My Final Post on The Blackest Night

I know that I'll be in the minority in this and I don't mind. This is a forum to air ones views and that's exactly what I'll attempt to do without seeming to be personally abusive or insulting. If at any point it feels that I am I apologize, it's completely unintentional

All Right, I am not a Geoff Johns Fan. Hell you could say I'm nearly a hater. I didn't like Green Lantern : Rebirth very much, for the childish move to punch Batman etc. But otherwise I enjoyed the event a lot. Infinite Crisis shouldve been called Infinite Nonsense. There were too many plots which were unrelated and the story fell under it's weight of expectation promises and build

Soon I was told of The Green Lantern Monthly and how cool it was. I read No Fear, Dark Side of Green, Wanted: Hal Jordan etc and was excited for Sinestro Corps War.*

SCW blew my mind and soon became one of my favorite crossovers not billed as an event. This is why it become so cool. The story was great. So was the idea execution and build. Sure it ended with a cliffhanger promising something dark and menacing in the background that would soon come in the Future

Rage Of The Red Lanterns and Agent Orange were good builds. ROTRL was amazing, AO not so much, it was above average but below my lofty expectations. After all, the event building for 6 Years was coming to a head ( Paging Marvel: Siege :P )*

Now. During the Buildup to Blackest Night. We saw Black Hand at Bruce Wayne's grave in GL43 and BN0. We were teased continuously. Our greater heroes' demonic returns, from Aquaman, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter etc. There were rumors of WHITE Lanterns etc. It was comic book speculation at it's finest*

Soon Blackest Night rolled in and all the buildup seemed pointless. We got boring Crossovers and Boring Zombies in the main story. An event spanning a day ( maximum 2 ) stretched over 10 Months. We saw The Guardians fall too easily. The rainbow corps have hardly been build too much. The number of the members are low. There is hardly any role for The Blue Lanterns besides saying " All Will Be Well "

Scar was built as a big villain and was taken down in ease. The whole event has been predictable from Nekron to White Lantern Sinestro. Has there been anything surprising so far in BN ? Besides weird GeoffCons like Earth being the origin of Life and The Life Entity ?? Where is the important and teased War Of Light ? I know it's on but it's hardly on the scale promised to
us so far.*

The Teaser for Blackest Night 7 said " Black Hand Unleashed " what exactly did he do there of too much value that anyone else couldn't do ? What has Nekron done that makes him any more feared than a Lex Luthor or Joker ? He doesn't seem to be on The Scale of Terror as Darkseid and Mandrakk

Sure it's good to see characters revitalized like Mera and Atom. However what about Superman ? The greatest DC hero just out so easily to put the spotlight on Green Lantern and Flash ? That is just sad, convenient and most unfortunate.

Batman's big tease and appearance in BN5 was of importance, sure. But was it how it was built. It was predictable and was hardly explained in story as to who the body belonged too. Us Batman fans knew the answers long ago and to me this just seems that Batman was used for the sake of selling a few more books. Batman after all can sell anything. He is The Comic Book Hero

To Conclude, Blackest Night is big on build, promises, Art and Size but low on Story quality, Depth, Character Analysis and point. It's just about scale and less about the people in it. It's mee about Groups and less about the people in it. I enjoy personal stories.

It is obvious that once it ends it won't answer most questions like

1. Why is Nekron's Black Lantern Symbol same as Black Hand's and why does Nekron wear that symbol too ? Is Nekron Dead too ? Isn't he the Guardian of Death ? Backstory of Nekron is mostly negligible

2. What the hell with the stupid explanation of the Nekrotic Eight ? Is Nekron retarded ? Would it not be easy to raise the dead like Martian Manhunter and Aquaman were than to resurrect those 8. Once resurrected they can break the Black Ring Control. When dead they can't. If Nekron hadn't let them live he wouldve easily taken over the Universe. How stupid

3. History of The Guardians and Nekron ?? Why did the Guardians lie so much ?will Nekron do anything this event*

Think about the above guys. The story in most probability be continued into Brightest Day and be a neverending event Till Eternity.


Blackest Night will and should be remembered well below a Crisis event. Way below COIE, Final Crisis and Infinite Crisis. It's below Geoff's own Sinestro Corps War. It doesn't hold a candle to Grant's Batman, Jla, Invisibles etc, Bendis' overly blown Avengers, Dark Phoenix Saga etc

To Be Honest I am enjoying Siege more than BN now but maybe that's just event faitigue in The GL-verse. I love Hal and Sinestro but this event doesn't do anyone justice except talkative zombies and marketing. Nekron said it himself in the variant of Blackest Night 6, he is Offering you the rings. Take them, take them all and waste your time and money

 Some more questions towards Blackest Night including a little clarity on Nekron allowing the heroes to return et al

Am sorry if I was unclear in a few places. I'll hopefully be more coherent and articulate now.

Some questions for you along with some observations thrown in. Hope I don't go onto too many tangents and technicalities

1. An explanation for the Black Hand Symbol is that it's in the Black that is Billy ? The Hand Mortuary symbol surely has been around before William Hand was born. So how exactly dis the symbol get there ?

2. I must say that Batman is The Super Hero. He was totally used. Bruce Wayne's grave was in Green Lantern 43 and 44. The grave wasn't even mentioned in GL43, His skull was the cover of BN1 right ? Blackest Night 0 was The Brave and Bold at his grave. The event opened up at his Grave. It would be blind not to see Batman in Blackest Night. References to Batman nearly plagued issue 4 and 5 too. His skull ( technically the Clone's ) created the Black Rings by the power of the Black. The Batman Blackest Night Tie In was the highest selling mini.*

3. What is the exact relationship between The Guardians and Nekron. I know Nekron's back story from The GL Annuals. Have been Reading books going back to the 50's*

4. Did Blackest Night have to be 8 Issues with a month gap. That's 9 Months ! Issue One to Three was epic filler. It was zombie action. Issue 4 and 5 were very good. Issue 6 was just a freaking travesty. Predictable and cliched. Everything we expected. Nekron and Hand have done nearly nothing this event. To Be Honest, Nekron is the least developed Big Bad of an event by the big 2 (DC and Marvel) in forever !

Final Crisis surely deserved 12 Issues or at least 9. Blackest Night couldve been done and finished in 6 Issues without a skip month. I'm very happy that DC has made so much money out of BN and is kicking Marvel butt finally ! I'm glad that so many series that tied in got a huge boost in sales and are not cancelled.

5. Isn't Blackest Night the ultimate comic cliche ? I don't think there was anything surprising in it whatsoever. If anyone even dares to argue and say the same for Final Crisis, I'll lay a few ones

i. Orions death in the Opening
ii. Batman getting taken down by Granny Goodness
iii. Darkseid's easy takeover of The Earth
iv. Wonder Woman's Fall
v. The Heart Rendering transformation of Dan Turpin into The Darkside
vi. Darkseid's speech at the end of Issue 5
vii. Batman using a gun to take down a god ( yeah we kinda called that but that was better than anything in BN so far )
viii. Batman chilling at the beginning of time. I dare anyone to say they called that. Anyone ? It was the most badass end to a Crisis !

Finally, as to what I mean about the dead resurrection angle. I'll try to be clear below.

