Justice League Dark Annual 2021

Justice League Dark Annual 2021

DC Comics 2021

Story by Ram V & Dan Watters

Written by Dan Watters

Illustrated by Christopher Mitten

Coloured by Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Lettered by Rob Leigh

After barely making it out of Atlantis alive, the Justice League Dark regroups and prepares themselves for the ultimate battle for magic against the finest sorcerer to ever live…MERLIN. It’ll take the minds and memories of WONDER WOMAN, RANDHIR SINGH, and an unexpected visitor to unlock the mystery behind the villain’s sudden appearance and what he’s after. Only with that vital information does our team of magical misfits stand a chance at saving the world from a threat the likes of which the Justice League could never survive! You won’t want to miss this oversized tale that’ll affect the future of magic in the DCU for years to come!

I hope this means that the Justice League Dark will be making a return to monthly ongoing series status. One can dream and hope I suppose. If you haven’t been following their adventures as a back-up feature in Justice League don’t worry because this does an amazing job in explaining what’s going on and what the team is in the midst of. Oh and with its cover it is no secret that this is the return of Mister E! A character I’ve liked for a very long time and it’s great to see him make his return, now if Cain and Abel would just come back….

I am loving the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in spotlighting their various personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story we are easily enrapt with what we see.

I am pretty impressed with the way that we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen with the more we learn. I also like how the layers open up new avenues to be explored and Mister E’s bargain well that’s one for down the road that will need special attention. All this adds some great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward are impeccably handled.

I love the interiors here! The linework is exquisite and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail within the work we see is extraordinary. I’m a huge fan of what seems like delicate linework that is actually quite strong and expressive and that’s what Christopher does here. The backgrounds along with how we see the composition of the panels used to enhance and expand the moments while also bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story are marvellously rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a great understanding of how colour works. The creativity and imagination throughout is utterly brilliant work.

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This was impeccably written with some sensational characterisation, sigh Mister E, alongside these brilliant interiors all conspiring to remind us that this team and its dynamic need to be read. The conversations, the trips through reality, what Dr. Fate and Wonder Woman experience and how this is brought to life and E’s story are just so gosh darn fascinating that it is hard to escape how much you want to see more, right now kind of more.