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.

Green Lantern Corps 42

Solicitation : BLACKEST NIGHT intensifies! The Green Lanterns epic fight to preserve Oa and the Central Power Battery from being consumed by the Black Lanterns continues. While the Corps faces the most desperate moment in its entire history, a new threat materializes that will shake them to their very souls.

Written by Pete Tomasi Art By Patrick Gleason

Synopsis :  Munk tells Vath that the Black are dominating and destroying all of the home worlds of all the emotional spectrum lanterns. He tells him that that The Sapphire Battery is gone and if they don't work together Oa and The Green Lanterns will be next.

They fight the Corphans and their dead Lantern parents. Munk says that The killings by The Black are to fuel their own battery for a purpose and to increase their army of death. He takes The Green Light and destroys every BL in sight, Munk is badass ! Suddenly we get a shot of 100% Power levels.

Elsewhere, Kilowog's mentor is about to kill Kilowog but as soon as levels hit 100%, he flies off not killing him. That's dumb actually, don't like the way that played out, seems like a cop out. Kilowog gets up and gives a beautiful and stirring speech to The Black Lantern (former Green lanterns) about how death was all a part and all lanterns die. The shot of him in dismay as the Black Lanterns rush to the Power Battery was beautiful.

We are back to Kyle-Jade-Soranik with Soranik's hand down Jade's mouth. She tells him she felt no fear from that puppet light show and it would not destroy with what she..... Kyle corrects her and says "What we have". So Sweet.  Jade breaks out and is flying elsewhere. Kyle is surprised and wonders where is headed off to. The answer is obvious.........

Oa's Last Stand.

Guy says that they will die fighting as all the Lanterns including Munk, Kyle and Kilowog get together ready for Final battle ! Salaak orders all the Lanterns to converge at The Central Power Battery for defensive action in order to stop The Black. Guy is happy that with "Indigo Man" help they might be able to stop them from rising after all. The Black Lanterns create a Crazy-Ass Dark Matter construct and try and sever the foundation of the battery. Rayner asks Salaak to release Sciencell 8985. They release Red Lantern Vice and Kyle orders Natu to take Munk away from the battle. Vice destorys The Black with ease but an Alpha Guardian who cant compromise his duty kills Vice ! Damn.

Alpha Chaselon is defeated by The Black Lanterns and before his internal battery can be compromised Kyle takes it from The dead hands of The Corphans. As he flies off a huge army Of Death follow him (which he is hoping for).He creates an Energy dome, The Alpha Lantern is about to Detonate. He tells Soranik that he loves her and tells Guy that he has been like a brother to................

The Alpha Battery explodes as we conclude with..........

Kyle's Sacrifice

Review : Wow, this issue was a very emotional one for me. The Love between Kyle and Natu finally showed itself and I absolutely loved that moment she had with Jade. Damn, I Love Kilowog too, His words and that shot of his dismay while the Black went for The Central Battery showed how his whole life was The Green lantern Corps and how much he loved and respected his job as Trainer. Guy was great too. Salaak finally joined the party. A Little unhappy how The Alphas are always shown to be stupid and arrogant pricks though. The end was very emotional as Kyle is my favorite Green Lantern and I loved how he selflessly sacrificed himself, him saying he loved Soranik was so well done. However I am sure the death wont last , hope they don't butcher what was a beautiful issue. He couldn't even complete his words to Guy. Guy is going Red for sure. Unfortunately, Kyle did not kill anyone. Did Munk use his light as an assist ? If not , Its a Damn shame..
Patrick Gleason's art was amazing in this issue. I loved The spreads. Thumbs up and hope to see more. Very happy with Story development finally coming into The Battle For Oa.

Story : 8.7
Art : 8.6

Next In Blackest Night : Before we Dive into Nekron's Dark Armies Battle will Life, we take a step back and analyze Scar and her motivations and her character development.

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 : Titans

Written by J.T Krul Art By Ed Benes


Review : Blackest Night : Titans has been one of the most exciting "Blackest Night" spin-off story. Doves learns of her role in this battle with the Black Lanterns, and I must say, I didn't expect it. I also didn't expect what was waiting for me as I turned the page. A master stroke in this story, delivered outside the main action. Benes' art is just about as good as it has ever been in this issue. While Benes still manages to find ways to play up the sexuality of the females, he also manages to tone it down in some areas, choosing to focus on Titans and action rather than the other "T&A". That does not mean there has not been T&A , we are "treated" to about 20 shots over the 3 books. 


