Green Lantern #53 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (penciller), Christian Alamy, Keith Champagne, Mark Irwin and Doug Mahnke (inkers), Randy Mayor (colorist)

The Story: Brightest Day, The New Guardians Chapter One: This story sweeps slowly and deliberately over a wide cast of characters, from locations as diverse as a New Orleans prison, the planet Ryut, Coast City, Metropolis, Ysmault and beyond. Each character is surveyed for how they have reacted to the end of Blackest Night and where they will fit into the puzzle of Brightest Day.

What’s Good: Wow. Johns delivered absolutely top notch work on this issue. The slow pacing was perfect for the slowly-unfolding mystery. We didn’t get details, but we were tantalized with the scope of what will come, where the battle lines will be drawn and where the tense alliances may form. But as this is Johns, he made sure to also throw in romantic tension, the seeds of betrayal and conflict, and the deep, ancient roots of the Green Lantern mythos that he seems to effortlessly expand with every issue.

Johns was well served by Mahnke, the inkers, and Mayor on colors. Pages two through seven (the planet Ryut) had me completely fascinated with the level of detail, the texture, the mood, and the impending horror of the setting and the little bits of symbolism. Bones, old ones, are everywhere, as the sky is cut by lightning of every color of the ring spectrum. The sequence of the ground swallowing the narrator was simply awesome and perfectly reflected the sparse, creepy monologue. Even deeper, the foreground and background of chains and skeletons and symbols was breathtaking. Carol Ferris was lovely and expressive, and the sequence with fighter planes was an excellent visual to accompany the reaching, straining, wary conversation that Hal and Carol had.

Blackest Night Director’s Cut – Review

Featuring the commentary of Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (pencils), Oclair Albert (ink), Joe Prado (ink), Alex Sinclair (colors), Nick J. Napolitano (letters)

The Story: The book starts out with a page-by-page (and occasionally panel by panel) discussion by the creators of all eight issues of Blackest Night. A beautiful cover gallery (with some neat quotes from various Blackest Night issues) follows, and then the entire script of Blackest Night #1. It closes with some details about the creation of various Blackest Night action figures, and a very cool gallery of character sketches and profiles. Also included are some deleted scenes and unused art and covers.

What’s Good: For someone (like me) who not only loves to read comics, but is fascinated by the creative process and comic-production business as a whole, this is a gem. A very expensive gem to be sure ($5.99— good grief!), but one that I don’t regret picking up. The commentary from Johns, Reis and company is entertaining, if not particularly insightful (lots of patting each other on the back, as one might expect) and the art galleries and character profiles are extremely nice. So much happened in Blackest Night that the character sketch/profile section actually serves as a nice resource for keeping all those moving pieces straight going into Brightest Day.

Of course, the art from Blackest Night was universally stellar, and its quality doesn’t change here. It’s a real shame that the only artwork that gets a true spotlight are the covers. They DO reprint many, many of the comic panels on the creator discussion pages, but the pictures are thumbnail sizes and serve to illustrate the panels that the creators are discussion, not as a showcase. The cover art is still beautiful though, and seeing them all reprinted together and alongside each other is a real treat.

Brightest Day #0 – Review

By: Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi (writers), Fernando Pasarin (penciller), Fernando Pasarin, John Dell, Cam Smith, Prentis Rollins, Dexter Vines and Art Thibert (inkers)

The Story: In Blackest Night #8, Aquaman, the Reverse-Flash, Captain Boomerang, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Deadman and others (12 in all) were resurrected. They were resurrected for a reason. The mystery of Brightest Day starts now.

What’s Good: First of all, the art was great. The images are crisp, clear and the story, even in its most crowded moments, is propelled by the art. Pasarin and his army of inkers have chosen dramatic camera angles and found the dynamism in each of the characters, even when they are standing still. Some particular points that really drove this home for me was the dead bird sequence on the first page, Boston Brand’s shattering of the gravestone, the juxtaposition of Ronnie and Jason at the funeral, and the incredible eyecandy of the green lanterns’ trip to Mars. Last bit on the art: I *loved* the appearance of the Flash and the image of him walking through a wall! The artists have created a textured world that makes you want to pore over the art again and again.

Johns and Tomasi have also delivered some poignant writing. They have made a mood come to life with the dead bird sequence, Boston Brand’s miserable musings, Captain Boomerang’s conversation with the Flash and especially the moments between Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the eternal lovers. This book is filled with moments of deep emotion: gratitude, love, guilt and pain.

Blackest Night #8 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (artist), Oclair Albert and Joe Prado (inkers), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

Everything was good! Cover to cover. Art. Story. Lettering. Everything. The art team, already superb, took it up a notch. Long-lost lovers, white lanterns, silvered manifestations of life, hazy mists of power, and faces frozen in fear, joy, greed, anger and love jump out of the pages. The art especially evokes.

Yet, it was not just the first-class job of Reis, Albert and Prado that did the job. Alex Sinclair has made the Blackest Night come alive with his work on colors. Also, Nick Napolitano’s work in this issue has me commenting for the first time on the work of the letterer. Most of the pages in this book are suitable for mounting or framing.

The last issues of Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps and Blackest Night have built the tension of the last 8 months to the point of snapping.

Green Lantern #52 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (penciller), Christian Alamy, Doug Mahnke, Rebecca Buchman and Keith Champagne (inkers)

The Story: This is it! The endgame of Blackest Night. John Stewart leads an army of light against giant Black Lantern planet as it descends on the Earth. In the meantime, Hal Jordan is on Earth, fighting Nekron and the Black Hand with Sinestro. But something is up with Sinestro. He has become something new, the ultimate weapon against the Blackest Night!

What’s Good: Geoff Johns had me on the edge of my seat not only with the action, but with all of the explanations of the mysteries of the corps of light and the making of the final weapon, Sinestro. John Stewart has his hands full trying to stop a limitless swarm of black lanterns and a giant, dead planet. It ain’t a pretty place to be. And we see the origin of will, the origin of fear, the origin of love, and so on, and how they all feed into the corps’ final weapon.

