In June 2013, I created my original guide to Justice League Dark. I kept updating it until the series ended in May 2015. It was my attempt to catalogue everything about a three-and-a-half year comic book series that I absolutely loved so anybody who grew interested in the characters and stories could learn more about them and where to start reading them. Since the end of the original JLD comic, DC’s played around with the characters a bit, with rumors of a live-action movie in development, the release of a very good animated movie that you should watch, plenty of guest-spots from magical characters in the Justice League Action cartoon, and there’s even going to be a Justice League Dark DLC pack in the upcoming video game LEGO DC Supervillains, which has me optimistic about the future of the brand. But while that may sound like a lot, genuine JLD content has been rare, and there hasn’t been a go-to place for fans of magic and horror in the DC Universe.

Thankfully, all that’s about to change. On July 25th, 2018, DC will be starting a new Justice League Dark comic. And I’ve decided to continue my work as the self-proclaimed biggest Justice League Dark fan on the Internet. Sure, the comic hasn’t started yet, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t prep work that can be done. I’m trying not to repeat too much information from the previous guide, but I do feel like it’s worth copypasting one thing right at the start:

What is the Justice League Dark?

The Justice League Dark is a magical team, a group of supernatural heroes who protect the world from the paranormal threats that the regular superheroes aren’t equipped to battle. We’ll discuss the members of the team in a bit, but first, there’s another team I’d like to talk about.



The Creative Team:

Writer: James Tynion IV (Issue #1 onwards)

James Tynion IV is the protege of one of DC’s golden boys, Scott Snyder, but it is by no means a stretch to say that he matches his mentor’s talent (and maybe even outright surpasses it). Since almost the beginning of the New 52, Tynion’s mostly cut his teeth on Batman and the Bat Family, from Dark Nights: Metal tie-ins to Talon to Batman and Robin Eternal to, most recently, an absolutely phenomenal 47-issue run on the DC Rebirth Detective Comics series. That last book especially showed Tynion’s ability to write a dynamic team-based book with lots of different personalities bouncing off each other, and having him kick off the new JLD series promises more of the same.

Artist: Alvaro Martínez Bueno (Issue #1 onwards)

Alvaro Martínez is a Spanish artist and singer. He’s been working exclusively with DC for a few years, and along with inker Raul Fernandez, has worked on books such as Convergence: Booster Gold and some issues of the New 52 Aquaman series. The duo also worked with Tynion recently on Detective Comics, delivering top-notch DC house-style artwork, and the previews of his work on JLD show a new, exciting, creepy horror bend to his usual artwork that looks very promising.

The Stories:

Even before JLD officially begins, we already have a little something to dive into…

Justice League: No Justice

This four-issue weekly series ran through May of 2018 and acted as a transition point for a new status quo in the DC Universe. It was co-written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, and Joshua Williamson with art mostly by Francis Manapul (but also sometimes Marcus To and Riley Rossmo). This event comic told the story of the Superman villain Brainiac bringing together twenty different heroes and villains to split into four teams based on the principles of Entropy, Mystery, Wisdom, and Wonder to save the universe from primal beings called the Omega Titans. For our purposes, it’s most important to mention the magical Team Wonder, led by Wonder Woman and also consisting of Zatanna, Doctor Fate, Raven, and the demon Etrigan. This magical quintet battled spirits on an alien world together, and the actions they took on that adventure will tie directly into the first issues of Justice League Dark. It’s also good pre-reading for the new line-ups for Justice League, Titans, Teen Titans, and JLD’s new cosmic sister series Justice League Odyssey.

-Quality: No Justice is a fun little story on its own but nothing too special. By and large it’s mostly use to set up a new status quo: New Justice League, new Titans, JLD, Odyssey, all of ‘em. You get to see some fun character interactions (every scene with Starro is gold), but it really is a set-up more than a satisfying full tale in itself.

The Last Age of Magic (Issues #1-3):

In the wake of No Justice, a crack in the source wall has allowed an ancient force to return. Led by the mysterious Upside Down Man, this force is called the “Otherkind”, and they are the original owners of magic. Their return is causing all magic users to lose control of their powers, and while the magical community is spinning their wheels debating a possible solution, Wonder Woman is assembling a team on behalf of the Justice League to deal with the problem directly.