What really did you all DO ?

Nekron let those 8 Heroes he "took" at the end of BN5 to come back to realm of the living right ? Now why would he do that? If he let those heroes stay dead, there would Hardly be any worthy protectors of Earth. He couldve easily taken over. Also, I say this because A "Dead" Black Lantern hasn't registered a fight against the Black Ring, whereas a "Living" Black Lantern Has. Am I clear ? If so, the only thing I have to say to Geoff is " Lazy storytelling ? "

After reading Blackest Night, all I could do was stifle yawns and get tired. loved the Art, Ivan but beautiful splashes etc cannot save this story. Geoff was handling too much like Infinite Crisis and he just fell under the pressure . I will read Brightest day not expecting too much. This was overall a very average Event with too many issues and too less of a story

Only Reason I Don't HATE Blackest Night....

Blackest Night

Writing : 7.0
Art : 9.4


Green Lantern

Writing : 7.8
Art : 9.0

Green Lantern Corps

Writing : 7.6
Art : 8.4

Next In The DC Event Blog : Review Of Batman and Robin 11 tonight ! Plus plans of Return Of Bruce Wayne and why we all love RikDad !

Blackest Night 6

Solicitation : The secrets of Nekron are revealed as darkness consumes the DC Universe. Everything else: TOP SECRET.


Written by Geoff Johns Art By Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

Synopsis : We start with a shot Of "Bruce Wayne's" skull in Coast City moments after his skull was used by Nekron in The big conclusion Of Blackest Night 6. Carol and Saint Walker wonder what has happened as the ring calls out Hal's name. Hal corrects Saint and tell him only the resurrected are being targeted by the rings

Superman and The rest of The Nekrotic Eight take on Hal as Ollie says that heroes and all that is over. Everyone is only Nekron now and thats how things will be from on and forever. Hal recounts how every one of them was killed as Barry tries to outrun the rings as Nekron is hungry !!

 The Rainbow Rodeo has Superman and tell Hal to deliver The kill shot but Hal refuses as he does not think Superman can be dead. Sinestro says that this must be done or its better to lay down and die as Indigo's Bright idea did not work out...

Bart (at least The Black Lantern version) tried to goad Barry Allen telling him that he was the first Lifeline Nekron created and says that they all belong to him now. Bart goes after Wally as Barry tells Hal to throw him a line. Barry says he is faster than the rings as they race off. The rings connections are severed.. Barry explains that without a Cosmic treadmill, Time Travel is guesswork. They are Two seconds in the future. They try and wonder why Bruce was the only Black Lantern who combusted on his own. They have no cluw whatsoever and hope that they and the Nekrotic Eight don't die after all of this is over as they Race back to Coast City.

Ray, Mera and Jean Loring are in The Black Lantern Ring where suddenly Deadman possesses Jean and tells them that Black Lanterns from the whole Universe are descending to Earth. Atom and Ray flee out.

And now, For our 1 dialog - Double Spreader Edition Of John Stewart who gives us an Idea of all The Black Lanterns coming to Earth

At Least A Billion ? That's Xanshi behind...

They leap out of Wonder Woman's ring which is supposedly on its last legs.  Mera thinks she has what it takes to take on Wonder Woman. Yeah right, you wish..........

As Hal and Barry return, Indigo and the rest believe that they will need all the light bearers to recreate the light of life to Destroy The Black Lantern Battery. Indigo agrees to send her people to get all The Other Lantern Corps. Ganthet replicates Hal's ring and says some crap about how they are all Oan Technology and recruits himself to the Green Lantern Corps and replicates the rest of The 6 Rings to search for 24 Hour Replacements on Earth. Rings go around and find the following

Mera - Red Lantern Corps
Lex Luthor - Orange Lantern Corps
Scarecrow - Yellow Lantern Corps
Ganthet - Green Lantern Corps
Barry Allen  - Blue Lantern Corps
Atom - Indigo Tribe
Wonder Woman - Star Sapphires

The BL Wonder Woman tries to resist but Love overrules everything as the Ring is severed as we end with Our Saint Barry telling Hal Jordan

The Second Rainbow Rodeo !

Review : OK I will be honest with you. When I first read it I absolutely Hated it and thought it was utter Garbage ! However, reading the Tie Ins and some reasoning for some stupid decisions like Barry becoming a Blue Lantern over Superman ! WTF ? Ridiculous moves. I would have given it a 0 but now I will be a little more rational. Geoff has made an interesting concept stale and kind of ridiculous now. Nekron did absolutely nothing whatsoever, Black Hand was not even mentioned and Scar thrown like a bad disease. No resolution on The Guardians. Nothing Nothing Nothing ! Why The hell was Batman and Robin 7 even delayed for this story.

The art by Ivan Reis was great and I really loved it. That saved this issue from being Toilet paper. Thats all

Story : 7
Art : 9.4

Next In Blackest Night: Green Lantern 50 hits ! Its Hal Jordan vs Spectre as an old and familiar face returns. The Shit hits the fan, maybe..............

Blackest Night 5

Solicitation : The moment you've hungered for finally arrives! Who controls death in the DC Universe? NEKRON - Lord of the Undead! The dark being behind the undead Black Lanterns makes his presence and purpose known, and our heroes discover they re not only fighting for their lives, but their after-lives as well. Don t miss this game-changing issue from superstar writer Geoff Johns and stellar artist Ivan Reis!

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Ivan Reis

Synopsis : We kick of the story where Green Lantern 48 left us, on Ryut (Sector 666), Hal narrates saying that Ganthet and Sayd were born on Maltus and appointed themselves as The Guardians Of The Universe to ensure order, that does not mean they handled it well. He states that all the enemies have come together, so have friends and ex-Girl Friends. Hip Hip Hooray ! Sienstro patronizes Ganthet as Larfleeze complains about how nothing is worse than empty. Atrocitus asks where The Black Lantern battery is, they sense that the Guardian who betrayed them is within The Black Grasp and they will take them to her as Hal tells them to all shut ut and Light Up !

Time To Power Up.

They all power up except Larfleeze who complains that he is still hungry, Sayd says that she has given up her freedom for his cause. Larfleeze now wants a feast, his gluttony is crazy. He wants that otherwise he is taking his ring and going home.Atrocitus and Sinestro discuss about killing him and finding who the ring latches onto next. He wants to shove the Lantern down Larfleeze's throat to charge him up. Walker steps in and calms Lar down and tells him that as long as he is in the vicinity of Blue he will feel no hunger. Orange wants some dessert. Hal's construct shoves his head on the battery as Power levels touch 100000% ! Hal and the gang are ready to go aster the Black....

Back at Coast City, Barry Allen runs towards Black Hand, who is bowing before Nekron.. Nekron says that Barry's death was the first and his rebirth will be The Last ! So says he (Little Narcissist huh ?). William butts in spews some Dark Philosophy. Barry wonders what else he has gone through. William is happy because he is dead like Barry was. Barry realizes that Black Hand dug up Bruce's Grave as he touches it. It registers an Emotional Tether. William says Barry isn't his time nor is his skull. Somebody hates to know what his type is as WALLY WEST Runs in ! Wally sums 5 Issues in 4 Lines : One Green Lantern Baddie, One Giant - Skeleton Guy, One Freaky Guardian and a Black lantern in a Pear Tree. Wally mentions Kyle meeting him before. Wally says he is Barry's Nightwing to his Batman. Barry considers them equals and asks him if he is the only one. Wally says there is no Flash Corps but they have friends as The Heroes of Earth break in.

