Justice League Dark has thus far been a little bit of a hit and miss series for me. Granted it is only three issues in, but generally speaking by "Dark" they have meant either edgy or magical. I have read very little of Vertigo titles in my life, yet I am familiar with certain things that transpire there, and so when Constantine and Zatanna practiced tantric sex it was not a surprise to me. I am not opposed to the depiction of sex in any medium, just I feel generally it should be somewhat linked to the story and not gratuitous (the same could be said for violence in any medium.) What is interesting here though is that the depiction of something which is edgy and magical means some unconventional sexual relationships, and in effect incorporating in sex into this concept of magic. I am not at all familiar with the history of magic and sex being intertwined but in terms of the Western application of magic it is a fairly new concept, having been around since only the early 19th century. Of course there is a difference here and that is that the sex is not being used in the magic, but rather to feed into the overall feel of the characters and their lives. Of course there is also nothing wrong with the depiction, but it is is first of all strange to see it portrayed so much in one place and so often (in addition to John and Zatanna, there is also some storylines focusing on sex dealing with Deadman as well as with Shade.) For me though this use of sex as a source of tension between characters does detract a little bit from the stories themselves and seems to be taking the easy way out as opposed to making the characters and situations dark and edgy, and not just the love lives of those involved.
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