The star here Is writer J.T Krul ,  He "gets" the characters, especially in the situations "Blackest Night" drops on them. I really enjoyed his take and I would like to see him write The Titans or The Teen Titans. DC would do themselves a great favor if they made Krul an offer and gave him a chance to write a regular Titans title. It'd be enough for me to check it out


There are some complains though, especially seen in The First Issue, The issue is bogged down and far too 
concerned with the franchise's convoluted continuity, to the point where it has to stumble all over itself just to explain who's currently on the team, who's dead, who's back from the dead, and why. Both the art and the story combine to over-sexualize the (mostly) teenage characters to creepy levels.


Deaths are a plenty and there are tiny hints of something bigger happening and where Dove might end up playing a positive role. This Mini as not as enjoyable for me as The Batman tie in was but am sure that at the end of the day, Titans might end up playing a side role into the ways to take the Black Lanterns out. I do not think this series is essential to read as I am sure Geoff will tie whatever he wants in his story and explain in the main series itself. There is a lot of action and good writing makes this a fun story seeing Team-ups facing The Darkness........




Story : 8.8
Art : 8.2

Die ! Die ! Die !

Next In Blackest Night: The Power Levels hit 100 as Black Hand will unleash the unimaginable. With The Guardians gone and the home worlds dying, with no Green Lantern on Earth who will hold fort and for how long can they. The battle is coming to Earth which promises to be terrifying and destructive.

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.

Blackest Night : Superman

Written by James Robinson Art By Eddy Barrows

Review :  Evil infests itself in the idyllic farm country of Superman's hometown of Smallville. Just as Conner Kent/Superboy has started building his new life there as part of the Kent family, a horror unlike any he's faced before attacks in the form of Kal-L: The dead Superman of Earth 2. Luckily he doesn't have to face it alone since Clark is visiting from New Krypton, but even with the Earth's greatest hero alongside him, the Kent family (and all of Smallville) are in very big trouble. Superboy made his way back from the dead recently, intact and ready to begin his life anew, and that's not a fact that's been lost to the new Black Lantern Superman. There still remains death among the Kents, but how long the dead will stay buried seems to be in question as the Black Lanterns continue to take hold in the DC Universe.


My feelings on the art is a bit mixed...mainly for some of the faces depicted--there are a couple times where the grimace, sneer, whatever--just seems to really not fit the characters. However, overall....the art's quite good. Offhand I don't recall being that familiar with Barrows' work prior to this series...but being exposed to the style for three issues now, I can say that I would really enjoy seeing this art in at least one of the main Superman books. There's a certain realism at points where the imagery works extremely well. The "Black-Lantern-Vision" is starting to get just a bit old, though...but it's still interesting to have an idea where the BLs are coming from. It does take one out of the story a bit, if one (like me) stops to start tallying which emotions are being seen, to figure out if anyone's displaying the entire emotional spectrum all at once.

Robinson takes characters readers have come to care about, and places them in fairly probable physical danger, which isn't often quite this rough. The Super-characters are not only physically hurt here, but forced to face situations that hurt them emotionally as well. The development on New Krypton as a result of the battle with Black Lantern Zor-El seems likely to be the largest "fallout" bit of this series...assuming it's followed up on. The trouble with such a lengthy event as this is in the time-line, and where this is set in relation to the ongoing titles and general DC Universe. It's not exactly a total "wowzer" of a tale, in fact it's fairly simple. James Robinson goes more than a little cliche by giving us some pages that go out of their way to show us how sweet and untainted the town of Smallville is. I'm confident that most readers already know this, so it's not like it gives you the jarring contrast he went overboard on establishing.