And while we’re on the good stuff, I had to say that this was one of the best-looking issues of Green Lantern I’ve seen in a while. Mahnke, Alamy, Buchman and Champagne were in the zone. Take a look at the final splash page featuring Sinestro. The proportions are awesome, the dynamism of the pose Kirby-esque, the texture of the silvery costume evoking the *feel* of light. And the art team delivered some brilliant battle scenes, epic in scope and frightening in their violence. And the middle of Sinestro’s transformation, where light is pouring through his veins…brilliant (no pun intended). First class in every way.

Green Lantern Corp #46 – Review

By: Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (penciller), Rebecca Buchman, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen (inkers)

The Story: The assembled ring corps are in the middle of a battle royale that has been going on for many issues. Guy Gardner adapts a Star Trek strategy to productive use, but both he and Kyle predictably face loved ones from their pasts in the forms of black lanterns. Interestingly, the Anti-Monitor has a role to play and his relation to the black lantern battery is revealed.

What’s Good: I enjoyed seeing the Anti-Monitor again and I liked how he fit into the black lantern mythos. It was something unexpected for me, and unexpected always means good. Gardner’s use of the Tholian web was also a cool, yet logical extension of how the corps of light have been working together to handle the black lanterns. Tomasi also included a gem of a character moment when Guy (as diplomatic as ever) is trying to get the other corps to work with him and says: “…but don’t ya wanna wipe these things out so we can get back to killing each other again?”

Green Lantern #51 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (art), Randy Mayor (colors), and Rob Leigh (letters)

The Story: Parallax returns to battle the Black Lantern Spectre.

What’s Good: This is a really, really fun issue.  A lot of this is thanks to the twists and turns that Johns provides with the emotional spectrum.  One such twist, involving the Spectre and Atrocitus, is particularly well-played and is, at least for a moment, absolutely jaw-dropping in a “why didn’t I think of that” kind of way.

Then there’s the real star of the issue, Parallax.  Johns writes the character as well as he ever did, sounding absolutely monstrous with just the right amount of sneer.  The great thing about Parallax’s presence though is how Johns essentially writes the character as if he was pulled out of a timewarp from back issues.  Suddenly the old Spectre/Parallax conflict takes centre stage, as the two characters almost forget the Blackest Night around them.  The total disconnect of these two characters, Parallax in particular, from their current surroundings in favour of their old animosity feels clever and a little surreal, as though things are put on hold.

Another highlight is the grappling between Lex Luthor and Larfleeze that we all knew was inevitable.  Suffice it to say, the dynamic between the two is about as much fun as expected.  Hearing Luthor dress down, contemptuously deride, and belittle Larfleeze is comic gold, particularly since the latter never seems to really understand Luthor.

Then there’s Dough Mahnke’s artwork.  This issue is visually awesome.  The level of detail Mahnke manages to pack into the book while still completely maintaining traditional comic sensibilities is truly a sight to behold.  He’s able to pack a great deal onto the page while never having it become overwhelming, while also delivering the massive, iconic images that make a comic like Green Lantern great.  Truly, his Spectre looks amazing and his Parallax looks about as insidious as I can imagine a character being.

It also bears being said that this issue is the first to give us some real hints as to where Johns intends Green Lantern to go after Blackest Night, as he plants some very ominous seeds, one involving Atrocitus and another regarding Parallax’s fate.

Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3 – Review

By: Greg Rucka (writer), Nicola Scott (pencils), Jonathan Glapion (inks), Nei Ruffino (colors)

The Story: Diana, just saved from being a black lantern, is guided by Carol Ferris as they go to fight the other black lanterns. Although the black lanterns are a big deal in their zombie apocalypse sort of way, a bigger piece of trouble is red lantern Mera, consumed by rage.

What’s Good: I’m loving Blackest Night not only because it expands the Green Lantern mythos, but because it really gets us into what the different colors of the spectrum are like and what it feels like to wear a power ring. In this case, we hear Wonder Woman’s monologue: “…to wear a power ring and feel emotion made manifest. To wear fear or anger of will or hope on one’s hand…” Geoff Johns’ Blackest Night is letting us see what it is to feel different emotions, what it feels like to belong to one of the other ring corps and it is cool. At the same time, the *reasons* different characters in the DCU were picked to be new lanterns is also very revealing of character. Check out what Carol says about Diana and about being a Star Sapphire.

On art, I have to say that the Greg Horn cover was pretty wow-worthy. Inside, Scott and Glapion told a pretty good visual story. I thought they hit the right level of dynamism in many poses and composed the layouts effectively. Better than that, though, were some of the full page moments, like the close-up of the star sapphire ring on the first page, the narrowing of vision around Diana and Mera with the lasso and the arrival of the cavalry on the back splash page. I also felt that the strongest piece of the art in this issue, what most jumped out at me aesthetically, was the color. I haven’t had that happen before, but the overpowering dominance of violet in the book, the hard, angry shards of red and the rainbow arrival of the cavalry really made an impact on my read. Good work Ruffino.

Justice League: Cry for Justice #6 – Review

By: James Robinson (writer), Scott Clark (artist), Siya Oum (colors)

The Story: Supergirl has discovered out that Freddy is really Prometheus in disguise. An all-out battle follows.

What’s Good: Mauro Cascioli’s artwork was what held me to this book when everything else crumbled. You can imagine my disappointment when I discovered that Scott Clark had been subbed in on the art. However, Clark (who also helped out last issue) did a pretty good job of keeping alive the stylistic feel that Cascioli had established. Check out the gritty texture and the fine detail of Freddy changing into Prometheus. Or, look at how Clark did a brilliant job on the double splash page of stacked panels to show the JLA attacking Prometheus. Clear, dynamic and moment-to-moment. Scott Clark is welcome to pencil any series I’m reading!

Green Lantern #50 – Review

By: Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (artist), Christian Alamy, Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen, Mark Irwin, Doug Mahnke (inkers)

The Story: The newly reinforced armies of light are making good headway against the black lanterns, but black lantern Spectre is still there, and nothing they do will stop him. So it’s time to pull out the one thing that has a chance of matching the Spectre’s power: Parallax.

