Justice League Dark #2 – Review

By: Peter Milligan (writer), Mikel Janin (artist), Ulises Arreola (colorist)

The Story: Enchantress would never have gotten into this funk if she had a sassy gay friend.

The Review: Now that DC has a whole host of supernatural books under their Dark group of titles, it’s easier than ever to distinguish which ones really float and which ones are clawing to get to the surface.  Milligan produced a solid effort on the premiere of this occult-based Justice League, but when taken side-by-side to his colleagues’ work in Swamp Thing or Animal Man, which feel effortlessly gripping, his story seems like it tries too hard to reach the same intensity.

A witch gone mad has a lot of potential for horror, but somehow Enchantress’ breakdown doesn’t take much hold on you.  Maybe it’s because her magical outbursts appear so vague that you spend more time trying to figure out exactly what she’s doing rather than being impressed.  Maybe it’s because her resentful rambling has too much of a drama queen’s theatricality to them: “My head hurts, my thoughts scramble, I’m suffering!”

Milligan tries very hard to convince you of the Enchantress’ insanity, but believe me when I tell you from personal experience that it takes more than affected dialogue to view someone as crazy.  It also takes a certain kind of crazy to really sell as frightening, and the witch’s ravings really don’t cut it.  All the more reason why Zatanna and Dove’s near hysterical reactions to her words feel pretty forced: “My God.”  “This is totally insane!”  “Shut up!  Whatever you are, shut up!”

Besides this emasculating behavior, the heroines also disappoint with how ineffectual they turn out to be against Enchantress’ madness unleashed.  For one of the most respected magicians in the DCU, you’d think Zee would fare better against Enchantress than merely shielding herself through meditation.  But considering half the League failed in their efforts, Zee’s ability to withstand a massive, direct attack might actually prove her skills.

Dove has good reason to come so quickly undone by her encounter with the babbling witch, what with beau Deadman acting like an utter dirtbag.  Now that he’s back to his usual ghostly self, the question of how his and Dawn Granger’s young romance will work out has to be addressed sometime, and Boston’s “solution,” while practical (in a twisted kind of way) also has a lot of creepy, gross implications.  Still, it’s an interesting plotline, one Milligan should pursue.

The issue’s artificial darkness isn’t helped by Xanadu’s narration: “Yes, many of them are half-insane.  Broken…  You know what it’s like, to destroy anything innocent that enters your life?  To destroy love?  You know what that does to you?”  Quite a lot of vague text for very little worth.  On the other hand, you’ll want to stick around to see where her loyalties lie; we’ve seen her skirt the line between good and evil before, so it’s a toss-up where she’ll end up this time.

Janin does impress as much here as he did in the debut issue.  Most of the close-ups reveal the flaws in his style: lines that flow just a little too perfectly, exaggerated features (like eyes that channel the Children of the Corn), a weird sense of perspective.  Arreola’s colors keep the title’s grim tone intact, however, and the glows he gives to magic look positively stunning at times.

Conclusion: At this slogging pace, it’ll be a while before all our heroes finally gather together as a team, and unfortunately, their gathering is exactly the shot of energy this title desperately needs.

Grade: C+

– Minhquan Nguyen

Some Musings: – With Enchantress’ line of, “My hexing is stronger than yours,” the rip-off of Scarlet Witch is getting just a bit ridiculous.  I mean, seriously—“hexes?”

– From Deadman’s total jerk-like behavior this issue, it’s clear why he hasn’t managed to purify himself for the afterlife just yet.  That said, I appreciate a man who has the balls to suggest a quasi-threesome while his girlfriend’s already pissed at him.