A team of superheroes has formed to find out what's wrong with magic. In this second volume of Justice League Dark published by Urban Comics, this research results in a battle between order and chaos.
Magic in bulk
Since the destruction of a protective barrier at the edge of the universe, the very nature of magic has been turned upside down. Spells turn against magicians as a tree of wonders arrives in our universe. Noticing this mess, Wonder Woman recruits specialists to fix it. In the previous volume, this League of Darkness faced the invasion of Earth by a group thirsty for magical energy, the Alterspecies, and led by the Inverted Man. This arrival provoked the intervention of Dr. Fate, the defender of the Order. In the first pages, the reader attends the funeral of Nightmaster, holder of the night sword and protector of the magical kingdom of Myrr but especially boss of Chimp's favorite bar. The detective, devastated by the death of his friend, drinks to forget. Fleeing responsibility, he discovers at the end of the ceremony that his friend has bequeathed him his bar, his sword and therefore the charge of protector. This hero is convinced that it is the worst possible choice and, indeed, the end of the first episode reveals that he has made Myrr a more dangerous kingdom than Game of Thrones. The League finds itself involved in two combat zones: a group against the Blue Devil, then skeletons and dragons in the kingdom of Myrr while Constantine and the Creature of the swamp joined by the Phantom Stranger oppose Dr. Fate who has found nothing more subtle than suppressing magic to save the world. Gradually, screenwriter James Tynion IV sets up a conflict between three groups : the Alterspecies wants to invade the world to feed on magic, Dr. Fate wants to purge the world of magic and the League of Darkness wants to save magical beings. All this leads at the end of the volume to epic fights. An unlikely alliance is formed to save the magical world. Even if these struggles are engaging, the dialogues are a little talkative and the background of the story is very hollow. 
A League with little unity
Wonder Woman brings together a diverse team. The magician Zatanna is a regular on superhero teams. Detective Chimp, Bobo, is certainly the best detective in the world but he is also a chimpanzee dressed as Sherlock Holmes who assiduously frequents the Bar of Oblivion. Having become a bat following an experiment, Man Bat, Kirk Langstrom, is a scientist with a murderous madness that would have totally disappeared according to his own words. The Creature of the Swamp is as its name suggests a being made of mud and swampy plants, but it is also the guardian of life on Earth. Constantine is a jaded English magician who despises heroic deeds, but can't help but save the world. All these individuals do not necessarily want to act together, which causes tension. Classically, the team unites little by little as some become aware of their role. This volume of Justice League Dark is a supernatural investigation to save the world. The gravity of the situation increases with each new death of magical creatures. The League wants to gather for the fight back the maximum of magical beings. The writer likes to pay tribute to horror comics with an episode in the style of Tales from the Crypt: a narrator takes up different dark stories that end badly each time. These stories are also an opportunity for the neophyte to see most of the magical beings of the universe – such as Etrigan the Demon created by Jack Kirby – and to discover different magical folklore – midnite dad for voodoo. 
Although he is not the only artist, Daniel Sampere illustrates most of the episodes in a very classic style, but in an open and effective layout. He is particularly good at representing animals. Detective Chimp has not only a realistic face, but also monkey facial expressions. This can be seen in the bonuses of the inked pages before colorization as well as in some pages of Juan Albarran. We can point out the beautiful colors throughout the book. This second volume of Justice League Dark continues the momentum with a superb drawing illuminating a supernatural investigation to save the world. Although the action accelerates in the last two episodes, we can however regret that the narrative is at times light and banal.
