By: Peter Milligan (writer), Mikel Janin (artist), Ulises Arreola (colorist)
The Story: Obviously, no one told Enchantress the importance of flossing.
The Review: If you’re going to gather a team of heroes, it seems fairly sensible to give them all something to do in whatever grand conflict you’ve concocted. I mean, if all it takes is a couple people to solve the problem, why bother with a team at all? This applies even more when writers use the fictional device of “fate” to bring the group together; if destiny has a part in leading each character to the table, doesn’t it follow that they must have some important role in the matter?
You may find yourself asking these questions a lot as you read through this issue. I know I did. Out of the six characters who show up to snap Enchantress out of her funk, only about two of them actually do anything particularly useful—and one of them is Mindwarp, who until this point you had no idea was even part of the team. It’s baffling why Milligan spent so little time developing Jay Young, yet gives him an active part in the mission while the others dawdle.
What’s the rest of the team doing? Shade, Zatanna, and Xanadu are too busy working through their personal visions, induced by Enchantress’ uncontrolled magic. In the end, they never even get close to the witch, so their presence proves absolutely useless. Deadman is hardly better. His entire contribution is a failed attempt to possess John Constantine, actually hindering the only person doing anything productive to save the day.
Ultimately, Constantine solves the whole problem pretty much by himself, with zero help from the rest of the “league” (unless you charitably interpret their service as distractions). This might have worked out fine, but we really don’t get much sense out of how Constantine figures out what’s wrong with June and Enchantress, nor how he sets them to rights again. Milligan simply lets magic be the answer, which is always arbitrary and never satisfying.
On a different note, I want to point out that there’s something faintly misogynistic about the way this issue pans out. Before I get into it, I want to state firmly that I don’t think Milligan intended it that way at all, but some unfortunate details do come together to paint a rather unflattering portrayal of women here. Consider Zatanna and Xanadu, each having to use, respectively, sexual appeal and gross manipulation to be effective players. Consider also June, portrayed as simpering, cowardly, and “self-centered” (in the words of a scornful Constantine), while her counterpart goes crazy. I dunno—seems a bit sketchy, if you ask me.
By the issue’s close, the team doesn’t really truly together except in body, and even then not for very long. You don’t see them working in conjunction with each other at all, really. We still have no idea why Xanadu gathered the team, what future she’s seen that’s turned her hysterical (“You don’t know how important it is th-that we all…stay together. …You can’t go!”), and exactly what she did to Enchantress in the first place, and why. For a team title, that’s quite a lot left unaccomplished.
Janin’s photorealistic art has been a mixed bag for this title. While oftentimes quite pretty and obviously well-crafted, it hasn’t always been effective at getting across more than the most soapish expressions, and the action often feels highly posed and sluggish, even with Arreola’s glowing colors.
Conclusion: With a sigh of regret, we come to the end of a series that promised much more than it ever delivered. For me, that means consigning it to the Dropped List, and hoping that Joshua Hal Fialkov can make better use of the characters when they cross over into his excellent I, Vampire.
Grade: C-
- Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: - Does anyone else find it random for Zee to give Shade a lecture on her magic in the middle of a storm of rotting teeth? “It’s not just the backwards spells. It’s pitch, tone, confidence…”
Filed under: DC Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Boston Brand, DC, DC Comics, Deadman, Enchantress, John Constantine, June Moone, Justice League Dark, Justice League Dark #5, Justice League Dark #5 review, Madame Xanadu, Mikel Janin, Mindwarp, Peter Milligan, Rac Shade, Ulises Arreola, Zatanna, Zatanna Zatara
Reading your review, I’m so glad I dropped this book.
I must say, I do feel regret over the money lost on this book, but that’s par for the course when you give new series a shot. Some work out, and some don’t.
they are not yet a team. Madam Xanadu has failed to bring them together. This seems to be just an introduction to the players and a brief look at what they could bring to the team (not yet formed)
I understand the theory. I just think that it makes no sense how, after five issues, you still don’t see them really work together, even a few at a time. Nor do you see what they bring to the table individually. Milligan really failed to give each character a strong sense of purpose or importance. They truly feel like a bunch of people just thrown together randomly–which goes completely at odds to the premise that Xanadu brought these particular characters to the table for a reason. I’m just not convinced, at this point, that there’s anything worth sticking around for. Maybe when Jeff Lemire takes over in a few months, I’ll change my tune; I’ll certainly check out what he can do with the property.
I dropped this book months ago because of slow development. I can’t wait forever for something to happen when they’re are better books out there or I can save some money.
Agreed. Even if the quality was better than what it is, the issue of economy would probably induce me to drop this series anyway, since there are stronger ones that deserve a look. (I’d check out Blackhawks if I was you; a surprisingly strong read.)
-You’re looking at it the wrong way; this is not a traditional team book. Also, Milligan is incredibly slow with developing plots if you didn’t know or haven’t read any of his previous work. Nothing major happens in five issues during his books.
I’m not saying I expect an explosion every two issues, or some gasp-inducing twist. But I do think that after five issues, if the characters haven’t really grown on me, and the plot doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, and I don’t see the point of anything, then that’s a problem. I am dreading what he’ll do to Stormwatch once he takes over that title; now that’s a series that had something cool going on every issue.