Somehow, Ray Fawkes and Jeff Lemire have turned Justice
League Dark into one of the most entertaining books in the New 52. A bunch of
the credit goes to the character shuffling that has put the lineup into a
pretty good situation. As of trade #3, the team consists of awful team leader
John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, Zatana, Deadman, Black Orchid, and
Frankenstein.
Frankenstein is definitely my favorite of the bunch. His
stoic attitude and head-on approach makes him a great contrast in a book
focusing on unclearly powered magic characters. What exactly does Constantine
do? What are the limits of Zatana’s spells? I couldn’t tell you. But I can tell
you that when a demon or monster shows up, Frankenstein will say something cool
and chop its head off! That’s my kind of hero.
The first half of the collection has the team joining Tim
Hunter in traveling to an odd world where magic is outlawed and science rules
all. The villains aren’t very memorable on their own, but the well-realized nature
of the world makes the story more interesting than it has a right to be. I
found myself invested in the team as they were captured and experimented on by
the science-dominated antagonists. I don’t know Tim Hunter from Adam, so that
helps too. I have few if any pre-conceived notions about these characters from
the old DCU continuity.
The second story focuses on the theft of the House of
Mystery, Constantine’s home and the HQ for the Justice League Dark. We get some
new 52 carnage as the world of magic goes insane, but I’m getting better as
breezing over that stuff. The best part of this story, once again, is
Frankenstein. He seems to really enjoy his work smashing monsters. The Flash guest-stars
in this arc too, and he does fit in remarkably well. Barry gets a few caption
boxes, and his sense of belonging with the JLD is a pretty great idea. I also
like the weighty sense of responsibility that Madame Xanadu has to carry
through her entire existence. Being an immortal really does seem pretty tough!
Mikel Janin and Graham Nolan continue to deliver a
consistent look for the JLD. Flash’s bright colors and sleek look fits right in
to the established tone of the book. Black Orchid and Amethyst are both nice
additions (although Amethyst disappears pretty quickly); they both have “generic
super-hero” looks about them. Really, with Frankenstein, Amethyst, and Orchid,
this almost feels like the much-missed Shadowpact title I liked so much.
Superheroes
fighting magic. This GOOD comic keeps the concept humming.
No comments:
Post a Comment