Comic Vine Review
0 CommentsJustice League Dark #15 - The Death of Magic, Part 1: Up is Down Review
4by Mat 'Inferiorego' Elfring on
Zatanna and Tim Hunter find themselves in another world and the rest of the JLD goes off to save them
The Good
Zatanna and Timothy Hunter teleport to the Wild Area after opening up the Books of Magic, a world where Zatanna's magic is super-powerful that changes everyone that is there. The rest of the Justice League Dark, in Nanda Parbat, with the help of Tim;s dad, try to find a way to get to them.
While this story is called "The Death of Magic," it's the most magic usage we've seen in a JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK book. There's a lot of mysticism and fantasy elements here, and it's a great fit to this issue and world.
More than anything, I really enjoy the art of Mikel Janin featuring Jeromy Cox's colors is my favorite part of the book. I love Janin's ink outlines around the characters, especially around the jawlines, giving each character a very defined look. The art and color on hair, in particular Constantine, is very good, and it's the variation makes it look natural. It's more than just a block of color on a person's head. One of my favorite panels in this issue is towards the end featuring a close up of Xanadu. There's an immense amount of detail in her face and it really does a great job at capturing what is happening to her at that time.
While nothing huge happens to Tim and Zatanna in this other dimension, other than Zatanna's powers are heightened, I love seeing how this world affects other members of the JLD. Each member is changed in one way or another depending on who they are. It was a very good effect, and it makes me wonder what else this dimension can do.
The Bad
Epoch? As in Epoch, Lord of Time? While I like the fact there's a lot of lesser known elements being added to this book, I feel like it's moving pretty darn quickly. Sure, the idea that this is a chaotic book because there's so much going on is pretty cool, but I'd wish it would slow down a tiny bit or the team would stay somewhere for more than an issue or two.
The Verdict
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK continues to be a fantastic book that incorporates lesser known elements from the DC universe into a well-written, well-drawn book. While I am not the biggest fan that this book jumps from location to location a bit too quickly for me, I loved the issue and I can put up with that as long as JLD keeps being this good.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue.
