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Justice League Dark Reading Order, Your Guide to DC Comics’ supernatural team

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Published by DC Comics, Justice League Dark was created by writer Peter Milligan and artist Mikel Janín and first debuted in September 2011, as part of DC’s The New 52 publishing initiative.

Conceived as the supernatural equivalent of the traditional Justice League, the series focuses on characters within the occult and mystical realms of the DC Universe who confront threats beyond the scope of conventional superhero teams.

As a team, the Justice League Dark is composed of a rotating cast of magical and paranormal figures who are called upon to combat arcane and metaphysical dangers, the type of crisis that the main Justice League is neither equipped nor qualified to handle. The original lineup included John Constantine, Zatanna Zatara, Madame Xanadu, Deadman, and Shade, the Changing Man.

They first unite due to the emergence of the Enchantress, a malevolent sorceress whose unrestrained power leads to the downfall of the primary Justice League. In response, Madame Xanadu, plagued by prophetic visions of global catastrophe, assembles these powerful and strange magical heroes to stop the end of days from happening. Their collaboration is often uneasy and fraught with internal conflict, especially given Constantine’s manipulative tendencies and the team’s fundamentally different moral alignments and personal goals.

Over time, the team’s composition evolves. Unlikely heroes such as Black Orchid (a shape-shifting agent of the supernatural), Frankenstein (a reanimated monster and agent of S.H.A.D.E.), Andrew Bennett (a centuries-old vampire from I, Vampire), and even Swamp Thing, the avatar of the Green, have joined the ranks. Despite frequent disbandment, the group reforms in times of dire need, bound not by camaraderie but by necessity and the shared understanding that conventional heroism fails in the face of the occult.

The Justice League Dark is not the team everyone loves, but it is the one that is needed to save the DC Universe when dark supernatural menaces emerge.

Justice League Dark Reading Order

Before the Justice League Dark

It’s optional, but before the launch of the Justice League Dark ongoing series, you may wish to explore two earlier miniseries that notably feature several of the magical characters later associated with the team, including John Constantine, Swamp Thing, Zatanna, Enchantress, Shade, the Changing Man, and Mindwarp. They offer a preview of what’s to come, showing the supernatural dynamics and character relationships that would later define the series.

The first of these miniseries is The Search for Swamp Thing (2011), a three-issue arc written by Jonathan Vankin with art by Marco Castiello. Serving as a bridge between the events of Brightest Day and the New 52 continuity, the series follows John Constantine as he investigates the mysterious return of Swamp Thing to the DC Universe.

  • The Search for Swamp Thing
    A 3-part miniseries, not collected yet

The second is Flashpoint: Secret Seven (2011), a three-part tie-in to the Flashpoint crossover event, written by Peter Milligan. This story is about alternate versions of several magical characters—including Shade, the Changing Man, Enchantress, and Mindwarp—and explores themes of instability, identity, and magical chaos. While it is not part of the main continuity, it’s a preview of what the Justice League Dark will become.

Justice League Dark: New 52 (Volume 1)

The first volume of Justice League Dark (2011–2015) was significantly affected by frequent crossover events. Major story arcs intersected with titles such as I, Vampire, Swamp Thing, and particularly Trinity War and Forever Evil: Blight. This can make the reading experience a bit complicated, especially if you are going through the series issue by issue, and not with the collected editions.

Due to its popularity, this first run of Justice League Dark has been collected in multiple formats, including an omnibus that compiles everything that is needed to follow the stories.

  • Justice League Dark: The New 52 Omnibus
    Collects Justice League Dark: The New 52 Omnibus collecting I, Vampire #7-8; Justice League Dark #0-40; Justice League#22-23; Justice League Dark Annual #1-2; Justice League of America#6-7; Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger #14-17; Constantine #9-12; Trinity of Sin: Pandora #6-9; Justice League Dark: Futures End #1.

The other (and cheaper) option is the new massive (1624 pages) paperback compendium.

  • Justice League Dark: The New 52 Compendium (in 2026)
    Collects Justice League Dark #0-40 & Annual #1-2, Justice League Dark: Futures End #1, Constantine #5, And #9-12, I, Vampire #7-8, Justice League #22-23, Justice League Of America #6-7, The New 52: Free Comic Book Day Special Edition #1, Trinity Of Sin: Pandora #1-3, #6-9, and Trinity Of Sin: Phantom Stranger #11 And #14-17.

Justice League Dark: The New 52 Reading Order

Reading massive volumes of comics is not for everyone, so let’s take a look at the other option. To help navigate the fragmented publication history of Justice League Dark from the New 52 era, here is a more detailed guide using the trade paperback collections.

Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Peter Milligan; art by Andrea Sorrentino, Fernando Blanco, and others, the “Rise of the Vampires” crossover event introduces a brief team-up between Andrew Bennett and the Justice League Dark members. While the story centered on I, Vampire, the arc has direct consequences for the Justice League Dark. Readers following Justice League Dark via its own trade paperbacks will not find issues #7–8 included and should consult this volume to avoid narrative gaps.

At that point, Jeff Lemire takes over the writing duties on the Justice League Dark comics, Mikel Janin staying as the main artist.

Following his cryptic appearance in this previous volume, the Phantom Stranger met again with the Justice League Dark, this time in his own book written by Dan DiDio; art by Brent Anderson and Philip Tan. It’s an optional reading.

