The Ending Of Brightest Day Is In Sight......Thank The Lord!

I guess it's true, Blackest Night and Brightest Day really ARE as different as night and day. 

The current mini series of a brighter sensation has only eight issues left in it's run, but I find myself unable to NOT declare it one of the worse mini series within the last decade.  

Don't worry, I realize there have been some doozies out there such as Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves, The Return of Bruce Wayne, and A Cry For Justice, but I can't see Brightest Day redeeming itself when the bulk of the series has been a confusing and utter disasterpiece.

Geoff Johns helmed the hit eight issue series, Blackest Night; DC's answer to Marvel Zombies.  In it, the dead super heroes of old and recent are risen as brain eating, heart gobbling, and mind manipulating zombies controlled by the black toned emotional spectrum harnessed within their power rings.  While much of the series used a typical Saturday morning kid's superhero show motif as its motivation, (AKA, Power Rangers and Captain Planet) Johns took Blackest Night to new depths and maturity and kept the series from falling flat on it's face.  The enjoyment of Blackest Night was amplified even more when DC announced the series' sequel, Brightest Day.

Three issues into Brightest Day, however and I was already tilting my head in bewilderment.  "What's going on?" I would ask myself, "Why am I so confused?"  I took my reaction to the first three as Johns way of building up the story; making me want to come back for more.  (That or I was just too stupid too get it.)  But now I've reached issue #18 and I still don't get what the point of Brightest Day is. I love Geoff Johns, don't get me wrong!  He's my favorite comic book writer right after Gail Simone, Alan Moore, and Neil Gaiman.  But something is certainly amiss with his current literary work within Brightest Day.

Maybe it's DC's fault.  Maybe Dan Didio and company are asking for too much and decided to overload a miniseries with so much content that the plot becomes too confusing too follow.  (Not surprising.)

Maybe it's the fans fault.  Maybe we have been asking for way too much, and Johns decided too finally deliver to his readers everything they've always asked for.  (if that's true, never listen to us again Geoff!)

Maybe it's the genre's fault.  Maybe comics, and the expectations that come with them, have reached a point of no return; sometimes an idea sounds good, but when applied to paper...it just doesn't work out the way you had hoped.  (Poor James Robinson, one day something will work out for you.)

Maybe it's Jim Lee's Fault..........................NAAAHHH!

The fact of the matter is that Brightest Day has really hit a low point and is beyond redemption.  I'll still pick up each issue till the end, but I'll do so with a bitter taste in my mouth.  Geoff Johns is great, probably one of the greatest things that's ever happened to comics, but every great writer has his or her flops right?

Now, let's see, what's coming to my local comic book shop tomorrow?  No Brightest Day...Nothing by Grant Morrison...Nothing by James Robinson....Sweet!  This week will be a good week for comics.

Top Ten Comics For January 2010

10. Batman & Robin # 7 (7/10)

Written By Grant Morrison

Art By Cameron Stewart

Reason For Rating

I felt there was a lot of bad reasoning behind putting Dick Grayson in the UK.  Yes the Lazarus Pit is there, but it was a poor reintroduction to the British versions of Batman and Robin.  I also thought the artwork could have been found on a Saturday morning cartoon; very immature art with a mediocre storyline.

9. Superman # 696 (7/10)

Written By James Robinson

Art By Bernard Chang

Reason For Rating

The artwork was the main reason for this top ten placing, however James Robinson sure steps up his writing game with this issue.  However, Robinson still isn't the writer he needs to be to make a good Superman story

8. Secret Six #17 (8/10)

Written By Gail Simone & John Ostrander

Art By J. Calafiore

Reason For Rating

Simone's writing is the reason why this book has been placed so high.  However, Calafiore's artwork dumbs it down a bit.  If the artwork had matched Simone's writing better, this book could have been a lot higher.

7. Justice League: A Cry For Justice #6 (8.5/10)

Written By James Robinson

Art By Scott Clark

Reason For Rating

Robinson's shockingly good storytelling and Scott Clark's above average art work.  In a lot of ways, I like Clark's art work better in this title.

6. Batman #695 (9/10)

Written By Tony Daniel

Art By Sandu Florea

Reason For Rating

Daniel's wrote a true Batman story, that's all there is to it.

5. Green Lantern Corps #44 (9/10)

Written By Peter J. Tomasi

Art By Patrick Gleeson & Rebecca Buchman

Reason For Rating

I think shock was what did it for me with this issue.  I'm not surprised that so many have named this book "Best Comic of 2009."

4. Weird Western Tales #71 (9/10)

Written By Dan Didio

Art By Renato Arlem 

Reason For Rating

Dan Didio is just a good writer and can tell fantastic stories. 

3. The Phantom Stranger #42 (9.5/10)

Written By Peter J. Tomasi

Art By Ardian Syaf & Vicente Cifuentes 

Reason For Rating

No reason other than the fact that, like Weird Western Tales, this was a fun detective/mysterious fantasy story.  Bringing the silver age back to comics was a genius idea.

2. Supergirl #49 (9.5/10)

Written By Sterling Gates

Art By Matt Camp

Reason For Rating

If you write a good terrifying tale, you're going to get at least one fan...me!

