Justice League Dark #9

Looks like Black Orchid and Andrew Bennett are joining the team.

Now that the Andrew Bennett/Gotham City Vampirefest crossover is done, maybe Justice League Dark can get on with being its own book. Peter Milligan is gone and Jeff Lemire has taken over the duties of writer. Milligan changed up the team himself in preparation for the transfer of writers, so Lemire is actually free to do whatever he wants without betraying the story so far. The only thing Milligan seemed to care about doing was taking Shade away and putting him in his pocket and locking away the key. Nobody else gets to fuck with Shade, I guess.

The story opens in the Amazon Jungle where Felix Faust is busy running a sacrificial cult. Let's check in on Who's Who and see what it has to say about Felix. His first appearance was in 1962 in Justice League of America #10. His occupation is "Sorcerer." In Faust's history, it says he studied the Necronomicon! Oh! And he's the guy who summoned Abnegazar, Rath, and Ghast from their imprisonment in the center of the Earth. A, R, and G made an appearance in Morrison's '97 run of Justice League. Other than that, I only ever knew about them from the old Who's Who (which is different than the new Who's Who I have at my disposal). You might remember Felix Faust best as the guy on this cover of the Justice League of America:

Aquaman's totally bitching. "Why I gotta be the fucking thumb?" And who's the normal guy?

Felix's men have just captured a hooded man and brought him to Felix. Felix is surprised to see that it's John Constantine. I think he would have known who it was by the smell of cigarettes around him. I'm sure we'll learn why John is in the rainforest later.

Every single person in this comic book has delusions of grandeur.

And speaking of every single person, here they are to rescue John. Well, not rescue, exactly, since this is all just part of the initial plan.

Why is Andrew Bennett on the team? Will I, Vampire #9 explain that? Should I have read that comic first?

Constantine introduces everyone via the popular Narration Boxes. It seems Andrew Bennett is kind of a member of the team so that they can keep an eye on him. And as for how they got to Peru (the why is stop Faust), well, he's going to tell that story by using one of those "24 hours earlier" boxes. Except this time he starts a week previous to the opening action.

Before I read the prologue, I'll just say I like that the team seems to be formed here and considers itself a team. Sort of. Constantine disliked Brand's use of the term "Super-hero" but they've gone from being reluctantly pulled together by Madame Xanadu's manipulation to working together toward a common goal. Jeff Lemire will probably put more humor into the book, which is a good thing. Milligan can be good at introspective melancholy with a heaping tablespoon of dark humor. He can be fun as well! Shade the Changing Man was definitely that. But it might be nice to have some lighter humor and Lemire can provide that from what I've seen of his work so far. I definitely like Deadman better already. He's pouting less and back to his want-to-be a superhero mentality.

Xanadu's vinegar has been traded for Trevor's honey. And Trevor's honey consists of a whole warehouse full of magic items, including Doctor Destiny's Dreamstone!

This premise is already much better than Milligan's which forced a bunch of lone magic types to work together. It was never going to work smoothly when Xanadu was manipulating everyone. But if Steve Trevor can put the group together with the promise of something each of them wants, Justice League Dark could be an actual working and believable group. And the members could change as needed just like Suicide Squad. A member might get what they need out of a mission and decide to go their own way. Then Steve Trevor can hire the next DC Magic Character on the roster for a few missions.

ARGUS's mystical adviser is Dr. Mist. I know who that is thanks to the Who's Who entry I read earlier! Five thousand years ago, Felix Faust tried to steal some Flame of Immortality from him but Dr. Mist had to incorporate the flame into his being to save it from Faust. He then banished Faust to some alternate dimension where Faust was trapped until being freed in the 20th Century. At some point, Faust realized Dr. Mist and his magic flame were still alive and Faust decided he still wanted it. So they have a history! And now Dr. Mist has disappeared while trying to infiltrate Faust's new cult. Which is why Trevor has sought out Constantine.

Look at this. This. This is how you transition from one writer to another. Lemire brings the whole thing together. Milligan's story sets the tone for Lemire to bring the team together in a real way. Lemire doesn't just trash the first eight issues and begin again. He uses it as history and cause for Trevor to create Justice League Dark. Very well done. 

