Do you ever find yourself thinking fondly of a Justice League Dark movie directed by Guillermo del Toro? How about wishing there was more supernatural horror in your superhero movies and television shows? Yeah, me too, which is why Ram V and James Tynion IV’s Justice League Dark makes me so angry! Why can these writers deliver such great stories and not wake up Hollywood so we can get this quality of horror and superheroes in our cinematic media? If enough of us buy this series, with issue #21 out today, maybe we can give it the attention it deserves in Hollywood via the power of our wallets! Part 2 of “The Parliaments of Life” is under way, and it will scratch your horror itch big time.
This issue opens with a bit of a nightmare, cuts to Hellblazer and Zatanna basically breaking into a haunted house, and cuts again to our heroes being attacked by mushroom zombie people. Yeah, it’s an intense issue with different layers of horror at work. There are grotesque monsters, trippy beats, superheroes battling, and new details emerging to further develop the plot. It’s a deeply satisfying issue thanks to its attention on small details, like a key Hellblazer uses for instance, and big beat moments, like an army of monsters that’ll make your skin crawl. Oh, and word to the wise: if you’re a Swamp Thing fan, do not pass on this issue.
Gross, man!
Credit: DC Comics
Art is by Alvaro Martinez with inks by Raul Fernandez and colors by June Chung, who all contribute to a rich book that captures the disturbing reality put forth on the page. The darkness and shadows are unnerving and the monsters or the mushroom fungus growths will send you twitching.
Two standout full-page splashes up the wow factor in this issue: one involves Wonder Woman fighting a horde down a flight of stairs, and I dare you not to linger on each punch and lasso whip. The other has Hellblazer do a bit of magic portal stuff and it’s a work of art how he slices through. There’s also a fantastic moment as Animal Man uses his powers that use rings to divide the panels well.
This is a gripping issue I couldn’t get enough of. Animal Man has so far been subpar in his use, but things seem to be moving in the right direction for the character. This is without a doubt the best horror superhero book on the stands.
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