Justice League Dark: Paradise Lost Review

Finished reading Justice League Dark: Paradise Lost, dealing with the fallout of Forever Evil: Blight the team is scaled back as writer J.M. DeMatteis tells a few personal stories for some of the teams members. The book opens up with John Constantine in a bar when he is attached by Deadman who has possessed a waitress, while back at the House of Mystery Zatanna and Nightmare Nurse are relaxing in the houses pool room as Frankenstein and Black Orchid prepare to leave the team due to the events of Forever Evil when Constantine walks in to see Zatanna. Constantine then leaves after officially breaking up with Zatanna who then summons Swap Thing to a team meeting when Asa, the Nightmare Nurse bursts into flames and starts calling herself Alice. With Asa being separated from Alice, she contacts Constantine asking to help her rein-habit Alice's body after being lost in the Between. The next story has Deadman having strange visions of Nanda Parbat, leading to him going to a nearby circus to clear his head only to see his old friend Brahma Dass who directs him to the city of Nanda Parbat only for Deadman to discover that Brahma Dass is the disguise of the monstrous Pantheon. The final story features an incarnation of the tear five years into the future as the team leader Zatanna try's to find a way to get the team and the House of Mystery back home from being stranded in a strange dimensional relm when they come across a man drifting outside of the house. Overall this was a good book as it dives into the backstory of Nightmare Nurse and Deadman as elements of their past effect the teams dynamic. The interactions between Constantine and Zatanna are great as J.M. DeMatteis really dives into their relationship along with Deadman and his interactions with Brahma Dass as the two characters play of each other incredibly well. While the design of the monstrous creatures like Pantheon and the conscious of the Between give the feel of the team being underdogs thanks to their sheer scale and size.7/10.