Justice League Dark

This series which started out with a lot of momentum and then dropped a fair bit of it in the second issue, picks it back up here and gets things going again.  This is still a team issue and the team is not together (or even ever really been unified) but the switching of focus from one character to another is handled pretty smoothly here and the story never suffers as a result.  the story follows two basic plot points, heroes that are trying to stop the Enchantress and heroes that are trying to assemble the team.  Thus far Zatanna has been the strongest character is this series, and while she is still portrayed in such a way here, the portrayal of the other characters is a lot stronger.  For those that remember Boston's actions in issue 2, they are mostly made up for here.  It was also nice to see Zatanna and Constantine back together, if only for a few panels.  This issue definitely gives the impression that this series is on track though, and is worth the effort. 

Art - The art of this books fluctuates from average to bad with no consistency. The colors are barely more than flats with highlight/shades that are barely a different shade/tone.

Story - Nothing bloody happens... EVER. None of the crap that is going on has anything to do with the story. This would be as bad as Mister Terrific, but at least some of this works out logically. The story of this freaking book is The Enchantress is causing magic to terrorize the world in an attempt to find June Moon and remerge with her... How does that plan even remotely make sense? Why would the Enchantress care? I mean it made sense before because the Enchantress is etherial and has no physical body, but no... that's not the case apparently. So there's no reason to marge with June because only benefit is to have a physical body... if it's about looks then go after someone else that doesn't know you're coming. But me talking about it like that may make you think that something to do with this story is happening. It's not. In the last 2 issues there have been 3 pages that move this idea forward. The rest is all just whining and complaining other crap that has at best a slight connection with that event... ad that event makes no sense.

Oh and I really hope it was some sort of joke on the 2nd page where the paramedic declares Zatanna dead... And even that is used just to have Constantine show up, wake her up, magic f*ck her, (yes that is what it is) and then vanish... for no reason, adding nothing to the story, and not even being interesting.

Characterization - Every single character is whining and complaining about something save for maybe Boston and Constantine who are trying to get laid apparently.

Recommendation - This is worthless trash. Don't buy this garbage v.v

Though the characters remain well written and the art is fantastic, Justice League Dark almost seems to have forgotten it has a story it is supposed to be telling. Here at the end of this third issue of the series, the story feels like it is in the same place as it was in the first.

I praised the first issue for being a great and well paced first issue for a team book. It wasted no time in setting up the crisis and introducing us to the full cast of characters. What happened? The second issue took only a few baby steps from that point, lightly nudging the characters toward one another while the crisis carried on. This issue does even less, featuring only a few of the cast coming into contact but not really in any substantial ways. This certainly isn't the coming together of the team.

Back in the days of hype for the New 52, Dan Didio took shots at the practice of decompression and writing for trades, indicating it was something that would not be so prevalent in the new DC Universe. So much for that. Justice League Dark is just one of many DC titles guilty of the practice, and only a few seem like they are honestly focused on making each issue substantial in its own right. Personally, I don't have anything automatically against writing for trades. I get that not every story can be condensed into one or two issues in a satisfying way. I like when writers take their times with stories so that they can include interesting character reactions and stuff. So, I like the good kind of decompression. I don't think what Justice League Dark is doing qualifies for that, though. Peter Milligan stretches out the story so much here that it becomes hard to even see what the story is supposed to be.

I find myself asking some questions I really shouldn't have to in this issue. Even really basic ones like what is going on? Is the Justice League still trying to find the Enchantress off-panel, or has the chaos she's been causing stopped? Did Zatanna ditch the League in the first issue to do anything specific? Because she seems to have gotten pretty easily sidetracked. In fact, what is the big crisis going on anyway? I mean, what is the Enchantress actually doing? Is there anything more to it that just random, disturbing magic?

A lot about the story takes a back seat to showcasing some of the characters' sexual tendencies. We get a lot of Deadman and June Moon's sexual tension. John Constantine and Zatanna have their tantric fingertip sex. Shade the Changing Man makes out with his rotting imaginary girlfriend. Why? I have nothing against any of these things individually, but it makes for an imbalanced reading experience to have them all at once for no apparent reason and at the expense of furthering the story.

There are some good moments, though. The aforementioned scene with Shade the Changing Man is interesting in its own freaky way. Shade continues to be one of the more interesting characters portrayed by Milligan here. Deadman is probably the other, as Milligan seems to have an honest portrayal of Boston Brand. Deadman is not a perfect guy. The moment where he saves June Moon from falling to her death is a cool one too.

The real appeal of this issue probably stems from Mikel Janin's pretty art, though. This issue, with its lack of any story momentum, would have been a real drag to read without the nice art. While there are some panels where the art looks like it has gotten rushed, it still holds up for the most part and is enough to carry the issue.