The story is pretty straightforward. Unfortunately, as with the conclusion of the Blackest Night: Batman mini, this feels like it gets an ending only in that it's a breaking point heading directly into the "core" event. The mini gives a complete story in terms of an "episode" within the event, but doesn't entirely shake the feel of being only part of the picture in something bigger. The one major shortcoming of Blackest Night: Superman is that its resident Black Lanterns don't inflict the same amount of devastating emotional impact on Superman as, say, undead versions of The Flying Graysons do to the new Batman. Despite the character's sacrifice in Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis, Earth-2 Superman is, when it comes down to it, merely a doppelganger from a parallel universe, and his appearance as a Black Lantern doesn't bring much to the table in terms of dramatic conflict other than the sheer coolness factor of seeing the Man of Steel battle his zombie counterpart. As for Earth-2 Lois Lane, she brings even less to the table. 

For whatever negatives I can pick out on these issues ...I still really enjoyed it. I'd definitely enjoy seeing Barrows illustrating Robinson on the main book, as the visuals seem to work very well for the character.

Story : 8.6
Art : 8.8

Yeah Ma, Good Luck.

Next In Blackest Night: Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Indigo and Carol face off against Abin and Arin Sur in a shocking battle. Atroctious faces his fellow "survivors" of Sector 666 and Larfleeze realizes that wanting a Black Lantern Ring is not very smart.

Green Lantern Corps 41

Solicitation : The intense and horrific battle between the Green Lantern Corps and the Black Lanterns on Oa takes a turn for the worse! The Corps realizes that the abominable, ultimate goal of the Black Lanterns is not only to feed off the Corps’ emotions, but to consume and decimate the main power battery and destroy Oa forever!

Written by Pete Tomasi  Art By Patrick Gleason

Synopsis : Soranik and Iolande have a huge Battle with the Black Lanterns in The Hospital, Soranik says that the Dead are rising too fast, The Dead Lanterns rise and attack them and Power Levels are 85,26%. More black rings come in and more risings.

Guy and Ke'haan continue their battle as Guy tries to get the horn off his leg. He blasts him twice and leaves to help his friends as Ke'haan begins to regenerate........

Soranika and Iolande aren't able to do much to The Black lanterns and in desperation send the weak and injured to Mogo (who is also receiving rings of the deceased GL's). They decide to take them till the sector when they suddenly see Kyle's battle with Jade. Iolande forces Soranik to assist as she continues her journey. Soranik and Kyle blast Jade and emote Love, Will and Rage as Jade taunts them and their love. Jade tries to tell Soranik that to love Kyle is to die in a box. Soranik gets her big moment and punches Jade in the face Bad !

Arisia and her family have an epic battle and crash into the Oan buildings. Arisia blasts them with Constructs of her family and "destroys" The Black, she says that she wont be sucked into The Black holes sent by someone to suck them in....... She flies away saying she will always uphold the family name as the rings are left motionless (probably to regenerate).

Kilowog's trying to rally the troops who seem to be falling miserably to The Black, suddenly his predecessor, Ermey comes in and they have a very cool fight which ends with Kilowog beating him and destroying his heart only for Ermey to say he is going to Take Kilowog's heart, Uh-Oh !

Lantern Isarot along with others hold fort and are surprised by the arrival of "Kryb's children" who are now Black Lanterns , Oh No ! They say they are hungry and make their way only to be stopped by Munk (Indigo-2) who says that its time for The Black Lanterns to feel some pain !

Review :  This was an average issue, lots of action which was well done. Plot progression was a minimal until the last few pages (we already saw that coming after reading Green Lantern 46 right ?). I'm having apprehensions about this Battle on Oa which is seeming to be a super-massive decompressed arc which could have been done in 4 Issues. Hopefully and I'm sure Pete Tomasi can prove me wrong. I'm enjoying his characterizations and everything. Just wish there was more story, feels kinda light you know. Patrick Gleason is good here, his work is growing on me and not like a weed does, in a good way. I would also like to see more of complete battles, they seem to all stop half way, probably so that Munk and The gang can kick arse. No Problem. I'm still waiting on this series.

Story : 8.4
Art :  8.0

Next In Blackest Night: We stop over at a little place called Smallville where Supermen will collide as The Blackest Night comes. Kal-l vs Superman and Superboy. Lois Lane vs Martha Kent and Krypto. Yeah, its all going to hell.

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.

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 : Batman

Written by Pete Tomasi Art By Adrian Syaf

Synopsis : Batman and Robin go to Bruce's grave and wonder what the hell happened there. This is a reference to Hal & Barry vs Martian Manhunter. Richard takes Thomas and Martha's bones and asks Damian to take Bruce's body (skull missing) to the bunker. Sweet moment with lil D. We get a shot Of Deadman rising as seen in Issue 2 of Blackest Night. As he gets into His Black Lantern body, he sees people rising, William with Bruce's skull etc. He makes his way to Gotham. Security is shifting the bodies of some Batman rogues but the rings ambush them as we see some old school villains rise (Ventriloquist, KGBeast etc ). Richard and Damian make their way back and have an interesting back and forth.I love their dynamic. Deadman dives into Dick. Boston takes some catching up the huge status quo change in the Bat-verse. Small fight. Deadman tells him who he is and what he does. He also is aware of a Black Lantern battery is space. Deadman goes into Damian and gets Dick up to speed and tells him the powered and non-powered are rising. Deadman wished Dick luck taking care of Damian, funny Boston....Richard tells him to shut up. Boston sees Richard's and Tim Drakes' parents rise. Richard gets into a cemetery and sees his parents grave empty. He calls Tim and asks him to come immediately and tells him his parents' grave might be desecrated. Damian says they will need all the help possible as we see The Risen Villains on a Broken Bat-Signal (It broke when Hal fell on it in Issue 2).

The resurrected Black Lanterns destroy the Citizens of Gotham as the power levels are at 46.77%. The ones resurrected in the Helicopter are at Gotham Headquarters rooftop.  Dick and Damian along with a floating Deadman make their way to the armory and pick up flamethrowers. Dick and Damian have a hilarious back and forth about their respective childhoods. Richard asks Boston to try and help as many Police officers and evacuate. Meanwhile, at GCPD Gordon and the rest along with Barbara try their best to stop The Black Lanterns but to no avail. We get a great horror sequence with Barbara/Jim vs a Black lantern who is unstoppable and keeps rebuilding. The Lantern taunt Richard to come forward so they can feast on his heart. The Blackest Night will engulf The Dark Knight ? Thats kinda been used by the fans before.... The Lanterns are about to kill Jim when suddenly Boston Brand possesses Barbara and she takes Jim and makes a run for it ! Hell Yeah ! Boston tells himself  to Jim and he picks Barbara to take her to safety. The Lanterns surround Richard and Damian and Red Robin aka Tim Drake makes the save  They also save Jim and Oracle. Tim tells Richard that this is happening everywhere and Good and bad are rising. Tim's parents break in and crash the plane into the ground as we land at a cemetery . The Flying Graysons are next.

We start with Red Robin and Batman telling Robin to keep the civilians the skeletons safe.Then we have a very cool sequence of Richard and Tim where he tells him there is a section Bruce built by which they can go around Gotham, Damian will use that route. Richard also has someone he wants Deadman to bring for unlimited firepower. Deadman goes to Jason Blood and says that "Batman and Friends" would like assistance. He possesses him and Etrigan arises.Richard tells Tim these aren't their parents and they should not feel pity or anything. We see a replay Of Jack Drake's death In Identity Crisis, Tim believes this is a chance to prevent death. Richard's parents swoop in and take him for a swing. Boomerang comes in to "kill" Jack Drake but is stopped by Tim who beats Boomerang up in a fir of RAGE ! Zucco "kills" Dick's parents again as both of The Heroes pummel their parents "killers" in rage. Their parents come in and attempt to take their hearts to fuel the Black Lantern battery. Deadman makes the save with Etrigan. Dick asks Damian to send two Freeze guns over, Damian is pissed at being held the rear !! The Guns arrive as Etrigan buys them time. Etrigan has no emotion, interesting. Dick freezes Tim and himself. Etrigan is let go, Deadman is invisible as The Black Lantern search for living beings but fail. They leave all Deadman gets into the both of them and sets them free. Batman decides to pass on what they have learnt so they can fight them tomorrow- at least if there is a tomorrow.




Review : This was a very very cool series for me. I know that at the end of the story none of the information is going to affect the main story, but I like how some characters are being used. Damian in his first major event and is written well even when not written by Mr.Grant Morrison who I Love ! I like the interaction between Tim and Richard, Oracle and her father are used well. The Character Star is Deadman who is utterly amazing, I'm loving the character. The real STAR here is Adrian Syaf who has delivered an amazing visual display. Its dark and very foreboding on what is happening. Thumbs up man ! Read this series for solid art and writing and is an enjoyable Bat-Family vs Zombie mash-up.

