The Rot is spreading across Los Angeles and the Justice League Dark has no clue how to stop it. In order to try though, Zatanna and Constantine must venture into The Rot to find Abigail Arcane. Spoilers for Justice League Dark #21 follow.
After the disappointing final issue to James Tynion IV’s final issue of scripting duties on Justice League Dark, there were serious doubts about whether the series could keep its quality up. However, after issue #20 came, those worries were seriously unfounded as it was a great issue that also reintroduced Abigail Arcane after five years. Was that issue a fluke though? Nope. This issue continues very well from where the last issue ended and has some excellent horror elements involved.
First off, I just want to fanboy out about the fact that Abby Arcane is back. It’s been so long since she was last seen that it almost seemed like everyone at DC forgot about her, which is very disappointing, especially since the last time we saw she was the Avatar of the Rot, aka the Swamp Thing for death.
Now she’s back though and while it’s unclear exactly what her role will be going forward, it will probably be a large one given that her uncle, Anton Arcane, has also re-entered the picture. This issue does a really great job of illustrating what The Rot is doing to Abby, basically acting as a sort of Hell for her, while also introducing her to readers who may have never read anything with her in it before.
As for the Justice League Dark as a whole though, they’re split off into two teams, Zatanna & Constantine to The Rot and Wonder Woman, Animal Man, & Bobo in LA. Much of the focus of the issue goes to Zatanna and Constantine for one reason and one reason alone. It’s the more interesting part of the story. While there are some great moments for the LA team, especially one with Wonder Woman in a stairwell, we saw what was happening there last issue. There was no point in making it the focal point of this issue, so the team did the smart choice and didn’t do that, instead of focusing on entering The Rot.
As for The Rot itself, well there’s some terrifying stuff going on there. Creatures from The Rot have always been nightmare-inducing since their introduction and that continues to be the case here. Not just that though, but the physical embodiment of The Rot itself is extremely creepy and it’s unsettling about what Constantine must do to find Abby. It’s a great part of the issue and really nails the horror combined with superhero aspects of the series.
It’s great to have Alvaro Martinez Bueno back on art duties here as well. Kyle Hotz did a fantastic job last issue, but there’s something about Bueno’s art that is perfect for this series. It’s obvious that he loves playing fast and loose with the two-dimensionality of the page and it shows in this issue. Whereas in previous issues, it made sense for story and character purposes, here, he just does it because it looks cool which makes the issue better and more enjoyable to read. There are times where his facial work isn’t up to his normal quality, but most of the issue looks great.
CHECK OUT: Justice League Dark #20 Review: To the Past…and the Future