-Quality: “The Last Age of Magic”

The Witching Hour (Crossover Event):

After the JLD beats back the Otherkind’s first invasion attempt, the Greek goddess of witchcraft Hecate rises with a plan to get rid of the progenitors of magic permanently, and Wonder Woman is part of it. This is a five-issue story, starting in the special Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1, then Wonder Woman #56, Justice League Dark #3, Wonder Woman #57, and finally another special issue, Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1.

-Quality: “The Witching Hour” is the best of the few stories so far. Hecate is an epic threat who breaks and rewrites some of the rules of magic, and the story goes out of its way to define just what magic is in the grand scheme of the multiverse. The story does a great job of fully pulling Wonder Woman into the magical side of the DC Universe, as well as setting up some great threats for future arcs.

The Team:



The original JLD comic had an almost-constantly changing roster, as many team books tend to do, with one or two members leaving here or there for a while and somebody else replacing them. The new series is starting off with five members, though at this time there’s no indication whether any of them are in it for the long haul or if they’ll be joined by new members.

Wonder Woman:

As with any character created in the 1940s, there is so much to say about Wonder Woman. At least ten times as much as anybody else on this list. But as she doesn’t really need an introduction, I’ll try to keep it brief. I will fail to keep it brief, but I promise I’m trying.

Wonder Woman is Diana, Princess of Themyscira, a small island somewhere near Greece inhabited by immortal Amazons. Diana is also the daughter of the Greek God Zeus, making her a demigoddess and the strongest and most capable of the Amazons. For a while she was even the god of war, though it’s unclear if that’s still the case. Diana is one of the most powerful and respected heroes in the DC Universe, though the thing that really defines her is her status as an icon for others to look up to. Loving, compassionate, honest, and never hesitating to do the right thing, Wonder Woman cares more about people than just about anybody else in all of comics, maybe even Superman. She is a fierce warrior, but also a scholar, world traveler, and diplomat. There is nobody in the world like Wonder Woman, but if everybody tried to be, the world would definitely be a better place.

Wonder Woman is the leader of the new incarnation of the Justice League Dark, using the Justice League’s resources to provide the team with a secret lair underneath the Hall of Justice. Between being a major superhero and a godly being, she’s used to walking in the light, fighting villains and other godly beings who can be defeated with physical force and fierce conviction. She is not as used to battling the things that lurk in the dark that other magical heroes do, and so she’s assembled a team who are qualified to help her deal with this new world she’s jumping into.

There is plenty of Wonder Woman in media outside of the new JLD comic. Not only does she have her own book, but as mentioned before, she’s also a member of Justice League. In other media, Wonder Woman can be regularly seen on Cartoon Network’s Justice League Action, and there is of course the phenomenal movie starring Gal Gadot which has a sequel due for release in 2019, not to mention her involvement in the Justice League movie.

Zatanna:

Zatanna Zatara is the mistress of magic, able to make things happen by speaking backwards, and the only founding member of the original Justice League Dark to come back in this team. One of the most powerful magicians in the DC Universe, Zatanna is the poster girl for magical heroism in a world where most magical beings are freaks, monsters, and untrustworthy limey con artists.

Right before the JLD’s last incarnation disbanded, Zatanna had been acting as the leader of the team, a welcome change from when John Constantine was calling the shots. At first she refuses Wonder Woman’s call when Diana is putting together a new team, citing the fact that while she respects Wonder Woman, the Amazon just doesn’t know enough about magic to fight this problem. However, after receiving a message from her dead father about an oncoming crises that could destroy the world, she’s changed her tune, and brought Swamp Thing into the mix.

Zatanna hasn’t really been active since the end of the previous JLD series, although she was one of the main characters of the out-of-continuity miniseries Mystik U, in which she was a teenager going to the DC Universe’s version of wizarding school. Zatanna also regularly appears as a guest character on Justice League Action and was heavily featured in the Justice League Dark animated movie.

