Joe Kubert Presents #1 – Review

By: Joe Kubert, Brian Buniak, Sam Glanzman (story & art)

The Story: Flying men, private eye apes, starving children, and burning ships—enter the world of Joe Kubert.

The Review: Even though I didn’t really know Kubert’s work all that well (being much more familiar with his sons’ project), I was grieved to hear of his death.  Old-timers in the comics biz, the ones who were there in the early days, who really brought forth the building blocks of storytelling in that medium, are rare figures.  And Kubert stood among the greats of his time.  His experience and wisdom will certainly be missed.

Even to the end of his life, Kubert seemed to hold on to that wonderful optimism and sense of wonder that made DC Comics (and America) of the olden days so great.  All this modern learning has made us slightly cynical with any kind of fantasy or sci-fi story, and Kubert asks us to cut through that and just embrace a tale that has the essence of a dream: “Suspend doubts and give me your hand and mind.  Take a giant step from supposition to acceptance.  From imagination to reality.  You laugh?  Is this a joke?  Or—just “kid stuff”?  Come, let’s see…”

Brightest Day #1 – Review

By: Geoff Johns and Peter J. Tomasi (writrs), Ivan Reis, Pat Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark and Joe Prado (artists), Vicente Cifuentes, Mark Irwin, Oclair Albert, and David Beatty (inkers)

The Story: The issue opens with Green Lantern and Star Sapphire with Sinestro, trying to figuree out the white lantern. At the same time, Boston Brand is trying to figure out his own predicament. Why does he have a white ring? What force keeps him invisible and moving from trouble to trouble? Also, Martian Manhunter, Hawkman and Hawkwoman, and Aquaman and Mera all have weird things happen to them, creepy things reminiscent of blackest night.

What’s Good: Johns and Tomasi have us on the trail of a mystery. The twelve resurrectees – why were they resurrected? Why no one else? Who will be the one to claim the white lantern? Why is Boston Brand, alone among the resurrectees, wearing a white ring? And what is the relationship of these resurectees to the creepiness of the blackest night? Johns and Tomasi approach this with tight writing and crisp, natural dialogue.

The art team delivers some brilliant landscapes (you’ve got to see the mountain of ice being dropped on Mars), some great power effects (check out the white lantern versus the power of Green Lantern), some evocative expressions (see Mera and Aquaman when they discover he can summon dead sea animals), and dynamic action (Hawkman kicking ass and taking names). The color work makes the panels jump out and heightens to moods of mystery with darkness, blazing day and hidden shadows.

Blackest Night #3 – Review

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

The Story: The Green Lantern and the Flash are fighting a losing battle against the Black Lanterns, Elongated Man, the Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkwoman and Sue Dibny. In the meantime, the new Firestorm (Jason and Gen) respond to a distress call from the JLA HQ, which they really shouldn’t have done. A few characters and forces we thought dead make some surprising appearances, but things continue to get worse.

What’s Good: Ivan Reis is always awesome. He blew the doors off this barn. Albert, Prado and Sinclair are solid as well, and between the four, they really deliver. Sinclair must be doing some especially serious lifting too, because between the speed effects around the Flash, the transparency effects of Gen in Jason’s head as Firestorm, the glow on Firestorm’s chest, and the bursts of light around the Indigo Tribe, he’s pretty busy, and that’s nothing to say of just keeping up the coloring job on the regular line art. Oh, and one word about the speed effects around the Flash: Awesome…

Johns delivers lots of good character work as well. Despite the enormous cast, I felt like every character not only had something to say, but they said something emotionally meaningful. In one page, he does the A to Z of a tiny romantic fight between Jason and Gen. Over two pages, he has the Green Lantern and Flash argue some pretty heat-of-the-moment stuff and then reconcile. Ronnie Raymond kicks butt as a Black Lantern. He’s ridiculously creepy, especially when he says stuff like “There’s a big empty spot in my head….I’ve got a vacancy that needs to be filled.” And with just one panel, we get to see the dramatic plot reason that the Atom is here at all. Fine, fine writing with lots of tension, action and character moments.

What’s Not So Good: Black Lantern Elongated Man doesn’t work for me. I was pretty happy with him quietly dead, to be honest. He comes off in this issue a little too much like Jim Carrey with manic faces and lines like “Oh! Anger! IIIIII like it!” Not very scary. But that’s a minor point in an otherwise flawless comic book.

Conclusion: We’re getting really close to epic-level here. If you’re not following Blackest Night, check with your doctor; you might have an enzyme imbalance.

Grade: A

-DS Arsenault