Justice League Dark #1
Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Mikel Janin
Justice League Dark #1 is book I flat out loved. If you ask the general public what their idea of a comic book is you will probably get a myriad of different answers that all pretty much say the same thing. People may comment on the idea of characters with extraordinary powers in a general sense or they may mention specific heroes but it all adds up to folks seeing these books as stories of broad chested heroes who save the world. Justice League Dark #1 is not that type of story.
This is a tale of the broad chested heroes running into a problem that is out of their depth. JLD is about bringing in the bizarre to tackle the bizarre. In fact it feels, and I mean this in the best possible way, more like a VERTIGO book than a DC Comics main line universe story. For the uninitiated VERTIGO is DC Comics’ mature line of books. A place where their creators can peruse their darker side.
I love tales of the macabre and supernatural and Peter Milligan is embracing that ethos fully here. He has brought together Deadman, Madame Xanadu, Shade: The Changing Man, Zatanna and John Constantine to take down the Enchantress. The story is dark and chilling but has a rye sense of humor when levity is needed. Mikel Janin’s art is beautiful with a flowing painterly style that really draws you in.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Barely anything. I was excited to see John Constantine but that was only because of his film appearance.
VERDICT
Buy It- You might decide to skip this because it seems like a splinter story or cash in on the Justice League name. Avoid that urge because this book rocks.
