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

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%

Blackest Night 3

Solicitation : As the dead attack in full force, Green Lantern is faced with an impossible decision and the scattered remains of the Justice League suffer a terrible loss. Who can stop the Black Lanterns? Why are they rising? And how can the Spectre help

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert

Synopsis : The Firestorm pair discuss about their love for each other. Sweet moment between them, its nice to see some positive in an otherwise dark event. Surely a set up for a tragedy you would say ? Read On. The JLA device beeps.

In Gotham, Its The Brave and Bold vs The Dangerous and Dead. Hawkman, Hawkgirl and The Dibny's battle Hal in an epic spread. Firestorm takes on Barry in order to try and make him feel and kill him. Ronnie compares Barry to the Professor as a boring man. Flash removes his black ring to see what happens. The Power Levels hit 50.32% as Ronnie screams that Their Lord will rise and nothing can be done to stop it. The Brave and Bold cant find a way to stop them as The Atom comes out of Hawkman's ring and describes the ring to be composed of Dark matter and all the energy is being worm holed to somewhere in space. We see all the emotions in the ring being sent. Atom fears them not coming back.

Jason and Gen combine as Firestorm and are in The Headquarters which is all quiet and they see the Black Lantern uprisings in their screens.all over the world. Mera comes out of nowhere thinking they are one of the Lanterns. She tells Gen to calm down as the Black Lanterns move on the basis of emotion like sharks. The Dead will rise.

Back In Gotham , Ralph accuses Hal of scoping Sue when she wore a skirt and accuses Ray of feeling bad after what Jean did. Ray feels "Compassion", he is told that compassion is rare but a little can go a long way as he takes his....... Indigo-1 is here ! Nok Klek ! She and Indigo-2 knows as Munk take out the Black Lanterns and channel the power of Will and Sever The Black Ring connection. They take Ralph and Sue out and teleport them to the JLA Headquarters . There, they meet up with Mera and Firestorm and they ask Indigo to explain what is going on.  The beautiful spread explains all below:

So Says Indigo..........

Indigo says that they are the invaders and The Darkness is how things were. Ray believes that the rings are wearing the dead and are a computer which download memories and use it to their advantage to cause fear into their loved ones. The Green Ring and another ring can cause the destruction of a Black ring. Indigo believes they must recreate the white light to take down the Black. Hal is informed that Carol is a Sapphire, Hal wants to go to Zamaron. Barry tells him to think and death is weeping across and they need a plan. Hal says "Death is overrated." Some more talk between them, as soon as Hal is convinced, The Black Lanterns break in "We're Baaaaaack !" The Indigo Lanterns take Hal away. Firestorm and Ronnie battle and Ronnie breaks them apart and taunts Gen and Jason. He gets Jason aboard his head and uses his mind to get the formula of the organic Common salt and makes Gen into common salt as power levels hit 56.69%. All those in The Underground Crypt are made to Rise as we close this installment.

Review : This is an interesting story. Finally some plot development with Indigo coming and explaining nearly everything like a Deus Ex Machine but I am sure that it is not complete and they wont be able to execute things so easily. She seems to be the one who will rally the Corps members for Ultimate Battle. Her appearance lifted my spirits. Finally we see other Corps in the main story. Still none of The Big Three so far, thats OK. Its like a Brave and Bold Team up event. One Major problem, Where The Hell Is BLACK HAND ! I want to see him. He was built as a major villain, He is just playing a side role doing nothing so far.

The art is freaking mind-blowing. Ivan is killing it. The event is worth just for his art . I'm really liking his work and he is rendering the characters very well. I hope that the quality wont fall as we end this event.

Story : 9.0
Art : 9.5

Next In : Hal and Indigo-1 reach Zamaron as Carol and Sinestro face The Black Lanterns. What about Mongul and how will The Black Lanterns affect The War Of Light ?

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............

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.

Blackest Night 0

Solicitation : Across the universe the dead will rise! Prepare for the coming of "The Blackest Night" with this prelude to the biggest comic event of the year! This special edition recaps the key moments from "Sinestro Corps War" and "Rage of the Red Lanterns" that led to "Blackest Night," and will give readers everything they need to know about the Green Lantern universe, their ongoing War of Light, and their dark days ahead.

Written by Geoff Johns Art By Ivan Reis & Doug Manhke

Synopsis : We start this issue at The Grave Of My Favorite Comic Character, Bruce Wayne and his parents. Hal says he knew about the VIBGYOR and was very very interested in them, he was just someone trying to prove he was unafraid of anything. He realizes that no matter how brightly he shines the light, the shadows will not be lifted. We get a memory Of Hal and Bruce fighting in the early JLA days. Barry comes in saying that he cant stay for long a the criminal scum of Gotham are moving free with no Bat-Signal in the sky.

There were no Funeral nor any speeches and his grave is unmarked. They discuss how Robin still thinks Bruce isn't dead. Barry mistakes that thinking Richard is still Robin. He is corrected saying Tim is Robin. Hal tells Barry how Barry's funeral was and how everyone came to attend and how he died a Saint. Hal died a sinner with his grave desecrated by his Old Allies. They discuss how the world got more dangerous after Barry was lost. They reference Aquaman dead and that there were only rumors of his resurfacing during Darkseid's attack. Barry says that death isn't the end of the line for heroes whereas some people like their parents never return. Something bigger has pried The Door and if anyone has a plan, its Batman. Bruce was buried after being hit by Darkseid's Omega beams and Superman held the skeleton is his arms. Martian Manhunter was killed by Libra and was buried on Mars. Hal says that though Bruce and himself had their differences, he was still his friend and Barry says that he will always hope they come back.

As they leave, Black hand comes there choosing Bruce's grave. He pries it open and picks up the skull and recites the Black lantern oath and fills the skull with energy as we end the issue seeing the skull have Bat-Eared Energy form over it.

We have the last few Pages showing All The Corps, I have already posted these in an earlier post.

Review : A Very Good Free Issue, not much to review. Liking the Barry-Hal dynamic. Brave and Bold indeed. Disappointed to see that Editorial has made blunder saying Robin is still Tim, which implies that Richard isn't still Batman. So Blackest Night is pre-Battle For The Cowl ? I Think not. I hope this is corrected in the Hardcover.

Beautiful art by Both Ivan and Doug. Doug is coming off his amazing work on Final Crisis and i'm very happy to see him here.

Story : 9.2
Art : 9.3

The Black Lanterns.

Next In Blackest Night : The Blackest Night is nearly here, what will happen with Black Hand and how will the coming Darkness change the cosmic- War Of Light ?

What You Should Read Before Blackest Night

1. Green Lantern: Rebirth
   
2. Green Lantern: No Fear
   
3. Green Lantern Corps: Recharge
   
4. Green Lantern: Revenge of the Green Lanterns
   
5. Green Lantern Corps: To Be a Lantern
   
6. Green Lantern: Wanted – Hal Jordan
   
7. Green Lantern Corps: A Darker Shade of Green
   
8. Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1
   
9. Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War Vol. 2
   
10. Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War Vol. 3 – Tales of the Sinestro Corps
    
11. Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest
    
12. Green Lantern: Secret Origin
    
13. Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns
    
14. Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire
    
15. Green Lantern: Agent Orange
    
16. Green Lantern Corps: Emerald Eclipse