What’s Good: There’s a lot to like in this book. It’s a high-stakes, epic adventure. However, Johns, as always, finds ways to squeeze in some good character moments. In one, black lantern Aquaman tries to get under Mera’s (now a red lantern) skin. Her reaction to this deep, personal, manipulative attack leaves Atrocitus with nothing to say, but “Welcome to the Red Lantern Corps.” Scarecrow as a member of the Sinestro Corps was a delightful a show-stealer, and a quiet moment with Luthor and Larfleeze was classic. Hal Jordan had a few good moments too, with some snappy dialogue that seemed more suited to Spider-Man than to Hal, but it didn’t get in the way. Mahnke had some great moments too on the art chores. The splash page release of Parallax was awesome. The staking of the Spectre was a brilliant panel, as was Green Lantern’s “mallet-to-the-head” panel. The poses and layouts were dynamic and carried the story from panel to panel, page to page.

Green Lantern Corps #44 – Review

By: Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (penciller), Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen, Keith Champagne & Patrick Gleason (inkers)

The Story: Red Badge of Rage, Part 2: Black Lanterns have overrun the power battery on Oa. A giant green lantern planet hovers over Oa. And Guy Gardner is a psycho (oh, and he has a red lantern ring too!).

What’s Good: I loved Gleason’s splash page opening of Mogo, the green lantern planet, against the backdrop of a colorful nebula, looming over Oa. Gleason also drew a mean power battery, some pretty awesome aliens and the double splash page of Guy with a ring on each hand has to be seen! Gleason’s camera angles and layouts also supported an epic feel, picking shots to maximize the distance and vastness of the backgrounds.

On the writing side, this is pure adventure. Our heroes, including the recently resurrected Kyle Rayner, are wildly outgunned and losing badly. Guy Gardner is marginally on their side, insofar as if they stay out of his way, his force field chain saw targets black lanterns. This is the rising drama of act two, where we have no idea how our heroes are going to get out of this bind. And, this is only one battle in a larger war. The mood is definitely Empire Strikes Back, and that means that Tomasi has done his job right. The other nod I have to give to the writing department is really to Geoff Johns and the DC editors. Their choice, in Blackest Night #6, to deputize a bunch of DC characters into the various lantern corps, is structurally smart. In this book, we get to see what it’s like to be a red lantern, through the actions and emotions and perspective of a character we’ve known for the last twenty years. In no other way could the fans hear: “Take off that red ring.” “No. I like it. I like seeing red. It’s simple. No more gray. No more black and white. Just red.” This simple, tense dialogue tells us more about the red lantern rings and why rage is seductive, than everything I’ve seen so far from Atrocitus. Kudos!

Blackest Night #6 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (penciller), Oclair Albert & Joe Prado (inkers), Alex Sinclair (colorist)

Story: Last issue’s combined lantern corps attack failed to stop Nekron. A bunch of resurrected DC heroes have been turned into Black Lanterns (Superman, Wonder Woman, etc), further strengthening Nekron’s hand. Black Lantern rings pursue Hal Jordan and Barry Allen to do the same. And don’t forget the approach of every Black Lantern in the universe from Green Lantern issue 49. In the meantime, the corps of light figure out that they have to do some recruiting of their own.

What’s Good: It’s a measure of the complexity and quality of the writing that I was able to say so much in the summary, and yet not reveal any spoilers. This story is chock full of great comic moments. This is friend against friend, philosophy against philosophy, ally against ally, on the biggest possible scale. The Flash’s answer to the ring chasing him was brilliant, old school fun that would have made Julius Schwartz proud. The development of Mera as a character was inspired (she stood toe to toe against Black Lantern Wonder Woman, ripped the tongue out of Black Lantern Jean and turned out to be instrumental to the lantern corps recruiting drive). Ganthet has some great defining moments too. I can’t say too much, but he does get to say “…as my last act as a guardian…” There’s also a bit of subtle metafiction going on. On page 3, Hal says “I started to think death and resurrection were only part of the job. But it’s something else.” Johns is going to take a shot at explaining why comic book characters can die and be resurrected! He is aiming to rationalize one of the biggest flaws in the superhero genre.

On art, Reis, Albert, Prado and Sinclair are always great. They deliver the personal moments (Hal asking if their success means they die again) and personality moments (Luthor’s expression as he waits for everyone he’s ever killed) again and again, amid the swarm of action and excitement.

Green Lantern #49 – Review

By Geoff Johns (writer), Ed Benes & Marcos Marz (artists), Ed Benes & Luciana Del Negro (inkers

The Story: John Stewart guest stars in Hal’s book this month to single handedly take on the Black Lantern planet Xanshi.

The Good: Wow. I love, love, love it when a comic can get me to re-examine characters I thought I knew. It’s not that I never liked John Stewart, but I will admit it was always hard to view him as being anything other than Hal’s wingman. With this issue, my respect for Stewart and his abilities has gone through the roof, and if DC ever wises up and gives Stewart his own monthly series, I’ll be the first in line to pick it up, this issue was that damn good. Under Johns’ guidance, Stewart is the eternal soldier: stoic, taciturn, and utterly dedicated to achieving the mission at hand. When that mission turns out to be taking on an entire Black Lantern planet, conventional wisdom would tell most people to wait for some back up. But not John Stewart, oh no. In the greatest and best-drawn moment of the comic, Stewart…well, let’s just say he calls on a different Corps to help him kick ass and take names. I was initially disappointed when I saw that Doug Mahnke wouldn’t be drawing this issue, but after reading it I have to say Benes was the perfect choice to bring Stewart’s tale to life.

Green Lantern Corps #43 – Review

By Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (penciller), Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen & Patrick Gleason (inkers)

The Story: Red Badge of Rage: Between the cliffhanger of last issue (the death of Kyle Rayner) and the cover of this issue (Guy Gardner becomes a Red Lantern), you have all I can tell you without spoiling.