If Constantine can bring the team together and bring back whatever artifact is currently giving Faust his powers, Trevor will allow Constantine a few minutes alone in the Black Room for a shoplifting spree. Black Orchid, a member of ARGUS, will be going on the mission to keep an eye on Constantine and make sure he doesn't just take Faust's artifact for himself. But knowing Constantine, he's going to do whatever is best for Constantine, Black Orchid babysitting or not.

But now Constantine has to convince the group to work together just like Xanadu did. Hopefully he's better at manipulation than Xanadu was. Although this sort of fucks up my compliments to Lemire about getting the team together more smoothly than Milligan did! It looks like Lemire has the same problem. Except he's starting out with the least likely guy to join a team and giving him a good reason. Plus he's the master manipulator in DC, so he'll figure it all out. And he's much more charming than Madame Xanadu. She's just a fucking buzzkill. Except in Demon Knights! I'm liking her much better there than I've ever liked her before. How can you not? She's fucking Etrigan!

Justice League Dark make it inside Faust's Pyramid Dungeon of Doom and instantly encounter a bunch of Driders.

Driders with severe tummy aches even.

Back to the flashback and how Constantine convinced everyone to come with him, we see that Bennett is there because he told Constantine that he owes him one. Constantine is cashing in that favor right now. So Bennett is in to clear the slate. Xanadu tells John she's a pot and John is a kettle. So she's out.

What a bitch. I think she owes John a favor as well. But now that John wants to get the group together and it isn't her idea, she's going to pout and moan. Fuck you, Xanadu!

Nobody but Bennett is willing to go with John. But after the meeting, Zatanna speaks with him to find out what this is truly about. Constantine tells her about his chance at the Black Room. He thinks if Zatanna will help, the others will also. But even Zatanna wants to know what's in it for her and why she should help.

John lies to Zatanna and tells her that her father Zatara's magic hat is in the Black Room. Well, that might not be a lie! It could be! But he says Trevor showed him a picture of the room and the hat was there. Constantine sure knows how to play a con. But I think Constantine still doesn't exactly believe the Black Room exists. He's probably just out to get the artifact that Faust is using. Con men generally know when they're being conned. So basically, Justice League Dark finds itself battling Faust in the Amazon due to lie after lie after lie.

Can't she say, "Llet eht hturt!", and know for sure?

Justice League Dark takes out Faust with a little legerdemain. Constantine is disguised as Black Orchid and Orchid has shape-shifted to look like Constantine. When Faust grabs Constantine (Orchid!) by the throat in a magical grip, Orchid reveals herself and knocks him out in one punch. Faust's entry in Who's Who specifically stated that he sucked at hand to hand combat. But in different words.

Faust is down and they free Dr. Mist. The only thing left is to open the secret alcove and find out what artifact Felix Faust was using to bolster his powers. They open the container and all looked shocked. Before I turn the page, I'll take a guess at what the artifact is. First, it's most likely a person and not an object. Unless it's Zatara's hat. Or maybe it's Zatara! That might be a good guess. Who else in the DC Universe could be used as a magic amplifier?

Yeah, I got nuttin'. Let's see what lies behind Door #1!

Well, look at how unclose I was to guessing this!

It looks like it's quest time for the Justice League Dark! Except how is Constantine going to convince them all to use the map for themselves to find the Books of Magic? Zatanna wants her father's hat, not the Books of Magic. And Bennett said he was done with John after this. And Black Orchid is supposed to keep John from using the artifact himself. Although Dr. Mist might actually side with John and decide that it's more important to use the tesseract to save Meg's father to find the The Books of Magic (didn't some kid named Tim already find those?).

Justice League Dark #9 Rating: +1 Ranking. Lemire has picked up smoothly were Milligan left off and increased my interest in the book. The characters are really working well together. Things were a bit forced with Milligan's run but they also needed to be. These are people not meant to work together. But here they are on yet third mission with each other. And they're getting much more comfortable as a team although none of that will last once Zatanna realizes John used her dead father to gain her trust. But that's Constantine for you! Imagining up bridges to burn before they can even be built. Great job taking this title over, Lemire.