Comic Review: Justice League Dark (2018-) #5

Justice League Dark (2018-) #5

DC Comics

Writer: James Tynion IV 

Artist: Alvaro Martinez

Justice League Dark has been on a roll in the first four issues. They have been up against an impossible evil in the first arc. The Upside Down Man and Hecate have proven to be fierce, even though they are not allies themselves. There is one glaring problem and DC isn’t the only publisher that does this. Let’s get into Justice League Dark #5

I understand why they do it, but I despise having to pick up another issue in a different series to see what happened in the one I have reading following. That happens with this issue. In order to follow along with this issue, you need to go read Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1. I should never have to do this with any comic. That issue is very heavy on Hecate backstory and does fit well between #4 and #5, but it should have been here in this issue, in this series. A lot of what happens here are spoilers, so it is hard to summarize this one, but our heroes get some breathing room by the end and it should lead right into a new story arc. 

Tynion is still on his game here and building a large story with weighted conflicts that feel bigger than the Dark League. He is digging deep into DC character bag to get people like Blue Devil and Nightmaster. He is keeping it all engaging and that’s all I can ask for. 

The art by Alvaro Martinez is still a delight. No matter the character, he feels like he has a handle on drawing them and this issue throws a lot of characters on the page. When the battles break out he fills the splash pages with action and wonder. I’m really enjoying his work on this series. 

I do blame DC for making us track down another series to catch up on this one, but I also know that comic fans have gotten used to this gimmick within the two large publishers. This series has been great setting Wonder Woman centerstage and focusing on her magic like never before. It helps that all the surrounding characters of the team are done so well, especially Detective Chimp. If you like Justice League Dark, then this run will give you plenty of what you love. Just know that you might need to read around to follow this story completely.