What a wasted premise. I like the idea of a team of heroes focusing on magical threats. (And let's just drop the Justice League part. That's pure branding, and has nothing to do with the reality of the book.) It's certainly an interesting cast of characters, most of whome will probably be unfamiliar to many readers. I'm ok with that, I like when good characters get rescued from oblvion. ([b:52|160841|52, Vol. 1|Geoff Johns|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348015404s/160841.jpg|1391808], anyone?) But they just aren't given all the help they need here.Like from a good storyline, instead of a weak, rambling, overly long one. Or character development, which this cast desperately needs. We have here John Constantine, Zatanna, Deadman, Shade, Madame Xanadu, and Enchantress. Who is totally not the same as Marvel's Thor villainness, despite the shared name and fondness for green. Some of these characters will be familiar enough (Constantine and Zatanna, probably, and maybe Deadman because of his role in [b:Brightest Day|8853214|Brightest Day, Vol. 1|Geoff Johns|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349052288s/8853214.jpg|13728306]) but the other three are rather more niche. It would have been nice if Milligan had recognized that and given us some cohesive background on each character as part of their introductions, but no.
I also don't appreciate how Milligan handled Deadman's relationship with Dove. It had been one of the highlights of Brightest Day, handled astonishingly well for a comics romance born in the middle of a crossover event. And Milligan wastes no time in torpedoing it by making Deadman a creepy sleaze. It's like he hated the idea of a relationship between them and wanted to make sure it was killed as dead as dead can be. Yuck.
I have no complaints about the art, or the character design. I just wish that the story was stronger, and that the characters had been handled better. Good idea, bad execution.