REVIEW: Justice League Dark, Volume Two: The Books of Magic

PLOT: Vampires across the world have gone berserk, attacking anything with a pulse. Fearing her apocalyptic vision of the future has come to pass, Madame Xanadu mobilizes the team to intervene. But everything the Justice League Dark members know about how to slay a vampire is useless, for the world has changed.

REVIEW: So what can you add to Justice League Dark that could make it any better than it was the first time? Apparently the answer is Jeff Lemire, writer for DC Comics' New 52 Animal Man. Lemire comes in after Peter Milligan opened up the series with a pretty big bang, and there's no one better suited for this world that Jeff Lemire. I was so happy to see his name on the cover of the book, and boy was I right about the chemistry he has with this book. Where the first volume finds the characters and puts them together as a loose team, this one utilizes all of that and starts to create the world that our dark Justice League will battle. One of the things I love is that in this book, John Constantine sort of becomes the unofficial leader of this squad and his character is just so perfectly written for it, I was surprised. With my recent journey into Hellblazer, I wasn't really that sold on Constantine but this book is by far the best John Constantine story I've ever read. The title of this volume also has some relevance in the universe as Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic child protagonist makes a return to the page. I recently read that book and so seeing this character come out of obscurity for me and tie up again with Constantine and some new heroes was pretty cool. The art again was superb in this second volume, but the writing is so much better here. It's no wonder Jeff Lemire is one of the greater writers currently writing for New 52, and now I simply cannot wait for the conclusion of this current storyline that he has woven. Also, John Constantine bears an uncanny resemblance to the Doctor of Doctor Who in this volume of Justice League Dark, which I found cool as a recently converted Whovian but also slightly odd.

WRITING : ( 10 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 10 / 10 )

STORY : ( 10 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 10 / 10 )

REVIEW: Justice League Dark, Volume One: In The Dark

PLOT: The witch known as The Enchantress has gone mad, unleashing a wave of chaos that not even the combined powers of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg can stop. Shade the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna, Mindwarp and John Constantine may be our only hope - but how can we put our trust in beings whose very presence makes ordinary people break out in a cold sweat?

REVIEW: Anything dark is pretty much right up my alley, so I've been excited to see what Justice League Dark will be bringing to the table with DC Comics' New 52. So far, I've been really impressed with everything New 52, and of course there are a few titles that aren't that great but that comes with anything new. A great amount of these titles though have been amazing, so add to that success that there was a darker title that would appeal to me even further, and I'm fanboy excited. Now, I have read the first volume and while I can't say it is among the best of the New 52 titles, it is definitely one of the best in terms of artwork. Much like the current Batwoman, the art is phenomenal and it makes use of the entire page and non-traditional layouts. Just like the characters that comprise of this dark team, they're full of colorful and odd traits, which is really what puts Justice League Dark amongst the most creative of the initiative. I really liked the largely illustrated scenes where heroes and people of the dark both try and attack on the witch known as Enchantress, and seeing Superman in particular being torn apart by a witch tooth storm really explains why the Justice League Dark exists. New 52 put out a lot of renewed titles with a lot of the same old, so it's cool to see that someone out there by the name of Peter Milligan penned a different and unique super hero squadron. The art is by far the best part of this book, and now I'm excited to read the second volume as it is written by Jeff Lemire who has done amazing things with Animal Man. If you like the darker side of comics, John Constantine, or any of the darker elements of DC, this book is for you.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 10 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 9 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )