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The Witching Hour #1-5
Wonder Woman & Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour
The future of magic in the DC Universe is rewritten in Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour, an epic adventure by New York Times best-selling writer James Tynion IV and artists including Jesus Merino, Emanuela Lupacchino and Alvaro Mart�nez Bueno.
Long ago, Hecate, the goddess of magic, stole the powers of other mystic entities and hid them in Earth beings called the Witchmarked. In every generation, Hecate has designated new keepers of those powers, all unaware of their burden. Now the original owners have returned, and Hecate must awaken today's Witchmarked, among them Wonder Woman! Allied with Justice League Dark--including John Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman, Swamp Thing and Detective Chimp--as well as her deadliest enemy, Circe, Wonder Woman must embrace a heritage she never knew she had for a battle they must win...at any cost.
Collects Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1, Wonder Woman #56-57, Justice League Dark #4 and Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1.
Long ago, Hecate, the goddess of magic, stole the powers of other mystic entities and hid them in Earth beings called the Witchmarked. In every generation, Hecate has designated new keepers of those powers, all unaware of their burden. Now the original owners have returned, and Hecate must awaken today's Witchmarked, among them Wonder Woman! Allied with Justice League Dark--including John Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman, Swamp Thing and Detective Chimp--as well as her deadliest enemy, Circe, Wonder Woman must embrace a heritage she never knew she had for a battle they must win...at any cost.
Collects Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1, Wonder Woman #56-57, Justice League Dark #4 and Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1.
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2019
28 people are currently reading
640 people want to read
About the author
James Tynion IV
1,643 books1,987 followersPrior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.
Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.
Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 159 reviews
September 3, 2019
Just a little FYI: This story takes place in the middle of Justice League Dark, Vol. 1: The Last Age of Magic.
I stopped reading JLD after issue 3, picked up The Witching Hour, and then resumed JLD at issue 5. I think it probably helped keep me from scratching my head as much as I would have otherwise.
Ok, the gist is that Wonder Woman is (because of spoilery stuff) possessed by a very angry Hectate who's pissed that humans took her gifts and fucked her over.
Bottom line?
Our girl Diana gets a bit out of control. <--very cool
So her friends in the JLDark have to make some friends in low places to try to figure out a way to get rid of Hectate without destroying Wonder Woman in the process. I don't want to spoil anything but it's good stuff!
I'm a big fan of DC Mystic and maybe that gives me rose-colored glasses, but I've always enjoyed this team. And this volume is another great addition to the JLD title, in my opinion.
Recommended!
I stopped reading JLD after issue 3, picked up The Witching Hour, and then resumed JLD at issue 5. I think it probably helped keep me from scratching my head as much as I would have otherwise.
Ok, the gist is that Wonder Woman is (because of spoilery stuff) possessed by a very angry Hectate who's pissed that humans took her gifts and fucked her over.
Bottom line?
Our girl Diana gets a bit out of control. <--very cool
So her friends in the JLDark have to make some friends in low places to try to figure out a way to get rid of Hectate without destroying Wonder Woman in the process. I don't want to spoil anything but it's good stuff!
I'm a big fan of DC Mystic and maybe that gives me rose-colored glasses, but I've always enjoyed this team. And this volume is another great addition to the JLD title, in my opinion.
Recommended!
April 13, 2020
Tynion is knocking it out of the park with the Justice League Dark. Editorially, the collections are a mess as you should read the first 3 issues of Justice League Dark, then come back to this, then go back and finish Justice League Dark, Volume 1: The Last Age of Magic. Still he's building quite the story as the laws of magic are being rewritten and the very core of magic threatened. Hecate has gotten it in her head that magic is irrevocably broken. She's going to destroy all magic on Earth and recreate it which will undoubtedly kill everyone on Earth as well. Wonder Woman and Zatanna are both extremely well written and just overall badasses. If I had a complaint, it would be that Tynion allows himself to turn into an info-dump at times.
November 22, 2024
Lots of magic!
October 31, 2018
Are there any crossover events in existence that don't turn into barely legible mess towards the end? I doubt it. James Tynion's latest one, The Witching Hour, is also one of those — started out extremely well, then petered out into a convoluted stream of infodumps and too-high-to-care stakes in the last few issues. Still, it was a fun ride while it lasted.
First of all, I have no idea how DC is planning to collect all this. The crossover starts right after the third issue of Tynion's Justice League Dark, and it includes two special issues, issue #4 of Justice League Dark and two issues of Wonder Woman, all written by Tynion. Apparently that is all that's going to be collected here, but issues 1-3 of JLD are absolutely necessary for this crossover, too! And what are they going to do with the first trade of JLD? Just include issue #4, or will it skip the events of The Witching hour midway through the book entirely, skipping to 5 right after 3? There will be a whole arc missing in between those issues! That's just insanity, especially for a volume 1. Why did it even have to be a crossover event in the first place?! Wonder Woman is already a part of Justice League Dark team, so who is crossing over with whom exactly? Ughhh. What a mess.