Story : 9.0
Art : 9.1


Next In Blackest Night: The Black Lantern JLA take on Hal & Barry, where is the Atom ? Where will Mera and the rest run as the Universe falls into the coming Darkness.

Green Lantern Corps 40

Solicitation : The battle continues on Oa as the honored dead of the Green Lantern Corps and the recently deceased Sciencell convicts who lost their lives in the riots have all become Black Lanterns and will not rest until the bloody hearts and minds of the Green Lanterns are literally in their hands. Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardener and John Stewart resort to their most brutal fighting yet as the Blackest Night threatens to envelop Sector Zero and send the universe reeling into chaos!

Written by Pete Tomasi Art By Patrick Gleason

Synopsis : Arisia is making her way back to Oaafter The battle on Daxam, she has not been able to inform everyone yet of Sodam's sacrifice. She tries to get to Salaak, the ring tells her the Oan shell does not exist. She is glad to be on Oa as people aren't trying to kill one another. Yeah right......... Suddenly her mum and dad show up and she is surprised (She feels Love, Hope and Fear ). Her Grandparents show up, a group hug is coming

Back To Kyle and Jade, Jade "convinces" Kyle that it is really her and she flies them away above the battlefield. She says that she is back because of his undying love for her and that they shared their hearts and souls and The Heart never lies.

In Sector 3599, Kryb and Starfire are going back to Kryb's "children", Kryb tells her that she is sincere in her efforts to save the children, Starfire and her agree to a temporary truce as they team up together.

Inside the Oa Citadel, Salaak and a few others see the Black Residue on the walls where the Guardians were once slammed into. They analyze that the Guardians are longer here and they also notice that there are only 8 marks and last time they checked there were 9 Guardians. The Alpha Lanterns come in and assume control. Salaak doesn't take it. He shows them a hologram which says that in case of The Guardians fall, The Clarissi (who is Salaak) followed by the Illustres (Kyle and Guy) will assume control. Salaak assumes charge and shows the Alpha's The Middle Finger and orders them all to act as one Corps under The Green Lantern ! He also orders that all the rings of the Green Lanterns who die will go to Mogo and will not recruit new members.

Jade tries to convince Kyle even more. He already knows she is bogus and says that he only heard her to know her intentions and now he is going to cause some major pain as he attacks her ! Woah, Kyle.Kyle says he is doing this to those who try and disgrace the memories of the people he cares for. Jade attempts to instill fear by reminding of how many people he cared for died.

At The execution site of the Sciencell prisoners they see all the bodies missing. They are Risen as Black Lanterns who demolish the Lanterns who were sent to check the site. Power Levels are 45.97%. The rings are sent to Mogo. Katma Tui comes in and kills a Lantern as levels reach 46.09%. Bzzd comes and kicks ass as power Levels go to 46.37%. Bzzd and Guy face off and Guy squishes him. Ke'haan is here and tells him to pick on someone his own size and rams his horn into Guy's leg. Ouch !

Kryb cant find the children. They decide to go on a trail in order to look for them. Fear the worst.....
In the Hospital, The Black Lanterns are killing the helpless as we end with Soranik and Iolande arriving waiting to kick ass !

You could've come earlier......

Review : Not much to say really, but I'm happy to see some important things happenings. The Idea of sending the rings to Mogo is smart and wise. Salaak's confrontation was well done. So, The Guardians are gone with Scar somewhere. We will get more on that for sure. Kyle vs Jade was OK for me, she is not gone by any means. Am Sure Soranik will get her. My problem is why didn't we see her and Iolande earlier and directly at the end. The story is already feeling decompressed for me with loads of action and less of development. I know we are early on in the story but I would have rather seen more set-up than jmust moments. The Highlight was obviously Bzzd who kicked ass ! Good writing there , Pete. Art is improving and I'm enjoying it after I didn't like it when I first saw the art.

Story : 8.6
Art : 8.5

Next In Blackest Night: We catch up with the Batman and his Family as they face the Blackest Night in The Blackest Night: Batman miniseries which will reviewed in one.

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.