What’s Good: When Joe Quesada was talking about Civil War (check it out on numerous Marvel podcasts), he said that it was really important to not just kill a whole bunch of fourth rate characters no one cares about. He wanted to kill one or two characters whose death would profoundly affect those left behind. Tomasi and company have done that here. This entire issue is about how characters we care about react to the death of a hero we really liked. This is good, good stuff and I felt (I actually felt) emotion throughout this issue. I felt the pain of Guy and Natu as they huddled over Kyle’s corpse. I felt their frantic grief as they struggled to hold his green lantern ring from going off to find a new bearer. I felt their fear and panic as they warded away the black lantern rings trying to claim Kyle. And I had a choked up high when the cavalry arrived, even though they could not turn the tide. And best of all, the emotions of this story drove the climax in a way that was totally unexpected for me. Tomasi earned his pay on this issue.

Blackest Night #5 – Review

By Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (penciller), Oclair Albert & Joe Prado (inkers)

The Story: The leaders of the seven lantern corps ready themselves for an assault on the black power battery. Barry Allen and Wally West lead the DCU’s heavy hitters against the tide of black lanterns defending their own power battery in Coast City.

What’s Good: There is an epic scale going on here, more than I’ve seen in other major comic book events. It really is for all the marbles. Johns elicited the same emotions I had when I read Return of the King or Crisis on Infinite Earths. And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they do.

Although the scale of the action doesn’t allow very many character moments, Johns exploited the ones he does have. I loved the scene with the Flashes. Wally’s line “I’m the Nightwing to your Batman,” to Barry was revealing, almost as much as Barry’s reply “You’re the Flash to my Flash.” I can’t wait until April 2010 to see what Johns does with these characters in the new Flash series.

There’s lots of zombie slapdown if you’re more into the slugfest-apocalypse side of things. We also get to see Dove take on the black lanterns. For those who followed the Blackest Night: Titans miniseries, you’ll know what I’m talking about. And while we’re on the Titans mini, Donna Troy is now in a worse place in Blackest Night #5. I’m loving the fact that the Blackest Night minis are subplots and what happens in them affects the main book. Most events forget that.

Reis, Albert, Prado and Sinclair bring on some fine artwork. I’ve gone on and on about this art team in other BN reviews, but just to pick out a couple of the more evocative images, I really loved the bony matrix that the Atom and Mera shrank into and I loved the ropey muscle under dead the grey skin of the black guardian. The color work was ethereal in the right places and the mood dark and black in others.

What’s Not So Good: In all honesty, there’s little to complain about in Blackest Night. It’s true that writers can’t sustain tension on a high note forever, but I found some of the wise-cracking by the lantern corps a bit inauthentic for the level of tension that had already been established. Maybe those lanterns are scared and overcompensating, but to make that work, you need to lay a bit more ground work on the way the characters feel inside. That gets me to my main point about the book, which is not a flaw, but inevitability in an epic. It’s really hard to find the space to show what characters feel. I mentioned the great Flash moments above, but I couldn’t help but miss the perspectives of Superman and Wonder Woman. They’re so big that if they’re on the page, you expect much of the DCU to be turning to them for leadership and courage. All these are minor points, or results of the creative choices Johns et al had to make.

Conclusion: Another strong issue of Blackest Night. If you haven’t picked up this series yet, I’m not sure there’s help for you.

Grade: A-

-DS Arsenault

 

 

Justice League: Cry For Justice #5 – Review

By James Robinson (writer), Mauro Casciolo & Scott Clark (artists), Adam Schlagman (assistant editor), Eddie Berganza (editor)

The Story: The whole issue is one meeting after another, wherein heroes tell each other what has happened so far and start arguments they don’t finish. The only exceptions to the absence of action are the shocking last three pages of story.

What’s Good: Cascioli’s art continues to blow me away. It is so powerful, that for the first half of the issue, I didn’t realize nothing was happening or that the characters were incomprehensible. The muscle work, texture, shading, skin tones, postures and facial expressions are blowing every other artist in comics out of the water. Incidentally, Donna Troy never looked better. Check out panel 4 of page 1. Now, there’s no dramatic reason for her to be in a bathing suit, but the view is great and the gratuitous T&A distracts from the story problems.

What’s Not So Good: For the most part, I’ve enjoyed Robinson’s work on Superman: World of New Krypton, which was what had me so surprised that Cry for Justice seems to be falling apart before my eyes. I used suspension of disbelief to buy into the idea that some major and central characters in the DCU took up vengeance as a deeply-held value to be pursued to the point that they would break ranks with friends and loved ones. Yet, by issues 4 and 5 of Cry for Justice, Mik and Congo Bill have changed their minds, and Green Arrow is back at the Justice League HQ as if nothing has happened.

Black Canary said it best when she said that these guys only came back because Prometheus is too big to chew on. Now, if you accept the idea that Prometheus, although smart, could really hold out for more than a couple of seconds against Green Lantern, Supergirl or Shazam, then the conviction and depth of our heroes’ beliefs is pretty shallow. If, on the other hand, Prometheus is as weak as he appears to me, then the writer is moving all these characters around for his own ends, and not the story’s.

Either option is bad, but given the other motivational problems and choices in the book, I’d opt for the second. Robinson wants to build his new JLA and he’s doing it here, even if what the characters are doing makes no sense. Let me give you a few incomprehensible character moments: Supergirl, Congorilla, Green Arrow and Black Canary are around a gravely, gravely injured teammate. What do they do? Supergirl cauterizes a dismembered limb and rushes off with Congo Bill to “Get the bastard who did this!” Green Arrow, overcome with grief, wants to stay to help (for god’s sake, someone give him first aid!), but Black Canary, the one he’d been fighting with GA about the whole vengeance thing before, suddenly says “Keep focused. You need to find who did this!” Where did this come from in her? What’s Green Arrow’s response? “Let’s get the son of a bitch” (and leave dear friend dying of shock). There are more. Watch for them.