Anyway, the story itself is gathering all of DC's magic characters — Zatanna, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, Deadman, Bobo the Chimp, Constantine and others — as the foundation of magic itself becomes threatened by the goddess Hecate. There is a lot of Hecate in this book, and by the end you will know everything about her whether you want to or not. Tynion adds some layers to her character, but honestly she's still a generic baddie who in the end is extremely overpowered and is just not very interesting. And that's my main problem with the book — the threat just doesn't feel real, because duh, as if DC would actually depower or kill off their entire roster of magic-wielding characters.
Where the book really shines though is the team dynamics. It gets lost a bit towards the end, but in the first few issues (and JLD 1-3) Tynion really juggles the team well. Zatanna is more or less the protagonist here, and her bond with guys like Constantine, Bobo and, yes, Wonder Woman is great. They work together well, their banter is fun, and the tone feels just right. More of those team dynamics and mysticism, less of existence-threatening crises, and it would have been a 4 or even a 5 star book, easy.
It feels like James Tynion has something really special brewing for his Justice League Dark run, but unfortunately so far it gets bogged down by some clunky writing and unnecessary crossover-ing. If he switches his focus to slightly smaller threats and more character work, this run has every chance to become a classic. As it is right now though, it's pretty fun comics, but nothing really remarkable.
First of all, I have no idea how DC is planning to collect all this. The crossover starts right after the third issue of Tynion's Justice League Dark, and it includes two special issues, issue #4 of Justice League Dark and two issues of Wonder Woman, all written by Tynion. Apparently that is all that's going to be collected here, but issues 1-3 of JLD are absolutely necessary for this crossover, too! And what are they going to do with the first trade of JLD? Just include issue #4, or will it skip the events of The Witching hour midway through the book entirely, skipping to 5 right after 3? There will be a whole arc missing in between those issues! That's just insanity, especially for a volume 1. Why did it even have to be a crossover event in the first place?! Wonder Woman is already a part of Justice League Dark team, so who is crossing over with whom exactly? Ughhh. What a mess.
Anyway, the story itself is gathering all of DC's magic characters — Zatanna, Swamp Thing, Wonder Woman, Deadman, Bobo the Chimp, Constantine and others — as the foundation of magic itself becomes threatened by the goddess Hecate. There is a lot of Hecate in this book, and by the end you will know everything about her whether you want to or not. Tynion adds some layers to her character, but honestly she's still a generic baddie who in the end is extremely overpowered and is just not very interesting. And that's my main problem with the book — the threat just doesn't feel real, because duh, as if DC would actually depower or kill off their entire roster of magic-wielding characters.
Where the book really shines though is the team dynamics. It gets lost a bit towards the end, but in the first few issues (and JLD 1-3) Tynion really juggles the team well. Zatanna is more or less the protagonist here, and her bond with guys like Constantine, Bobo and, yes, Wonder Woman is great. They work together well, their banter is fun, and the tone feels just right. More of those team dynamics and mysticism, less of existence-threatening crises, and it would have been a 4 or even a 5 star book, easy.
It feels like James Tynion has something really special brewing for his Justice League Dark run, but unfortunately so far it gets bogged down by some clunky writing and unnecessary crossover-ing. If he switches his focus to slightly smaller threats and more character work, this run has every chance to become a classic. As it is right now though, it's pretty fun comics, but nothing really remarkable.
January 29, 2023
The Justice League Dark (DC’s magical characters) and Wonder Woman team up to save magic in the DC Universe. The story starts off great but kind of falls apart at the end. Still a very enjoyable read.
December 4, 2020
The magic of the world is being destroyed in order to create a new order of magic, and it's up to the Justice League Dark to stop it, but can it prevail if its leader is possessed by the very entity that is the source of this destruction? It's a weird tale. The story ramps up pretty quickly and the heroes seem to be in real danger of failing, so it's quite tense as well.
November 4, 2018
3.5. Fun but overly info dumpy.
World: The art for the most part is pretty solid, I did see a drop in quality towards the end as they had to finish the book out but overall this book looks interesting. The world building here is dense, it's so dense that there is a lot of info dumping here. I know Tynion IV loves to write and there is a lot of reading in his book but this is a bit overkill for me. I found the information also a bit fractured to make a cohesive narrative for the world. I love the idea of Hecate and how they used it but the end with it's overly complex magic system left me scratching my head a bit and I needed to think about it.
