felt that the story is still moving too slow; something needs to happen soon. 

And right at the end, we get a fun twist with what seems to be a betrayal of a group that does not yet exist. Will it ever actually exist? Is this going to be like Seven Soldiers of Victory? I guess we’ll have to wait to find out.

One of the things I like about the book is how it subtly demonstrates everyone’s different magical and supernatural abilities - Zatanna’s backwards talking is different from Constantine’s rituals, which also feels very different from whatever Xanadu is doing with those cards. This is a great meld between Milligan and Janin and I look forward to seeing how they’ll work together when everyone is finally in the same room.

Speaking of the art, Janin and colorist Ulises Arreola do a bang-up job here. The style and colour palettes change with whoever we’re focused on, making for a distinct difference in tone, which of course helps the pacing of the book. The level of grit on constantine and enchantress compared to the smoothness of Zatanna and Xanadu make for a well-put-together book.

TL;DR

Another win, and possibly better than #1

WK

  1. willreadcomicbooks posted this