The issue also feels episodic, with one conversation bleeding into another, with a huge cast, very little momentum and no action until the last pages. Arguments and anger flare and don’t go anywhere. New heroes join the effort with little enthusiasm or explanation required. And worst of all, most of the issue is filled with characters standing around doing nothing.

Conclusion: Art wise, I don’t think there’s another artist in comics I’d rather see right now than Casciolo, but he couldn’t save this issue, and probably not this series. Save your money. Wait until Robinson starts on the main JLA title in 2010. It isn’t really important why some people are on the JLA and others aren’t, is it? Even if you read Cry for Justice, I’m not sure it becomes any clearer.

Grade: D

-DS Arsenault

 

Green Lantern Corps #42 – Review

by Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Patrick Gleason (pencils), Rebecca Buchman & Tom Nguyen (inks), Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb (colors), and Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Along with their new Indigo ally, the Green Lantern Corps make their last stand defending the central power battery.

What’s Good: This is probably the best issue of Green Lantern Corps since Blackest Night began in earnest, and that’s largely due to all of the black lanterns coming together for one attack. The book has felt far too scattered and disparate over the last few months thanks to the black lanterns singling out characters and their change of tactic is welcome, as it brings all of our heroes together. This feels like a coherent narrative once again as opposed to a series of 3 pages vignettes.

As a result, our protagonists feel like a team and not simply a bunch of tangentially related people doing different things in different places. This helps foster some very strong character moments. The character death at the end of the book is certainly a gut-punch and it’s only the book’s newly regained cohesion that makes it possible.

Strangely though, my favourite scene involved Kilowog. The combination of rage, denial, and sadness was fantastically executed and oddly touching. It was a fantastic summation of the emotional reaction, and aftermath, that the black lanterns are capable of bringing forth. Kilowog’s tragic dialogue is only so effective because it hints at deeper, existential issues and personal pain that the character has harbored, and concealed, for a very long time.

Gleason’s art is more intelligible this month and also provides some really jaw-dropping moments, with some particularly awesome splashes and spreads. The size and scope of some of Gleason’s work here is astounding, daunting stuff. The character death at the end of the book is rendered beautifully and the mass black lantern assault is a sight to behold.

What’s Not So Good: While it’s much improved, Gleason’s art still isn’t without fault. The chaotic nature of the action still makes it occasionally difficult to decipher. The opening scenes were a bit hard-going at some points and the later sequence involving a released red lantern is nothing short of incomprehensible. Also, Gleason again shows himself to have some difficulty drawing Soranik’s face, which at times feels overly cartoony, even comical, with expressions that feel exaggerated, misplaced, or both.

What really disappoints about this issue, however, is Tomasi’s handling of the major character death.  Putting it simply, he dropped the ball.  It’s clearly the most important occurrence of the book and the most emotionally significant moment of the series for quite some time, but I just didn’t feel as though it was treated as such.    It comes off as random, rushed, and hence, underwhelming.  It takes just long enough that it isn’t shocking, but there’s also not enough build up for it to carry the emotional weight that it should.  It’s just about the most abrupt last stand and farewell that I’ve ever read.

A major character’s dying, especially in such heroic fashion, should garner more of a reaction from me.  Hell, Tomasi could very well have had me tearing up.  Instead, it doesn’t feel as significant or powerful as the character deserves and the fact that I bordered on feeling non-plussed is almost a travesty.

Conclusion: The best issue of GLC in a while, but I can’t help feeling a little soured by the missed opportunity.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

 

Blackest Night #4 – Review

by Geoff Johns (writer), Ivan Reis (pencils), Oclair Albert & Joe Prado (Inkers), Alex Sinclair (colorist), Eddie Berganza (editor)

The Story: We’re deep in Act II of Blackest Night, so things aren’t going so good. The Flash, Mera and the Atom are being overwhelmed at the JLA headquarters. The heroes of the rest of the world are being overwhelmed as well. The Earth, as the new focus of the war of light, needs a field marshal, but the Indigo Tribe has taken Hal Jordan, the most obvious choice, away. A hero steps forward. But is it too late? That slow charging of the Black Lantern power battery has reached 100%.

What’s Good: Things are pretty bad at the midpoint of DC’s zombie apocalypse. If you like your heroes in tight spots, and watching some of them have their hearts ripped out, this is your book. If you like heroes, real, old-fashioned, inspiring heroes, then this book is for you. A hero is only as good as the villain he fights, and in this case, Johns has given the villains pretty much all the cards. The tension in the writing is high, and the pacing is great. There are so many twists and turns that the book seemed like a larger experience than 27 pages it was. As a throw-away compliment to Johns, the dialogue was excellent: natural, tense, doubtful, inspiring, fearful, denying and spooky, depending on who was talking.

Reis, Albert, Prado and Sinclair deliver some very fine art as well. I’m loving the Flash effect of having two images of the Flash in any given panel. It really communicates the essence of the Flash. The colorist and inkers really have to take some credit for this too. No doubt Reis has in mind what he wants things to look like based on his pencils, but with the Flash effects (and some light effects), the inkers have a much harder time of figuring out where they have to ink heavily (it is a horror book), where they have to ink lightly, and where Sinclair is going to add color with no lines at all. It all works really well.

What’s Not So Good: I am not an unseasoned DC reader, but when you crowd dozens and dozens of dead heroes and villains into the pursuing background, color them all gray, drop 20-50 lbs off of each one and remove the skin in some cases, it gets a little hard to recognize who exactly the heroes are facing. This detracts from how we experience the torment of the heroes. I don’t have a solution. The art has integrity of vision to it that I have to respect, but as a form that communicates the story, I think some trick has to be found for letting the reader know who everyone is in any panel. The reason superheroes had brightly colored costumes in the first place was not to serve the story, but because when old printing plates got hot and art got blurred, it was the only way to tell people apart in the four-color world. Technology has advanced since then, but I think an event like Blackest Night is facing this same problem.

Conclusion: Blackest Night is the event that everyone should be following. Don’t miss out.

