Monday, July 20, 2009

Comic Book Review - Blackest Night #1

Geoff Johns, Writer
Ivan Reis, Art

Plot:
The dead will rise. Led by Black Hand and Scar, The Black Lantern corps finally rises from the grave to feed! Such popular heroes have risen like Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Elongated Man, etc etc. The Flash and Green Lantern Hal Jordan are faced with Martian Manhunter and a barrage of Black Lanterns, While Hawkman and Hawkgirl face Elongated Man and his wife Sue Dibny. While all of this is going on, Black Hand mysteriously carries around with him the skull of the recently deceased Batman and Scar attacks his fellow guardians, killing one of them.

And like all great stories, we are left with the ultimate cliffhanger, the deaths of two very notable DC heroes by a surprising attacker. You won't see it coming!

My Thoughts: This issue is truly a work of art and a great start to this eight issue mini series. There is a lot of mystery and gripping storyline finally coming to life which caused me to read it three times, back to back! (belly to belly!!) The two biggest questions that linger in my mind deal with the purpose of the Black Lantern Corps, and the importance of Bruce Wayne's Skull.

Members of the Black Lantern Corps resemble the likeness of mindless zombies who wish to feed off the flesh of the living. However, these risen dead heroes possess some intelligence. They can make full sentences and remember who they are and seem to retain their memories from when they were alive. They have decaying skin attached to their bodies and look very gross, and still want to feed on the flesh of the living. However, there is a different purpose behind these zombie lanterns. This purpose is somewhat revealed when the risen Martian Manhunter flies down next to Green Lantern Hal Jordan and The Flash, whom both have cheated death, and says to them "you shouldn't be back. You should be dead." This is interesting since both The Flash and Hal Jordan have died, and by supernatural means come back from the dead. in the same tone, Elongated Man and his wife, Sue Dibny, go after Hawkman and Hawkgirl, who also cheated death, with the purpose of rectifying that situation.

It seems to me that one of the purposes of the Black Lantern Corps is to seek out those who cheated death and kill them. I know there's more to the story, seeing as how this is the first issue and we've only just begun, but from what I can tell thus far, this is going to be a huge focus in the story. And if it is so, then there are A LOT of heroes who have cheated death that could be getting a visit from some Black Lanterns.

The second question in my mind deals with Bruce Wayne's Skull. Black Hand has it with him in every frame that he appears in in this issue. And for the life of me I can't figure out why Bruce Wayne's skull is so important! Even at the beginning of the issue, While Black Hand licks the skull, says "The dead shall rise, and you are connected to them all." Some how, Bruce Wayne plays a significant role in this story. How? That I don't know.

The art is spot on. It's so disturbing, gross and detailed. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

The only gripe I have with this issue is that it's not very "new reader" friendly. You really do have to know your DC history for readers to become invested in it. I actually had no idea who Digger Harkness was until this story came out, and I had to Wikipedia.com his name to get some back story on him. But other than that, I have no complaints. Blackest Night will get your blood pumping and heart racing.

5 out of 5 stars.

If you are interested, here is the checklist for the Blackest Night series below. I wouldn't worry to much about getting all of it to follow the story. Just worry about getting the main Green lantern and Green Lantern Corps titles, and the Blackest Night Title, which I have put in bold face. All the rest are just selling schemes in my opinion.

July 2009
  • Green Lantern # 43 (prologue)
  • Blackest Night # 1
  • Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps # 1
  • Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps # 2
  • Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps # 3
  • Green Lantern # 44
August 2009
  • Blackest Night # 2
  • Green Lantern # 45
  • Green Lantern Corps # 39
  • Blackest Night: Batman # 1 (of 3)
  • Blackest Night: Superman # 1 (of 3)
  • Blackest Night: Titans # 1 (of 3)
September 2009
  • Blackest Night # 3
  • Green Lantern # 46
  • Green Lantern Corps # 40
  • Blackest Night: Batman # 2 (of 3)
  • Blackest Night: Superman # 2 (of 3)
  • Blackest Night: Titans # 2 (of 3)
October 2009
  • Green Lantern # 47
  • Blackest Night # 4
  • Green Lantern Corps # 41
  • Blackest Night: Batman # 3 (of 3)
  • Blackest Night: Superman # 3 (of 3)
  • Blackest Night: Titans # 3 (of 3)

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