In Manhattan, Grant rises into a Black lantern as Palmer is unsuccessful to stop it. Jean Loring says that Ray understood Grant, no else did until tonight. She liked the Taste of Hope he gave grant. Mera attacks Jean who grabs her and Atom and takes them diving inside Grant's Black lantern Ring.....

At Coast City, All Hell has broken loose with the JLA kicking ass or atleast appearing to, Kid Flash runs in and tells Wally and Barry that Dove has some power and all The BL's coming towards her combust and are defeated. However, Donna Troy was bitten and she is starting to get very sick Donna did not want aid and said she would rather go down fighting. They run towards Nekron but ignore him and try and help the Guardians who are stuck in Black slime. Scar breaks in and says that The Guardians are to be drained. She says that there is no order when there is life. Someone wonders why Scar is getting pale as Hal (obviously) and his gang break in and Blast Scar.Sinestro has been waiting for this for a long time ! Some comedy with Larfleeze and The Guardian and Scar is defeated ..

Hal and Barry have a quick word with Hal confident on taking Nekron down. Indigo and the rest surround The Black Lantern and attempt to recreate The White Light Of Life as Carol and Hal mention seeing this in a cartoon. Ha Ha Nice. Nekron tells Sayd and Ganthet that their lie is to be exposed. Suddenly a ring pops out of his battery goes past the heroes. Donna is seeing Wonder Woman in Black-Lantern vision . Hal comments that this isn't doing anything as Indigo's plan is failing. Black Hand raises the skull as Donna seems to be converting .

  Bruce Wayne Of Earth

RISE !

The Greatest Comic Character ever rises ! Hal, Green Arrow, Superman, Bart and everyone express their shock. As Nekron says that He is the one who has allowed them to return from the dead and they are all connected to him as he allowed the numerous resurrections. They will help Nekron expose The Guardians lie (which we still don't know). Black Lantern Bruce Wayne spits out 7 Rings which move like bats towards the targets. Buddy Baker, Tora ,Princess Diana, Kal-El , Conner Kent, Bart Allen, Oliver Queen. Hal tries to subdue The Black Lantern Bruce Wayne. Barry runs from the Black Ring as Nekron commands "Bruce Wayne" back to rest......... Interesting. Connection is severed. Nekron says the Light awaits as The 7 along with Donna are now Black Lanterns as Hal & Barry run away from The Black Rings.


Review : So The Big game changer issue is here ?? Well it was very good. The First 5 Pages were amazing, the opening sequence in Coast City was good and The Black Hand vs Flash part was absolutely cool. Seeing Superman and the rest was a badass moment but they really did not do much nor did they say much. Black Hand just randomly disappeared until the end. I wanted much more from Superman and Wonder Woman too. Barry Allen and The Flashes were great. The Rainbow Rodeo had their little moments here and there. I'm sure I will be seeing much more with them in The Issues to come back.

Very Pissed about the way Scar was treated. Anyone who read my Character Analysis knows that I really liked her character and there was tremendous potential in her and her motivations. I wish Geoff would have given more of a thought to these little gems in this event thats all.

Ivan Reis was out of the world . Amazing work. I have never seen better in 2009, when this hit the streets. Keep up the work. More On The Batman stuff in another blog soon....

Story : 9.4
Art : 9.6

The Nekrotic Eight

Next In Blackest Night : The Nekrotic Eight and what their purpose might be

Green Lantern 48

Solicitation : BLACKEST NIGHT continues! Agent Orange and his Orange Lanterns face off against the Black Lantern Corps, and Larfleeze finds himself wanting something he never has before: Help. Meanwhile, Saint Walker comes face-to-face with the one being in the universe he has no patience for Sinestro!

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Doug Manhke & Christian Alamy

Synopsis : We start on Okaara where Agent Orage and Atrocitus face off in a battle for the possession of The Orange Battery. What a cool looking match-up. I'd love to see an Atocitus-Larfleeze team-up ! Agent Orange hits Atro with the battery and knocks him out as All his Orange Lanterns merge with their Black self and he loses control of his entire Corps ! Poor Lar, what a bad week he is having indeed !

Fear not, All Will BE Well.The Rainbow Army is here in full force, lar accuses the Blue of the attack. Saont assures him that this is not The Blue Lanterns doing and promises that Okaara's forests will no longer burn or will The dead bother him. Sinestro comements on Larfleeze's "stench", Indigo says its the Ring and not him as they begin to severe connections. Hal and Carol discuss who Larfleeze is like , nice comedy. Little tired of seeing Hal always use a plane as his construct but maybe that is just me.  Ganthet is here and he tells Larfleeze that thy are no longer Guardians and that he is surprised why Lar broke the pact made Eons ago. Agent Orange complains how The Guardians fooled him to go to Odym, he wanted a Blue rig and did not know there was a Blue Lantern Corps with its own Guardians. He wants a Guardian ! Hal puts up a Construct called "STOP." Orange cant read , poor kid. Hal is surprised that The Guardians told Larfleeze about Odym (This was seen in Green Lantern 42). Ganthet says that the Guardians want to extinguish all light. They discuss about the Guardians failed plan to stop The War Of Light. Agent O wants a forest Of Christmas Trees ! Sinestro says that Hal is the tool used to start this war and its his fault. Hal promises to Quit the corps before ever working for the smurfs. Sinestro deduces that Abin Sur wasn't trying to stop The Blackest Night but Hal. Someone has something else to say .........

Atrocitus' Rage !

He beats up Hal and Sinestro and promises to make them wear Black as Indigo, Carol and Saint Walker jump him, Indigo tries to make him feel compassion. Saint Walker disagrees and believes it is hope. We get a glimpse of Atocitus and a female of his planet working with the Blue Lanterns, Atrocitus says he will not be weakened to which Saint says that the Universe always has a plan, Atro says whoever says it was a good one ?

Hal tells Atro that while he might be loud and primal he isn't stupid and he came on Okaara for help and Larfleeze will be overrun by The Black and thy all need to work together to succeed.  Sinestro says they wont be rallied by words. Ganthet asks him what he has done. Sinestro grabs orange and tells him that his corpsmen are hiding a doze blink bombs across his world and if Lar doesn't join he will destroy his world and mount his head. Sin also tells Atro that after The Blackest Night he will join the reds and destroy the Green Lanterns together to which Carol says that "Hal is here". very funny. Atro and Lar break free and attack Siestro. What a misstep Sinestro ! Suddenly Power levels hit 100%. Indigo channels the Black ring and senses the source and says that they cat fail her savior Abin Sur. She transports them.

