The Justice League Dark team is stranded on Epoch, a world where magic naturally runs wild, but is kept in check by technology-powered storm troopers. Most of the team has been mystically mutated and taken captive, but Zatanna and Timothy Hunter are free and have allied themselves with the remaining mystical forces of this world. Timothy had given up his magical abilities, but now seems fired up to reclaim them and lead these magical beings into battle against their technological oppressors. But will this world even survive? It seems that the JLD team’s very intrusion into this world threatens to destroy both Epoch and Earth!
Illustrated by Mikel Janin, this book is consistently one of the prettiest comics on stands, month after month. His work is richly detailed, smooth… the special effects just pop off the page… this is a great looking series!
In terms of story, this is sort of a stopgap, leading into the big confrontation which will most likely come next issue. Mostly, we see the heroes being interrogated and Timothy Hunter stepping up as the powerful mystic he was born to be. However, Madame Xanadu experiences a vision that indicates that not everyone will emerge from this epic battle intact, although those that don’t emerge are ambiguous. The one person safe seems to be John Constantine, who is getting his own series. And probably Zatanna. Just cause.
This is a fringe book. The “Justice League” in the title doesn’t seem to be generating that much buzz, but it’s quite well written and absolutely gorgeous to behold. It’s definitely worth checking out, if you aren’t already.
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #17
Written by Jeff Lemire & Ray Fawkes
Art and Cover by Mikel Janin
