Justice League Dark #14 Discussion/Spoilers

[Desaad]

I might be having a brain fart but who is Sunderland? It was one of the names mentioned on the board, next to all the Red/Green related stuff.

Sunderland is an industrialist, one of Swamp Thing's great foes. "The Anatomy Lesson", (Moore's second issue but the one everyone remembers as his first) concerns Sunderland hiring Woodrue to investigate the Swamp Thing corpse, and ends with Swamp Thing killing him.

[doordoor123]

I'm sure this has been addressed in the past but I feel like it's worth bringing up. At first when I realized that the other characters were able to see Deadman I chalked it up to them being in tune with magic or however else you'd want to phrase it. But now it's made abundantly clear that even non-magic characters such as Steve Trevor can see him. Not really sure why this change was made. I remember back at the end of "Brightest Day" when Dove was still able to hear Boston and that was a big deal and pretty neat. But now Deadman pretty much being a visible, audible ghost with possession powers, I feel takes away much of what made him special. Any thoughts?

I think I like that he is visible. If he wasnt, he would be stuck in his own story and he couldn't really connect with other characters.
It is part of DC's attempt to make Deadman a bigger character in the DCU.

[SpadesSlick]

Constantine doesn't pay very close attention to the news does he?

Shouldn't he know who batman's financial backer is since that's public knowledge?

Minor nitpick aside, highly enjoyable issue.

[Comet Man]

I think I like that he is visible. If he wasnt, he would be stuck in his own story and he couldn't really connect with other characters.
It is part of DC's attempt to make Deadman a bigger character in the DCU.

I agree with this assessment and prefer Deadman visible as well.

I love this comic. Been getting it since Lemire started. Each issue is just packed with great action, great art, great characters and great dialogue. It's never boring. Also, the art in this issue was really good courtesy of Graham Nolan, and I'd love to see him on another title regularly.

[dupersuper]

I think I like that he is visible. If he wasnt, he would be stuck in his own story and he couldn't really connect with other characters.
It is part of DC's attempt to make Deadman a bigger character in the DCU.

I just assume some one cast a spell to make him visible at some point: a team member you can't see or hear would be a pain, after all.

[Jake Fury]

Loved the issue this week.

[OBrianTallent]

I loved this issue. This book continues to be lots of fun and completely interesting. I was a little concerned when I saw the art team wasn't Janin, but they did a fantastic job and didn't change the flavor of the book at all.

I was excited when I saw Lemire was re-introducing the Black Orchid and I am more and more intrigued by her with every issue. I'm wondering if the mirror image Amaya saw was just something to do with the room or something more to do with Orchid (since Frank was also a skeleton and Amaya wasn't...is the Orchid actually alive?) I would love to see an arc about her in DCU Presents sometime.

[Joe Acro]

This was a fun issue. Was pleasantly surprised that Graham Nolan was on art--always a treat.

Based on this issue, I'm pretty much convinced that anyone can hear Deadman. I'd already more or less assumed it based on previous exchanges, but it seems fairly obvious here. In a way, it makes sense. People claim to be able to hear ghosts or disembodied voices in reality, so it stands to reason that such a thing could also be true in the DC universe. People can hear him, but not necessarily see him.

I had the strangest feeling that the supposed room, the "Rip Hunter" type setup, while implied to be Constantine's handiwork (cigarettes, trenchcoats) will actually lead to The Question (ditto on the cigarettes & trenchcoats, but this room was like 100% The Question).

It does seem very Question-like. It'd be a great direction to go in.

Part of me feels like the fact that Question has been tweaked to be part of a mystic, historical background and the Trinity of Sin, is kind of redundant. It's like ... if you're going to have The Question come in as this type of character (which Doctor 13, Doctor Occult and a dozen others already fill the role of) then why do you need to change Constantine's character to be this as well? Furthermore, why say, cancel Constantine's title to give him a New 52 makeover and solo when you could tell the same story with the New 52 Question who also got basically the same makeover?

The Question's role now, I feel, is more like what Phantom Stranger's used to be. A secret mystical hero somewhere in the shadows with an unknown origin, unknown motivations, and unknown power level. He will certainly become more important as we get closer to Trinity War. I'm hoping (unlike the other two), he's someone I can root for.

[Brave Sir Robbin]

I thought it was a pretty fun issue. The little misadventure with Frankenstein, Amethyst, and Black Orchid was funny and also provided some good insight into the story. I would love to see Frankenstein as a permanent member. There is a lot going on in Constantine's conversations that points to stuff on the way. So we get cool adventure with set up. It was pretty well done. A lot of books really stall in the set up phase. This one is keeping a lot of balls in the air.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

I thought it was a pretty fun issue. The little misadventure with Frankenstein, Amethyst, and Black Orchid was funny and also provided some good insight into the story. I would love to see Frankenstein as a permanent member. There is a lot going on in Constantine's conversations that points to stuff on the way. So we get cool adventure with set up. It was pretty well done. A lot of books really stall in the set up phase. This one is keeping a lot of balls in the air.

Yeah, as long as he is on board, so am I.

[new_onslaught]

Just read it! It was really good! IMO #13 and the annual had one or two dialogue problems, but they were gone here. Good to see that Lemire keeps writing a good Frankenstein. Also with this issue I srat to like Orchid. Hope she stays on the team even after the next arc and keeps being developed by Lemire. The art was good for a fill-in but only a select few can beat Janin, so I wait for his return in the next issue.

[SediarSago]

I've seen MUCH better from JLD. I hope that the next arc returns to it's dark roots from Milligan. That's where the book REALLY shines IMO. It's gotten too Indiana Jones. And Trinity War buildup! This makes me think that it will be the 3 teams against one another. The Question on JL, Pandora on JLA and Phantom on JLD. I think the first 2 will be where I said since it's quite possible The Question hijacked Brother Eye and the JLI is government run, like the JLA will be. The JL will then deny helping Pandora open the box, but knowing the government, they say "Sure! As long as we benefit!" Box opens and Trinity War begins.

[xpaperxherox]

First open reference to Trinity War! And the stuff on the wall were interesting. Project: Ascension. I wonder where or when that will get tackled but seems we got a name for Black Orchid and that she was a Private... at least, according to her file. Liked Franky wondering if the mansion's library had a poetry section.

Another good issue and it to me raises yet more questions that I can't wait to find out about.

No cutting this title.


John

[xpaperxherox]

I would love to see Frankenstein as a permanent member.

Now that would be a very good move on DC's part.


John