The world is in chaos as magic is still reeling from the changes made to it. The Justice League Dark must gather the Parliaments of Life stop the chaos from spreading. Spoilers for Justice League Dark #20 follow.
With the previous issue of Justice League Dark being James Tynion IV’s last full issue of the series, it was a real question whether the series would keep its quality high. It continuously was one of the best series being released by DC so it would be disappointing for that to stop. Well, if this issue is any indication, Justice League Dark is in the right hands with Ram V taking over writing duties. This is an excellent issue and continues the story organically from before.
This issue immediately sets the tone for what we will be getting from Ram V’s run on Justice League Dark. And well, it’s more of the same, which is great. More horror, more magic, more deep cuts to the DC Universe. It’s everything that has made Justice League Dark great and it’s executed extremely well here. The horror is very creepy and unsettling. The magic is chaotic and unpredictable. And the deep cuts, well they were hinted at than used in this issue, but that’s ok because it’s to see where this headed.
And where it’s headed is the reappearance of the Parliaments of Life and Abigail Arcane. Pretty much, since the end of the last Swamp Thing series, the Parliaments have been used sparingly, only showing when bad things happen to them. In fact, Abby’s last appearance was in Swamp Thing #40 on March 4th, 2015. Five years ago. She hasn’t been seen for five years. Like, wow. As a die-hard Swamp Thing fan, that was actually shocking to look up. It’s great to see her seemingly be back in play in upcoming issues.
Also, Animal Man is here too! He’s also been used sparingly for the past five or six years, so here’s hoping that he joins the team fully. Everyone can use some more Buddy Baker in their lives.
Kyle Hotz’s art in this issue is fantastic as well. His art is very stylized, but still toes the line of realism enough to make everything feel grounded. It’s very Liam Sharp-like in that way. Stylized, yet very grounded. He’s also not afraid to draw Wonder Woman as insanely buff either which is great. Best of all though, he captures the grotesque horror elements that are present within this issue. His work on Detective Comics and the Spectre was great, so it’s natural that he would jump to Justice League Dark.
[…] CHECK OUT: Justice League Dark #20 Review: To the Past…and the Future […]