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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Blackest Night is the sort of story arc that proves the merit of comic books. Spanning the entire DC Universe, this tale is the culmination of events that have been brewing in the DC since Identity Crisis. It ties strongly into other major recent developments, such as the Batman RIP arc, but thanks to the swift writing of Geoff Johns, never, like many similar arcs, gets too bogged down in continuity, setting the stage quickly before diving into events, and so can appeal to first time readers and those not up to speed. The story itself is grandiose and yet its strength lies in its simplicity at the same time. The Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, and his best friend Barry Allen, also known as the Flash, have both recently been resurrected, and the dark forces in the universe are not happy. In an effort to restore balance to the constantly shifting body count, Black Rings emerge with one goal- bringing the dead to life in order to ensure the total death of the universe and thus correct the "mistake" of the dead returning. Neither the Green Lantern Corps nor the Justice League can hold back a foe as intangible as death, and the only thing that can pierce the blackest night is the unprecedented union of all of the Lantern Corps. In the midst of all of this is an earnest examination of the nature of death- it's inevitability and the strength of hope, which comes across effortlessly and never bogs down the action, another sign of Johns' proficiency as a writer. I would not call Blackest Night, despite the quandary of death, particularly deep, though it does address many high themes, it does not truly go beyond the most basic of metaphor here which can be broken down to color coordination, which is truly a virtue for the medium, one that no other can quite accomplish. And by the same token, it is by no means mindless, and every page is gripping as new terrors rise up and twist and mutilate the characters we have come to know and love and new drama arises. At the heart of this also are two very well crafted characters in Barry and Hal, who compliment each other beautifully and have a wonderful "bromantic" dynamic between them that keeps their interactions and dialogue sharp and witty. Carrying the story are some absolutely stunning visuals, vibrant colors that bring the highly detailed pencils to life, and dynamic vertical and slash panels that emphasize the drama and contrast between light and dark. This is a story that will hold far reaching effects on the entire DC Universe, yet manages, thanks to its subject matter and balanced writing, to be one of the most accessible crossovers in comic book history, perfect for first time readers and absolutely stunning for the more well versed. A wonderful, forceful effort and one of DC's finest story arcs.
Meh. It was ok, but doesn't really make me want to read more GL at all.
I thought the concept was interesting and the art was beautiful. The ending felt too easy, however. Things just fell perfectly into place. After all the setup for how difficult the fight would be, I was expecting to see more of a challenge at the end, but it seemed to resolve with little effort.
Freaking epic, really, that's all I can say about this, and this made GL (especially Guy) my current favourite superhero, and Geoff Johns is definitely my favourite comic book writer now.
Modern super-hero comics are hitting a new pinnacle of new reader-unfriendly, sprawling epics (where you have to read at least three other series just to understand the current state of affairs, and read the last five years of the comics to really get what's happening). It mostly made sense and was somewhat pretty, but other than the novelty of seeing (DC) zombie super-heroes, it didn't bring a lot new to the table.
It was good, but just okay-good. Not great. And, in a lot of ways, messy and ridiculously overbearing at the end with who was brought back and who was not.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh this is best GL series i came across i have read few but this was best.
I've read about this but never actually read it until now. It really grabbed me, it'd have been done in one sitting if I hadn't needed to sleep. Thankfully, I knew the characters already so wasn't struggling trying to keep up with who was who. Maybe it'd have been helpful to know a bit of storyline prior to this event, but it didn't hinder the story. There were a lot of little things tossed in that I appreciated, the character interactions were great, and the art is wonderful.
It was okay. There was a lot of over explaining that ended up being really tedious. The art was good and sometimes super creepy, which added a lot to the Black Lanterns. I don't really understand the end because it was pretty much all build-up and then the climax was also the resolution? I sometimes forget...comic books, you know? It did make me more interested in characters other than Green Arrow, though, which is nice. I'm thinking Atom, Aquaman, and Hawkman.