Title: Justice League Dark.
Story arc: The Last Age of Magic.
Volume: 1
Writer(s): James Tynion IV.
Penciller(s): Alvaro Martínez Bueno & Daniel Sampere.
Inker(s): Raul Fernandez & Juan Albarran.
Colourist(s): Brad Anderson & Adriano Lucas.
Letterer(s): Rob Leigh.
Publisher: DC Comics.
Format: Paperback.
Release Date: March 12th 2019.
Pages: 160.
Genre(s): Comics, Science-Fiction.
ISBN13: 9781401288112.
My Overall Rating: ★★★★☆.
What happens when magic is on the brink of extinction? Fear takes over among those who wield its powers and embrace its existence, death surges from realms that none has ever thought existed and war settles in to test everyone’s fate and determination. Following the aftermath of DC’s latest cosmic event Dark Nights: Metal, Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV teamed up to deliver Justice League: No Justice to introduce the latest ramifications of the new multiverse and the unknown threats that have crawled their way into the reality of our beloved heroes. Splitting ways, Scott Snyder now writes the ongoing Justice League series while James Tynion IV takes on the mantle of writing its dark and magical counterpart, Justice League Dark. Originally a series that ventures in the realm of magic and horror, James Tynion IV brings his story-telling talents into new territory and delivers one of the most tantalizing and enchanting series in the market today.
What is Justice League Dark: The Last Age of Magic about? This first volume collects issues #1-3 (The Last Age of Magic) and #5-7 (The Shadow Pact). This brand-new team is composed of Wonder Woman, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, Man-Bat and Detective Chimp, and brings them to explore a brand new supernatural foe who has been unleashed into their world ever since the status quo was ruptured in Dark Nights: Metal. This new threat looks to take back the magic that was once Earth’s possession and will stop at nothing to get what they desire. In a search for answers, the team seeks help to those who are known to be a source of great magic but the realization that their magic is ineffective against what they’re up against, their worries grow exponentially. With Wonder Woman’s leadership, this new team of misfits looks to save Earth from losing its grasp on magic indefinitely.
Similar to his accomplishments in Batman: Detective Comics (Vol. 1): Rise of the Batmen, James Tynion IV continues to strive in handling a squad of heroes and in brilliantly developing each of its members’ story arcs through meticulous and subtle attention to their characterization and in tossing at them personal challenges that lead them to think beyond their selves. His ability to create an authentic dynamic with a wonderful mix of comical banter with serious introspection with these heroes is staggering as he successfully gives this quest its undeniable gravity and shows how much this team has a mission of capital importance within their hands while still keeping each character’s personality intact.
The artwork is also what helps in selling this story so perfectly thanks to Alvaro Martínez Bueno’s and Daniel Sampere’s artistic vision. Their character designs and world-building are incredible, coupled with Raul Fernandez’, Juan Albarran’s, Brad Anderson’s and Adriano Lucas’ inking and colouring, the whole volume shows consistency and doesn’t struggle with multiple artistic personality disorder. The absence of conflict in style, as well as their ability to darken and to add weight to the story through the art, helps in portraying the much more depressed, gloomy and dark atmosphere of this story. It’s even more impressive when they introduce a brand-new villain who easily sends chills down everyone’s spines at the mere sight of him.
It is very unfortunate, however, that this volume excludes Justice League Dark #4 and forces fans to pick up the upcoming volume of Wonder Woman & Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour if they are to know what happens to Diana Prince. It doesn’t help either when the second story arc within this volume takes place after The Witching Hour and multiple characters have been affected by the events in that story. If they had just included that story within this volume, this could’ve easily turned out to be one of the best Justice League Dark story arcs to have ever been written so far. Despite this flaw, the story still remains captivating and introduces us to a darker, gorier and much more mystical facet of DC.
Justice League Dark: The Last Age of Magic is a bewitching and atmospheric expedition with a cast of misfit heroes who endeavor to save magic from its impending obsolescence.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy for review!