Justice League Dark has lost almost all of the momentum it gained with its first issue and will seriously need to pick up the pace in the next few issues if it wants to regain any of that. The story has screeched to a halt, leaving its characters feeling aimless and meandering in their roles. The book can do a lot better than this.

The Good: I have NO idea what it is, but the cover is much more effective.
Mikel Janin's art continues to be a perfect fit for this series. The opening scene defines everything. The haunting realistic interpretation of the mysterious implied magic. The dark road in a dead forest. On a pragmatic level, you KNOW that nothing mystical will leap out at you, but you can't help but feel the compulsion to feel fear of the unknown. The artwork for this series makes pretty much everything exactly that kind of 'real.'
Zatanna and Constantine unite, and the threads of this team are beggining to be sewn.
When Deadman leaps into action, the panel layouts jump into a nice acrobatic layout for the page.
June Moon is such a tragic character. I just want to give her such a big hug.
Deadman tries to hold the reigns, but oddly enough it's Shade the Changing Man who commands this issue. The sexual tension he feels with his non-person girlfriend, leading into a deeper masturbatory deep metaphorical thing, is intensely well conveyed, but nearly lost in the mental chaos that is Shade. And then he's sent on a journey by the most mysterious chessmaster Madame Xanadu. And he doesn't know what he's supposed to do.
 
The Bad: Things are a little slow overall this issue. Enchantress' threat isn't really something too overt this time, and now that we've come full circle back to Shade, I realized not a lot has happened.
What's with the Flashpoint comics sitting there? What does that REALLY mean?
 
In Conclusion: 3.5/5
Things kind of fell back a bit to how they began. There's still some great new stuff, but there's a bit of a lack of validation here. I'm interested, but I don;t feel like progress is really happening quite enough. While last issue got really deep, I don't feel that Shade's problems cut quite as painful as Deadman's.

First of all, I’ll admit it - there's not much in the way of story progression in this third installment of Justice League Dark. We still don't know what Enchantress is really after (probably power though, right?), and Xanadu is still keeping the tarot cards pretty close to chest, so we don't have a full team yet, and it feels like it'll be a couple of issues more before we do. Having said that, this is still an entirely enjoyable series so far, that suggests a solid story ahead filled with magical bouts and character drama on the weirder side of the DC Universe.

I think putting “Dark” in the title of your comic book attracts a certain type of comic book reader that may be costing Milligan and Janin some acclaim unnecessarily. With the exception of maybe the Video Game industry, no medium attaches more significance to the description of “dark” as comic books. Books like this or it’s medieval counterpart Demon Knights are what dark in comic books should be about. A little horror, some adult themes, a cuss or two for good measure – they don’t have to be deconstructed commentaries, or allusive head scratchers. The Miller, Moore, and Morrison apologists of the world may find the series lacking substance, but they’d be missing out on a fun ride with unusual characters that leaves you fully entertained, even if you might not reference it in your "Defense of Comics" essay for your snooty English lit professor.

I think the lack of plot development can be excused for the slow burn that Milligan sets in introducing us to this darker side of the new 52. This is a startup series, and while comic book vets may be bored by expository dialogue that reveal character origins and various idiosyncrasies, Milligan does a good job at keeping them short, and natural. Sure, there are probably a number of ways to introduce fans to a cast of characters while keeping the plot moving (something Cornell is doing with Demon Knights for example), but I have no problem with Milligan taking the time to flesh out the team with side stories before they all get together to take down the Enchantress (or will they recruit her?! Probably not). Each of these characters has had their fair share of panels so far, and each of them feel right. I could do without squeezing the Brit out of Constantine with every bit of dialogue he gets, probably made even more noticeable because of the chapters title, “Shibboleths and Alcohol,” but aside from that the dialogue is natural, with an appropriate distinction between character speech that works well for each.

Janin’s artwork is another reason to stick with this title, as the bold character outlines and facial detail create a very tangible world that makes the spell casting and horrific moments seem more exciting, more dangerous than your Jim Lee or George Perez titles. Janin’s Deadman and Constantine in particular look to be favorites of his, as they look better than I’ve seen them since the Moore/Bisette days! Constantine looks like your average fictional PI with enough grit and tousling to suggest he’s doing a little more than spying on cheating spouses, and Deadman’s gray, rotted face and white eyes are showing more expression and depth than Ivan Reis’ resurrected Boston Brand did throughout Brightest Day. Not a knock on Reis at all, but his Boston Brand just never did much for me.

