JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #1

The witch known as The Enchantress has gone mad, unleashing forces that not even the combined powers of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg can stop. And if those heroes can’t handle the job, who will stand against this mystical madness?

Shade the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna 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?

Written by PETER MILLIGAN
Art by MIKEL JANIN
Cover by RYAN SOOK

Price: $2.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 2.3%
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Avg Rating: 3.8
 
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Comments

  1. Is Shade the Changing Man the same character as the Shade from Starman?

  2. OK I feel like I’m about to miss the boat on this book. What’s the reason why everyone’s pulling? What am I going to miss if I don’t pick it up?

    • I don’t know any of the characters, except for what I read about Deadman in last week’s DCU Presents issue. I’m simply buying this for the preview art I saw weeks ago. The preview is a good read also.

    • Do you like stories with magic? This book is going to have a ton of it. Many of DC’s magical characters are going to be in this book.

    • Yeah, I mean, it seems that a lot of folks are anticipating this book so I’m gonna go ahead and pull it too. I want to see what all the hubbub’s about!

    • FishBoy: it’s kind of like Justice League Vertigo which is an interesting idea

    • Like Edward stated:
      It’s the Vertigo mystic world mixing with the DCU world.
      So far, post Vertigo titles like Animal Man and Swamp Thing have hit it out of the park.
      I’m hoping this one follows with that successful trend . . .

    • Cool, you guys have got me interested. I’m attempting to try new things with the relaunch, instead of just buying all the bat books like I used to do. So far I’ve been overall pretty happy with a few exceptions.

  3. So this is the same madame Xanadu from Demon Knights? That will be really cool. So far they have done a great job tying the books together.

  4. Had some interest in this title but the preview on IGN completely sold me. Cannot wait.

  5. Link for the preview? Anyone?

  6. If Milligan’s writing is half as good as on Hellblazer, this will be a great book.

  7. Milligan’s Constantine in Hellblazer is perfect. I’m curious to see how different he’ll be writing this version of the character.

  8. Really looking forward to this one.

    Too bad Baron Winters from “Night Force” isn’t involved with this team. Always thought he was an important part of the magical side of the DCU.

  9. Nothing compares this week to how excited I am to try this book out. I love the idea of a magic JLA. It’s interesting to see it for this week since the rest of the week feels pretty light – it might give it a chance to really shine.

  10. Definitely the most anticipated book of the week for me. Many of my favorite characters in one book. It’s a much darker Shadowpact and that makes me very happy.

  11. So much potential with this one! Can’t wait!

  12. My most anticipated book of the entire relaunch!

  13. I was going to pick this one up too, but again, the preview killed it for me. Gorgeous art, but I am not feeling the synopsis based on the five preview pages enough to warrant spending $2.99 on it.

  14. Am I the only one impressed by the fact that this title is fighting it out with Flash for most pulls of the week? Once again, DC seems to have really scored well with the Dark line.

    I’ve been mixed on Milligan in the past, but have high hopes for this series. The art looks fantiastic as well . . .

    • Agree about Milligan.
      He can get too weird sometimes (I’m still not sure what happened in Milligan’s Shade run . . . )

    • You are right about Milligan, but he has been killing it on Hellblazer. I hope he can keep that fire going with this Constantine.

    • I read sections of Shade back around the time Vertigo was first introduced. I thought it was good, even though I never really understood what was going on. Someday, I’ll pick up the first trade and give it another shot. I keep hearing great things about his Hellblazer run, and will probably give a try, if this title lives up to expectations. Not that I really need another book to buy . . .

  15. . . . and Dear Lord!
    Look at the fantastic Sook cover!!!!

  16. I think this will be my POTW. Hope so!

    I’ll miss the look the Enchantress had in Flashpoint, but I guess it was a bit corny for this supposedly more-sophisticated series.

    Fingers crossed that Amethyst and Black Orchid (the original) show up here as wel.

  17. I’m really looking forward to this. It sounds like it will be crazy fun. I have no idea what to expect.

  18. My 2nd most anticipated title, after Demon Knights. I love this cast and I hope both books do well. I love Madame Xanadu and Zatanna.

  19. I trust Milligan with this book, hopefully the American scream returns lol

  20. This is one of the few I ordered upfront. Mainly because it’s Milligan doing Shade again which I have very fond memories of. Hopefully it lives up to what I’m wishing it can be! Only other person I’d think would be potentially as good a writer on it would be Gaiman.

