Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In The Dark Review

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK VOL. 1: IN THE DARK

by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin

"Another jolly day in the life of John Constanitine..."

Justice League Dark has been an excellent title, and it only got better when Jeff Lemire replaced Peter Milligan as writer. This is a review of the first six issues of Millignan's run. Compared to Lemire's tenure on the series, this was much darker, and felt more like a Vertigo title than a DC title. The Enchantress makes for a pretty creepy villain. The stuff she does ranges from strange and weird to downright scary. A cow giving birth to a mechanical meat slicer? Yuck. Milligan does a great job with the dialogue, and develops most of the characters well. However, there are a few problems I have with the book. One, he doesn't devote enough time to Mindwarp. I still have no idea what role he was supposed to play in the story. Seriously, even Dove got more screen time (if you will) than he did, and she isn't even a member! Two, it doesn't exactly feel like a team book. It's more like Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers, a bunch of people fighting the same evil. My last problem: THE PACING IS SLOWER THAN MY MOM WALKING UP HILL WITH A BALL AND CHAIN ON HER LEGS, WHILE GIVING MR. T A PIGGYBACK RIDE. I mean, over the course of the first 5 issues, character introductions take way too much time up, and there are too many useless exposition scenes. Worse, the final encounter with the Enchantress is very anti-climactic. It only takes up like, 6 pages. Thankfully, for everything Milligan gets wrong, he gets something right. The sixth issue is an excellent teaser of things to come, and Deadman and Constantine are hilarious. Now, a bit of speculation. I believe DC meant for Lemire to join the book with the 9th issue from the beginning. Why? The cliffhanger from the first issue ties directly into Lemire's first arc, and I have a feeling Enchantress will be back...

Now, the only other two artists I would hand this book over to would be Ryan Sook and Frazer Irving. You're probably asking: But Ryan Sook, Frazer Irving and Mikel Janin don't have similar art styles at all! Yes, but I believe they are the only artists that are capable of capturing the kind of tone Peter Milligan was going for. Janin does a great job balancing the two feels of the book. The comedic scenes feel... comedic and the darker scenes feel... dark. The colors of the book help the art jump off of the page. Now, the best part of the art has got to be how crazy Janin can make things. From the creepy bug scene road from issue two, to the awesome first page of issue 5, Janin nails these scenes.

Justice League Dark Vol. 1 is a great buy. It's not as awesome as Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E, but it is still amazing. 

STORY: 3.5/5

ART: 4.5/5

VERDICT: 4/5