One gripe I do have that’s dragging the development of this story down for me is the portrayal, and immediate disappearance of the Justice League. The teeth storm was cool, but it’s hard to accept that Superman would get attacked by teeth and then just say “okay forget it this is nuts,” which is what his omission from the story since that attack pretty much says. Instead of Superman explaining why/how he bailed on that situation, we got the infallible Batman talking it out a bit with Zatana before taking it into her own hands, when Batman hadn’t even been at the scene. In the coming issues, I hope to see more of why it isn’t necessarily that Superman and the Justice League can’t handle the Enchantress, but that it’s better suited for the new Justice League Dark. Otherwise, Miligan and Janin still have me excited to follow Justice League Dark into the more supernatural and mystical DC Universe, and I think once this team comes together and sets out after Enchantress, this will be one for the top of your pull list.

Synopsis: Madame Xanadu continues her plan to gather the group together to face Enchantress.

What's Good?

It seems like Peter Milligan did his research when it comes to these characters. Take Constantine and  Zatanna. Now that Constantine is part of the DC universe, their past relationship is hinted on. Other than the book Zatanna: Everyday Magic, this is only my second time seeing Constantine and Zee together, and I'm somewhat bothered by their previous relationship only because Zee can do much better (just saying).

Meanwhile, Madame Xanadu is bent on trying to getting these group of individuals together to take on Enchantress. In many ways, Xanadu is a central character for this series and I would also say that she's the unofficial leader. As she puts it, the cast are connected by a shibboleth and she is just trying to get them together as soon as possible.

Mindwarp is a character I'm not familiar with. After doing some research (and thanks to an Easter egg in this issue), I found out that he's a new character that was introduced in Flashpoint: Secret Seven.

It should come to no surprise that the art team shines once more in this issue. Ulises Arreola shows off some impressive coloring that are very expressive with the type of spells featured by each characters with Changing Man standing out the most. Mikel Janin's work with the characters also stand out just as well as the environments (Don't think I didn't notice Zatanna's tattoos). Character expressions are nicely well done.

What's Bad? 

As much as I dislike the change to Boston Brand's personality, I still think it's awkward that Deadman and June Moone are getting close after what happened in the last issue.

Overall:

Seems like we're getting to the climax this first story arc. Justice League Dark has been a blast so far and it can only get better in the next issues to come.

Shade the changing man recruits an ally for the team while John and Zatanna mill about and Deadman comforts June Moon.

The Good

Thank God for Deadman, because if it weren't for him this book would be a complete dud. Deadman gets to know June Moon a little better in this issue and even winds up possessing her in an impressive display of his former training as an acrobat.

The art on this book is a little hit and miss, but generally very good, especially the drawings of Enchantress and Deadman. I'm not a big fan of Zatanna's look in this book, especially since she used to have such an iconic appearance, but I'll deal with it.

There's a legitimately creepy/weird scene with Shade the Changing Man in this issue.

I think the story is finally going to kick into high gear starting with next issue, and I'm geniunely excited to see where it goes.

The Bad

I can't care about Shade the Changing Man. It's unfortunate that they're giving him such a big role in this first arc, becuase his whiny reluctance irks me.

I still feel as though we haven't really gotten anywhere in this series yet. I'm not against slowly building up tension in a story, but at a certain point you have to wonder if Pete hasn't forgotten that he needs to keep his audience interested long enough to get to the finale he is planning.

The Verdict

This continues to be a decent title with a lot of potential that seems to just be going to waste. I really hope we're rewarded for sticking it out through this awkward growing phase, but I'm starting to lose faith. Still, there are moments of greatness tucked into this book.

The Story: 

John Constantine saves Zatanna while June Moon seeks help from Deadman and Madame Xanadu requests a task of Shade that he's not too happy with. 

My Thoughts:

Justice League Dark is a series full of exciting characters most of which I have little to no experience with until now. I liked the first issue and was sort of let down by the second. The third issue picks back up peaking my interest. I'm enjoying this exciting series and this large cast of characters Peter Milligan is scripting.

I could see some people criticizing the pace of the story by saying the overall plot isn't advancing as fast as they'd like and that the story seems to be all over the place. It's sort of reminiscent to the Demon Knights series from DC. At times I will admit I feel as if the overall plot isn't advancing, but it's so easy to get wrapped up in all the fun along the way which makes it hard to criticize such things. I'm enjoying the ride and having fun with all these characters which you can see Peter Milligan is as well. I do find myself asking a lot of questions while reading this which I feel aren't explained. Whether that's on purpose or not I couldn't really say. With JLD, you have to take it for what it is quite frankly. I'll say right now, this isn't a series for everyone. It's probably going to be more difficult to enjoy if you've never heard of these characters before. 

I actually liked the dialogue and interaction between Deadman and June Moon more than I liked the dialogue between Deadman and Dawn Granger last issue. The part with Zatanna and John Constantine was sort of interesting. I'm not entirely sure what to think about it at this point. I'd have to say my favorite part would be with Shade and Madame Xanadu which lead to Shade venturing out on his task from her. I think while reading this you get the indication this story will materialize more clearly at a slower pace. You can see things very slowly coming together. 

