Justice League Dark No. 7 review: Welcome to The Twilight Zone

The Otherkind have begun to enter the earthly plane in abundance and yet seem too powerful to stop. The Justice League Dark arrives too late to do anything but take in the aftermath and soon, it will be too late to stop the Otherkind.

Justice League Dark has been a great book since this new volume has begun, and there never has really been any sign of that changing. Even with a crossover happening four issues in, which is almost always a surefire sign of a dip in quality, that wasn’t the case. With its newest though, this may be the best single issue that the book has had since its inception.

James Tynion IV has excelled at writing this book because it’s obvious that he has an affinity for corners of the DC Universe that haven’t really been explored since Vertigo books like Saga of the Swamp Thing and Hellblazer were at the height of their power in the 1980s. Tynion is able to use the mythos’ that were established in books such as those, and others that have been established in the DCU, while making his own and that is key in his use of the Otherkind.

The Otherkind genuinely feel like they could have appeared in Saga of the Swamp Thing or The Sandman, which is crazy to think about. They fit so organically into this world that it’s already hard to think about them never existing in the DCU before this. They are great, horrifying villains that are absolutely perfect for a book like this.

Image by DC Comics/Art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno

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Then there’s Tynion’s approach to structuring this issue. It feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone, with an anthology style feel and even the exaggerated, stylized fonts of 50s and 60s creature features. It’s a fun way to appreciate the past while also using it to enhance the story that is being told. With the stories that are being told in this issue too, they are fantastic. They are creepy and foreboding tales that gives you chills while reading it, and surprisingly gory too.

A lot of the creepiness in this issue can very much be attributed to how good the art is as well. Alvaro Martinez Bueno returns to the book in a spectacular fashion with some of his creepiest imagery to date. The way he’s able to frame so much of his scares gives his art every bit of added punch that it needs to be extremely effective throughout the issue. Couple that with the shadows to hide the horrors and the body language of many of the Otherkind, it’s a recipe for fantastic horror artistry.

The last couple of pages, though, highlight just how good of a horror artist, and artist in general, Martinez Bueno is. There aren’t going to be any spoilers regarding said pages, but they are creepy and extremely unsettling, especially the last three panels.

9.8/10 

Justice League Dark is at its best in this issue with its highlight of some of the most horrific villains that the DC Universe has to offer.