DCnU Dark Line Appriciation/Discussion

**jsf** · 08-20-2011, 07:16 AM

Looking forward to all of these books. They easily contain some of my favorite characters, and I'm excited to see them getting the treatment they're getting. So this is definitely one part of the DC relaunch that's got my eye.

Now if they'll just bring back Jared Stevens in JLD

**sethysquare** · 08-20-2011, 08:48 AM

**Desaad** · 08-20-2011, 08:53 AM

Yeah, I'll be buying the entire line up, for different and varied reasons.

Justice League Dark has a great set of characters, a wonderful artist, and one of the best writers ever to have his name put on a comic book. That said, Milligan can be a little...shakey...on mainstream stuff, sometimes, so I'm cautious about how good this will be. Still, Gail Simone said it was wonderful, so here is hoping.

Demon Knights is a no brainer. Like Etrigan/Jason Blood, love the Shining Knight, love Vandal Savage, love the idea of a medieval arab inventor. Love the 'mission' statement of telling a secret history of the DCU, and of creating a bunch of characters and concepts in this back-world. Love Paul Cornell. Comfortable, though not in love with, the artist.

Resurrection Man is one of my favorite books of the 90s, along with such greats as Aztek, Chronos, Chase, etc. I am so excited for this title to come back; a great, great central concept that is filled with pathos and potential. DnA have gone down steadily in my estimation over the years, but this was one of the best things they've ever written, so I'm excited to see them back on it. And Dagnino changed his style up in a way that is brilliant -- leaps and bounds better than what he's been putting out.

Swamp Thing isn't necessarily a character I love, but I have a lot of fondness for him thanks to the Moore, Veitch, Gaiman, Millar and Diggle runs on the book. And Snyder is right up there with those creators, IMHO, so I'm excited to see what he does. The art team here is absolutely SICK, additionally, an incredible team. Maybe one of the best overall creative teams of the entire launch.

Animal Man looks absolutely gorgeous; I'm not such a big fan of the character (though I am a huge fan of the Grant Morrison run), and frankly not a huge fan of Lemire's mainstream work thus far, which is a little simplistic and cliche. But we'll see, because the artwork is unbelievable and this is definitely a book that plays to Lemire's strengths as a writer (children/family).

Frankenstein, Agent of Shade is a title I've wanted to see a long time, and I was excited to hear that Lemire was so into it, that it was something he pitched rather than an offer he accepted. But I'm a little wary after having read his Flashpoint mini, which was very much a 'monster movie' book rather than a 'big concept sci-fi fantasy weirdness epic', the tone that Grant Morrison had established on the original mini series. It's a valid direction to take, I suppose, but it's not the one I'm at all interested in. So unless things get significantly ridiculous, I don't know if I'm going to continue.

I, Vampire was not on my radar at all until I started reading some Fialkov stuff and was blown away by its quality. I'm essentially buying this on the strength of his work alone. The artist, Andrea Sorrentino, has been impressing me to, but I'll have to wait until I see the finish product to make a verdict on him/her.

**sethysquare** · 08-20-2011, 08:58 AM

Justice League Dark #3

(Not final cover)

Written by PETER MILLIGAN

Art by MIKEL JANIN

Cover by RYAN SOOK

What is Madame Xanadu’s plan? And why is she urging Shade the Changing Man to recruit a killer? One by one, our anti-hero misfits are drawn inexplicably to each other… While John Constantine aids Zatanna in escaping a town destroyed by magic, June Moon seeks help from Deadman. But in the end, will any of it be enough to escape the dark clutches of the insane and powerful Enchantress?

Justice League Dark #2

Written by PETER MILLIGAN

Art by MIKEL JANIN

Cover by RYAN SOOK

Madame Xanadu continues guiding the world’s darkest heroes in their struggle against evil. But will John Constantine, Zatanna, Shade the Changing Man and the others be able to join forces in time to defeat the dangerous Enchantress before she destroys the world as we know it?

Justice League Dark #1

The witch known as The Enchantress has gone mad, unleashing forces that not even the combined powers of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg can stop. And if those heroes can’t handle the job, who will stand against the mystical madness?

Shade the Changing Man, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, Zatanna and John Constantine may be our only hope – but how can we put our trust in beings whose very presence makes ordinary people break out in a cold sweat?

Written by PETER MILLIGAN

Has anyone realised the cover art for JLD #2 has been changed?

