Brightest Day #18 Review

Written By: Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi

Artist: Ivan Reis, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, Joe Prado

Inker: Vicente Cifuentes, David Beaty

Colorist: Aspen MLT’s Peter Steigerwald, Beth Sotelo

Cover Artist: David Finch

Letterer: Rob Clark Jr.

Editor: Adam Schlagman, Eddie Berganza

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

And here we are, eight issues into the finale of Brightest Day and things are beginning to make sense…while still being confusing as hell!  This series has been plagued with confusion ever since issue #1, with nothing making any more sense than me playing a game of basketball completely in the nude outside of my neighbor’s house.  Johns and Tomasi have finally figured out where to start giving this story its main pile of gumption, and what better way to do that than by killing off two of DC’s more popular characters?

Now for those of you who have actually read #18, you may or may not be shocked at the death of the Hawks.  I mean, good grief, Comic companies kill off enough characters consistently enough that sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever be surprised at another heroes death ever again.  But in any case, this turn of events is pretty epic, especially how Deadman is left in a dusty cloud of despair, allowing the ashes of the Hawks to trinkle between his fingers.

But of course this issue is a nightmare for the fan of the pure and unadulterated action story that feel a good storyline has no place amongst all the testosterone, punching, explosions, and what not right?  It’s all about love and how the power of love will conquer all.  Sound cheesy right?  Well…it is.  Up until that point where we think we can sit back, relax, and enjoy the fact that Hawkman and Hawkgirl can at long last be together with their curse finally lifted.  Johns and Tomasi certainly pulled out the ultimate cliffhanger as the white ring upon Deadman’s hand interrupts the Hawks moment of embrace and tears them apart, once again causing us to question if the two lovers will ever be happy.

Enhancing the story is of course the ever crowded room of toggling artists, with Ivan Reis heading the team and Peter Steigerwald taking over the coloring duties.  And one thing I am completely sure of, Blackest Night and Brightest Day has been a colorist’s dream boat.  One thing I am ALSO certain of is that the Star Sapphire’s color scheme can do a real number on the eyeballs if not careful.  And I completely echo Mr. Paul Mallory and his inability to look at pinks and purples without thinking of the toy isle bearing Barbie dolls. 

Now this isn’t a criticism, I for one enjoy the clever way the colors were displayed on every page.  But for those of you with weaker eyes…or at least the ones who feel their manhood has been put into question because you’re reading a comic book filled with pretty little colors and all about love…you might want to put on some sun shades.

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

No doubt this is the best issue of Brightest Day thus far, but it hasn’t had too much competition to begin with.  But offing the Hawks was definitely a story addition that is going to keep me interested until eight issues from now.  (knock on wood.)

But then again, could this death be another rouse?  Will the Hawks come back from the dead?  Tune in next month when we will, more than likely, be confused and start wondering why the hell we are reading this series to begin with.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Comic Book Review: Brightest Day #11

Literary & Artistic Credits

Writer: Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi

Penciller: Ivan Reis, Scott Clark, Patrick Gleason, Joe Prado

Inker: David Beaty, Oclair Albert, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen

Colorist: Aspen MLT’s Peter Steigerwald

Letterer: Rob Clark Jr.

Cover Art: David Finch

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

New things continually come to light every two weeks with Brightest Day.  This is always an intelligent plot device as “shock and alarm” typically keep readers invested in the story.  My fear, however, with Brightest Day is that it’s falling will be right in line with the hit series Lost; the more complicated you make the story, the harder it will be to wrap it up with a successful conclusion.

Brightest Day has certainly been having trouble keeping on its feat ever since it began.  There seems to be less focus with this series than there was with its predecessor, Blackest night.  With #11 however, I had something to really grab onto with every page turn as Johns and Tomasi focus all their efforts almost 100% on Aquaman and Firestorm, providing some fasinating new developments in both stories.