The art is one of my absolute favorite qualities about this series. Mikel Janin has a style so elegant and majestic, it's a perfect fit for this series. What I really revere are the colors. Ulises Arreola is the series colorist and has been doing a phenomenal job thus far. His colors are so vibrant and full of energy which capture all the magic and insanity this series is made of. There were so many great panels within this issue it's difficult to pick my favorite. 

This is a fun and exciting series I'd recommend picking up if you're into the sort of elements that this series is comprised of. The well rounded cast makes this such an unpredictable and thrilling series to follow monthly.  

Rating: 4.5/5

The Good

This series has been my favorite of the New 52 for me. I'm not sure if its because it brings my favorite character into John Constantine or its just to d@mn good of a comic to miss. Well this month's issue started to pick up again. We see some more familiar faces. Also we see more of what Enchantress is planning. The cover I love. I also like the catchy slogan at the bottom. This has been my favorite branch of the Justice League. I hope it doesn't end too soon.

The Bad

They still don't have the Constantine most people know. The alcoholic, smoking, and swearing Constantine, but he is still interesting. I hated how this introduced Mindwarp. I'm hoping next month they the team finally together. Its starting to get irritating just seeing each team member by him or herself. Other then that this comic was good.

The Verdict 4/5

If your a Hellblazer fan I recommend you stick to Hellblazer, but keep reading if you like how they have John. I also recommend this to fans of any of the characters from Zatanna to Madame Xanadu. They each get there fair share of pages. So I highly recommend this, so go pick it up at your closest comic book store.

Story/Writing

Out of the first three issues, this one seems to have the least direction. There's some development of Zatanna and Constantine's relationship after Constantine arrives to unfreeze Zatanna from her protective spell, but it's only touched on very briefly. Madame Xanadu sends Shade to recruit Mindwarp to the team, who is supposedly quite threatening (I don't know much about Mindwarp outside of the Flashpoint series, Secret Seven), but he doesn't really catch my interest - even though I do like his astral projection power. Deadman and June Moon pal around and get a little cosy together, hinting at a possible relationship down the line (or, in the least, camaraderie). And Shade's M-Vest (or, perhaps Shade's mind) is beginning to slip.

The pacing felt very uneven and the reader would have to pay very close attention to catch many of the more some essential details (for instance, it took three re-readings before I realized that Zatanna and Constantine practiced maithuna together in order to unlock her memories.)

Also, the word "shibboleth" is possibly used incorrectly. A shibboleth is not a mark. It's something that is out-dated or no longer in use, typically pertaining to linguistics: for example, the french word knight was pronounced "ka-nig-get" but sometime after anglo-saxons adopted it, it was pronounced "nite". So the french pronounciation is a shebbolith. Unless if I'm wrong on that detail, or there is some other definition of the word, it seems like a major misstep by Peter Milligan.

Art

I'm impressed by Mikel Janin's realism, layout, and backgrounds. But I think that his rendering of magical energy (the Vertigo form of "Kirby Krackle." "Vertigo Vaporization?") is a little off in this issue. And with all of Shade and Mindwarps energy flying around, it gets to be a bit too much. Still, I really enjoyed how Zatanna and Constantine's spiritual and sensual connection was depicted. And even though the cover is lacking compared to other ones (the figures seem particularly generic), Ryan Sook is still amazing to me and I can't help but love his work.

Synopsis 
  
The introduction of Mindwarp! June Moone and Deadman grow ever closer! 

The Good 
  
The dialogue and emotion bounding from character to character is in place, from Shade the Changing Man begrudgingly tracking down pseudo-incorporeal serial killer Mindwarp to the scene between ex-lovers Zatanna and Constantine, to lovers-perhaps-to-be June Moone and Deadman - the emotion and depth of the various links and relationships between the cast have been firmly grounded. I like also how they are yet to be a fully integrated team, each one of them has their own fears and agendas (the increasingly paranoid Madam Xanadu especially). 
 
The introduction of Mindwarp was done well so I thought. Having Shade brought into the middle of a stand off between the serial killer and his next victim works well with the fact that Shade is disgusted at having to recruit such a lowlife individual. It enforces the ragtag nature of this so-called team, and how they learn to put aside their differences and work cohesively is an issue I look forward to seeing develop.

The Bad 
 
Whilst I felt the characters are starting to grow on me more, the more overarching plot this issue hasn't. It seemed more of a collection of different scenes and situations merged together without any real sort of connection. We have yet to see any real "team action", which is something I hope starts to happen soon.  
 
The ending too I found a bit obvious, judging by the opening scene. Shame that.
 
Conclusion 
 
I think this issue suffers from being a "mid-issue" if you get my drift. However the character development is sound and hopefully next issue will start pushing the story further forwards!