Story: The story is good for the most part, it's an event book and there are a lot of moving pieces and this is a journey through the magic realm of DCU and I like that. The characters that Tynion IV chose for the five pieces was interesting and I did not expect that. I liked how the story played out though there were some questions with the logic of the world and how it all ended (maybe I'm the problem?). It was fun overall but as with these large events a lot of character development gets lost in the fold and that's the case here.
Characters: I love that Diana is the focus and this new piece of her history give us a legitimate reason for her magical nature. I like how she's a bit impulsive here as she sometimes will get and overall her arc is good. The rest of the cast don't have much of an arc though as they are mostly there for the ride. I liked the idea of the villain and the lore and history behind it, it's big and it's interesting so I liked that. The end was kinda meh and it made the character building of Hecate a bit wonky.
I liked it, I didn't love it but I liked it a fair bit.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
World: The art for the most part is pretty solid, I did see a drop in quality towards the end as they had to finish the book out but overall this book looks interesting. The world building here is dense, it's so dense that there is a lot of info dumping here. I know Tynion IV loves to write and there is a lot of reading in his book but this is a bit overkill for me. I found the information also a bit fractured to make a cohesive narrative for the world. I love the idea of Hecate and how they used it but the end with it's overly complex magic system left me scratching my head a bit and I needed to think about it.
Story: The story is good for the most part, it's an event book and there are a lot of moving pieces and this is a journey through the magic realm of DCU and I like that. The characters that Tynion IV chose for the five pieces was interesting and I did not expect that. I liked how the story played out though there were some questions with the logic of the world and how it all ended (maybe I'm the problem?). It was fun overall but as with these large events a lot of character development gets lost in the fold and that's the case here.
Characters: I love that Diana is the focus and this new piece of her history give us a legitimate reason for her magical nature. I like how she's a bit impulsive here as she sometimes will get and overall her arc is good. The rest of the cast don't have much of an arc though as they are mostly there for the ride. I liked the idea of the villain and the lore and history behind it, it's big and it's interesting so I liked that. The end was kinda meh and it made the character building of Hecate a bit wonky.
I liked it, I didn't love it but I liked it a fair bit.
Onward to the next book!
*read individual issues*
October 23, 2019
This was okay. Art still great and some wonderful interactions but the whole power in wonder woman to be used as a weapon was eh...meh.
June 27, 2024
I like witches. I also like Wonder Woman. So, one would think a graphic novel series in which Wonder Woman becomes a witch would be a winner for me. It wasn’t.
“The Witching Hour” was, however, somewhat better than some of the more recent Justice League Dark volumes that I have grown to find annoying and yet still continue to read like a bad habit. It’s much like my addiction to Taco Bell. I know it’s unhealthy, and I should just quit eating the shit, but they just keep making Chicken Gorditas and Burrito Supremes. It’s also right next to my place of work, so I’m fucked.
Anyway, “The Witching Hour”, written by James Tynion IV, and illustrated beautifully by an array of artists, all with beautiful Latin names, is way more fun to look at than it is to read, but you have to read the words in order to fully understand the story. That’s how it works. But seriously: pretty, pretty pictures. And the fact that the majority of the characters are spandex-clad superwomen makes that all the better.
Anyway, the story has something to do with Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, who has “marked” Wonder Woman and several other super-powered women to help take over the world or some such. There’s a lot of magical hijinks and supernatural whatnot that goes on in the story. I was trying to follow the storyline, but there was a lot of sexy witches kicking the asses of other sexy witches, so the story, for me, kind of got lost. Seriously, I haven’t been this enthralled in girl-on-girl fighting since “G.L.O.W.”
I will say that this volume was extremely helpful in helping to understand the ridiculously convoluted and (I’m just gonna say it) incomprehensibly stupid plot lines of the Justice League Dark issues I recently read. And that I will, stupidly, continue to read because JLD is my graphic novel Taco Bell.
“The Witching Hour” was, however, somewhat better than some of the more recent Justice League Dark volumes that I have grown to find annoying and yet still continue to read like a bad habit. It’s much like my addiction to Taco Bell. I know it’s unhealthy, and I should just quit eating the shit, but they just keep making Chicken Gorditas and Burrito Supremes. It’s also right next to my place of work, so I’m fucked.
Anyway, “The Witching Hour”, written by James Tynion IV, and illustrated beautifully by an array of artists, all with beautiful Latin names, is way more fun to look at than it is to read, but you have to read the words in order to fully understand the story. That’s how it works. But seriously: pretty, pretty pictures. And the fact that the majority of the characters are spandex-clad superwomen makes that all the better.