DC really is trying to give Firestorm the ultimate comeback from its recent dark days that slowly dwindled into nothing.  While the plot surrounding Firestorm is a bit strange, I’m most definitely intrigued by what’s transpiring.  I did find the return of Black Lantern Firestorm (AKA, Deathstorm…gag!) to be a little out of place, but it seems to have a huge role in the overall story.  Who knew that both Ronnie and Jason had the capabilities of CREATING an evil counterpart to themselves?  But this Deathstorm seems to know the entire plan of this phantom voice calling out for the white lantern.  Very weird, but I’m all ready to for the unveiling of this mystery!

Aquaman has never really been given decent enough storylines worthy of his character; they were always corny or poorly written.  But here in Brightest Day, I think Aquaman is going to be giving a story that will finally equal that of the other top dog DC heroes.  But sadly, based on images and rumors I’ve heard, this could be the story that kills him off……again!   Rather than focusing on the “missions” that Johns and Tomasi have created for every character, this addition to the story reveals some interesting facts surrounding the history and mythos of Aquaman and the ties it has to Lighting Lad and Black Manta.  This is all very promising and I can only hope this quality boost in the story continues through the rest of the series.

I must say I am confused as to why Black Lantern Aquaman and Martian Manhunter have re-risen even though both said heroes are alive, kickin’, and off on their own quest to solve this mystery.  I guess my initial question “What exactly IS a Black Lantern?” wasn’t really answered in Blackest Night huh?

In addition to the improvement in literary qualities, the art seems to have taken an even BIGGER jump towards the positive.  Every Firestorm section of this book was mind-bogglingly good.  I don’t really know which of the multiple artists worked the Firestorm sections, but whoever it was did an amazing job with the definition and colorization all-throughout.  But even in Ivan Reis’ Aquaman sections, the art seemed to improved drastically in color quality and emotional impact.  Are you people savoring this moment?  I’m praising an artist toggle in a comic.  This does not happen!

My Majestically Climactic Conclusion

In comparison to the other ten issues published thus far, this comic was exciting to read.  There are still many problems, but it was fun to read and look at.  Fingers crossed for the rest of the run…

Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Writing: 8

Art: 10

Themes: 6.5

Comic Book Review: Brightest Day #7

Book Information

Written by Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi
Penciled by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, Joe Prado
Colors by Aspen MLT’s Peter Steigerwald with John Starr
Lettered by Rob Clark Jr.
Cover by David Finch, Scott Williams, & Steigerwald

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion
Alright, now we’re getting somewhere. Finally, things are starting to make sense, and just when I was ready to call it quits with this comic. Johns and Tomasi have definitely raised the bar this week with the promised and much anticipated revelation in this issue. While the bulk of the story is still a mystery, we’ve been given some angst to hold onto for two weeks to help boost our confidence that Brightest Day is actually going somewhere.

Each character gets their time in the spotlight, but none like Deadman. One of the questions at the forefront of my mind dealt with the King Arthur figure and who would actually be able to lift the white lantern from the ground. I don’t want to call it too soon however, it’s still fairly early in the story, but finally we can be certain of Deadman’s importance within Brightest Day.

The artist toggle didn’t work for me as much this time through; there was a lot more bumpy transitions from style to style that I wish would have felt more seamless. I just have a REALLY hard time going from this…

To this…

However, the artistry of each separate unit was executed quite well. Some parts of the toggling were actually very interesting, especially during the revelational two paged spread where each character is given a specific task to perform. And while the artistic finality of the two pager spread is quite ingenious, the whole idea that the white lantern entity is setting destiny in motion seems rather contrived to me. I felt the entity was very helpless against Nekron; being displayed as very innocent, ignorant, and like an infant unable to understand the world around him. (Or is it a her?) But this is part of the overarching mystery I suppose, I shouldn’t knock it quite yet.

Is it just me, or does Aquaman’s dilemma seem a bit TOO odd? First he can only control dead sea creatures, now he can bring them to life? I would really like to know where Johns and Tomasi are going with this. I understood the connection with death since he is, after all, a retired Black Lantern. But now, all of the sudden whatever he touches comes to life? Maybe this falls into place somewhere that I’m not seeing, but I would very much like this to resolve sooner rather than later.