Carol asks where thy are to which Atro tells her "Space Sector 666, The Planet Ryut, My Home" He curses
Ganthet and Sayd for their sins (the use Of the android Manhunters). He says they came and they (Atrocitus' kind) did nothing to deserve this as he breaks down and cluctches the soil of a once living Earth . The Greatest Moment Of Blackest Night, screw The story, this was beautiful. Carol comments that Atrocitus once loved something, Life. Saint Walker and Atro discuss their kinds death to which Atro promises that after all this, The Guardians Die. Lar says that he will only join the All-Lantern Corps if he gets a Guardian of his own. Sayd gives up her freedom and promises to serve Larfleeze after The Blackest Night. Indigo comments that The Black lantern is no longer.  Gathet says they will do everything to stop it and they will find it.


Review : Wow, An Awesome Issue Of Green Lantern, All The Characters had some or the other role. Geoff really has a good grip on these characters, he has after all created quite a few of them and revamped them all. I'm really liking the tales of The Rainbow coalition. I just hope that their return to the main series wont be jarring and out of place which will confuse readers. Atrocitus is officially my favorite Character in the Green Lantern mythos and if he dies I am going to get very pissed off. Geoff, you have created an awesomely complex and intelligent character and I hope to see more from him and see him written by many writers for the years to come. The focus on him the past Two Issues have been refreshing. The only problem is that Indigo seems to know too much, will she betray them or is some major twist coming ? I think that is a possibility but I would rather not see such a thing occurring.

Doug did an amazing job here too. Just Larfleeze and Saint Walker look a little off, but The panel Of Atrocitus breaking down and Larfleeze meeting the Guardians (The dark look on Ganthet and Sayd looked mesmerizing). I read this again just to see the beautiful drawings. Congrats and hope to see more on green lantern. Its a shame he is not illustrating issue 49, maybe he has something mind-blowing in 50. Highly recommended issue as it leads directly into Blackest Night 5.

Story : 9.4
Art : 9.5

Time To Light Up !

Next In Blackest Night : Nekron has risen. He wants lives. Hal and his gang are close by. The heroes of Earth gather in Coast City to fight The 7 Million dead and Thousands of other dead heroes and villains and Black hand finally releases a great Power.

Character Spotlight - Scar

Now while it might seem that the renegade Guardian, Scar is a complete *****, we must note that this is not the characters motivations. Most of us are familiar with what she is doing and her reasons. Here I would just like to go through her character and examine what is exactly going on with someone who is from The Oldest Race of living beings in The Universe.

Scar, as it is obvious, is from Maltus just like the other Guardians. She claims to have lived for a Billion years (which is odd as I think the only one who should say that is Ganthet, did the rest not die in Emerald Twilight or is this another Geoff-Con ? ). She has been a Guardian from the times of The failed Manhunters to The Sinestro Corps War. She, just like the Other Guardians excluding Ganthet have played small roles and nothing specifically but as a Unit. Her major appearance which was on Earth during the Sinestro Corps War when The Yellow Lanterns faced The Green On Earth in an attempt to take down the Multiverse, a secret which was not known to all. The Sinestro Corps also had heavy hitters on their side, The Anti-Monitor , Superboy-Prime, The Cyborg Superman and The Manhunters along with Parallax. The Guardians who had till that time been passive players in battle, suddenly got into battle and took on The Anti Monitor as shown below....

The Guardians Actively at War.

The Guardians had already lost on of their own to Superboy-Prime (One of them committed "suicide" in order to destroy him). The Anti-Monitor's touch burnt One of The Guardians and henceforth she was known as "Scar". Scar was injured grievously and since then she has made a sudden change in her views and her allegiances and is working against her own and her Corps.

She has worked behind the scenes reading The Book Of Black and seeing the futures of some of the Earth heroes (As seen in the Origins and Omens back up which ran in DC Comics in the early part Of Last Year). Scar was also instrumental in trapping one Of The Sinestro Corps members into The Book of Black (I forget her name , This happened in The Green Lantern Corps monthly). Scar has been a behind the scenes player in the escalation of The War Of Light. This was seen in both Rage Of The Red Lanterns, where she somehow got the Red lanterns to attack Sinestro and The Green Lanterns who were escorting him to Korugar for his execution for his crimes, and In Agent Orange, where she directly made The Green lanterns attack the Orange Lanterns and gave The Location Of The Blue Lantern home world to Larfleze.

The Fall Of Scar.

As Blackest Night came by, she revealed that she was working for The Lord of Death and that he was coming for peace in the Universe and that has always been his intention. Nekron is here to do what The Guardians could not and that is to have order. Hmmmm that was interesting. She was also On Earth during the birth of The First Black Lantern, William Hand. I wonder how she came to Earth without The other Guardians knowing, maybe that is something we assume she can hide without anyone knowing. As The Core series began, She revealed herself to her fellows and well It was grand........

Hearts !!

Scar, since then took over all the Guardians and had Ash and Sareek with them around The Black Lantern battery at Ryut on Sector 666. After that, she has also been directing all The Black Lantern Corps onto several of the home worlds. As soon as The levels hit 100%, Scar along with the rest transported themselves and The Battery to Earth as Nekron Rose.

Right, so that is Scar's Biography. Now I Think Scar is a Black Lantern and that Nekron somehow took her when she died of burns from The Anti-Monitor. I would rather see Scar have a heroic end to her but I have a sinking feeling that it is wishful thinking and it is much more Likely for the Rainbow Rodeo to blast her with their light and utter a One Liner. I really hope that won't be the end of her. I really like the character and her role in The Blackest Night has been small, unlike her heavy outside game-changer in the preludes, The latter issues will surely answer our queries. Thumbs Up to Geoff for creating a compelling and different kind of character.

Blackest Night 4

Solicitation : Summer’s hottest event explodes in this critical issue! Hold on to your power rings, because the secrets behind the Blackest Night finally stand revealed! While Earth is evacuated, Hal Jordan embarks on a brave journey to the darkest depths to uncover the truth behind the Black Lanterns! You won’t believe what he uncovers!

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Ivan Reis

Synopsis : At the headquarters Of The JLA, The Flash fights The Martian Manhunter. Walking along a grave in Coast city passing through Hal Jordan's parents grave, Black Hand talks about how Superman, Flash and Green Arrow cannot escape death. He also says their Blackest Light will end the "Let there be Light." Power Levels 93.55%

Mera fights Hawkgirl and wonders why The Indigos took Hal away though his Green Light is a way to stop The Black Lanterns. Ray Palmer deduces that it was probably to prioritize and find the other Lanterns and pull the plug from The Black Lantern home world. Flash says its their job to hold fort on Earth until The Lite-Brite Brigade return, he asks for Firestorm to which..........

Oops !

The Flash runs to which Ronnie tells him that with Jason on board he can transmute Organics. All of Jason's emotions are being used to build the percentage of The Black Lantern Battery (93.86%). Ronnie goes for Barry's heart but suddenly Jason takes over and tells Barry that a voice in the rings says it wants Barry Allen. He asks them all to evacuate Earth ! Ronnie takes over as Aquaman and the rest break in. Barry wants to leave, Ray asks him for some time as he calls 911 and dives into the lines with Barry and Mera to a Police Hotline place.