Anyway, the story has something to do with Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, who has “marked” Wonder Woman and several other super-powered women to help take over the world or some such. There’s a lot of magical hijinks and supernatural whatnot that goes on in the story. I was trying to follow the storyline, but there was a lot of sexy witches kicking the asses of other sexy witches, so the story, for me, kind of got lost. Seriously, I haven’t been this enthralled in girl-on-girl fighting since “G.L.O.W.”
I will say that this volume was extremely helpful in helping to understand the ridiculously convoluted and (I’m just gonna say it) incomprehensibly stupid plot lines of the Justice League Dark issues I recently read. And that I will, stupidly, continue to read because JLD is my graphic novel Taco Bell.
August 19, 2025
Although a bit wordy and overcomplicated by the end, Tynion has written a pretty coherent and *ahem* magical event that sees Hecate take over the body of Wonder Woman to wreak havoc on the world. There are few things scarier than the Goddess of Magic in the body of one of the most iconic symbols for peace, and whilst it plays out in a very safe and predictable way, there are interactions and moments that keep it interesting. Good, but not a personal favourite, this is still a must read to get the full experience of the Justice League Dark run, and for fans of magic within the DC Universe.
May 5, 2019
Wonder Woman & the Justice League Dark have just dealt with the Otherkind, but a new threat has risen - Hecate is threatening to rewrite the laws of magic, and only Diana and her friends can stop her in this crossover event!
Justice League Dark has been a hit since it launched for me personally, so getting extra JLD is always a treat. This crossover doesn't require any previous reading, especially not from the Wonder Woman series, but reading the first three issues of JLD definitely helps. James Tynion IV writes all of these issues which makes the story cohesive, if a little messy as we go on. It's a very ambitious story, as Tynion IV wraps in as many magical characters as he can, and it's clear that even though this is a complete story in itself, it's definitely another building block in the larger story that he's crafting.
On the art front, we get Jesus Merino, Emanuela Lupacchino, (both familiar faces on Wonder Woman) and Alvaro Martinez Bueno (the regular JLD artist) for the most part, with some aid from Fernando Blanco (who I love) and Miguel Mendonca. It's a bit of a hodge podge of styles, especially in the opening and closing one-shots, but there's not a bad artist in the bunch.
The Witching Hour is great for fans of the supernatural side of the DC Universe, and good fun even if you're not.
Justice League Dark has been a hit since it launched for me personally, so getting extra JLD is always a treat. This crossover doesn't require any previous reading, especially not from the Wonder Woman series, but reading the first three issues of JLD definitely helps. James Tynion IV writes all of these issues which makes the story cohesive, if a little messy as we go on. It's a very ambitious story, as Tynion IV wraps in as many magical characters as he can, and it's clear that even though this is a complete story in itself, it's definitely another building block in the larger story that he's crafting.
On the art front, we get Jesus Merino, Emanuela Lupacchino, (both familiar faces on Wonder Woman) and Alvaro Martinez Bueno (the regular JLD artist) for the most part, with some aid from Fernando Blanco (who I love) and Miguel Mendonca. It's a bit of a hodge podge of styles, especially in the opening and closing one-shots, but there's not a bad artist in the bunch.
The Witching Hour is great for fans of the supernatural side of the DC Universe, and good fun even if you're not.
August 27, 2019
Kinda had hoped this would have been better. It was kinda slapdash put together and wasn't long enough to make the story feel epic as it should have. This should have been like the Batman Metal story.....ugh.
August 29, 2024
This volume collects Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Withching Hour #1; Wonder Woman #56-57, Justice League Dark #4; and Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman :The Withching Hour #1.
This was a pretty good story. It tells the tale of Hecate and how she distributed her power amongst five avatars. Now Hecate returns to destroy magic and the Justice League Dark must get involved. One of the witchmarks is on Diana and she must work with the members of the JLD to defeat Hecate.
A good enough story. The artwork is stellar though. A good volume with great art.
This was a pretty good story. It tells the tale of Hecate and how she distributed her power amongst five avatars. Now Hecate returns to destroy magic and the Justice League Dark must get involved. One of the witchmarks is on Diana and she must work with the members of the JLD to defeat Hecate.
A good enough story. The artwork is stellar though. A good volume with great art.
April 26, 2021
Wonderful art, interesting story, but INCREDIBLY TOO MUCH EXPOSITION TEXT.
June 4, 2019
I think this is just more proof that the Justice League Dark just doesn't do it for me. I like the concept, but I still don't find the stories particularly compelling, and while this is pretty good, it is no exception.
The idea behind this arc is a fun one, and James Tynion IV puts a lot of hard work into the worldbuilding and, especially, Hecate, who makes for a really strong villain. It just felt overwritten and overexplained, especially near the end, which routinely took me out of it.
