Justice League: The Dark Realm Special #1
Written by Dan Mora
Art by Dan Mora
Colors by Tamra Bonvillain
Letters by Dave Sharpe
Cover Art by Dan Mora
Dan Mora has become one of this generation's most respected, dynamic and in-demand comic artists. The superstar Costa Rican artist has helped the DC world come to life with his art featured in Batman/Superman: World’s Finest and Justice League Unlimited, both collaborations with another all-time comic great in Mark Waid and when Marvel and DC needed someone to draw the main cover for their Superman/Spider-Man crossover, there was only one man to call. Mora is one of the best at what he does and in this special one-shot issue of Justice League, for the first time ever, Mora isn’t making another author’s work come to life. He’s making his own story come to life as he gets to flex his writing muscles. Let’s get into it! Spoiler Warning for Justice League: The Dark Realm Special Now In Effect!
The Origin of Cadejos
Justice League: The Dark Realm Special is a story all about the fiery werewolf member of the Justice League, named Cadejos. Cadejos is the alter ego of Andres Aguilar. Aguilar hails from Costa Rica, just like the man who created him. Joining Mora on this issue is colorist extraordinaire Tamra Bonavillain. Bonvillian and Mora are a match made in heaven and the duo have a lot of experience working together over the past few years with their work on World’s Finest and Justice League. It’s pretty cool that she got to join Mora on this issue as well. Cadejos is a hero who doesn’t necessarily look like one but this book does a great job of showing readers, especially those who may not be familiar with him, why he deserves to stand among the ranks of the Justice League.
For some added context on Cadejos, I’ll turn things over to Costa Rican author Elias Zeledon. The following excerpt was taken from an article on amcostarica.com. “The Costa Rican Cadejos is described as a large black dog, similar to a wolf, with two intense, glowing and radiant red eyes, a long and wide tail, long sharp nails that sounds when it is walking on the sidewalk (or, goat legs, depending on the version), which drags thick chains. However, the Cadejos are not brave or bloodthirsty and never attack [the innocent]. Cadejos tenaciously follow a person who is partying and/or a night owl, usually to the door of their house. Bullets or bladed weapons are useless against the ghost animal, and before being forced to do evil, Cadejos disappear.” Basically, think of Cadejos as a guardian wolf spirit. Now, let’s get to the story.
A nightmare sequence opens the story with Andres dreaming about the one person he cares about more than anything in this world: his daughter. It’s made clear she is a driving factor behind his wanting to be good and do good. Andres’ monstrous transformation in Cadejos, complete with blazing hellfire around his head and chains wrapped around his arms, brings us to the title card as the issue begins in earnest. Within the first few pages, Mora and Bonvillain’s art is already quite striking, especially when we see Cadejos in all his glory right before the title card comes up.
The issue shifts away from Cadejos for a bit as we check in with two other heroes on the Justice League’s watchtower in Rana Dorada, also known as Golden Frog, and Boruka. Both Rana Dorada and Boruka are of Costa Rican heritage, just like Cadejos, and are still trying to find their way within the ranks of the Justice League. This initial section in the book does a good job introducing us to these characters as they themselves continue to become more acclimated to the Justice League, the Watchtower, and what it means to be a part of DC’s greatest team of heroes. Mora does a great job with the dialogue; the conversations between Blue Beetle, Billy Batson, and the two Costa Rican heroes are really well done in this section, and I loved seeing the panels stuffed with members of the Justice League.
Rana Dorada and Boruka are Cadejos’ closest allies, and early on in this issue you get the feeling that they’re a bit worried about their friend and how he has seemingly been more distant from them and the league lately. We get a short, yet really good-looking, retelling of when Cadejos was initially asked to join the Justice League and offered one of their member cards. He initially was reluctant but when Shazam appealed to his good nature and his need to want to help the innocent, he couldn’t turn them down. Cadejos may look monstrous, but on the inside he’s just someone who wants to do well and save his daughter.
