Justice League Dark Reading Order

This reading order is designed to give an outline of major storylines featuring the Justice League Dark throughout DC Comics. It does not encompass every one of their appearances, but is an outline of the major ones and the stories that affect them.

The continuity details relating to each specific storyline are explained in the “Review” of each storyline. Every “Review” link will provide a detailed continuity breakdown of that story and will explain any reference the story makes to other aspects of the DC Universe. All of this can be found under the “Continuity” section of each link.

Jump to: New 52 – Rebirth – Universe – Infinite Frontier

New 52

At the beginning of the New 52, the Justice League Dark was formed. Prior to this era, the League did not exist.

The majority of the Justice League Dark’s adventures take place in their solo series. This comic depicts their creation, their subsequent integration into the superhero fabric, and their various trials. The series also features a crossover with I, Vampire, participation in the Trinity War (Reading Order) event, and participation in the Forever Evil: Blight (Reading Order) event. The Justice League Dark’s adventures continue on until the final issue of their solo series.

In this era, the main Justice League Dark roster consists of Deadman (Reading Order), John Constantine (Reading Order), Madame Xanadu (Reading Order), Zatanna Zatara (Reading Order), and, occasionally, Swamp Thing (Reading Order).

ToS = Trinity of Sin
Justice League Dark issues are from the Vol. 1 series.
I, Vampire issues are from the Vol. 1 series.
Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger issues are from the Vol. 4 series.
Constantine issues are from the Vol. 1 series.
Trinity of Sin: Pandora issues are from the Vol. 1 series.

Notes

1. This is a tie-in issue with the Futures End (Reading Order) event. This event takes place in a potential future timeline, so it has no real effect on the current storyline. Therefore it is not necessary but still is a unique story featuring the Justice League Dark.

Other Appearances

The Flashpoint: Secret Seven miniseries, part of the Flashpoint (Reading Order) event, featured a team that essentially served as a precursor to the Justice League Dark. This miniseries is collected in World of Flashpoint: Batman (Review).

Rebirth

Though the Rebirth era takes place immediately after the New 52 without any major continuity changes, the Justice League Dark does not actually appear in this era.

However, several Rebirth events provide the basis for the Justice League Dark's reformation in the next era. Dark Nights: Metal (Reading Order) reintroduces characters and concepts that go on to have a big part in the next Justice League Dark series. Then, Justice League: No Justice (Reading Order) introduces even more important concepts, sees the creation of a Justice League Dark prototype, and sets Wonder Woman (Reading Order) on a path that directly leads to the Justice League Dark's reformation. Despite not technically appearing in either of these events, understanding these events is important in understanding the next version of the Justice League Dark.

Notes

1. The Justice League Dark does not appear in this event. However, the event helps reintroduce readers to Detective Chimp, Doctor Fate, and the Oblivion Bar, all of which becomes important in the next era's Justice League Dark series.

Universe

The Universe era is essentially a direct continuation of the Rebirth era. As such, it immediately picks up on story elements from the fallout of the Justice League: No Justice (Reading Order) event.

In the Universe era, the bulk of the Justice League Dark's appearances are within their solo series. This series is centered around a large, overarching narrative that is told across several smaller story arcs. This storyline explains the League's reformation and depicts an epic battle for the fate of magic itself.

In this era, the main Justice League Dark roster includes Detective Chimp, Man-Bat, Swamp Thing (Reading Order), Wonder Woman (Reading Order), and Zatanna (Reading Order).

WWaJLD:TWH = Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour
JLDaWW:TWH = Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour
Justice League Dark issues are from the Vol. 2 series.

Notes

1. This story features a very brief and mostly inconsequential appearance from the Justice League Dark. However, it may appeal to fans who simply want to see them quickly solve a problem and have a moment of celebration afterward. Note: Only the "Dreamweaver" story from this issue is relevant to this reading order.
2. Members of the Justice League Dark appear in these issues of Superman (Reading Order). However, their appearance as a group is pretty brief and Doctor Fate (Reading Order) is the only character who has a substantial impact on the story.
3. While the team as a whole doesn't really appear in this issue of the Endless Winter event, certain members of the team do. The reason it is included here is because it helps continue the narrative surrounding Swamp Thing (Reading Order) and what he did in A Costly Trick of Magic.

Infinite Frontier

This era just began recently. Because of this, Justice League Dark stories from this era are currently in publication. Right now, the Justice League Dark is appearing in a backup storyline from the Justice League series. This storyline is set to be collected in Justice League Dark: The Great Wickedness.

As this era is still in progress, we will be updating this portion of the reading order once more comics for it have been published.

All to DC Comics Reading Orders