Grade: B+

-DS Arsenault

Green Lantern #47 – Review

by Geoff Johns (Writer), Doug Mahnke (art)

The Story: The Black Lanterns enter the War of Light as Green Lantern Hal Jordan and his archenemy Sinestro are both confronted with faces from the past.

What’s Good: You’d think that with Johns’ handling the scripting chores on both the core Blackest Night title as well this one, he’d put out at least one issue of Green Lantern that felt a little like filler.  I mean, we’re just at the halfway point and this comic marks the tenth chapter that Johns has written!  Any worries of subpar storytelling should be ignored, though, as what feels like another essential component of the larger tapestry is executed here.

I have to admit, as much as I’m enjoying the story told in the parent title about the Black Lanterns, what really excited me initially about this story-line was the War of Light.  That aspect of the plot has really taken center stage in Green Lantern, and I couldn’t be happier.  Seeing representatives of the Green, Violet, Indigo and Yellow Lantern Corps combining their powers against the Black Lanterns was an effective moment, as was their marshaling their forces when coming to the aid of the Blue Lanterns.  Johns’ also gets kudos for making Sinestro of all people a sympathetic character.  Not an easy feat, but he pulls it off here.

As for artist Mahnke, he turns in his usual amazing job on the pencils.  His reveal of four of the Five Inversions is suitably horrific and bizarre.  He knows when to deliver the big moments in Johns’ script, such as the violence enacted upon Atrocitus, yet succeeds just as expertly on the more personal moments.  Sinestro’s hesitation to deliver the killing blow to his former lover is written all over his face.  No amount of text could have conveyed his anguish more powerfully than Mahnke’s depiction.

What’s Not So Good: I expected some more emotional weight in the scenes concerning Hal Jordan’s confrontation with predecessor Abin Sur.  The meeting of the past and present Green Lanterns of Sector 2814 had the potential to be one of the most memorable moments in Blackest Night.  A decision was made to concentrate on the Ysmault and Sinestro/Arin Sur scenes which, while successful in their own rights, served to detract from the promise of this issue’s cover.  It’s hard not to feel that Johns dropped the ball somewhat here.  I also need to criticize the glacial pace of the John Stewart sub-plot of the last few issues.  Something needs to happen there sooner rather than later.

Conclusion: Johns and Mahnke deliver yet another superb chapter of Blackest Night.  While some other titles crossing over with the event have started to feel tired when it comes to the primary gimmick, Johns uses Green Lantern to further flesh out the story in  a magnificent way.

Grade: B+

-Joe Lopez

Blackest Night: Titans #3 – Review

by JT Krul (writer), Ed Benes (art), Rex Ogle (assistant editor), Brian Cunningham and Eddie Berganza (editors)

The Story: The Titans are trapped in a massive slugfest with the dead.

What’s Good: Krul did a great job of tying a lot of the feeling of Blackest Night together. Blackest Night is about making every hero in the DCU feel loss, regret, horror and despair, as much as humanly possible, and then seeing how they react. Donna Troy turns out to be a serious badass. You can tell that Krul got James Robinson’s memo that Donna Troy is going to be a major heavy in his new JLA in January, because she’s a major heavy in this one. She’s a great hero. She feels pain, regret and sorrow, but she does what she has to do to lead her friends out of the darkness. It’s a great show. Krul also worked with Gar, the perennial loser at love, who regrets and yet still loves, even though he feels stupid about who he still loves. Krul has caught something important about love here. You don’t get to pick who. Love doesn’t make sense, but you still have to deal with it. Gar’s arc in this book is great to watch. On the writing and story, I finally have to say that I love that they found a new weapon to use against the Black Lanterns. They found two in Blackest Night: Superman, one here, and one in the main Blackest Night series, so I’m feeling a bit of hope.

On the art, I know some people don’t like Benes’ stuff. He likes to draw beautiful people. But even if Donna Troy’s neckline seemed to plunge especially low in this issue, every panel told the story clearly and cleanly. At no time did I have to ask myself what was going on. Everyone, hero and zombie, had a distinctive look, even if half the cast was colored with gray tones. And Benes delivered a few great visions. Garfield, as a bear or a dinosaur, turns out to be pretty effective at kicking zombie tail. Donna Troy’s hands turn out to be WMDs against these villains, even if the villains come back two minutes later.

What’s Not So Good: Okay, I’ll take a shot at the necklines. Donna Troy’s almost reaches her navel and Starfire’s costume looks like it got left in the drier too long. I know that companies have to push up (pun intended) sales to pubescent boys, but when heroines are over-sexualized for reasons that have nothing to do with the story (there are many examples in many comics), it takes away from the story. That’s the definition of gratuitous, plain and simple.

Conclusion: Krul and Benes delivered a very fine conclusion to this miniseries. Gar and Donna went through some heart-rending experiences that will change them as people. If you are fans of those characters, then this miniseries matters to you. And if you are not, you will be by the end of this book. Recommended.

Grade: B+

-DS Arsenault

 

Blackest Night: Batman #3

By Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Adrian Syaf (artist), Nei Ruffino (colors), John J. Hill (letterer)

The Story: The Blackest Night in Gotham concludes, as the Flying Graysons are reunited, and it’s identity crisis all over again for the Drake family. As Dick and Tim are confronted by their deceased loved ones and forced to relive their tragic pasts, they must figure out how they can defeat these Black Lanterns. With the help of Deadman and DC’s favorite demon, Etrigan, the Wayne family continues to battle old familiar faces. 

What’s Good: Tomasi gives us a fast-paced, action-packed conclusion that delivers some pretty memorable entertainment. From Batman and Robin fighting off the Black Lanterns with their seemingly endless supply of firepower, to the emotional and haunting iconic moments these heroes have dealt with in the past, there’s just as much action to the moments we’ll always remember with these characters. Furthermore, along with all this excitement, Tomasi finds a way to fit in a logical and awesome team up with Etrigan.

