Justice League Dark #20 Review
Written by: Ram V and James Tynion IV
Art by: Kyle Hotz
Colors by: Fco Plascencia
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Publisher: DC Comics
If you’ve been looking for the right time to try out Justice League Dark, then issue #20 is the book for you. Justice League Dark #20 is an excellent platter of what this series has to offer: mystery, lies and deceit, riveting art, and of course, John Constantine.
Issue #20 starts off displaying the kind of chaos the world has fallen into since the Floronic Man's rise to power. We start off with a studio executive making his way through a building, a seemingly normal day. That’s before we learn he has been infected and starts to spread his plague over the city. Though the Floronic Man’s been imprisoned within the Hall of Justice, Animal Man and the Justice League Dark come to find that life is being grotesquely altered by his new role in the Parliaments of Life. After surviving a hideous horde of mutated beings, the team decides they need to convene with the avatars to return to balance.
Ram V and James Tynion IV waste no time in setting up this arc. The pacing of this issue is fantastic, no page nor panel is wasted. James and Ram make the wise decision to start the story off with no known characters to garner intrigue to delve further into the story. Animal Man’s perspective is a good follow up since he’s no stranger to the oddities of the DC Universe and the scene he happens upon causes him shock enough to call in the Justice League Dark. The premise reminds me of the New 52 days of Animal Man and Swamp Thing (two incredible series you have to check out) but the absence of Swamp Thing after becoming such an integral part of this corner of the world and the subsequent rise of the Floronic Man makes me want to see how far this rabbit hole will go. Tynion and Ram V resonate with each character, but man they write such an outstanding Constantine. He makes great attempts to pry himself under everyone’s skin, but he comes off as more of a wisecracker than a dangerous force. But when it’s just him and Woodrue, and Constantine lets that cold darkness loose. Wow, oh man! Such a good scene.
The art for this issue is beyond good, Kyle Hotz and Fco Plascencia were made to be on this book. The ink work and colors truly sync with the tone of this book. They make the scenes in which Animal Man and the Justice League Dark are dealing with the horde of mutated beings feel so claustrophobic. Fco Plascencia’s colors are so vibrant for this series, they contrast so well against the heavy inking and shadows on each page, their colors really bring out the wonder and magic of this series. Hotz and Plascencia really hit the mark on the Floronic Man, his presence is felt on each page and he’s so misconfigured, yet so pleasing to look at with his radiant, floral colors.
This is a great start to the Parliaments of Life arc for Justice League Dark and makes for a good jumping on point for new readers. The whole team syncs and delivers an incredible issue. I can’t wait to see where the rest of this arc will take us.
Art by: Kyle Hotz
Colors by: Fco Plascencia
Lettered by: Rob Leigh
Publisher: DC Comics
If you’ve been looking for the right time to try out Justice League Dark, then issue #20 is the book for you. Justice League Dark #20 is an excellent platter of what this series has to offer: mystery, lies and deceit, riveting art, and of course, John Constantine.
Issue #20 starts off displaying the kind of chaos the world has fallen into since the Floronic Man's rise to power. We start off with a studio executive making his way through a building, a seemingly normal day. That’s before we learn he has been infected and starts to spread his plague over the city. Though the Floronic Man’s been imprisoned within the Hall of Justice, Animal Man and the Justice League Dark come to find that life is being grotesquely altered by his new role in the Parliaments of Life. After surviving a hideous horde of mutated beings, the team decides they need to convene with the avatars to return to balance.
Ram V and James Tynion IV waste no time in setting up this arc. The pacing of this issue is fantastic, no page nor panel is wasted. James and Ram make the wise decision to start the story off with no known characters to garner intrigue to delve further into the story. Animal Man’s perspective is a good follow up since he’s no stranger to the oddities of the DC Universe and the scene he happens upon causes him shock enough to call in the Justice League Dark. The premise reminds me of the New 52 days of Animal Man and Swamp Thing (two incredible series you have to check out) but the absence of Swamp Thing after becoming such an integral part of this corner of the world and the subsequent rise of the Floronic Man makes me want to see how far this rabbit hole will go. Tynion and Ram V resonate with each character, but man they write such an outstanding Constantine. He makes great attempts to pry himself under everyone’s skin, but he comes off as more of a wisecracker than a dangerous force. But when it’s just him and Woodrue, and Constantine lets that cold darkness loose. Wow, oh man! Such a good scene.
The art for this issue is beyond good, Kyle Hotz and Fco Plascencia were made to be on this book. The ink work and colors truly sync with the tone of this book. They make the scenes in which Animal Man and the Justice League Dark are dealing with the horde of mutated beings feel so claustrophobic. Fco Plascencia’s colors are so vibrant for this series, they contrast so well against the heavy inking and shadows on each page, their colors really bring out the wonder and magic of this series. Hotz and Plascencia really hit the mark on the Floronic Man, his presence is felt on each page and he’s so misconfigured, yet so pleasing to look at with his radiant, floral colors.
This is a great start to the Parliaments of Life arc for Justice League Dark and makes for a good jumping on point for new readers. The whole team syncs and delivers an incredible issue. I can’t wait to see where the rest of this arc will take us.
A Look Inside
