Review: Justice League Dark Vol. 3- The Death of Magic

Quick Summary

Pros: The main storyline is a worthy continuation of the plot from the previous volume. The book contains elements of both fantasy and horror in a unique juxtaposition. The artwork looks even better than it did before.

Cons: If you don’t like fantasy or horror you might not appreciate major parts of this book.

Overall: If you thought that this series could not get any better, you clearly have not read this volume yet. With an epic story and a charming cast of characters, this is the Justice League Dark fans have come to see. Their ability to bring magic to a multitude of genres is great to see and creates a wonderfully diverse story. If you like fantasy, horror, or just magic in general, then you should give this book a try.

Story

Justice League Vol. 3: The Death of Magic is a seamless continuation of the success this series achieved under writer Jeff Lemire’s guidance. Characters are fun, the story is engaging, and there is variety and imagination at every turn. Even the book’s setting and structure are unique as they combine both fantasy and horror in a book that expresses magic through both. If you have enjoyed the series so far, then you are going to enjoy this book.

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Before even digging into the actual storyline, it is worth commenting on the sheer variety this book displays when it comes to genre. The first half is an epic fantasy populated with all sorts of magical creatures. The mystical world and talk of prophecy echoes works like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones and are sure to delight fans of this genre. Meanwhile, the second half is a terrifying horror story designed to frighten any and all readers. Part of this story even revolves around characters’ nightmares coming to life, which leads to expectedly dark results. One would imagine a contrast like this would be off-putting, but instead, it simply adds some additional diversity to the narrative. This mixture also ensures that the storyline never gets stale and that there is something for everyone in this book.

As mentioned earlier, the first story is set in what appears to be a typical fantasy landscape; however Lemire adds a twist to make it surprisingly unique. In this land, magic is outlawed and technology rules; the upper-class uses technological weapons to keep the magical populace under control. In addition, most of the Justice League Dark’s powers alter upon entering the land, with the most interesting alteration being Constantine’s inability to lie. All of this together creates a wonderful setting for the story to play out in a number of different ways.

This actual story is just as good as the setting. It continues right where the previous volume left off, with Zatanna and Tim Hunter being transported somewhere while the rest of the League is left behind. They become champions of this strange world and lead the magical creatures in revolt against their oppressive rulers. It is a narrative that injects massive scope and consequences into a book that was extremely personal only one volume ago. This change in dynamic is a great contrast to the rest of the series and a nice change of pace in general.

The second story, in this collection, is a bit shorter but still just as fun and exciting. It sees the League face off against a man capable of creating nightmares, who now threatens the safety of the entire world. As discussed earlier, this is clearly an exploration into horror, so the tone is instantly and radically different. Everything about this story is creepy and harkens back to some of the cast’s time as characters in Vertigo comic books. Anyone who appreciates the weird and dark side of magic will find a lot to like in this story.

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Art

It seems like Mikel Janín’s artwork becomes more and more ambitious with each volume of this series. Here readers will encounter beautiful characters, lush landscapes, and fine details. As we said before, Janín really helps make this series what it is and this volume is no different.

Though the quality of work is obviously admirable, the real genius in Janín’s art is in the imagination. Entire worlds are created here and filled with a variety of strange and wondrous creatures. It solidifies the legitimacy of this reality and further allows readers to escape into the storyline. The phrase “a picture paints a thousand words” is deeply applicable here and makes the book tell an even more rich tale of wonder.

Continuity

Justice League Dark Vol. 3: The Death of Magic continues the story started in Justice League Dark Vol. 2: The Books of Magic (Review).

The story here continues in Justice League Dark Vol. 4: Rebirth of Evil (Review) or Trinity War (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• In the House of Mystery, Black Orchid finds a room with notes on various aspects of the DC Universe. Some of these notes refer to specific events.
  • “Need to find Booster Gold” refers to his disappearance at the end of Justice League International Vol. 2: Breakdown (Review).
  • References to “the rot” likely refer to the “Rotworld” crossover in Animal Man Vol. 3: Rotworld: The Red Kingdom (Review) and Swamp Thing Vol. 3: Rotworld: The Green Kingdom (Review).
  • References to Shazam refer to events in Shazam! (Review).
• When experiencing an illusion, Frankenstein directly mentions the events of Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Vol. 2: Secrets of the Dead (Review).