In Gotham City, Scarecrow says he wants to to feel fear as he hears those screams of Horror. Black Lantern Azrael assaults some citizens. Scarecrow is immune to fear, Azrael tries to frighten him to no avail, Scarecrow says the only thing that scares him is The Batman as power levels are now 95.45%

Lex Luthor and Calculator discuss about the dead rising. Luthor says its every one for themselves as he prepares himself for battle. Barry asks Ray and Mera to find Alan Scott while he goes and rallies the troops and finds someone who can help Firestorm, as The Black Lanterns search for life in The JLA HQ. Flash says that the JLA are on this, Ray says that that isn't true and they need to find Superman and Wonder Woman. Flash says for now Ray and Atom are Wonder Woman and Superman. Good motivational speech by Barry as he tells them that they were born to kick ass ! He runs off,  Mera asks Atom if they are Superman and Wonder Woman who is Flash (an obvious reference to Batman, Blackest Night is full of them). Ray says "The Flash", Hmmmmmmmm..........

Atom and Mera jump into the Battle The JSA is having with the Black lanterns in New York, Flash rallies everyone from Wonder Woman,Green Arrow and The Titans..

At Coast City, Black Hand says the Tunnel of Light leads them to the Guardians Ultimate Lie as The Power Levels are 97.79%.. Wally and Bart ask Barry where they should come . Barry says wherever there is trouble.Alan and Mera's powers seem ineffectual against The Black, Damage's father, Al Pratt, The original Atom rises and fights his son. Atom and Damage fight back and subdue him when suddenly Jean Loring arrives and rips Damage's heart out ! Ouch (He was emoting Hope). Power Levels are 100%.

Barry Allen stops to a Halt and wonders what that voice is. Scar says the light awaits as the Black lantern battery transport. Barry sees Black hand and is blown away. The Black lantern Central Battery rises above Black Hand's mortuary home. Black Hand commands Nekron to Rise. ! Barry wonders where the Hell Hal is  as Nekron rises. We end with him commanding Coast City to rise and also saying that "Barry Allen, You owe me your life. You all Do."

Review : Ever heard of The Solicitations Lie ? This is a prime example. No Hal Jordan (he is working hard in The Green Lantern series), Earth is not evacuated. However that does not mean this was not a great issue, It was classic. I absolutely loved Barry's part in the issue. Mera and Atom were powerfully written. We see glimpses of all the mini-series. We did not see Hal nor any Green Lanterns in this but we see some sense of desperation and also some interesting plot points for Scarecrow and Lex Luthor. Lots of Batman references. The story is finally developing after 3 Issues of Zombie only action.

Ivan Reis' art was the best thing I have seen in 2009. Amazing stuff man. I would hate to see the quality decrease. One complain is that I would have Liked to see Superman and Wonder Woman actually doing something. I know that the spotlight is on the smaller heroes but I'm sure that these two are proactive and not reactive. Lets hope for the best i guess.........

Finally Black Hand did something ! yeah ! That makes the issue cool........

We all owe our life to him

Story : 9.2
Art : 9.5

Next In Blackest Night: Indigo-2 and The Green Lantern Corps team up to face The Black on Oa. Will they be enough is strength ? Kyle faces an ultimate choice and Guy Gardner faces his problems as the power levels have already hit 100%

Green Lantern 47

Solicitation : BLACKEST NIGHT continues! The war between the Blue Lanterns and Agent Orange implodes as the universe darkens! But a strange turn will send this epic battle in an unexpected direction when Larfleeze has something he desperately hordes taken away from him!

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Doug Manhke & Christian Alamy

Synopsis : Atroctious says that Hate is not born out of ignorance but from personal pain and revenge, Laira rises and attacks her fellow "Lost Lanterns". Atty is fighting The Green when he is greeted by his fellow people of Sector 666.

Best looking Black Lanterns.

The Black Lanterns say that they have seen tomorrow and they have come with answers to all his questions and they also have seen how he will die , which seems to be a truly intriguing tale (That is very interesting). The green rings say the power rings are unknown. The ring says they were The Last Survivors of The Massacre of Sector 666. Atro and The Inversions go back and forth. Atro says that their prophecy was only a whisper in the shouting match and they did not see the rise of The Emotional Spectrum, Black Lanterns etc saying that their words were only blind and stupid rhetoric. Qull asks him whether his rage could be any more to which Atro says NO. His Heart is removed. Atrocitus (sorry that I have been spelling him wrong so far guys) Of Ryut (The Black lantern homeworld) Ri..........., Atrocitus says that he will not be taken down like this and beats the shit out of The Inversions (Note that the Red Lanterns do not have any use of their heart and removing it does not effect them, they can only be defeated if their rings are removed).

On Korugar, Abin Sur and Hal Jordan battle with Abin listing out all his flaws and mistakes he has made. He says that he never brought the corps to near destruction or faced to save a city of Seven Million. Abin says that Hal refuses to see the future and it wouldn't matter if he lived tomorrow or died today. Elsewhere, Indigo says Abin Sur's rise as a Black Lantern makes this totally blasphemous and she asks Carol to go and help her man, Hal (to which Carol says "he is not my man"), Your Green Lantern then...

Arin Sur and Sinestro fight, Arin says that his madness for order caused her death at Korugar and she asks Sinestro whether all this was worth it, whether it was worth to lose the only woman he loved. Before Sinestro can answer though, Indigo slams Arin with The Green Light she has channeled from Hal, Arin begs her "Thaal Sinestro" and tells him she loves him so much. Hal breaks in with Abin. Hal says its time to cut short this reunion. Sinestro tells him to have respect for the dead and there is no need to banter as they finish the two. Abin shouts that he knows Indio before he is defeated........... Hal asks Sinestro who Arin was to him, Sinestro replies "Nobody"

Sinestro and Hal bicker as to who will lead the team. Good work here. Hal says that he will stop all the problems The Guardians caused and they will help together and Sinestro will not take charge (Boo ! I want Sin to lead !). Sinestro grudgingly agrees and tells his Corps that The Green Lanterns are not to be considered as enemies and they will all work together to quell The Blackest Night. Sinestro aks Hal not to crash their mission.

On Xanshi, John lands and picks up a Power Battery as he is told salvation is here. That's all ! WTF ?

On Odym, The battle is on between The Blue and Orange as Saint Walker says that death is not evil, only those who bring it on prematurely are. The Blue Lanterns can't use their rings until A Green lantern is in their vicinity. Suddenly the rings come back online as we see The Rainbow Coalition arrive, Larfleeze says he wants something from Hal (the wielder Of The Green and Blue) as he and the rest of The Orange Lanterns disappear.

On Okaara, Lar is running from the Black Lanterns as he screams in desperation and says he wants "Help". Aww.......  Atro breaks in (badass !) and says he wants His Orange Battery Now.

Atrocitus is amazing !

Review : Very solid and well written book with brilliant art and characterizations. This is what I want to see in the Blackest Night. The Coalition is strong and nearly complete. I'm liking this happening at relatively in the middle of the story, so there is a twist coming. My problem is that this may seem abrupt and weird to see Hal come with everyone out of nowhere in The Core Series for those who are only reading the core. If these people read the Lead Ins, its obvious they all hate each other. Lets see how this is tied.

I wish we could see more Indigo interaction with Abin as there have been clues dropped here and there of something similar or some relation between the two during each and every one of her appearances so far. Maybe this is an important plot point in the works.

The Art is absolutely super, my only gripe is that I wish Doug draws Saint Walker better, he looked strange when I saw him, besides that an All-Star job.