Swamp Thing:

Dr. Alec Holland long ago lost his human form, and in its place became one with the Green, a mystical network of all the plant life on Earth. As the Swamp Thing, he can talk to, control, and move through plants, able to travel to any part of the world instantly so long as there’s plant life there, even showing the ability to revive and grow a new body from dead plants. He is essentially a living god.

Swamp Thing joins Zatanna as the only returning member of the previous Justice League Dark, although he was only officially a member during the second half of the previous series’ run, starting during the Forever Evil event. On paper, Swamp Thing could be considered the most powerful member of the Justice League Dark, as he can’t really be defeated physically unless you destroy the entire planet (or at least killing all plant life on Earth, but destroying the entire planet at once is probably easier). But when magic’s concerned, even the mighty Swamp Thing can be felled by the right spell.

Swamp Thing’s last major appearances in comics were the Swamp Thing Winter Special and a short story in Young Monsters in Love. Aside from that, he had a six-issue miniseries written by the late Len Wein with art by Kelley Jones during DC’s short-lived DCYou era. It was supposed to get a sequel miniseries, but Len Wein’s death cut that short. In other media, Swamp Thing has been a recurring guest character on Justice League Action, was in the Justice League Dark animated movie, and surprisingly had a role in the Batman and Harley Quinn movie. He’s also slated to be getting his own series on the new DC Universe streaming service.

Man-Bat:

All Dr. Kirk Langstrom ever wanted was to fix his hearing and enjoy life with his wife Francine. Instead, some experiments gone horribly wrong transformed him into a humanoid bat monster. Having cured himself of this condition and relapsing back into it multiple times, the Man-Bat has had many run-ins with Batman, sometimes as a feral monster that needs to be stopped, sometimes intelligent and wanting to use his abilities for good.

Kirk is trying to reform, and has been turned over to the Justice League’s care by ARGUS, the US government’s agency for dealing with superhumans. He’s essentially the team’s mad scientist, although just how mad is up for debate. He’s trying to solve magical crises through science, and is thrilled to be trusted with important research again, although he knows that the road to reformation and acceptance by the world at large is going to be a long one. He also keeps some vials of the old Man-Bat serum on hand in case he needs to get into a fight.

Man-Bat hasn’t featured too prominently in recent stories, his biggest appearance in recent memory being a short story in Young Monsters in Love. This seems like it may be different from his usual incarnations, so while there are a number of old cartoon and comics appearances you can look for him in, none of them may prepare you for his new portrayal.

Detective Chimp:

Bobo was once a simple chimpanzee, trained for a circus sideshow. Then one day while the circus was in Florida, he happened across the legendary Fountain of Youth and drank from it. Drinking the mystical waters enlightened Bobo, gifting him with speech and intelligence far greater than that of the average human as well as immortality. Now when he’s not solving cases as one of the world’s most skilled detectives, he’s usually busy in the grand old gumshoe tradition of getting drunk as a skunk.

Detective Chimp is one of the less-respected members of the magical community in the DC Universe, though he is the current owner of the Oblivion Bar, a mystical tavern that serves good and evil magic users alike. When Wonder Woman needs help, he’s one of the first people to answer the call, and his deductive abilities make him an invaluable asset to the team.

Detective Chimp’s been almost entirely absent from comics since the beginning of the New 52, his first major appearance in the past few years being in the DC Rebirth Holiday Special. If you want to know more about him, you’d do best going back to 2005 and checking out his involvement with the JLD’s pre-reboot predecessors, Shadowpact. You can see Bobo in action in both the Infinite Crisis tie-in Day of Vengeance and the following 4-trade volume Shadowpact series, all written by Fables creator Bill Willingham. He also appeared in a couple episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, including the recent direct-to-home animated movie Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold.



Final Notes:

I intend to keep this guide updated as the new comic comes out, adding information about storylines, characters, and members of the creative team as they come and go. This includes images. I’ve tried to use relatively recent images of all the team members, but I plan to replace them with panels from the actual Justice League Dark comic once it’s out. I’m also hoping issue #1 will have enough information that I can update a lot of this to be less speculative. DC’s starting off with really strong creative team on this book, and I look forward to seeing what they’ll bring us.