blurred_view's Justice League Dark #1 - In The Dark, Part One: Imaginary Women review

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    So... Why Would a Ghost Like Deadman Hide Around a Corner?

    The name may not be great, but Justice League Dark more than makes up for that as it expertly sets up a new team of supernatural heroes in the DC Universe. Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin have really put together a high quality new book here that capitalizes on the new open season on Vertigo characters.

    This was a book I didn't know what to expect from. At first, the idea of throwing a bunch of Vertigo characters together on one team seemed like just a disaster in the making. Milligan's Flashpoint: Secret Seven also left me very unsure about his ability to handle a team book like this. There were people assuring me it would be great, but I could still see the ways in which it could easily go wrong. Thankfully, Milligan and Janin avoid those ways with this issue.

    Understandably, the first issue occupies itself mostly with character introductions and a good job is done overall. Milligan prioritizes Shade the Changing Man, which is the right call because he is obviously the biggest challenge to get new readers familiar with. Shade's scene is probably the best one in the book, and while not everything is explained about him, readers definitely get a good picture. The basics of Madame Xanadu and John Constantine are covered succinctly but effectively. Deadman gets only a very brief appearance, but even it does an impressive job at setting him up in the series, though there is a lot left unexplained about him. Zatanna probably gets the least explanation and is the main one it seems that Milligan expects readers to already be familiar with.

    A funny thing about this issue is that it's also the first we get to see of the regular Justice League in the new continuity. It's not the entire team, but it's more than we got in the first issue of Justice League and they are actually a team here. It's not a huge deal, but I am amused by this.

    Milligan includes a lot of creative magic phenomena in this issue that really helps sell this new concept. If you're doing a magic book, you've got to do some good magic. It's just like needing to do good science in a science fiction book. Milligan does it here for the most part. There are a couple instances that don't really work, but they are easily overshadowed by all the interesting stuff Milligan has happening in this issue.

    There is a moment in this issue that gets a little too close to something the book really shouldn't go for, which is devaluing the main Justice League to make this team look good. It's one thing to have Justice League Dark exist to specialize in the magical threats that the Justice League aren't so well equipped for. It's another thing to make the Justice League look incompetent against magic to pump up the value of Justice League Dark. For the most part, Milligan avoids doing this. No, the Justice League don't do great against the Enchantress, but they don't look like fools. It's the scene with Zatanna and Batman where this starts to become a problem. It's too extreme to have Zatanna forcibly prevent Batman from accompanying her into the situation as if he can't handle it simply because this is magic. The whole scene just comes off as forced and getting too close to making the main team look bad so the spinoff team can look good. Granted, it's a small part of the issue, and I hope it only becomes an increasingly small part of the series.

    Along with that, this issue does seem to have an unfair expectation that readers have some understanding of the Enchantress, which even many regular DC readers don't have. If you don't understand the situation with Enchantress and June Moone, the main crisis that is pulling everyone together in this issue will probably be a bit confusing.

    The art by Mikel Janin is really good. There are a couple panels with the Justice League that look kind of off, but the rest of this issue is beautiful. This is high quality art, and it really suits the book. There's not much to speak of when it comes to redesigns either. Only Zatanna has really been changed, and her new look honestly looks like something she would have worn before too. It works fine and remains appealing. It really looks more accurate as to what a stage magician would wear today too.

    Justice League Dark is off to a fantastic start. Even though the team doesn't come together in this issue, the characters are all introduced very well. Plus, we even get to see the main Justice League. This makes an excellent flagship title for DC's new Dark line of comics and is up to the standard of the other high quality books within it.

    Other reviews for Justice League Dark #1 - In The Dark, Part One: Imaginary Women

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