**Desaad** · 08-20-2011, 09:02 AM

Changed? howso?

**sethysquare** · 08-20-2011, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by Desaad

Changed? howso?

My bad I kept thinking this was the cover. LOL

**Let's Kill Hitler** · 08-20-2011, 09:53 AM

^^It should be, beautiful piece of art.

**BlueLily** · 08-20-2011, 12:49 PM

Definitely my favorite part of the DCnU. I will most certainly get Animal Man, Swamp Thing, and Justice League Dark but I can't imagine myself not getting Frankenstein and Demon Knights as well. Just an awesome move on DC's part for this line.

**Let's Kill Hitler** · 08-20-2011, 06:22 PM

Only just noticed in the solicites that Madamn Xanadu looks to be the team leader of JLD. I always figure Constintine would lead. I could see him playing more of a Batman role; the part time outsider member of the group.

**Ned McDodd** · 08-20-2011, 08:11 PM

Originally Posted by Let's Kill Hitler

Only just noticed in the solicites that Madamn Xanadu looks to be the team leader of JLD. I always figure Constintine would lead. I could see him playing more of a Batman role; the part time outsider member of the group.

was a little bit surprised about that too, but it makes some sense, Madame Xanadu is quite old (even when she doesn't look like it), so she should have quite some experience in this field.

**Dr. Cheesesteak** · 08-21-2011, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by sethysquare

Voodoo is in the edge line, I found it weird that Demon Knights is in the dark line though.

Probably b/c it deals w/ magic/mysticism and it appears anything magic/mystic related is in the Dark line.

As for the line, I'll be picking up all the #1's, probably all the #2's and #3's. However, each title will have a "leash length" (i.e. how willing/tolerant I am of reading it for the long haul, assuming creative teams don't change any time soon).

Very long leash - Frankenstein, Swamp Thing
long leash - Demon Knights, Justice League Dark
medium leash - Animal Man, I, Vampire
short leash - Resurrection Man

Like others, I think some of these will be among the most critically acclaimed of the relaunch. It appears DC really took the time and/or care to make sure the Dark line had a significant spot in the DCU w/ the creative teams choices - Snyder, Lemire, Cornell, DnA, Milligan, Paquette, Foreman, Janin, Ponticelli, Neves, and more on just seven titles. Possibly the most talent-dense of any of the 7 separate title categories/lines (up there w/ the Batman or GL lines).

**Munkiman** · 08-21-2011, 06:09 PM

The Dark line is one of the most exciting things about the Relaunch. It's such a great idea to have a place for these fantasy/horror characters, it shows off the diversity of the DCU. I'm personally most excited for Swamp Thing, Animal Man, JLD and the long-overdue Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., but I'll probably try them all out, except I, Vampire which I have no interest in, all the praise for Fialkov be damned.

**Paladin King** · 08-21-2011, 06:20 PM

Without a doubt, the DC Dark line is the best of the New 52's lines, and it's one of the best things to come out of the entire relaunch.

JL Dark: stupid name, but a great cast and utterly fantastic art. Milligan has always been hot and cold with me, but this looks more like the former.

Animal Man: Jeff Lemire doing a horror comic? Sold.

Frankenstein: I've really enjoyed Lemire's Flashpoint mini, so this is a no-brainer. And hey, it's great to see Ponticelli again.

Swamp Thing: If it has Snyder's name on it, I buy it. That said, it also helps that I'm a long-time Swampy fan and that the art team is killer.

Demon Knights: pretty much a dream comic for me. Several of my favourite characters, possibly my favourite genre (highly under-represented in comics), all written by one of my favourite writers. Yup. Pulled.

I, Vampire: The art is absolutely beautiful, but I probably won't be getting this, largely for budgetary reasons. I'm also completely unfamiliar with Fialkov and his other series (Last of the Greats) doesn't look all that good to me.

Resurrection Man: Won't be getting this, I don't think. I've never read the previous series, nor do I know much about it. Abnett and Lanning also haven't been faring well lately since leaving the Marvel cosmic stuff behind.

So yeah, I'll be getting 5/7.

Honestly, I'd probably get I, Vampire and Resurrection Man as well, but good God, my pull list is already at 43 books.

**Paladin King** · 08-21-2011, 06:23 PM

Also, to all the posters saying otherwise.

Voodoo is NOT a DC Dark title.

It was originally announced as such, but was moved over to DC Edge a long time ago now, so that it could be together with the other ex-Wildstorm titles.