[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artists: Jesus Merino, Fernando Blanco, Miguel Mendonca
Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letters: Rob Leigh
Summary
The universe-threatening magical crossover concludes when Zatanna has to fight to stop Hecate in the real world while Wonder Woman is fighting from within the collective unconscious! Do the Justice League Dark have what it takes to defeat one of the most powerful creators of magic?
Positives
This comic is action-packed in all of the best ways. Tynion of adding to characterization and mythology at the same time in ways that are truly meaningful. I love how he was able to weave a continuous mythology of magic through the entire DC Universe. Everything from the spheres of the Gods, the afterlife, the green, red, and rot, the shadow dimension, and more make an appearance. The necropolis and parliament of flowers are also great additions to this new magical universe.
Its very reminiscent of Jim Starlin’s work in some of the best ways, and I am glad to see it coming from Tynion. Hecate’s backstory was so full of detail, and it made her apparent death a lot more difficult to bear because the readers knew there was likely good still left within her, but the only way to save the universe was to let her be devoured by the Upside Down Man which, by the way, was an amazing spectacle to watch. It even related to an earlier event in Dark Nights: Metal, which was really clever on Tynion’s part.
In my opinion, this crossover event had everything an event should have. It rose stakes and developed tension in ways that few comics do nowadays, it added more to the characters involved and to the overall mythology, it changed aspects of the multiverse forever, and the resolution to the event only solved problems to be explore later. Tynion turned all of these ingredients into a recipe for a great event, and the art from Merino, Blanco, and Mendonca made the story look equally as good.
Negatives
If Man-Bat and Detective Chimp are going to be on this team, I would hope they’d have at least somewhat of a role in an event like this and they really did not. Detective Chimp looks to be the focus of the Shadowpact arc coming up, so I am not too upset. Hopefully Man-Bat will be featured soon as well.
Verdict
A fantastic conclusion to an event that seemed to do everything right. If you like horror, magic, fantasy, over the top battles between god-like figures, or strong character and world building, I recommend this book to all of you.