1. Wonder Woman #40 (10/10)

Written By Gail Simone

Art By Aaron Lopresti

Reason For Rating

Gail Simone...Nothing more needs to be said.  She is the best writer in comics right now.

Everything she writes is personal, meaningful, educated, fun, artistic, etc etc.

Aaron Lopresti, arguable the best artist in comics.  While still remaining in the comic book style, Lopresti's attention to detail is never something one should question.

Wonder Woman, if it continues down this path of pure awesomness, will once again be in the running for Best Comic Of The Year for 2010.

Comic Book Review: Weird Western Tales #71

Book Information

Written by Dan Didio

Art by Renato Arlem

Plot

Not even the wild wild west (queue Will Smith) is safe from the oncoming Black Lantern takeover of the world.  A barrage of gun slinging favorites are risen from the grave, including Bat Lash, Super-chief, and of course, Jonah Hex.  Josh Turnbull, who is overseeing an energy project designed to decipher the source of the Black Lantern’s power in an attempt to defeat them, faces his father’s old nemesis, Black Lantern Jonah Hex!  Will the west survive, or will the zombie cowboys and Indians take over to tell tale of how the west was lost?

My Thoughts

As bad of an Executive Editor that Dan Didio is, he certainly makes up for it in his writing style!  We don’t get a lot of opportunities to read Didio’s stuff, but when he has the chance, Didio sure delivers.  The flow from page one to two is outstandingly clever.  Page one presents that classic, Hollywood style old west town, while the transition to page two, with Turnbull answering his cell phone, showing readers we are currently in the present.  It’s a very clever way to distinguish nostalgia and the present.

Speaking of stories that live in the past, while taking residency in the present, but occupying the future, this issue is full of that futuristic western mentality; reeks of inspiration from Buck Rogers and Firefly.  I’ve never been a fan of stories involving cowboys and Indians, even sci-fi related ones, but this was definitely my cup of tea.  When I heard a Jonah Hex film was in the works, I sighed in disappointment.  However, this issue has peaked my interest in Mr. Hex and his story.  I might have to revisit some of my past claims at the stupidity of comic book based in the west.

One thing I do take a little issue with in this resurrected title is the false advertising presented on the front cover.  It states in that popular Black Lantern Oath, “Jonah Hex, Scalphunter, Super-Chief, Firehair, Bat lash….RISE!”  However, as the book progresses, the only time given to any of the said western heroes is Jonah Hex, and even he only receives the spotlight for five pages.  This is not necessarily a bad thing about the book, only a minor distraction.

Who the heck is Renato Arlem, how long has he been in the comic industry and why haven’t I gotten a glimpse of his work more often?  He blew me away with his static, somewhat fuzzy artistic style.  I would typically be turned off by this, but Arlem sure grabbed my attention with his knack for detail.  DC, a word of advice, hire this man more often!!  On that note, the cover art is fantastic!  Bill Sienkiewicz did a number on this gem.  I’m slightly tempted to put this on my nomination list for best cover of 2010!  It’s a long time to go before the end of the year, yeah I know, but it’s still damn good!

Overall

Nothing too innovative or new came out in this issue, it was merely a fun western tale told in the classic way, while still keeping time in the present.  There was a nice twist at the end seeing as the bad guys won!  I’m typically a guy who prefers a “not so typical” type of storytelling, but Dan Didio just showed me that it’s nice to go back and relive what once was.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Wonder Woman Renumbered At #600

The following comes from DC Comics blog site, written by Dan Didio.  Posted on December 8th or 2009....

The results are in!

The response to our call for Wonder Woman postcards was spectacular, and we got the message loud and clear. We asked for 600 and by the Oct 31st cut off, we had an overwhelming 712 postcards (nearly 800 by the time of this writing), so as a man of my word, starting in June 2010, DC’s Wonder Woman series will celebrate its 600th issue and continue on from there. And we promise that Diana’s anniversary issue will be one to remember! There are some big plans in place and big changes in store for our favorite amazon warrior, so keep an eye on The Source in the new year, because we will be breaking the news here first!

To be continued….

But that’s not all. We’ll be announcing some major news in relation to Wonder Woman early in 2010, including the roster of all-star artists contributing to the 600th issue. Until then, though, we’ll leave you with the issue’s cover, by none other than George Perez, who’s no stranger to the Amazon Princess.

- DD -

I for one am glad by this decision.  Now this never actually came to my attention in the least, but once it was brought out, I was all for it.  It was exceptionally encouraging that Dan Didio decided this was important enough for fans and met their demand.  Now one thing is for sure, Wonder Woman #600 will be a MAJOR collectors Item.

But now, as #600 comes closer as days draw nearer, what are the plans for Gail Simone continuing her work on Wonder Woman.  I was very sad to see Geoff Johns leave the JSA only to have a much lesser writer take on the task, How much longer will Simone continue writing for the Amazon Princess?  I can't imagine anyone else writing for Wonder Woman other than Simone.  She's the best writer of 2009 and should hold off leaving this title for as long as possible.  I hear she's on board for the a while yet, but who knows how long that could be?  And what would Secret Six be like with her as well?  Gail Simone, I tip my hat to you and hope you.  If you ever write a novel, I'll be the first to buy it!