As for the art, I would like to see Adrian Syaf become a regular artist for a Bat title. He provides the necessary cinematic action, through his paneling choice– carefully capturing and fitting the right moments in each frame, whether it be emotional or violent– and the detailed brutal blows our heroes deliver to their enemies. Just like Tomasi’s writing, Syaf’s art delivers in the entertainment and subtext departments. The images thrill and make us remember.

What’s Not So Good: Although Tomasi provides us an entertaining story, I can’t help but feel a little cheated with this series’ ending. It comes off as rushed and thoroughly thought through, as Batman’s discovery to effectively combat the Black Lanterns comes out of nowhere and accidentally. Or even, not exactly explained as to how he thought of that… Also I’m still disappointed that there was nothing in this mini series that spent any memorable amount of time on the possibility of the Wayne sons encountering Bruce. It was nice to see some of the Chris Yost Red Robin in one moment, but that was easily pushed aside as this series continued to turn its focus on Black Lanterns in Gotham. I suppose the Bat-fan in me is waiting a little too anxiously to see the real Batman come back.

Conclusion: Blackest Night: Batman concludes as a decent mini series that adequately accompanies the ongoing blockbuster. However, don’t expect much from this story as it’s no different from the basic Blackest Night side story; where a hero encounters a Black Lantern version of a loved one, and their minds and emotions are challenged and seduced into believing in them.

Grade: C-

-Ray Hilario

Justice League: Cry For Justice #4 – Review

By James Robinson (writer), Mauro Cascioli (artist), Eddie Berganza (editor)

The Story: Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Freddie Freeman, the Atom and Supergirl pull themselves out of the wreckage of last issue’s cliff-hanger explosion and decide to follow Prometheus’ trail through the torture of the other villains they’ve captured. Jay Garrick is running around the country, checking up on all sorts of people, while Congo Bill and Starman fight for their lives.

What’s Good: Mauro Cascioli continues to knock this book out of the park. In evaluating comic art, I always do a gut-test first: How long do I want to linger, looking at the pictures? Cascioli’s art really keeps the pages from turning because there’s so much in each panel. Every expression is brilliant. The clothes wrinkle, the lights shine, and the shadows are moody and real. And as I said in my review of issue #1, Casciolo’s rendition of Congo Bill is stunning.

Robinson kept me guessing throughout the story. Freddie’s analysis of Prometheus (using the patented wisdom of Solomon) was fun to watch in a Bourne Identity sort of way. And Jay Garrick’s mysterious investigation is drawing in some pretty interesting people, like Mon-El, the Shade, and a bunch of second string heroes. I’ve been following some of DC’s podcasts and in a couple, Robinson talks about how Cry for Justice is going to tee up his run as the writer for the JLA, a team he intends to refashion. I don’t know what he’s doing with these second-stringers now, but I would be interested in seeing him try to make some of them first-stringers. That, however, is just a bit of idle speculation on my part. Robinson is nonetheless using the large cast of the DCU to good effect.

What’s Not So Good: Cry for Justice is losing its way. It started with an effective bang in issue #1. Since then, it has started repeating itself. This is now the fourth issue where the Green Lantern orders the Atom to torture some (or many) hapless villain. The Atom, same as before, jumps out of some guy’s nostril, as if he’s put in a tiresome day’s work. Hal Jordan doesn’t flinch. And Freddie and Kara continue to be non-entities in the central debate of this series. There is some character growth in Green Arrow (“Torture is wrong”), but it comes off as contrived because it just begets more violence. I know Robinson is going for a ‘Now do you see what you’ve been doing?’ moment, but we’re talking about some of the most powerful and perceptive personalities in the DCU – they’ve taken bigger punishments than this without surrendering their values.

Conclusion: The story is suffering from a few missteps, but a powerhouse set of characters, a promised change in the status quo of the DCU and the art make this book worth the buy.

Grade: B-

DS Arsenault

WCBR’s Top Picks

Kyle’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Secret Warriors #8 – The “God of Fear, God of War” arc continues to impress the hell out of me thanks to the strong character work that’s been done for both Phobos and his father, Ares.

Most Anticipated: Dark Reign: The List – Secret Warriors #1 – Predictable choice, I know, but more Secret Warriors is always a good thing.

Other Top Picks: Batman and Robin #5, Sweet Tooth #2, Astonishing X-Men #31, The List: Secret Warriors, Deadpool #16, Strange Tales #2, Vengence of the Moon Knight #2, X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas #1, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #3, Haunt #1, Incarnate #2, Witchblade #131, and War Heroes #3.

Rob G.’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Thor #603- This just book just edges out Green Lantern #46 because of it’s sheer literary mastery (although GL was a ton of fun). Thor is one for the ages and will be remembered as a classic, maybe the best run of this past decade.

Most Anticipated: Astonishing X-Men #31 – The return of the Brood in Ellis’s hands. Let me wipe the drool away. Plus, Jemeriz has taken over art duties so I’m looking forward to more consistent and pleasing visuals than the last arc. Honestly, I can’t see what can be bad here.

Other Top Picks: Amazing Spider-Man #608, Batman and Robin #5, Batman: The Unseen #1, Captain America: Theater of War – Ghosts of my Country, Daredevil #501, Dark Reign: The List – Secret Warriors, Irredeemable #7, Spider-Man 1602 #1, Sweet Tooth #2, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #3, Vengeance of the Moon Knight #2.

DS’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Wonder Woman #36 – Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti are succeeding in restoring WW to her deserved status as one of the pillars of the DCU. Simone’s fantastic story-telling is setting the stage for another great story arc.

Most Anticipated: Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #1 – it’s been a long time since we’ve had a regular dose of a Sorcerer Supreme and I’ve liked Jericho Drumm since first reading him in Strange Tales. I love Dr. Strange, but I’m hoping a new doctor in the house will bring back the freshness that made the sorcerer supreme so great under Lee and Ditko in the 1960’s.

Other Picks: Ghost Rider: Heavens on Fire #3, Batman and Robin #5, Justice League: Cry for Justice #4, Magog #2, Superman: World of New Krypton #8.

