COMIC BOOK REVIEW - Justice League Dark: The Books of Magic
By The Masked Medic
I was recently having a conversation with a friend regarding what I feel are the integral differences between comic books and their translation into film and TV. I stated that although as a medium, TV and film do a lot better due to the nature of media in our lives, the allure of comic books means that that you get the chance to tell many more stories and expose readers to new characters. And a team like “Justice League Dark” is the perfect example of an ever-changing roster.
‘The Books Of Magic’ start with the team attempting to fight off an ancient evil vampire named Cain. Their only hope is Andrew Bennett, a vampire on the side of good who has been fighting this evil all his life. The novel then continues to the main story which sees Constantine make a deal with Steve Trevor of A.R.G.U.S. to defeat a mystic known as Felix Faust. But when Constantine finds that Faust holds an artefact which could lead them to the four Mystical Books of Magic, he gets together a team, to hunt them down. At every step, our team is thwarted in their attempts and Constantine becomes more and more desperate to achieve his goals. But nothing is at it seems in this topsy-turvy story and no-one can be sure who is a friend and who is foe. And who exactly is pulling the strings behind the scenes to acquire these powerful objects?
I have to say, given the points I’ve made earlier, I really enjoyed this novel and its changing roster. Constantine as leader of this group is an odd choice, but one that was awesome to read. The novel was set out excellently, and the one throwback issue in the middle added all the backstory we needed to understand the villain. There was character development, but more than that, the team development was excellent.
The artwork was done by Mikel Janin. He has a very distinct style that I’ve seen in other novels and liked in part, but for these characters, it was completely apt. The covers were also really good and it was tough to just pick one. Overall, this novel upped the ante for this series and I’m excited to see where it goes.
Favourite Panel:
Constantine’s jokes make this novel so much better
Favourite Character:
This is a tough question because I really like them all. However, Deadman is probably my favourite given he’s the only one actually trying to be a hero. He also doesn’t take any shit from Constantine.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★½
Character Development: ★★★
Artwork: ★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★½
Re-readability: ★★★
Level: Advanced