However I have still a rant, WTF with John Stewart ? One Page and no words by him ? I would have liked to see atleast 3 or 4 pages., it would make his story seem to be of some value at least.  One can hope.........

Story : 9.2
Art : 9.4

Next In Blackest Night : Black Lanterns come into The lives of The Titans as lovers, friends and enemies rise. What happens when a Mother confronts her dead family and is a Titan holding the Keys To Victory in The Blackest Night ? Coming Soon.

Green Lantern 46

Solicitation : BLACKEST NIGHT continues! For months, Mongul has wrested control of the Sinestro Corps. Now Sinestro wants a word with him. And Hal wants a word with Sinestro. But in the midst of BLACKEST NIGHT, they'll all become the hunted as the fallen Sinestro Corps members rise. What will happen? Here's a hint: Sinestro gets some serious payback

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Doug Manhke & Christian Alamy (Special Thanks To Patrick Gleason)

Synopsis :  The Zamarons note that their love crystals and power is completely ineffective against the Black lanterns. This is because their power is not from the emotional spectrum. The Star Sapphires are falling. Predator must not be unleashed they say. He's getting out for sure.Sinestro and Carol fight the Lanterns to no use, Sinestro says he is only here to get his corps and leave. Amon Sur and Sinestro fight and Amon blames him for his father's death and says That The Blackest Night is here. Sinestro also addresses Arin as his lover. Slushh attempts some heavy damage, nice seeing him.

Hal and The Indigo's arrive.Hal and Munk take out a Black lantern. Indigo sends Munk to Oa to help The Green lantern Corps and Carol asks to be brought up to speed.Hal tells her what to do and tells her she looks good in Purple. Sinestro attacks Hal and they have a mini-skirmish. Indigo attempts to subdue Sin who mistakes her for a Sapphire. her tie to Abin intrigues him, suddenly a black ring enters and breaks into The Central Battery and orders Khufu and Chay-ara of Earth, The Original Hawkman and Hawkgirl to RISE ! The explosions kills many as power levels jump to 75.25% as Indigo, Carol, Hal and Sinestro leave.

On Ryut (Homeworld Of The Black Lanterns) in Sector 666, Scar tells her lord that the violet light fades, she sends all the disengaged Black Lanterns after the Indigo light

John is still at Xanshi and a voice says it can help him and he flies towards it, thats it.

The Four Land at Korugar and Sinestro tries to get some answers but is told to relax and that he has been brought for a reason- To Fight the one who tried to take over HIS Corps - Mongul.
Mongul says he has been waiting to prove himself and establish himself as the head of The Sinestro Corps. The others try and interfere but Sinestro pushes them back saying its his battle and he launches a frontal attack. Interesting note in review. Mongul pummels him to the ground. As the others approach, he throws them away with Amon Sur's constuct, Cool. Mongul says it is now The Mongul Corps and he is about to finish him when Sinestro says that Mongul is a creature of Action and he does not understand how things work and The rings were created by him and he had installed a fail-safe and then this happens:

Sinestro Is Amazing !

Sinestro knocks him with a Power Battery all his corps men hail him and the people begin to start to respect him again.He assumes control and says he will assume leadership in  Abin's mission to quell Darkness. A Ship crashes and out come Black Lantern Arin and Abin. Hal vs Abin coming up....

Review : This has been my favorite Blackest Night Issue so far, it was perfect and very well done. the writing is finally hitting its stride. the Corps are getting together. There was less of unnecessary Zombie action and we still get how the Blackest Night is destroying the Universe. The Guardians tiny role was very well done. I still hate how John Stewart is being shafted to one page and 2 Lines. What The Hell ? This sucks for his fans.

Doug was very good on this. Loved the spread posted above, His space stuff looks very beautiful and well done so I'm happy seeing this being rendered by him. Patrick Gleason did the page of Sinestro fighting Mongul (The One Page Splash), nice to see him do that as he has been building up this fight for nearly a year in The Green Lantern Corps monthly.

Story : 9.3
Art : 9.1

Next In : Oa is beginning to Fall as The Black Lanterns nearly take over. Is All help on Oa gone ? Will anyone answer their call. Guy and Kyle take their stand against the never-ending force as The Blackest Night is here.

Green Lantern 45

Solicitation : BLACKEST NIGHT continues! The Black Lanterns descend on all the Corps throughout the universe! Sinestro's assault on the Star Sapphires’ homeworld of Zamaron is interrupted by another Sinestro Corps – one made up of those who died during the Sinestro Corps War! And while the War of Light flickers, deep in the darkness of space, John Stewart comes face-to-face with his deceased wife – and longtime Green Lantern – Katma Tui

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Doug Manhke & Christian Alamy

Synopsis : John is at Xanshi and demands for immediate backup after seeing the Black Rings, he doesn't get a response and is attacked by the rings. We listen to Pariah's words in Blackest Night 2 "Worlds will Die, Worlds Will Rise" as Xanshi Rises.

Carol and the Star Sapphires take On Sinestro's Corpsmen in an all-out battle as Queen Agapo and the rest start thinking about using Predator or something on Carol as she seems to be the one who can control the Sapphire ring better than the rest. Interesting. Sinestro breaks in and informs Carol that she is far from home.He taunts her a bit more and tells her to be a good girl or he will kill her to which she says that she never was a good girl. Sinestro isn't pleased.

On Ysmault, The Alphas and The Green Lanterns are trying to retrieve Laira's body and take it back. However, The Alpha Boddika is facing a problem as she is assigned to destroy all the corps. She is about to be stopped when Atroctious breaks in and pummels them saying that their blood will charge his rings. Black Rings burst in as The Inversions and Laira are commanded to RISE !

Karu-Sil kicks ass as usual, Sinestro asks Carol why she is doing all this if Hal will never love her and will always be a rebel. (Cool Hal Construct) She says it isn't for herself or for their relationship, Its for Hal and she will do everything to Help him. Sinestro simply says "Love Is A Lie". Carol senses love and crystallizes him ! We get a glimpse of Abin and Sinestro meeting Arin Sur, Abin's sister and we see something between the two (Sinestro and Arin obviously.) Sinestro breaks out in rage screaming "Arin". He pushes aside Carol and says that he does not have time for this and his Corps is in a Civil War. He asks his Corps men to hold her. One of them seems overly-ready and is soon killed by a Black Ring (Power Levels- 45.43%). Amon Sur and the other dead members return to greet Sinestro. Carol hopes that she is able to live to answer if all of this was worth it , For Hal that is. We see Qward battling The Black lanterns.

Over Odym , the black rings circle around waiting for death. The Orange Lanterns have severed the foundation and are stealing the Central Battery. Sayd is concerned, however Ganthet says there are bigger worries, The Blackest Night is here. On Okaara, Larfleeze is pleased and very happy. Black rings enter his lair. He wants One ! However, he will be denied as all those he kileld are made to RISE ! Lar is terrified.

Yuh-Oh !

On Oa, we see The Sinestro Corps member trapped in The Book Of Black seeing all the happenings as she begs Sinestro for help. Scar tells her master that Zamaron will soon fall as will the other 5 worlds, to which she asked of the Seventh Light (Indigo). She promises it will be theirs as soon as it is lit. Lets see Scar.