My Awesomely Climactic Conclusion
Nicely done. I truly was ready to give up on this series. I was afraid the Morrison disease was spreading into Johns and Tomasi writing a story with a confusion lead up to a eventual poor ending. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Ratings
Writing: 8
Themes: 8
Art: 6
Overall: 7.33 out of 10

Comic Book Review: Brightest Day #6

Book Information
Written by Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi
Art by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleeson, Scott Clark, Joe Prado
Colored by Peter Steigerwald, John Starr
Inked By Vicente Cifuentes, David Beaty, Mark Irwin, Christian Alamy
Lettered by Rob Clark Jr.
Cover by David Finch, Scott Williams, Steigerwald

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion
We all know Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi are incredible writers, both collaborating their efforts on the two Green Lantern titles to make sure the Blackest Night event made sense. They’ve done such a great job you’d think that putting the two together on one title would be a match made in Heaven. But as Brightest Day has reached its sixth issue, three months in, I’m beginning to wonder if this writing team-up was a good idea to begin with.

The problem with Brightest Day first starts with its compact nature. Every two weeks we get no less than four storylines in each issue, all of which further the mystery in little increments. This issue is no exception. Hawk and Dove are still at the graveyard with Deadman, Firestorm is still trying to cope with everything post Blackest Night and deal with a pissed off boyfriend, Martian Manhunter discovers he can’t touch plant life without it withering up and dying, and Aquaman listens to Mera explain why she was supposed to kill him. The mysteries each character is dealing with have been the same with each issue and become quite cumbersome. I’m wondering if, like Blackest Night, having the main title along with BD tie-ins would have been a better route to go; with its compact nature, Brightest Day is becoming a lot more boring then exciting.

#6 isn’t without its good points though. Ronnie Raymond seems to be having issues with alcohol, which I don’t blame him. If I could remember being a risen corpse and killing the girlfriend of the person who shares the Firestorm Matrix with me, I’d probably take up some type of vice to keep from going insane too. But most intriguing is the phantom voice that seems to be lurking within the minds of Both Ronnie and Jason; it focuses in on Ronnie, scolding him for past actions and the content of his character, but Jason is very much aware of this voice as well. This is probably one of the more interesting things that have popped out in Brightest Day.

DC had enlisted a tag team of artists whose styles are quite similar, which keep the flow of the book surprisingly fluid and easy to look at. The two page flashback spread of Mera and Aquaman’s past together was incredibly beautiful. But I don’t think anything will beat the awesomely creepy cover by Finch, Williams, and Steigerwald.

My Profoundly Climactic Conclusion
Overall, this issue is quite bad with a few high points here and there. This story really needs to start making some sense or I’m going to blow up!

Ratings
Writing: 3
Themes: 4
Art: 8
Overall: 5 out of 10

Comic Book Review: Brightest Day #2

Book Information

Written by Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi

Penciled by Scott Clark, Joe Prado

Colored by Aspen MLT

Inked by David Beaty

Lettered by Rob Clark Jr.

Cover by David Finch, Scott Williams

My Awe-Inspiring Opinion

Thank you Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi, David Finch and Scott Clark for letting me know exactly who the focal point of this issue is.  I can only imagine what new realizations Aquaman will have about his unexplained connection with dead sea creatures.  Just look at that cover, it screams a mighty echo to its readers; it calls out to their notion of intrigue and excitement with the mystery revolving around Aquaman!  Oh what a joyful time, to know that DC has thought ahead so well that they know exactly how to make their loyal fans want more!  DC is a master at making covers that truly define the essence of a story and how it relates to the coming events. Let’s turn to the first page and find out what our King of the sea has to discover.

Let’s see, oh hears the first page…

Oh well, it’s just the start. Let’s see, hhmmm, oh yes here we go…

No, that wasn’t what I was looking for, hold on let’s keep looking, maybe here?