    • Please don’t tempt me with the thought of how cool it would be if Gaiman wrote a story arc for — damnit, I’m wishing for it now . . . 🙂

  21. Very ready for this to surprise me. High hopes.

  22. Psyched!

  23. I hope at some point in time Zatanna brings the tah kcab! Black Orchid would also be a great addition to the team.

  24. I love Zatanna but I’m totally unfamiliar with all the other characters in the book. Gonna be a game day decision.

  25. Z is one of my favorite characters in the DCU for sure!! I hope they did not change her all to much since there was a great building of her character before Flashpoint in her own book which I thought was fantastic. I also like the traditional Z costume and hope it does not dissapear forever; nothing like a top and tails!!
    I have one big question; when does JLA #2 come out? I thought it would be this week since it is the end of September or are we getting scammed this month already?? This would be a perfect time for both of these books to come out in the same week..
    Anyway hanging on for the final week of 52: $155.48 will be the total for all 52 at the end of this week and I must say that I am headed into the second week dropping only three titles as of now. I have to get myself down to a more managable amount soon, maybe after week three Bwah-hah-hah!!

    Just sayin’,

    K

  26. i love everything about this book, but the cover. IM just not feeling the cover, but the interiors blew me away

  27. Man I hope Zatanna is a sex crazed empowered woman!

  28. This is easily my most anticipated book of the relaunch. It’s the only one I pre-ordered, everything else I’ve picked up at the shop if it looked good. I am hoping to get some great mystical adventures out of this team. I loved the Matt Wagner run of Madame Xanadu and hope that that character gets a good spotlight in this series. I really enjoyed Demon Knights as well so I have real high hopes for this series.

  29. OK, I’m looking for suggestions. I’m planning to pick this book up. I’ve got Demon Knights and Stormwatch as well. If I were to get a fourth book regularly, which one would gel the most with the other three? It might be cool to do one of the ones from last week, but I won’t limit suggestions that way.

    Some options I’ve considered:
    Wonder Woman: It sounds like it has a gods and magic kind of feel to it.
    DC Universe Presents: It appears the first arc is about Deadman, a character in Justice League Dark. (This one could maybe just be on an arc by arc basis)

    Any other suggestions? What’s the one book I’d be missing out on with only the aforementioned three on my pull list?

    • Animal Man, Batman and Wonder Woman are by far the best of the relaunch. It really depends on your preferences though. Wonder Woman is gritty greek mythology. Batman is, well Batman, but a pretty darn good Batman title. Animal man is a superhero title with a horror bend. The titles go down a $1 next month digitally, so most of the titles are only $1.99. Maybe you should check out a few of the #1 titles before you decide on your “regular” titles.

    • I’d say Animal Man or Frankenstein, if you’re looking to stick within the Dark line. Venturing out of that realm, Batman was just as outstanding as everyone says that it was . . .

    • Wonder Woman gets my vote. It’s been my favorite book of the New 52.

  30. This book gets my vote for over-hyped book of the new 52 for this week. I am not implying that it will be bad, I am really looking forward to this title.

  31. I’m curious about this one. Not longer having a separate ongoing, this will suffice for me to get my Zatanna fix

  32. With how fantastic most of the Dark line has been, I have high hopes for this one

  33. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and predict that this title will be chosen as ‘Pick of the Week’ by iFanboy.

  34. As many other ppl here this has been one of my most anticipated if not the most

  35. I’m curious about this one, but Justice League Dark is an awful title

  36. Really good book solid 4 stars. I felt Superman and cyborg seemed a little stiff but everything else was promising a great story.

  37. What a great first issue. I’m on board.

  38. I hope all of you who’ve been seeing Madame Xanadu and Zatanna in comics for 20 years enjoyed this, but don’t for a second make the mistake of thinking this was a #1 issue.

    • It was. It says it on the front cover and everything.

    • I have read the last 5 or 6 issues of Zatanna but I didn’t have any problems following the story. My only exposure to Madame Xanadu was Demon Knights. Never read Shade or much Hellblazer except way back in the 90s.

    • Jim, shh!! it’s not cool to say continuity can be confusing. Just jump on, right? jump on

    • i really glad you said that, because i kinda felt the same way. I felt this was more of a continuation than an introduction. I really want to like this team and this book, but i don’t find it very accessible or as interesting as previous Zatana books.

      Art was pretty nice.

    • Really, what was so confusing about this issue? Anything we don’t know is because the story hasn’t told us yet. If, by the end of this story we don’t have some idea why the Enchantress has gone mad, who June Moone is and what that last page is about, then fair enough.

      But for this issue alone I don’t see what was confusing. I’ve never read a Madame Xanadu comic before, but the first line tells me she can look into the future. I’ve never read anything with Shade in it, but I know he wears a ‘vest’ that has the power to change reality because a) Madme Xanadu says so and b) he has created a girlfriend for himself. I have limited knowledge of Enchantress, but we’re told she’s really powerful and been driven mad by something and appears to be hiding in a envelope. Bit weird, but not too confusing.

      A battle scene shows that the Justice League aren’t equipped to deal with magic. I know a lot about Zatanna, but even if I didn’t this issue shows she’s friends with Batman and casts spells by speaking backwards. It also implies there’s something ‘wrong’ with her, which intrigues me and I’m sure that’ll be dealt with later.