Review : Finally !!! The War Of Light and The Blackest Night collide. I Loved the concept of these Epic Space Operas colliding and I was not disappointed. Sinestro vs Carol was great to see and I really enjoyed this book a lot. This is what Blackest Night should have been in my opinion and not a side story. This is what we have been building to. None of the monthlies built Blackest Night, it was The GL Books and I much rather see those characters than the Other DC characters. Wish the scene on Odym was longer and in more detail but that is a minor gripe, I guess. I absolutely love Sinestro and was happy to see half the Issue devoted to him.

Doug was top-notch. Enjoyed this issue's spreads. It does feel a little light on story, but it seems to be having much more plot advancement that the Core Issues.

Story : 9.3
Art : 9.3

Next In Blackest Night: Guy, Kyle Kilowog and the rest face the Blackest Night. What will happen when Jade and a Natu meet ? Who will take command now that the Guardians are MIA. Questions are abundant.

Blackest Night 2

Solicitation :The event of the summer continues! The dead rise across the DC Universe, bringing terror and darkness with them. What are the Black Lanterns? What do they want? Will Earth's greatest heroes survive long enough to find out – or will they join the Black Lantern Corps?

Written by Geoff Johns Art  by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

Synopsis : We begin at the slaughter of what happened at Stonchat Museum at the end of Issue one when The Dibny's killed the Hawks. Atom is still trying to contact Carter and pleads and tells him his reasons for still missing Jean despite what she did in the events Of The Identity Crisis. Carter (who is obviously now a Black Lantern) asks him, to come over.

We cut back to Gotham city where Barbara Gordon and her dad discuss the situation. Jim says he has the same feeling of dread that he had when Batgirl disappeared (Is it irony that he does not know that Batgirl was Barbara ? Or is this another Geoff-con I have to deal with ? ). Hal Jordan falls right into The Bat-Signal next to them (They are on the roof of The GCPD it seems). This is a direct continuation of his battle with Martian Manhunter in Green Lantern 44.

Back to where Garth and Mera are. Mera says that she is allowing Arthur's body to be buried in the sea, not because she likes but because it was Temptest's wish. The soldiers of Atlantis go to the grave and find that it is desecrated and empty. Before they can assign blame, they are shocked the resurgence by the Black Ring which we saw in issue One of Arthur !!

Deadman is forced to rise. His spirit is intact but his physical body rises. Don Hall is not resurrected because he is "At Peace". Hank Rises. Aquaman kills off some nobody soldier. Tula and Dolphin fight over Garth and throw him. Aquaman and Mera battle, Arthur taunts her by asking her to remember their son who was killed by the Black manta. She asks the warriors to draw their weapons at which Arthur summons the creatures of the sea which devour them (extremely graphic !)


Meanwhile at Deadman's Grave we have The Spectre, Blue Devil, Zatanna and The Phantom Stranger. Phantom says he cannot interfere and only guide, Devil asks him to guide to someone who can help and he would, for once, try to understand what is going on. Suddenly, Pariah (from The First Crisis, who watched worlds die) comes in and says that even in death he cannot escape his penance Worlds have died, Worlds will Rise. He bursts and forms A Black Ring, Black Hand notices that Zatanna and Devil have Life, Stranger is something else, something strange. However, The Spectre is dead and The Ring commands Crispus Allen to Rise ! Magic is ineffective against His Lord and William is making sure he removes all those live even after death (Spectre, The Hawks). No Time To Hold hands and sing Kumbaya, Devil. The Spectre Rises !


Hal recovers from the fall and checks his ring (47%). He uploads all his intel to her disks and she will inform everyone about the situation so they can help. Hal needs Gordon's car (for a spin ? j/k). Flash and Martian Manhunter Battle.


Arthur asks Mera if she wants him back. She just wants him off. The Two Women still are after Temptest. He freezes Dolphin and Mera breaks her face apart. Her face regrows with ease and she asks Mera if she is angry with herself. Aquagirl takes Garth' heart filled with Hope (Power Levels 3.43%). Hand's welcoming some people and welcoming them to The Darkness which is peace, The Black Lantern Corps.As Garth rises.
Aquaman and the rest want her so they can complete the family. Mera flees......


Back In Gotham, Flash is evading J'onn from influencing his mind and mixing and matching chemicals which are flammable as Hal educates us, Flash Fact ! J'onn is burnt like never before, Flash keeps the fire in check. Flash and Hal know that Bruce's and J'onns grave robbings are related and asks him if he can get some intel from Oa. Hal can't as we see The Green Lantern Corps battle The Black Lanterns. Hal believes this is not an isolated case. Barry says he wants to take the remains and bury him on Mars, J'onn was the heart of the league. Manhunter says he gave his heart to the league and its time for Hal and Barry to return the favor !
The Black Lantern JLA is here - Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Sue Dibny, Elongated Man ! Hal says that overcoming fear wasn't a problem but the rule-book didn't mention anything about Death.

Review : Honestly this was a very good issue. I Loved How Mera is being shown as a player. I have always loved the character and I'm glad to see her in the spotlight. However, I wonder if anything in this issue will have any relevance at the end of the story ? Hal was in it for about 4 pages and he didn't do much. Barry is looking very good, better than Hal. Arthur was great, finally seeing him after some time and it was a joy. John has written all the characters well, I'll say that but no one seems to be in a hurry and its a slow start which is fine. Maybe he is putting set pieces in play.  I hope this does not disappoint. Black Lantern Spectre ! Nice, finally The Spectre is looking evil and badass. Major Gripe is that Black Hand is just talking a lot. i want to see the powers of The Black Avatar that he is. Will we see any ? I kinda doubt it now.


Ivan Reis was bloody amazing. The Graphic battles were well rendered and its a joy buying the core series just for the Art. The Shark Attack was mind-blowing. Am loving the inking and coloring. Its all fitting well in terms of look. Not so much for the story so far I'll say.

Story : 8.9

Art : 9.5

Next In Blackest Night: The Sinestro Corps face The Star Sapphires on Zamaraon while The Orange and Blue fight on Odym. Atroctious is on Ysmault fighting The Alphas as The Hidden Light stays Hidden. What will happen when The Blackest Night Descends on them. Stay tuned.


Note: 25th Blog Post ! Yeah ! Lots more to go............

Green Lantern 44

Solicitation : Blackest Night” continues! As Hal Jordan and Barry Allen investigate a bizarre crime in Gotham City, they come face to face with one of their oldest allies – J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter! But their old friend is not there for reunions; he’s come for much more. Meanwhile, Sinestro seeks to rebuild his army and take his revenge on the being who would usurp it – Mongul!

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Doug Manhke & Christian Alamy

Synopsis :  We open with a shot of a Choco (Bruce Wayne placed it on J'onn's Grave during Final Crisis) which crumbles and is destroyed. A Black Ring smashes in a slips into his hands as he is commanded to rise. Hal and Barry start off where they were in Issue 1 of Blackest Night and start wondering "Who knew he was buried here and who knew he was Batman". They also discuss how heroes keep their identities secret and urges Hal to do more. Manhunter returns and says that they shouldn't be back and he changes his look back to his pre-death, Hal's ring says that he is dead with no vital signs..