Damn, maybe if I continue on…

Ok, what the hell?  Where is the story involving Aquaman as the cover suggests?  Oh, here we go.

Wait…that’s it?

Yes indeed.  DC Comics brings us one of the best forms of false advertising.  All you have to do is stick a popular hero on the front cover of a highly anticipated comic that will excite readers about the story so much that they won’t be able to contain themselves!  The next step (and this is the best part) is to put that hero in only one panel of the book and call it good!  DC makes no mistakes right?

Ok, on a serious note, I do find it a little annoying when comics print a cover that has nothing to do with what’s inside.  The story focuses all of its energy on pushing forward with Martian Manhunter’s story (which seems to do very little in helping this issue’s over arching theme) and a mysteriously rampaging, murderous wife.  I understand the necessity of toggling back and forth to each character’s story, but I see no central focus.  Brightest Day seems to have taken a huge step backward into more of a bloody horror story than an intelligently written thriller comic like it started out as.  Is this what Johns is going for?  I’m not sure I approve.  I’ll keep following this series but I certainly hope we don’t get anymore Brightest Day’s like this one.

I love the art as a whole but would love to have Ivan Reis do everything.  The last two page spread of this issue is nothing short of spectacular.  As idiotic as I find having the Anti-Monitor back so soon, and in this story, I must say that is an impressive piece of work.  It only goes to show you that even a poorly written comic can still have its good points.

My Profoundly Climactic Conclusion

Maybe I’m being harsh and allowing my pre-conceived notions about Brightest Day to dictate my reaction to #2, but I’m having trouble accepting this issue as a satisfactory addition to the series.  Johns and Tomasi have set such an amazing precedent with Blackest Night that to have something like this really detracts from the story.  Everything was scrambled, unfocused and too concerned with bringing in that damned Anti-Monitor.  Ugh!

Ratings

Writing: 2

Themes: 1

Art: 9

Overall: 4 out of 10 stars

Comic Book Review: Brightest Day #1

Book Information

Written by Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi

Penciled by Ivan Reis, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, Joe Prado

Colored by Peter Steigerwald

Inked by Vicente Cifuentes, Mark Irwin, Oclair Albert, David Beaty

Cover by Ivan Reis

My All-Inspiring Opinion

If you were to try and decipher the differences between Blackest Night and Brightest Day, you might find the task a little more daunting than expected.  This first issue (well, 2^nd if you count issue #0) begins the latest chapter in the Green Lantern mythos.  Johns delves into the mystery involving the risen heroes and the mysterious white light that seems to be weighted down in its Lantern shape by some unknown force.  We also see the beginnings of conflicts that our featured heroes, Aquaman, Firestorm, the Hawks, and Martian Manhunter will face in the coming issues.  Each hero finds themselves faced with memories or events of a violent nature, riddled with violent stranglings…

Dead sea animals rising from the depths…

And cleavers slicing through men’s throats…

I would say that the title “Brightest Day” is quite deceiving in its uplifting and appealing connotation. 

In seeing the the 3^rd panel on the 5^th page of Hal Jordan attempting to lift the White Lantern from the ground, I was very close to tossing this book across the room.  But my frustrations were relinquished when Geoff Johns clearly wanted his audience to be aware of this aspect in the story’s plot development.  I was relieved that Johns wasn’t trying to hide the fact that this IS going to be the story of “The Sword in the Stone.”  This gives DC’s most popular writer the ability to shock and alarm his readers since he will most assuredly give Brightest Day an unexpected conclusion.  Will the “destined one” be a King Arthur type of figure, or a lowly man who has a deeper connection with life and death?

While Blackest Night had some of the most disturbing visuals I’ve ever seen in comics, Brightest Day gives us some fairly disturbing sequences of which play around with the mind much more.  Aquaman, despite having risen from the dead and being completely healthy with no Captain Hook arm, (Thank God!) he finds himself unable to call on the aid of living sea animals.  In addition, Firestorm, the Hawks, and Martian Manhunter are flooded with disturbing images and scenes that cause me to wonder just what emotional baggage do they unwillingly carry from the events of Blackest Night?  Just when you thought all your questions would be answered, Johns throws a monkey wrench into the story.