Alex’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: Secret Warriors #8 -The more this book focuses on the kids, the more I like it. This month’s issue was entirely centred around them, and so it takes home my pick of the week.

Most Anticipated: Haunt #1 – I was underwhelmed with Kirkman’s last ongoing, Astounding Wolf-Man, I haven’t cared about Todd McFarlane in ten years (maybe), the 10-page preview was disappointing, and the advance reviews have been absolutely blistering. What was once excitement for this series has quickly turned to morbid curiosity. That said, I’m taking a real “I’ll see it for myself” stand on this for now.

Other Picks: Batman & Robin #5, Sweet Tooth #2, Daredevil #501.

Tony’s Picks

Best of the Past Week: Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu Black & White One Shot – Green Lantern was good, don’t get me wrong, but last week’s black and white Shang-Chi comic was unlike anything Marvel’s done in a long time, and I really respected that.

Most Anticipated: Planetary #27 – Wow, the comic three years in the making. I’m sitting here at work right now typing this out and actually still have a copy of Planetary #26 in my desk, noting with bewilderment that it came out November 2006. For better or worse, the comic that reignited my love of this artform ends here and now. I’ve waited three years for this moment so, yes, it is rather anticipated.

Other Top Picks: Batman and Robin #5, Criminal: Sinner #1, Daredevil #501, Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural #1, Vengeance of the Moon Knight #2

Green Lantern #46 – Review

By Geoff Johns (writer), Doug Mahnke (artist), Christian Alamy (inker), Randy Mayor & Gabe Eltaeb (colorists)

The Story: Hal and Indigo-1 begin their quest to unify the disparate factions of light by approaching Carol and the Star Sapphires even as the Black Lanterns attack Zamaron.  Meanwhile, Mongul and Sinestro discuss executive management opportunities within the Sinestro Corps.

The Good:  When it comes to truly epic storyteling, nothing quite satisfies like a Green Lantern story from Johns and Mahnke. Following the theoretically simple, yet rarely practiced, precept of delivering strong stories and dynamic art, they are constantly making Green Lantern a must read title for me. With this issue, I feel like “Blackest Night” has officially moved into its next phase of storytelling, as the emphasis seems to have shifted from revealing the magnitude of the threat posed by the Black Lanterns to uniting the various Lantern Corps against them. Johns is so incredibly successful at forging the Black Lantern Corps into a relentless, seemingly unstoppable danger that, as you read this issue, it’s hard to believe that Hal Jordan is going to make it out of this one alive. But that’s good!  That, my friends, is storytelling at its finest, and Johns has proven himself a Jedi Master in this particular department. But hell, I could just as easily say the same for Mahnke, whose art only gets better every month. Powerful, detailed, and at times deeply haunting, his art perfectly compliments both the superhero and supernatural qualities of this story.  In fact, Mahnke’s double splash page of Sinestro, uh, coming to a decision regarding Mongul’s promotion is easily worth the $3 I paid for this comic.  Just take a look at it and tell me that isn’t the coolest thing you’ve seen all month.  Moments like that remind me why comics are Great.

The Not So Good: I was surprised that Green Lantern was basically a guest star in his own comic.  Despite flying into scenes for brief exchanges with Carol, Sinestro, and Indigo-1, Hal’s presence was barely felt, whose was largely eclipsed by Sinestro. On the upside though, Sinestro stole every scene he was in and was a wicked delight to read. Oddly enough, and I can’t stress this enough, my biggest gripe was with Carol and whatever idiot at DC thought it was a good idea to make her look like a cheap Vegas whore.  I’m as much of a red-blooded, healthy young man as the next guy, but I was looking at Carol and her implants in utter disbelief that the Star Sapphires approved slut couture for their agents.  At least Johns had the common sense to poke some fun at the absurdity of her wardrobe.

Conclusion: Green Lantern is a fantastic comic gripped in the middle of the greatest storyline of the year. There might be better ways to spend your hard-earned Yanqui dollars, but crack is evil and prostitution is only legal in Vegas, so why not try this comic instead?

Grade:  B

-Tony Rakittke

Blackest Night: Titans #2 – Review

By J.T. Krul (writer), Ed Benes (artist), Scott Williams and Ed Benes (inkers)

The Story: Donna Troy’s dead husband and baby come after her as Black Lanterns. Black Lantern Terra and a few other old friends from the post-living move to smash Gar, Kid Flash, Cyborg and Starfire. Hawk and Dove fight Black Lantern Hawk before Terra plays with the foundations of the Titans Tower. Then things get really messy, zombie-apocalypse style…

What’s Good: The art is fantastic. I’ve always liked Benes, even though I know his art doesn’t fit everyone’s taste. I think a case can and should be made for him, on the basis of well-rendered figures, muscles, emotions and action that carry right through the book.

On the writing side, Krul delivered a solid Act Two. In a three-act series, the situation for the heroes gets worse and worse throughout Act Two, until the last straw is thrown on. The menace is there and it is scary (zombie baby – just picture it). Our heroes get in some great shots, though. Gar gets a wrestling smash in on Black Lantern Terra, Cyborg’s white sound seems to hurt them while Starfire leaves a smoking black lantern ring on a crispy, re-dead finger. Any bets on how long that finger stays crispy? Finally, in terms on villainous power, now I have slightly more respect for Terra.

What’s Not So Good: Not much to complain about. I’m not completely up on all my Titans mythos, so the identities of some of the villains were question marks for me without much more than clues to go on. The colors didn’t blow me away: competent, but not stellar. The grays and blacks and browns eventually became a bit overpowering. Even the spectrum of emotion colors didn’t look like more that a blurry patchwork. But these are smallish point in an otherwise pretty solid book. And if Krul left me with one dominant emotion, it was relief…that I don’t live in the DC universe.

Conclusion: If you’re following Blackest Night, even if you’re not a huge Titans fan, I recommend picking up this book (the first issue is probably still on some stands too). It’s a great story of fear and the undead hitting the DC universe, with fantastic art and an overwhelming menace.

Grade: B

-DS Arsenault