Trinity War/Forever Evil

The Trinity War crossover event spans all three Justice League titles (Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark) and marks the beginning of a major shift in the DC Universe, culminating in the line-wide event Forever Evil.

First, Trinity War centers on the mysterious theft of Pandora’s Box, a powerful magical artifact, which ignites a conflict between three separate Justice League teams. Forever Evil: Blight focuses on the supernatural consequences of the Crime Syndicate (an alternate-universe evil Justice League) taking over Earth.

These two crossovers run through Justice League Dark #22-29. Those issues have been collected in volume 4 of the JLD trade collections, but to understand the story, it is necessary to read the core event with the tie-ins collected in the two following books:

  • Trinity War
    Collects Free Comic Book Day 2012, Trinity Of Sin: Pandora #1-3, Trinity Of Sin: Phantom Stranger #11, Justice League #22-23, Justice League Dark #22-23, Justice League Of America #6-7 and Constantine #5.
  • Forever Evil: Blight
    Collects Justice League Dark #24-29, Trinity Of Sin: Phantom Stranger #14-17, Constantine #9-12, Trinity Of Sin Pandora #6-9.

However, if you only want the Justice League Dark issues, you could find them in this book:

After the harrowing events of Forever Evil, the Justice League Dark is no more. J.M. DeMatteis is now the main writer on the series, since issue #24, has to reunite the team. Andres Guinaldo took over from Mikel Janin as the main artist.

Justice League Dark: Rebirth (Volume 2)

Justice League Dark was not among the titles that returned with the initial wave of DC’s Rebirth initiative in 2016. Instead, the supernatural corner of the DC Universe remained largely dormant until the aftermath of Dark Nights: Metal (2017–2018), a multiversal event that redefined the structure and mythology of the DC Universe. Following this, DC relaunched its Justice League titles and reintroduced Justice League Dark in 2018 with writer James Tynion IV and artist Álvaro Martínez Bueno at the helm.

This new incarnation of the team is led by Wonder Woman. The new team was composed of familiar faces and unexpected recruits, including Zatanna, Swamp Thing, Man-Bat, and Detective Chimp, among others. The series explores the unraveling of magic itself and the emergence of new threats such as the Otherkind and the Upside-Down Man, positioning the team as the last line of defense against cosmic and magical collapse.


Like with the New 52 era, DC Comics collected the full Justice League Dark Rebirth run, including crossovers, into one massive omnibus edition.

  • Justice League Dark: Rebirth Omnibus
    Collects Justice League Dark #1-29; Justice League Dark Annual #1; Justice League Dark 2021 Annual; Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1; Aquaman #66; Black Adam: Endless Winter Special #1; The Flash #767, #777-779; Justice League #58, #72-74; Justice League: Endless Winter #1-2; Superman: Endless Winter Special #1; Teen Titans: Endless Winter Special #1; Wonder Woman #56-57; Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1; and stories from Justice League #59-71, Future State: Justice League #1-2, and Secrets of Sinister House #1.

Justice League Dark: Rebirth Reading Order

Quite early in the run, the first crossover titled “The Witching Hour” was launched. It centers on Hecate, an ancient goddess of magic, who reawakens a hidden power within Wonder Woman, placing her at the center of a cosmic battle for control over the world’s mystical forces. The story deepens the connection between Wonder Woman and the occult, while expanding the stakes for the Justice League Dark team as they confront the destructive legacy of magic itself.

Justice League Dark concludes its Rebirth-era run with issue #29, as part of the Endless Winter crossover event. In this storyline, an ancient Arctic force known as the Frost King emerges, unleashing a catastrophic, extinction-level storm across the globe. The crisis originates at the former site of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, now destabilized and vulnerable following earlier events in the Superman titles.

  • Justice League: Endless Winter
    Collects Justice League: Endless Winter #1-2, The Flash #767, Superman: Endless Winter Special #1, Aquaman #66, Justice League #58, Teen Titans: Endless Winter Special #1, Justice League Dark #29, and Black Adam: Endless Winter Special #1.

Justice League Dark: Infinite Frontier and Beyond

Since the end of the Rebirth era, the Justice League Dark team has not come back in an ongoing title. During the Infinite Frontier era, after the Dark Nights: Death Metal event, the JLD reemerged in a back-up feature in the main Justice League title, written by Ram V with art by Xermanico. The team, featuring Zatanna, Detective Chimp, Constantine, Ragman, Etrigan the Demon, and Merlin as the main antagonist, investigates the growing instability of magical forces and the ancient magical history of Earth.

After that, the Justice League Dark members appeared together on rare occasions, most of the time, it’s only for a few panels. Like at the beginning and a little bit more at the end of the Batman Vs Robin miniseries. So, their role remains peripheral to the central conflict.

Since then, individual members such as Zatanna, Constantine, and Deadman continue to appear in solo stories or larger magical events, but the team itself has yet to be reassembled in a sustained or central storyline.

Still, during events, you can see some of them reunite around Wonder Woman, like in Knight Terrors – Wonder Woman and the Absolute Power tie-in Wonder Woman #11, when some members of the team are playing cards when attacked.

Note: An earlier version of this guide appeared on our site in 2021. The article has been refreshed and updated.

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