      The Constantine page is entirely self-explanatory. I know who Deadman is and that he’s seeing Dove, but even if I didn’t that is only one page that will undoubtedly go further in the next issue.

      The last three pages show that Shade and Xanadu know each other and bad things are happening that they’ll have to set up a team for.

      In the story we are introduced (admittedly slightly briefly) to the core members of the team, given a lot of unanswered questions, posed with a threat and left with ‘Let’s form a gang’. It may not be to your taste, it might not engage you, but it is hardly impenetrable literature and – being only really familiar with one character – worked for me as a number 1.

  39. I thought this was a fantastic start. I was confused at first by the “jump right in” manner of narration, but once I read through the whole thing I realized most of it was visions of Mdme X, it made a lot more sense. Milligan delivered the story to the reader much like how Mdme X gets her psychic visions, jumbled so that it requires some thinking over to put the pieces together. The art was different than I expected, but by the end of the issue I was really diggin it. Also I thougt it was funny that we get to see more Justice League members in this book than in JL #1.

  40. I liked the art, especially when the Enchantress was on the page, but the story part left me underwhelmed. Felt like a constant – “something big is going to happen… just not in this issue” Not a very exciting “getting the band together” type of story. And my knowledge of these characters range from – I’ve read a couple issues of the particular character to I’ve heard their names before. I wanted to dig it more, but it might not make the cut for next month.

  41. Not my thing. I found the story kinda boring and slow. The art was stiff and looked very computer-y. It looked like screenshots from a slightly better version of ReBoot. And while I love ReBoot, it doesn’t work for this.

  42. Every woman in this was drawn stunningly attractive.

    and the superman costume actually worked in this one

  43. Kind of disappointing, really. The story barely moved, the art was incredibly stiff, and the actual Justice League got more panel time than pretty much any one else. I’ll try and stick around for at least the first arc, only because I want to see what they do with these characters, but overall, color me bummed out.

    • Totally agree. Not much story, I feel this issue suffered from the $2.99 page limitation.
      It was such a fast read – too many splash pages . . .
      I gave this a 3 of 5 . . . but will definitely stay with it since this was just a setup issue.

  44. I loved this! I thought the art was stunning. I am very well-acquainted with all the principal characters, so I don’t know how well I would have liked it as a newcomer, but it was great to see some of these people. I’m very much looking forward to the team dynamics to come. Zatanna and Constantine are a couple of my favorites, and I’m curious what their relationship will be nowadays.

    I was quite surprised that Superman’s new costume worked for me here. This is the first time it has.

  45. Hmmm… Not for me. I can see why folks might be into it, but this had too much dark and creepy style, when it needed more character and heart. Again, just not my thing.

  46. 4 out of 5 for this issue and lets see what happens?? I have seen titles like this come out of the gate strong with a lot of hope for the future and then sooner than later it drops right off and it looses its way. I really loved the art and the story with no complaints; a very good read.

    Just sayin’,
    K

  47. I really enjoyed this. It’s clear Milligan is using the first arc to assemble the team (which is smart), but that doesn’t stop him from telling an exciting story. It was creepy, touching, and funny. The stakes were high, and the plot points were unpredictable. Which is exactly what I want from a comic about magic.

    The art fell a bit flat for me during the quieter moments. But other panels were dynamic and detailed. I can get used to it.

    I was looking forward to this one, and it didn’t disappoint. Bring on #2!

    PS: Did anyone else get a strong Spectre vibe in that full page of Enchantress facing Dianna, Clark, and Vic in front of the farmhouse? I wonder if that’s an accident. I would love for this book to introduce the new Spectre.

  48. I thought the art on this was wonderful.

  49. Enjoyed this quite a bit, but I agreed with an earlier comment that some of dialogue was a bit rough.
    Great art and some creepy imagery too!

  50. you either like a magic based book or you don’t…I keep trying but I always end up confused…

  51. A must read for any oldschool Shade fans. Great to see Shade back, and the stuff with Kathy was fun!

  52. Just like with Milligan’s Shade trades (c’mon Vertigo, release the rest!!??), it takes a bit of thought and reflection, but I thought this was a solid intro and looking forward to seeing more. Should read marvelously in trade form.

  53. The winner of the best line written for Week 4 of the New 52 goes to Peter Milligan with the following from JLD…

    “The local powerstation threatens to explode when it is imbued with consciousness.. and gets bored.”

  54. I have found that so many people are complaining about the 52 having too much exposition in these first issues. This is one book where it didn’t do that. They didn’t throw too much at you in regards to who all the characters were. I like that the first issue wasn’t front loaded with all the logistics of JLD. If we need to know them we will find out as character exposition or even better, in a story arch.

  55. The whole issue I was thinking “Who the hell is the Enchantress?”

  56. I gave this book a 4 out of 5. As a first issue, I did.’t feel lost
    I also thought that this was the first time Superman’s suit was drawn well.
    Great group of characters and should be an entertaining read. Liked the story and art and would be willing to see how this plays out.

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