Aquaman and Mera seem to share a problem.  As stated, since being severed from the Black Ring’s power, Aquaman still finds himself connected with the dead, only able to contact a deceased, mauled Shark and giant squid.  Likewise, Mera still seems to have some connection with her brief, but intense relationship with the red ring of rage.  This theme of lingering connectivity with the emotional spectrum stuck out at me the most and I feel Johns could be going somewhere with this. 

As most of you who follow my blog, I’m sure you’ve already guessed my opinions on the artistic approach.  The entire team of artists on this book are great, but the toggling from artist to artist drives me nuts.  Ivan Reis does fantastic work, so why couldn’t DC just hire him to draw the whole friggin issue?!?!  He’s not doing anything right now!  I don’t get it!  I can’t justify ranking the art high when I become so distracted by the different art styles.  Although, Reis certainly gave us some amazing visuals…

My Profoundly Climactic Conclusion

Nothing more can be said except that this issue is great.  I don’t think it deserves any awards for greatest comic book ever, but it does start the mystery off well.

Ratings

Writing: 9

Themes: 9

Art: 6

Overall: 8 out of 10

Comic Book Review: Justice League A Cry For Justice #6 (of 7)

Book Information

Written by James Robinson

Art by Scott Clark & Siya Dum

Plot

After Prometheus reveals himself under a technological cloak disguising himself as Shazam, he pushes through the oncoming brigade of heroes determined to put a stop to his murderous rampage.  At the cusp of defeat, Donna Troy flies in, almost killing Prometheus.  As the League interrogates their attacker, his evil plot is revealed which is already put into motion.  Can the League save the day before an entire city of people, or will Prometheus finally be victorious and tear the League apart?

My Thoughts

I have never seen a complete turn around in the quality of a storyline more than with this issue.  Every issue, starting with #1, has been less than satisfactory, containing a lot of unneeded dialog as well as boring and confusing plot twists.  With the exception of his work on Superman, this is Robinson’s worst series at DC yet.  However, this issue completely grabbed my attention and kept hold of it with every page turn.  No doubt Robinson was killing time until this climactic and powerful event within this arc.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Prometheus, I’ve always viewed him more as a throw away villain used to fill in dead space in comics.  Robinson has revitalized the villain in ways I couldn’t imagine.  It just goes to show, every idea worth writing about has potential to be great.  The League was helpless against Prometheus’ continual and unending knowledge of their weaknesses; Even Supergirl, the most powerful of the group, was taken down as easy as a pit-bull chomping away at a hummingbird.  This was very refreshing for me to finally see Prometheus used to the maximum potential. 

The story itself was completely satisfying despite the terrible writing in the previous five issues.  The tension and build up of angst was very powerful and worth the few bucks to pay for.  The mystery in this story wasn’t making sense, but this issues helps bring everything to the surface and takes your breath away.  I can’t imagine how Green Arrow must be feeling, especially since his city is already in peril and tumbling to the streets below.  I wonder how Prometheus is making this quake occur and how the League is going to stop it, if at all.

I was sad to see Cascioli taking a leave of absence from this miniseries, even though he will be returning to finish out this series next month.  But Clark was a satisfactory and pleasant substitute for the artistic aspect of the book.  Attempting to continue the great art Cascioli has established, Clark creates a some incredible and clean scenes that pop out at you just as much.  I was a little throw by the strains of blood coming out of Donna Troy’s wrists which distracted me to a certain degree, but Clark is well on his way in establishing himself as one of the better painters in the comic industry. 

Overall

A great issue!  I was completely taken by surprise and can’t wait for the final seventh issue to be published. 

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 24, 2010

This is the big one! After the catastrophes seen in issues #5 and #6, a hero loses control, leading to an unexpected ending that will fundamentally change the lives of the World's Greatest Heroes forever. This issue launches a major storyline in the DC Universe and is not to be missed!