Also, I'd love for DC to scale back a little and face smaller, non-world-ending threats for a change (I feel like a broken record on that request). Just have Zatanna, Detective Chimp, Deadman and Constantine stop a rogue demon or a dark magician who has taken over a small mountain town. These multiverse-shattering-consequences stories are getting so common that it has really watered them down to the point where they feel like they have no stakes whatsoever.
The idea behind this arc is a fun one, and James Tynion IV puts a lot of hard work into the worldbuilding and, especially, Hecate, who makes for a really strong villain. It just felt overwritten and overexplained, especially near the end, which routinely took me out of it.
Also, I'd love for DC to scale back a little and face smaller, non-world-ending threats for a change (I feel like a broken record on that request). Just have Zatanna, Detective Chimp, Deadman and Constantine stop a rogue demon or a dark magician who has taken over a small mountain town. These multiverse-shattering-consequences stories are getting so common that it has really watered them down to the point where they feel like they have no stakes whatsoever.
July 29, 2020
Після 3 номерів в онґоїнґу «Темної Ліги Справедливості» («Justice League Dark») Тиніона IV розпочався маленький кросовер із назвою «Відьомська година» («The Witching Hour»). В ньому перехрещувалич окремі ваншоти «ТЛС/Диво-Жінка: Відьомська година» («Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour»), «Диво-Жінка» («Wonder Woman») та «ТЛС» («Justice League Dark»).
Принципі екстраординарного в цьому кросовері нічого немає. Тут Діана разом із частиною ТЛС повертаються назад на Теміскірію, щоб зрозуміти суть своїх таємничих магічних здібностей. Ці події перемішуються із флешбеками з минулого, коли Діана була ще дівчинкою та побачила окультний обряд трьох відьом пов’язаний із богинею Гекатою. Як виявилося богиня вибрала Діану однією із кількох дівчат, що стали сховищем сил Гекати. Ну і найбільша відвертість, тут ми дізналися, що знаходиться в Диво-Жінки на лобі під її обручем :sweat_smile:
Загалом вийшло досить цікаво.
Принципі екстраординарного в цьому кросовері нічого немає. Тут Діана разом із частиною ТЛС повертаються назад на Теміскірію, щоб зрозуміти суть своїх таємничих магічних здібностей. Ці події перемішуються із флешбеками з минулого, коли Діана була ще дівчинкою та побачила окультний обряд трьох відьом пов’язаний із богинею Гекатою. Як виявилося богиня вибрала Діану однією із кількох дівчат, що стали сховищем сил Гекати. Ну і найбільша відвертість, тут ми дізналися, що знаходиться в Диво-Жінки на лобі під її обручем :sweat_smile:
Загалом вийшло досить цікаво.
November 1, 2019
I really love the story and i can't believe i didn't see that ending coming it was kinda obvious.
June 1, 2019
Quite possibly the best crossover event I have read this year. I have to say I love the fact that DC comics appears to really be trying to keep their event books really contained to several series and not their whole line of series currently being published. The Witching Hour is only covered between the Wonder Woman series and Justice League Dark respectfully. I will admit to not collecting this series arc but I instead waited for the trade to be released. I am happy that I waited to read this story in its collected format because writer James Tynion IV has written quite a masterwork here. Tynion has been writing great team books since his run in Detective comics. The dude just knows how to manage a assemble cast of characters. No character is wasted in this book. I like the fact that Justice League Dark in general has raised the stakes of the magical side of the DC Universe in general. Tynion writes a Wonder Woman who fits in flawlessly with a universe that includes, Zatanna, Swamp Thing, Constantine and a talking monkey. I hope the folks in DC films are reading this series because Tynion just really shows how you could use Wonder Woman to dive into the sometimes mysterious and darker corner of the DC Universe.
I do not want to spoil the story but I will attempt to sum it up quickly in this review. Basically after the events in Justice League Dark, Vol. 1: The Last Age of Magic Wonder Woman and her ragtag team of magic users find themselves face with a universe altering dilenma as Hecate the Greek Goddess of magic seeks to destroy magic and its current rules in the universe. She hopes to accomplish this by using five possessed witches with her curse mark to destroy magic in the DC Universe as we know it. To our surprise Wonder Woman's connection to magic becomes a danger as the JL Dark discover she is in fact one of the five cursed women. So now she and here friends will have to seek a solution to this problem without the aid of the heavy hitters of the JLA like Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern John Stewart, and Martian Manhunter. And that is our plot in a nutshell. Tynion uses this tale to take readers deeper into DC comics magic lure & myth. Characters like Circe & Deadman show up in this book as well with surprising larger roles. The artwork & colors are well done and Tynion does a great job building the world with the myth's involved. The are a lot of personal stakes involve and I really cared about what was going to happen to many of our heroes in this book. The ending was a welcomed surprise and I happy to continue to read Justice league Dark going forward.