Roars and Echoes 
Ah, here i was, thinking I at least know who belongs to the justice league… well, turns out i clearly know nothing. This whole dark twist is even more confusing, but i must say Swamp Thing sounds pretty cool! The chimp with the sword is also kinda badass! 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hahahah it’s quite complicated. There are some iconic members in the Justice League but they members vary based on the story you read. There are times where Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman or The Flash aren’t on that team. The same goes for Justice League Dark. The teams vary depending on the story. There’s no “definitive” cast. Just some that appear more than others. 😀 Oh and no one explicitly calls them the “Justice League Dark” too hahah
Swamp Thing is indeed a pretty cool character! A very legendary and popular creature. His comic book series by Alan Moore is highly praised. 😉 There’s a TV series in the work for him too. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oooh, why thank you for this 🙂 I’m not completely lost anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So I went over to your instagram account. How do you decide what goes up there instead of on the website here? I also have to say that I find the differing levels of “heart” action (I’m assuming they’re akin to “likes” here on WP) quite enlightening. Not about you, but about the people who use instagram.
Have you ever written a post about balancing all your various social sites? If not, I know I’d be interested in how you handle that. Not just the posting, but all the ancillary things that go along with participating in a site.
LikeLiked by 1 person
When Bookidote was first created, I used to co-manage @Bookidote on Instagram with my co-blogger. There was no real consistency and there would be as many hot streaks as there were cold streaks. I personally just found that it was too time-consuming and wanted to put my focus on WordPress instead. A couple of months ago I decided to create my own Instagram account so I could follow my real-life friends and, since I had pictures on all my reviews anyways, to make use of them. I just basically dump all the pictures I used in my reviews over there just to effortlessly “extend” my reach, although I doubt people actually take the time to pause, read my caption and drop by my review. At least, for publishers, it’s “exposure” and I don’t mind doing it. I have to admit that it’s a whole other universe out there and it really does require as much time as managing a blog if you want to “succeed” there and to get interactions (beyond just getting hearts).
I definitely thought about a post about the use of multiple social media websites/applications. It’s on my list (and at the top) of “discussion” post to squeeze out at some point! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the explanation.
And I’m glad to hear you’re considering that type of post. Those are always fun to read 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well they may be dark but I dig the art Lashaan! I don’t want to discourage you but I am still struggling with who’s who’s in this Justice League LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s stunning! I really love the artwork here as well. Ahahahah no worries! To sum it up real quick, there’s the “Justice League” and then there’s the “Justice League Dark”. The members of each of those vary from one story to another, there’s no definitive member for these teams. And the members in this story are quite unique. The Man-Bat is a Batman villain turned good guy, Zatanna is a magician who casts spells by saying the words backwards, Swamp Thing is a man turned into an entity à la Mother Nature, Detective Chimp (the monkey) is a unique character who wears the same costume as Sherlock Holmes who appears in some stories but has high IQ. 😀
LikeLike
Looks good! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Really beautiful. I love it! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha…”multiple artistic personality disorder”…love it – and great to hear that it’s not an issue here, you know how much that bothers me! Seriously though, yet another great review and another title I’m going to have to pick up at some point. I like Tynion’s work on Detective, as you say he’s great at writing sets of characters (I always thought he’d be a good fit for Suicide Squad) and the line-up here is varied.
Look forward to hearing your thoughts on Justice League: Odyssey, if you plan to check that out as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. That’s one disorder that DC has yet to truly manage with their way of operating/marketing. But yes! Annoying following Snyder’s Justice League run should give Tynion’s Dark run too. He has good ideas and I’m curious to find out how it works out with volume 2.
I’ll definitely be dropping a review of Odyssey at some point!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool, I look forward to that very much sir!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great that Tynion continues to strive in handling the squad of heroes and that the artwork sells the story. Awesome review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A great writer who oftens finds himself with great artists as well. Thank you! 🙂
LikeLike