Review by Ian Keogh

A range of first rate creators have worked on six volumes of this Justice League Dark series, yet only a single volume can be rated above average, and Lost in Forever doesn’t buck that trend.

J.M. DeMatteis begins with the idea of both the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets manifesting personifications and collecting allies, which enables the gathering of all Justice League Dark members past and present. Grudges are aired, but the plot never has the gravitas it might have as Klaus Janson’s art never supplies it.

The consequence of that story is the separation of the team, some members stranded in the far future, one in the distant past and the remainder in a present that’s completely frozen. Each face a series of challenges, some on a more personal level than others, while DeMatteis also manages to return the team’s greatest enemy, but in a deformed and repulsive state. It’s a progression of desperation, but never captures the attention. At first it’s difficult to figure out why, as the quality of main artist Andrès Guinaldo goes some way to obscuring the truth, but it’s eventually revealed as DeMatteis using a world of magic as a universal get-out clause. Anything can happen, and plenty does, but without any coherence to events be they past, future or frozen in time.

Having noted Guinaldo’s quality, there’s not the same level of achievement there was to Paradise Lost, with fewer backgrounds and less detail. It’s good art, but not as good as it might be, and that’s even with new colourist Chris Sotomayor making more of an effort to maximise the darkness.

The finale depends on a chance in a million, which is more coasting on DeMatteis’ part. We haven’t seen John Constantine since the opening chapter, so let’s reel in a spiritual echo of him, yet seemingly with all the skills of the original article. Poor, poor, poor.

For masochists, the entire series is collected in an expensive hardback format as Justice League Dark: The New 52 Omnibus.