He blasts him with energy and there is a huge fight scene where Martian Manhunter tries to get an emotion out of them and taunts them about their failures etc like Parallax. Barry speeds in and grabs Hal before he is killed and  tells him to pull things together. Hal tries to contact Salaak and Oa but cannot. Hal smells a much larger case building up. Manhunter destroys a building and says that he is as powerful as Superman...

On Oa, The Guardians are chained in Black Goo and one of them asks Scar why she is betraying them. Scar says that she is simply carrying out their work of bringing order to the Universe. Power Levels 0.75%. On Ysmault, The Black rings descend as soon as The Alpha Lanterns recover Laira's body.The rings descend on Okaara (Larfleeze is coordinating an attack on The Blue Lanterns) and Zamaron (Star Sapphires are fighting Sinestro Corps). Power Levels are 1.2%. Scar says its collecting light and soon it will be his turn to Rise.

Back on Earth, Hal and Barry try and evacuate some people but Manhunter gets into Barry's mind and tells him that Barry understood him and he wants him to understand he cant outrun death not when its J'onn.  Flash counters and fights back and beats him. Turns out that Barry was made to think he was attacking J'onn. He was actually pounding Hal. J'onn throws Hal into the night towards the Bat-Signal and throws Barry into a vat of chemicals (Batman and Joker lol.)

John is near the remains of Xanshi and sits dejected at his "failure", suddenly Black Rings burst in and command Xanshi to Rise..........

Review :  This was a filler-heavy issue. Guess this should be expected in this Zombie/Horror story. The Hal/Barry vs Martian Manhunter was more of a Fan-thingy than actual story, it was so-so. No out-of-the world writing. I'm interested about the Various Lanterns. I would have much rather seen more of the Battle between the Orange and Blue on Odym. This story could have been done in 8 Pages.
The Art is looking good, Manhke is a great fit on this book so far and I would like to see him for much more time. The Dark scenes look spectacularly rendered. John Stewart gets 3 Pages ? Thats less, it will only get worse....

Story : 8.4
Art : 9.0

Worlds will Rise.

Next In : The Blackest Night hits Oa in Green Lantern Corps #39 as The Green Lanterns face their own dead........

Blackest Night 1

Solicitation : Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis raise the dead in the most anticipated comics story of the year! Throughout the decades, death has plagued the DC Universe and taken the lives of heroes and villains alike. But to what end? As the War of Light rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends upon us, with Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps at the center of it all.
Don’t miss this 8-issue epic taking the DCU beyond the grave!


Written by Geoff Johns Art By Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert

Synopsis : Black hand is at Bruce Wayne's grave. He says that he is worse than death and that he can hear his master in deep space, he is hungry.Black Hand says that no one escapes death, and that includes YOU (Is the "You" referring to Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan or the reader ?). William goes all necro on Bruce's skull by licking it.

A Day later, Hal is at Coast City and he says that the day Superman died was mourning, but since he returned it became a day to honor the Super-Heroes who gave up their life. He talks about how Coast City rebuilt itself without fear and fought fearlessly. Nice Spread Of Hal and The Corps. Some more talk about No Fear. They also reference how each character has faced death, seeing a lover die or a girlfriend stuffed in a frdge. They talk about how they rebuild the corps and Kyle flies off to Jenny's grave, Guy to Ice and John to Xanshi. He talks about death and misfortune he has seen, His fathers death, Abin's and Coast City's destruction.

Conner,Martha and Clark Kent are at Jonathon Kent's Grave. Jason,Jen and Professor Stein at Ronnie Raymond's. Jen notices that everything is seeming to die (she is referring to the flowers). The Titans are at the Titan Memorial, The Rogues are at their special and private graves paying respect to their friends. Booster, Black Canary along with Guy and Ice are at Ted Kord's grave. The flowers they are placing are dying.

Kyle is at The Valhalla cemetery and he sees how many people show up, Damage is ashamed to face his father because of his mangled profile....
Mera and Garth are contemplating what to do with Arthur's grave. Garth asks her to allow him to be buried in the seas. Mera seems reluctant. Alfred walks into Bruce's grave and is devastated to see what has happened and says he has made a terrible mistake.

Hal and Barry Allen meet up at the underground crypt of the JLA Headquarters. Hal explains that Richard Grayson had found a operation that was using Superhuman parts for use. Yikes ! Barry asks who else is dead, Hal puts up a construct where we see about 50 characters. Lotsa deaths, I say.

At the Stonechat museum, Hawkman is pissed at Atom for asking him to come to Jean's grave. Hawkman and Hawkgirl bicker and Hawkman makes an interesting statement saying Jean did something he had never seen before, Making The Atom feel small...... Ray is trying to dial in but fails to

Barry is extremely shocked at what he sees and demands Hal tell him what he has missed since he was gone.
Hal and Barry discuss how Jean was different and Carol comes up. Hal says its better this way, with them not being together, he does not know she is a Star Sapphire fighting The Sinestro Corps on Zamaron.
Alfred calls in and tells them what happened at Master Bruce's grave.

The Guardians Of Oa say that they have failed to stop the War Of Light. They see a shadow from Sector 666 approaching them. Kilowog says that the rings tore threw their constructs like paper, Guy and Kyle start to listen to some sounds, like flies. The Guardians say that Code Black must be initiated and Ganthet was right about The Blackest Night. Scar says that it wont be made and she attacks and takes the Guardians out.
The Black rings break in, Salaak cant contact the guardians as the rings break into the crypt.

Flash and Barry are at Bruce's grave and they think they should ask who knew he was buried here and who knew he was Batman. All/Most the heroes who were mentioned dead In Green Lantern 43 rise from the dead. The Dead Green Lanterns rise to which Guy says "What The **** !". Martian Manhunter is at Bruce's grave and tells Hal and Barry that they shouldn't be back and should be dead.

Back at Stonechat, Hawkman and Hawkgirl bicker and go from rage to love and they start to settle down. Hawkgirl is about to say that she loves Carter.Suddenly, Black Lantern Ralph and Sue Dibny break in and beat the shit out of them. These pages have to be seen to be believed. They are bloodied and beat as Hawkgirl dies. Carter promises to stop them. Ralph says "You can't" and he rips his heart out. Black Hand walks in and says that the Universe will finally be at peace as 2 Black Lantern rings come out of Bruce's skull and command Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders to rise as we close Issue 1.

Review : So This is The Big Event Of DC huh ? It's a very good issue. For a reader who has read Green Lantern books leading into this its more of a snooze, its more of issue for new-ish readers to the GL Mythos. SO, this issue left me very cold except for the exceptionally well drawn lat scene.
The writing has left me so-so. It was nothing exceptional. The Brave and Bold are written well. Lots Of Batman references (The Cover is his Skull, Black Hand was at his Grave in Issue 0 along with Hal & Barry) which are obviously going to be more marketing and less story at the end of everything but thats OK.
Ivan Reis is awesome and I recommend this book just for the art, very nice to see him back after a little break.

Story : 8.7
Art : 9.5

The Future Of The Universe is Death ?

Next In Blackest Night : Hal and Barry take on The Visitor from Mars as The Universe begins to face The Darkness that is coming.