Justice League Dark #10 review

John Constantine and his ragtag Justice League Dark dare to enter the House of Mystery.

Not that getting in is difficult - Constantine has a key, and proprietorial privileges to the property, 'one of two twin [sic] houses that exist at the cross section of all space and time'. Specifically, he has a demon servant, N'aall, and a hold over anyone who accepts his invitation to enter. So even though his reluctant colleagues may leave, he can always summon them back.

Zatanna and Deadman aren't happy about this, but they see the sense in helping Constantine with his quest to find the legendary Books of Magic. Having grabbed the map to the Books' hidden location from old Justice League enemy Felix Faust, he plans to track them down.

Meanwhile in Washington DC, Faust is questioned by government agent Steve Trevor - tortured, if truth be told - and he reveals that he's boobytrapped the box holding the map. Even as they speak, his Demons Three are attacking the League, with the aim of bringing the Books back to him.

And in Greenwich Village, the occultist Madame Xanadu's vision tells her that letting Constantine find the texts would doom the world.

So, the House of Mystery makes its DC New 52 debut, but without its most famous caretaker, Cain - presumably because the team recently fought a less cuddly version of the first murderer. Instead we have N'aall, who looks to be your standard sarcy servant, Alfred with bat-wings. And unwelcome guests in the form of the Demons Three.

The dynamic between our heroes - Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman, Dr Mist, Black Orchid and vampire Andrew Bennett - continues to be sparky without getting wearisome. We see what Mist's powers are, and find that Black Orchid isn't someone to cross. Zee learns that Constantine lied to her last issue (as I feared), while Deadman wants to leave, but reckons John is right that the Books of Magic shouldn't fall into the hands of any government, which is what would happen were they to turn the map over to their handler, Trevor. Bennett does leave, irked by Constantine's manipulations, but his newly forged link to the House means he'll be back.

In terms of character and narrative, writer Jeff Lemire is delivering. The plot is well-worked, the dialogue sparky and he isn't afraid to tap into DC's mystical toybox to show how big the magical universe is. The script isn't perfect, though - Dr Mist's usage of 'my dear' a couple of times is beyond cheesy; maybe he's trying too hard to play the mystic. And Constantine is referred to as 'the limey bastard' by two different characters over the course of four pages - has anyone really used the term 'Limey' since, oh, I dunno, the Second World War?

More seriously, I don't like Trevor's use of torture to get Faust to talk - this is Steve Trevor, traditionally the noblest of American military men; he should be above that.

I do like that Trevor's assistant is called Von Eeden. Put them together and you get Trevor Von Eeden, under-appreciated Eighties stylist. I also like Mikel Janin's expressive artwork, which really sells the idea that this corner of the DC Universe is just that little bit different. He's also first-rate at capturing the tension between the various heroes. Now, if only he and colourist Ulises Arreola would be kind enough to give the Demons Three their classic looks back - here, they appear to be rock creatures rather than the motley monstrosities of old - things would be perfect.

Topping off the issue is a splendid homage to probably the most famous House of Mystery cover, and it's typical of the care the creative team is putting into this offbeat superhero comic.