!!SWEIVER (of Comics) | Justice League Dark #9

Fuck science.

Written by: Jeff Lemire
Art by: Mikel Janin
Colors by: Ulises Arreola
Cover: Ryan Sook (his covers rock)

THE BASICS:

- Fresh start, fresh team.

- Snarky lead character = fun.

- B-Listers everywhere, and they rule.

- First layers being peeled back to...

- Something pretty big.

RUNDOWN:

I've been picking up weekly issues of Justice League Dark since #1, and more than once I've been back and forth of whether to drop it when some of the weaker stuff was released under Peter Milligan's writing. But Milligan had a decent run with the cast of characters. When you throw in magic-based heroes into a team book, the chances are there's going to be some uniqueness by default to the kinds of stories that you can tell. DC's huge focus now, on tying every ongoing series into another one, made Milligan's run a bit cluttered in the later issues (never picked up I, Vampire after its #1, though I continue to hear good things).

#9 is a fresh start with Jeff Lemire at the helm the writing chair, and coming off Animal Man already been proven to be consistently amazing, I was stoked for this issue to bring back some flavour to the cast where I felt Milligan ended up dragging down as he did his run (but a good finish with #8). Lemire hits the ground running, and wastes no time changing the series' attitude and ton as a whole (definite visual cues to Indiana Jones). The tone's a bit brighter, a bit more adventurous rather than the previous doom-and-gloom, horror-style plot. The biggest plus here is how he handles Constantine's characterization. The snark is there, it's clear, and its wonderfully played off of from everyone that Constantine talks too. A clear lead is established, which is great. 

There's really only one new addition, and a nice cameo too that shows DC's devotion of their long-term plans on how this entire universe, magic-based and the bigger one both, will be important in the future (if you picked DC's New 52 issue on Free Comic Book Day). This issue has the virtue of being a fresh start after the 'testing phase' of how to handle this "Dark" line of books, and the feeling of having no time wasted in connecting the necessary dots makes for a swift, fun, and fast read.

The villain for this issue, Felix Faust, gets a nice revamp, and how Lemire incorporates the obscurity of the magical aspect of the DC Universe gives me a feeling that his run is going to be a window into how expansive this branch of the larger world we can get -- great for new readers, and fun for guys like me who scrounge DC's wikia for all information about the most obscure heroes and villains.

Hitting the ground running was a key part in making his book work -- Lemire's got a good sense of where this story is going, and as a result, these characters work together better than I think Milligan wanted to get them across as. The aspect of 'reluctant non-team guys' felt hammered by the fifth or six issue for me -- this time, I'd rather see them working as a team, but they still get to keep that dysfunctionality as a collective personality quirk. Which is neat. For me at least.

BRASS TACKS

Mikel Janin is what caught my eye initially about the JLD. Wouldn't call it photo-realism, but that style he has is noticeable and eye-catching. From issue to issue, the detail he puts into facial expressions and textures, including the bold pencilling which is a neat contrast with the naturalistic features, is a great reason to come back. Yet, I feel like it'd be the sort of style to get Greg Land-ian criticisms of tracing photo references and the such, but fuck those people.

For this issue, I don't know if its colorist Ulises Arreola that's bringing something new to the table, but Janin's art's been tweaked just a bit to make a noticeable change to those wh-o've been following. But for new readers, it's the same reliably details and rich Janin artwork. Distinct characters are drawn with care and clear separation of personalities is reflected in each of these guys. Constantine's expressions alone are always a reassuring sight, there's probably ten little different ways he lights a cigarette between #1 and this issue.

Another bonus is how he takes Black Orchid and Andrew Bennet as new characters, and I especially like Bennet's transformation into his other form (go read I, Vampire, it's pretty good). I'm a sucker for cool character designs, and I love the visual take on Orchid's shape-shifting. It's the little nuances in detailing that Janin, and artists in the vein of his style, give for readers. Definitely worth another read just to scan the panels for the little things. 

Combined with a fresh writing direction, a polished tweak on how Janin's drawing it to reflect Lemire's story-- it's a bit rougher, sketchier overall--is something I'm thumbs up for.

TAKEAWAYS:

A great starter book for returning readers, or new ones who just want another Jeff Lemire book in their collection. While not amazeballs brilliant, it's swift exposition to set up a grander story, some delicately played-out magical combat and montage action that makes it fun and exciting. Magic lovers rejoice, there's new spice in the life of John Constantine and company. 

Lots of backstory, lots of speculation, and a shit-ton of sorcery. And a great cast of characters that have a lot that can be played with, especially in this creative team's hands. Can't wait to see how the team incorporates more magic heroes (cause there's a ton). Gonna get stoked for what's to come.