I do not want to spoil the story but I will attempt to sum it up quickly in this review. Basically after the events in Justice League Dark, Vol. 1: The Last Age of Magic Wonder Woman and her ragtag team of magic users find themselves face with a universe altering dilenma as Hecate the Greek Goddess of magic seeks to destroy magic and its current rules in the universe. She hopes to accomplish this by using five possessed witches with her curse mark to destroy magic in the DC Universe as we know it. To our surprise Wonder Woman's connection to magic becomes a danger as the JL Dark discover she is in fact one of the five cursed women. So now she and here friends will have to seek a solution to this problem without the aid of the heavy hitters of the JLA like Batman, Superman, Aquaman, Green Lantern John Stewart, and Martian Manhunter. And that is our plot in a nutshell. Tynion uses this tale to take readers deeper into DC comics magic lure & myth. Characters like Circe & Deadman show up in this book as well with surprising larger roles. The artwork & colors are well done and Tynion does a great job building the world with the myth's involved. The are a lot of personal stakes involve and I really cared about what was going to happen to many of our heroes in this book. The ending was a welcomed surprise and I happy to continue to read Justice league Dark going forward.
November 6, 2018
So, umm yeah my idea of Halloween reading the past couple of weeks has been reading digital floppies of Halloween comics (nothing in the TBR piles is remotely horror). The occult/horror angle here may not be very large, and it left me with some questions.
The big question, in my mind anyway, is with all of the mini-event series DC is doing (Drowned Earth just started) is DC actually trying to build towards another Crisis on Multiple Earths type of event? Metal rewrote the multiverse, Flash is currently (to my knowledge) rewriting the long established speed force, and Justice League rewrote the idea/concept of The Source.
Here the big do over is magic. Wonder Woman plays such a significant role I question if there are plans for her being a big player in DC's occult/horror scene. Some will say the laws of magic were not completely rewritten, but a big chunk of it was.
As usual no significant spoilers. A plus to Tynion to giving the woman characters significant "screen" time and roles. A little downer was the nice re-imaging of Circe which I think then took two steps back at the end.
The big question, in my mind anyway, is with all of the mini-event series DC is doing (Drowned Earth just started) is DC actually trying to build towards another Crisis on Multiple Earths type of event? Metal rewrote the multiverse, Flash is currently (to my knowledge) rewriting the long established speed force, and Justice League rewrote the idea/concept of The Source.
Here the big do over is magic. Wonder Woman plays such a significant role I question if there are plans for her being a big player in DC's occult/horror scene. Some will say the laws of magic were not completely rewritten, but a big chunk of it was.
As usual no significant spoilers. A plus to Tynion to giving the woman characters significant "screen" time and roles. A little downer was the nice re-imaging of Circe which I think then took two steps back at the end.
August 28, 2019
Another 3.-something-or-other, but this one I enjoyed too much to round off to just "I liked it." I wish the story had been given the length to equal its scale, I think that's the primary valid complaint here, but I LOVED the scale, the story and concept itself and how it played in such a huge sand box. It would have been nice to have even more, but what's here is pretty darned good.
April 3, 2022
I really loved this. Definitely would have been useful to have read it when I was supposed to, but I don't know how collecting it would have made more sense exactly, except by maybe making book one of JLD shorter and book two longer. Hope that the rest of the run works as well for me as these first two volumes have.
October 16, 2019
You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.
There are only several writers who are able to envision creative new ideas based on existing lore, graft those original concepts onto existing stories that currently serve as the foundation to many character’s backgrounds, and flesh out these new worlds with enough substance for readers to engage with. This applies even more to the comic book world, notably for well-established superheroes who have known multiple reboots as new eras are introduced. Writer James Tynion IV thus attempts the unimaginable with Wonder Woman as he continues to write Justice League Dark and places the legendary princess of the Amazons center-stage in this latest event. This time around, a terrible spell is cast, bringing fans an obscure and witchy origin tale that has never been done before with Wonder Woman.
What is Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour about? With magic dying in their world, the Justice League Dark find themselves up against an ultimate evil born from the Dark Multiverse looking to open a pathway to Earth. Countless years ago, the witch-goddess of magic, Hecate, had devised a plan to take back the magic she once stole from these very monsters when the time will come. She thus extracts these powers from those who were Witchmarked to finally face these creatures and punish those who have worthlessly used magic in their lives. Among those who were scarred lies an ultimate weapon and it is nonother than Wonder Woman. Collecting Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1-2, Wonder Woman #56-57 and Justice League Dark #4, this event raises the curtains on a brand-new and occult mythology around one of DC’s most iconic superheroes.
