Justice League Dark #6 Review

Justice League Dark has reunited!  But can they stand each other enough to stay together or will they risk death to stay independent?

Justice League Dark #6

Each member of the JLD is having horrific nightmares.  Constantine is forced to watch London burn.  Zatanna is chased by a spell gone wrong.  Deadman is haunted by the death of Dove.  Shade the Changing Man is tortured by his loneliness.  They’ve all converged at Madame Xanadu’s home to learn more.  She tells them that these nightmares are both the residue of their fight with the Enchantress and the possible futures if they do not find a way to stick together.  They manage to stand united just enough against Shade’s latest attempt to create a version of his lost love.  Xanadu is in the process of telling them what their next move will be as a team when she’s struck by the frightening effects of Andrew Bennett, the master of DC’s vampires, being killed, leading to their crossover with companion horror book I, Vampire.

This book continues to surprise the hell out of me.  This is a set of characters that I’ve had so little experience with (to the exception of Zatanna whose books I read prior to the relaunch), but continues to captivate and satisfies every bit of desire I have for a horror book starring superheroes.  While the debate can continue whether or not these characters are truly “super” heroes, but their powers are central to fighting back evils that the regular Justice League can handle.

Add to that, they can’t stand each other.  Sure, Deadman and Zatanna may not have anything against each other, but the inclusion of Shade, who might be insane, and Constantine, who is definitely best described as an abrasive character, adds tension to the point where they just don’t want to be around one another.  Each of these characters are damaged in some way.  The only one that tries as hard as possible to hide the damage is Zatanna.  She’s outwardly confident, but doesn’t seem to be truly confident in herself.  All the other characters’ issues make them almost unapproachable in comparison.

From a character angle, this series is absolutely fantastic.  After all, how many team books do we really see where there just doesn’t seem to be any way imaginable that this group can honestly like each other?

Again, Mikel Janin just knocks the art out of the park.  There is no more beautiful book being published today than this one – at least from the big two and everyone else is going to have a real hard time convincing me this book isn’t the most beautifully drawn book in comic shops.  Every nightmare is damn scary but so gorgeous at the same time.  Every single page and every single frame is heads and shoulders above anything else at DC and has imagery that just sticks with me.  To me, it’s similar to what was seen in the first two Hellraiser movies.  No matter how grotesque the image you are looking at is, there’s an undeniable beauty to it that not only sticks with you but keeps you from turning away.  Janin is channeling the same mix and it simply enhances this book and Peter Milligan’s script to another level.

All that and now the series is entering a crossover with yet another gorgeous and interesting series from DC’s Dark corner of the new Universe, I, Vampire.  I literally can’t wait for next month.

More Justice League @ acomicbookblog.com/tag/justice-league

Tags: John Constantine Justice League Comics & Justice League Reviews Justice League Dark Mikel Janin New DCU Peter Milligan Slider Zatanna