Milligan and Lemire take the book to new heights. So much better than the previous volume.
This review originally went up on the review blog I contribute to, here.
When last I talked about Justice League Dark, in my review of the first volume here, I’d mentioned that I was going back to the first issue in order to catch up to all the development that’s gone on in the book so that when I start reading the title’s “Trinity War” tie-in issues, I wouldn’t be lost as to who all these characters are and how they came together. In any team book, that element is always of special importance/relevance, since its almost always the core concept behind the team. With the Justice League Dark, it is all because Madame Xanadu saw some terrible event in the future and so she set about to bring together individuals with an affinity for magic and experience with the supernatural. Written by Peter Milligan, the first volume ended on a very promising and fairly strong note, despite some missteps earlier. It was a fairly good title all things considered.
The story, when it ends in the first volume, deals with the outbreak of Vampires in Gotham, and event which overlaps with Joshua Hale Fialkov’s own run on the title I, Vampire, of which I’ve read only the first volume. It was a decent enough title but not decent enough to keep me interested in continuing further. Consequently, the first two issues of this volume feel incomplete, since I didn’t read the corresponding issues of I, Vampire and because there was an abrupt creative change after #8, which saw Peter Milligan leave and Jeff Lemire enter.
Issues #7 and #8 were quite good, all things considered. Milligan seemed to be quite comfortable in his writing and the characters, so the story definitely flowed better than it did in the previous volume. I was also familiar with the characters by now, so that was an added bonus. Additionally, these two issues also guest-star both Batman and Batgirl, so they were even more enjoyable. The entire story being woven about the rise of Cain and the ancient Vampire Andrew Bennett (the protagonist of Fialkov’s I, Vampire) was a full-on urban fantasy ensemble adventure, very very different to the usual type of comics I read, which are all about superheroes and supervillains going full-out against each other.
Perhaps that is the big charm of this book to me. Either way, these were two fun issues, and I’m rather sad that Peter Milligan didn’t get to continue things. All the same, Jeff Lemire being brought on board to replace Milligan was a great choice in hindsight. The series definitely got much better with the next few issues.
This time, we meet some new memebers, such as Andrew and Black Orchid, the latter being a member of Amanda Waller’s ARGUS, a special military outfit that is commanded by Steve Trevor, former liaison to the Justice League. With Lemire, the book kicked into overdrive, with each issue outdoing the one before, consistently at that.
With Lord Faust in the picture we get to see a great natural villain for a book like this, and the scripts this time were epic and grand and really fun. The positive experience I had, matched with what I felt when I read Justice League #13-14, two issues on the Geoff Johns book that really turned that book around after a very disappointing second arc. Going up against Faust, we also get to see a lot more of Constantine, especially his manipulative side, and we learn more about what ARGUS does in its spare time. The entire story was definitely far more captivating this time around, and it held my interest throughout.
With an excellent pacing, I just couldn’t put it down, it was that kind of a book. I was initially concerned how the characters would be handled by a writer, but I needn’t have worried. Lemire carries on almost as if Milligan hadn’t left. Another plus-point for the volume.
In terms of the art, series regular Mikel Janin took a break for issues #7 and #8, for which the art duties fell to Daniel Sampere and Admira Wijaya. The two of them delivered two stunning issues. Their style was completely different from Janin’s and I even liked it better than his in a lot of ways. Their artwork had more of an old-school feel to it, whereas Janin’s happened to be much more modern. Although I’ll say that the credit for the last goes in a large part to colourist Ulises Arreola. They both set the tone for the rest of the series, but in their absence Sampere and Wijaya carried on wonderfully. I really wish that the two of them had been able to stick around for a few more issues, perhaps even complete this entire arc. That would have fun.
With Mikel Janin and Ulises Arreola back from #9 on and through to #12, the art retained the same trademarks as before, and it was really easy to ease back into the familiar. Not the best art I’ve seen in the New 52, but it did come close, all things considered.
Finally, there’s the #0 issue, which was drawn by Lee Garbett, an army of inkers, and colorist Pete Pantazis. This issue recorded how Constantine and Zatanna first met, and as an origin story like the issue was marketed as, I thoroughly enjoyed getting such an early glimpse into the characters. It set up a lot of things in hindsight, so I’m pretty fine with it. I’d even go so far as to say that I thought the #0 issue was immensely gratifying.
If there’s anything bad per se about the book, it is that the narrative transition between Milligan’s issues and Lemire’s issues wasn’t all that smooth. It was a complete about-face and this was frustrating. We also didn’t get to see any fallout from Milligan’s issues, which added to that frustration.
Overall, quite a good entry into the series.
Rating: 8.5/10