The most important thing about this event is to know when exactly it takes place in writer James Tynion IV’s Justice League Dark. Unlike any other series I’ve picked up, this must be one of the messiest ways to collect the various issues/story arcs. In fact, The Witching Hour begins in the middle of the first volume of Justice League Dark, after issue #3, making it extremely inappropriate and confusing for newcomers who dive into the first volume of Justice League Dark thinking that they’ll be able to follow the second half of that story. This event could’ve also been perfectly incorporated within the original Justice League Dark run by James Tynion IV without having to make a separate graphic novel. Sometimes I wish they could just think this through better for fans without screwing them over in the process.
With that being said, James Tynion IV’s direction with this Dark magic universe remains enthralling, to say the least, and it’s the potential of his ideas that make this volume such an exciting new adventure. He continues to be successful in managing a team of heroes as he gives us a dose of decent character development and excellent banter between these heroes. To think that a team composed of Wonder Woman, Zatanna, Bobo the Chimp, Man-Bat, Constantine and others could ever work so well was beyond me but I’m glad to be proven wrong.
To complement this unusual team-up of heroes bound by their deep roots in the realm of magic is also an introduction to a couple of goddesses straight from Greek mythology who make an important debut and impact in James Tynion IV’s story-telling vision. Although he’s a comic book writer who is extremely content to be overly-voluble, he utilizes this talent to focus on the world-building and ultimately help readers fully appreciate the lore he wants to bathe in. It does get slightly convoluted towards the finale as it contemplates a relatively cheesy resolution but at least sets the table for the chaos to come.
The artwork remains strong throughout the volume despite the constant change in artists as they all work cohesively to deliver a whole that isn’t too obvious in its artistic substitutions. The vibrant colours accompanying the explosive action sequences while plunged in a dark atmosphere also captures a very unique style that works well with the occult magic theme that is present in this series.
Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour is an enthralling and action-packed story of an occult and powerful goddess of magic and her otherworldly mischievousness who seeks to reclaim the magic flowing through the world.
Yours truly,
Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
July 29, 2021
I originally read this as single issues a few years ago but didn’t remember the entire story. I think the story was solid, but not quite as good as I remember it being before. I think the art was really cool but some aspects of the story were a little weak. Hecate’s reasoning for doing all of this first and foremost. But over all the story was enjoyable and not a bad crossover even at all.
November 22, 2025
A really good story about the cost of magic, in DC magic is a lot like any other form of violence- it begets more violence. The magic they shoot out of their fingertips is at a cost, a major cost. Magic doesn’t seem fun in this world, it feels dangerous like making a covenant with a demon- you just KNOW there’s something happening behind the scenes that you’re not privy to and probably wouldn’t even understand.
This is the coolest I’ve seen Wonder Woman- she is powerful but not all knowing, she is willing to sacrifice her safety for everyone else. The upside down man is so damn creepy.
Really good read for a dreary day!
This is the coolest I’ve seen Wonder Woman- she is powerful but not all knowing, she is willing to sacrifice her safety for everyone else. The upside down man is so damn creepy.
Really good read for a dreary day!
April 1, 2020
The Witching Hour has some rather good artwork. Kudos to the artists. The story? Not bad, though nothing great.
Hecate, Queen of Witches, is coming to Earth and she wants to reshape magic. She has already chosen her avatars by giving them the "witchmark" when they were children. One of them happens to be Diana.
Fast forwards to the current time and the Justice League Dark faces an all out assault from Hecate. I really liked the Hecate character, she was well done and quite dark. I was also fond of Circe for all of one page. The Circe that appears screeching about challenging her in her place of power? I liked her. Then all of a sudden, within one freaking page, she turns into some Sex in the City Clone with a hipster haircut and talks about theatrics and camp. *sigh* There goes a good character, relegated to the prepubescent minds of SJW-land where all the women seem to be modeled after something seen on Showtime or HBO. Too bad.
The gist? Hecate is going to destroy magic and is using her chosen vessels to do it. Faced with this threat the magical members of the JLD fight against her. As I said, this isn't anything great. But it IS good enough. One other thing- why does Swamp Thing look like a Rastafarian? But that's about it without getting all spoilery.
A nice fun read with some really good artwork.
Hecate, Queen of Witches, is coming to Earth and she wants to reshape magic. She has already chosen her avatars by giving them the "witchmark" when they were children. One of them happens to be Diana.
