Comic Review: Justice League: Road To Dark Crisis #1 (DC Comics)

With the Justice League dead and gone, forces from across the multiverse have spiraled out into war trying to fill a power vacuum that is up for grabs. The only ones left in the aftermath to pick up the slack and defend existence are the remaining heroes left behind. Who will rise to the challenge? What dark forces await the remaining heroes of earth and the heroes across the multiverse?

Joshua Williamson has been spearheading this project as the current architect of the DC Universe, and for the first time in a long while, not since the Pre New -52 era of DC do we get to see many of the proteges of the old order step up to the plate as prominent characters again. Readers get to see the aftermath of the Justice League’s death and how it impacts the hero community and the universe at large. What is great is that since Infinite Frontier, many of the heroes have awareness of the various crises and how it has impacted their views on death, and the multiverse, causing the characters to be more self-aware of their place within the universe, and how it impacts their actions going forward.

With a universe that has had long-standing continuities and reboots that are unique to each generation, it’s nice to see Williamson and the various writers such as Phillip K. Johnson, Jeremy Adams, Stephanie Phillips and Chuck Brown attached to the book collaborate in weaving everything together, fittingly reaching different generations of readers that might find something to appreciate as they plant the seeds for the upcoming Dark Crisis event.

This book contains a roundtable of illustrators, such as Dan Jurgens, Norm Rapmund, Rosi Kämpe, Leila Del Duca, Clayton Henry, and Fico Ossio all deliver art of various qualities that are fitting for the kind of stories that the writers have cobbled together. Their linework is accompanied by Hi-Fi, Matt Herms, Jordie Bellaire, Sebastian Cheng, and Marcelo Maiolo, all of whom contribute varied colorwork that is complementary to the assigned artists and stories that they contribute to. Josh Reed wraps the whole book up with his letter work. If you’re a DC fan that wants to jump into the current state of events or have an idea what Dark Crisis is centered on, this is a good book to catch you up on the current state of events, especially if you’re a fan of the pre-New -52 era where the protégés take center stage as the main heroes, as they should.