Before we move on to the next part of this book, I need to praise Mora for his depiction of Billy Batson in this section. I loved how Billy comes across as someone so genuine and willing to help out Rana Dorada and Boruka. Billy is more than familiar with feeling like you may not belong before he found his tribe, and I like how he embraces these new heroes and does his best to make them feel welcome. It’s a small thing but one that shows that Mora has a handle on the writing side of comics as well. It’s always a huge positive for me when a writer nails the characterization of the characters they’re writing, and Mora has shown a nice aptitude for it in his debut.
Protecting the Innocent… No Matter What It Takes
The next massive chunk of this issue deals with Cadejos on the hunt for a missing girl from a local village in Costa Rica. Cadejos rampages through a forest looking for any hint of the girl's whereabouts, making sure to terrify some lesser demon-type creatures along the way. Eventually, Cadejos finds the one responsible for kidnapping the child, and let’s just say he makes them pay for all the pain they’ve inflicted on her. The battle that takes up most of the issue looks fantastic and features some of Dan Mora’s best work yet. Tamra Bonvillain’s color choices are as fantastic as ever as well. I don’t want to spoil too much about what happens during the battle, but you get a sense of just how powerful Cadejos really is, and you get a good understanding that although he looks like a monstrous villain or some horrific creature of the night, who he is inside couldn’t be further from that.
A big theme of this issue is not letting looks define who you are. A being with the design of Cadejos doesn’t look like your typical hero in any sense of the word, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t. His massive size, his dark fur, the flames erupting from his head and body, his flame breath and the dark, ethereal chains that make up some of his weapons give him the look of a terrifying monster but instead of being a monster, he makes those dark beings of the world fear him instead as he fights on the side of good. I really liked the fact that Cadejos, despite how he may personally feel about himself, is seen by not just his good friends but by the members of the Justice League as someone who’s worth helping, someone who’s worth befriending, and someone who’s worth the trust and belief they have in him. Kudos to Dan Mora for showing through both his writing and his art why Cadejos is such a compelling character and one of the coolest new members of the Justice League.
Over the back half of the battle, we learn that Cadejos has a monstrous second form, that the Justice League won’t let him fight his battles alone, and that Darkseid’s connection to evil events never seems far away… Mora does a good job of moving some key overarching concepts forward, as this story shows that the Justice League’s dealing with Darkseid is not even close to being done. The League is lucky to have someone like Cadejos around as they continue their fight against the evil despot who wants nothing more than to stomp out everything good about the universe.
The last thing I want to touch on about Cadejos is how far he will go to protect just ONE innocent life. He shares that quality with my favorite hero, Superman, and who better to share some ideals with than the Man of Steel? There’s a key sequence towards the end of the issue where Cadejos fully believes he may die, but it doesn’t matter as long as that little girl is safe. He does something drastic, something heroic and something that makes you realize this “monster” is the furthest thing from. The final page gives us a somber look at what drives Cadejos each and every day, and you truly feel for him and hope that he gets the one thing he wants more than anything: the safe return of his daughter.
From the two forms of Cadejos, to the other heroes of the Justice League, to the dense forests of Costa Rica that become the battleground of good and evil, Dan Mora and Tamara Bonvillian produce some incredible artwork. These two are an all-star team, and every panel looks absolutely fantastic. Cadejos’ design is one of my current favorite designs of any character in the DC universe, both forms I might add, and Mora and Bonvillain do a great job showing the differentiation between both of his monstrous forms. The color choices on Cadejos’ fire make you feel the heat coming right off the page. Cadejos easily could’ve been one of those badass 90s-type characters with little to no substance because of his look, but Mora has given him heart and soul and allowed us to sympathize and empathise with a being who just wants to help save innocent lives.
Dan Mora’s writing debut in Justice League: The Dark Realm Special makes me hope he gets to write more books in the future. Already an artist extraordinaire, Mora finally gets to bring a self-written story to life in a book that shows a creative at the height of his powers. Mora and Tamra Bonvillain are an all-star team, and Cadejos is one of the best additions to the Justice League’s roster in years. This book fires on all cylinders and deserves to be part of your collection.
RATING
8.5 out of 10
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