The image on the cover here? “Zatanna… Constantine… Burning Witches!” That doesn’t happen in this comic. I’m having a real problem with covers this week in general! Zatanna and Constantine don’t even come face-to-face in this issue and the only witch present is The Enchantress and no one burns her! How do things like this happen?
As for the comic itself, we find Zatanna tracking The Enchantress, only to be assaulted from afar by the witch. Zatanna whips up a spell of protection, but will it be enough? Next up, Deadman occupies a man’s body in hopes of using it to make love to his girlfriend Dawn Granger, also known as Dove from Hawk & Dove. She is horrified by the suggestion! Elsewhere, Constantine gets himself beat up in order to sharpen his powers. June Moon (the real one) turns up at Dawn’s apartment and asks Deadman to possess her, in order to see if any traces of The Enchantress are still within her. Dove storms off after Deadman makes another dumb move (men!), but soon finds herself embroiled in The Enchantress affair as well. Finally, another character makes a surprisingly dark turn. The next issue is teased with the line, “It gets worse!” Worse? How?!
This book is ‘Justice League’ in name only. There is no real connection to the other Leagues. At this point, this team doesn’t even exist yet. They’re all off on their own, doing their own thing. Only Zatanna has a real grasp on the situation. The Enchantress here is untethered to human June Moon, so she’s more powerful and evil than ever before. She vastly overpowers Zatanna during their battle! Obviously, it will take the combined might of all these magical heroes to wrangle her, if indeed she can be wrangled!
Zatanna is handled excellently here, as are Deadman and Dove. This depiction of Dove, in particular, is light years better than in her own book, which is a crying shame. I wonder if she’ll be allowed to stick around in this title? Her powers are magical… kind of. Boston Brand may come across in a less than stellar light, but that’s certainly in keeping with his character, so that’s a good thing. And as I said, toward the end, one hero makes a dark move that was surprising, but I suspect there’s more to the story.
I found this issue extremely enjoyable! The Enchantress’ threat seems very dire indeed! The characters are all written very well! Peter Milligan really gets the characters and does an excellent job giving them each their own unique voices. The artwork is simply gorgeous! Absolutely stunning! Hyper detailed and realistic. Gritty when necessary (Constantine’s scene), crisp and sharp at other times (Deadman and Dove). Mikel Janin draws amazing faces! They are consistent, look realistic and are unique. The face of the man Deadman possesses, in particular, struck me. Handsome, but not generically so. He had a very unique look to him, like a real guy! And the colors are fantastic as well, and compliment the art beautifully! Great job to Ulises Arreola! The special effects in particular seem to pop from the page! I loved the red aura when Deadman possessed someone!
This is another “Little Comic That Could.” I don’t think as many people are reading it as the other League books or other DC titles in general. But it’s a real gem! Tense, dramatic, excellently written and illustrated! Definitely worth tracking down, if you haven’t already done so!
Verdict: Buy
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #2
Written by Peter Milligan
Art by Mikel Janin
Cover by Ryan Sook