Fast forwards to the current time and the Justice League Dark faces an all out assault from Hecate. I really liked the Hecate character, she was well done and quite dark. I was also fond of Circe for all of one page. The Circe that appears screeching about challenging her in her place of power? I liked her. Then all of a sudden, within one freaking page, she turns into some Sex in the City Clone with a hipster haircut and talks about theatrics and camp. *sigh* There goes a good character, relegated to the prepubescent minds of SJW-land where all the women seem to be modeled after something seen on Showtime or HBO. Too bad.
The gist? Hecate is going to destroy magic and is using her chosen vessels to do it. Faced with this threat the magical members of the JLD fight against her. As I said, this isn't anything great. But it IS good enough. One other thing- why does Swamp Thing look like a Rastafarian? But that's about it without getting all spoilery.
A nice fun read with some really good artwork.
November 19, 2018
"Magic will never be the same"... I've heard this plotline a thousand times. Making a story confusing and adding layers and layers of mystic words doesn't make up for a plot that is actually too simple to last these many books.
I had to brace myself to finish the whole story, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted at first.
I had to brace myself to finish the whole story, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted at first.
October 4, 2019
Me parece una gran idea el haber añadido a Wonder Woman a esta nueva Liga de la Justicia Oscura. Es desde luego el personaje más unido si no a la magia, sí al pensamiento mágico. Y este es el pegamento, lo que une a todos lo humanos. Los guionistas -en especial Tynion IV- han sostenido bien la historia en los diferentes números y cabeceras consiguiendo un anual consistente. Eso sí, la explicación del origen de la magia de luz y oscuridad y las motivaciones de Hécate podían haberse desarrollado con mayor profundidad. Me he quedado con ganas de saber más, y deploro que se humanice en exceso un poder así. Pierde ambición. He echado de menos algo más de Constantine, aunque sus intervenciones son pertinentes y además han despertado un viejo fantasma. Espero que ésto se solucione. John y la sangre de Nergal son ya consustanciales al personaje. Me gusta mucho Circe, -justo estoy por empezar "Circe" de Madeline Miller en mi club de lectura en Goodreads-, ha sido un descubrimiento, pero de nuevo lamento la prisa en finiquitar la historia. Supongo que las líneas abiertas sirven a las nuevas subtramas que irán desarrollándose en los siguientes capítulos. Hay un plan en la menta de Tynion IV, y creo que me va a gustar.
January 21, 2021
I liked this a bit better than vol 1 of the main series, but I still didn't love it. Thrown into a pretty good story we get some silly tropes ("she is so strong she could blink us out of existence, but she's choosing not to for now for some reason"), a big old info dump toward the end, and an ending that felt very anti-climactic considering that we are told their enemy is "stronger than any god that ever walked the earth" .
January 23, 2019
Basic plot: Hecate seeks to rewrite the laws of magic and remake the world in her image, but the Justice League Dark is there to stop her.
This was a great story, with lots of twists and turns. It was paced and developed well. The characters all played their parts well. I was slightly saddened by a lack of snark from Constantine, but even that was explained.
There were some really phenomenal art panels in this story at times. I LOVE Circe's modern look. There were also some strange bits, like Zatanna's mysteriously changing hair styles (braid, to no braid, to braid again). There is also a panel where Cyborg and John Stewart are right next to each other and look identical. Not cool.
Overall, this was a good crossover event that is going to color both Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark stories to come.
This was a great story, with lots of twists and turns. It was paced and developed well. The characters all played their parts well. I was slightly saddened by a lack of snark from Constantine, but even that was explained.
There were some really phenomenal art panels in this story at times. I LOVE Circe's modern look. There were also some strange bits, like Zatanna's mysteriously changing hair styles (braid, to no braid, to braid again). There is also a panel where Cyborg and John Stewart are right next to each other and look identical. Not cool.
Overall, this was a good crossover event that is going to color both Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark stories to come.
June 5, 2019
This notably missing story from Justice League Dark, Vol. 1: The Last Age of Magic is an epic storyline about the death and rebirth of magic that also dovetails nicely with the storylines of JLD v1.
If there was any doubt that Wonder Woman belonged in the JLD, this story dismisses it thanks to its nice focus of Hecate and Diana's own mythology. The rest of the JLD gets somewhat less attention, but a few like John and Zatanna still come across strong, and the changes to magic in the DC Universe are fun.
Overall, this might be DC's best take on magical DC supers in their several attempts.
If there was any doubt that Wonder Woman belonged in the JLD, this story dismisses it thanks to its nice focus of Hecate and Diana's own mythology. The rest of the JLD gets somewhat less attention, but a few like John and Zatanna still come across strong, and the changes to magic in the DC Universe are fun.
Overall, this might be DC's best take on magical DC supers in their several attempts.
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