A little note before I start. I have a habit of just liking things in general, especially because I haven't particularly ever needed to review anything. I will be following Matt's guidelines for ratings (which can be found to your right), however it needs to be kept in mind that we do have different tastes (rare, but it happens). I will most likely become a tad bit more critical as this process continues. To begin, I will be covering a fairly large realm of comics: Blackest Night Tie-Ins. Blackest Night is a pretty big deal, if you haven't noticed, and the tie-ins can be a nice addition or a waste of time. I will attempt to lead you in the right direction. As Blackest Night is separated into three parts, I will do the same.
Forgive me if I leave anything out.
Part One:
Blackest Night: Batman ****1/2Over all I thoroughly enjoyed this miniseries. Although I am a big fan of the Bat-verse, I am not being biased.
I gave it 4.5 stars because I feel if you are a fan of Batman, then you definitely need to read this. However, if you aren't a fan (who isn't, though) then there isn't a necessity to read this, although it will inevitably bring you joy and pleasure. It's fun, the story line is pretty good, the art is nice, and it does what it set out to do: bring Blackest Night to Batman. Blackest Night Batman #1 does what the first issue of any miniseries should, it lays our the foundation of the series as well as generating enough interest to further read the series. The whole series will focus on Batman, Robin, and Red Robin's reaction to the reanimation of their loved ones. This plays along with the rest of Blackest Night, with the resurrection of dead loved ones, but it also toys with the recurring theme in Batman, which is the death of one's parents igniting the course of action. The scenes/panels/pages, call them what you will, that displayed the relationship that Tim and Dick have as well as their relationships with their parents were good. The scenes portraying the dynamic of the newly formed "Dynamic Duo" were also done very well. Blackest Night brought back guests, such as Boston Brand, aka
Deadman, as well as brought recurring cast members, Commissioner Gordon and Barbara aka Oracle.
Deadman was an unexpected guest, but was thoroughly amusing. As a long time fan of Barbara's, I can't say that I'll ever not appreciate a cameo on her part. You won't leave this miniseries knowing more about Blackest
Night, but that's
ok because I don't think you are meant to. There are bits and pieces of information that you can carry on to the main Blackest Night series, but the story is pretty self-contained, which isn't a bad thing mind you. I personally enjoyed the story very much and urge you to read it as well.
Blackest Night: Superman ****I will be honest and say that I've never been a huge Superman fan. I like him fine, but personally I don't see any reason why the DC universe needs to him to be its savior. That being said, I did like this tie-in. I am a huge fan of Superboy and while I haven't read much on Supergirl, I do like her. On to the story. I did not know that New Krypton existed, so that threw me off for second, a short second I promise. Other than that, I liked seeing the interaction between Superboy and Superman. It's nothing like a Batman and Robin moment, but it's almost like watching two brothers interact when one is living in the other's shadow. I thought that choice for the antagonist was interesting and somewhat unexpected. I personally would have thought it would have been Pa Kent, shows how much I know. The most interesting thing to take from this, in my opinion, was the machine that the Kryptonians built to repel the power of the Black Rings. I know that they are an advanced race, but man, who knew. The possibilities. If they weren't so obsessed with themselves they could probably save everyone by trapping the Black Lanterns in the same sort of force field on their home planet (whatever that is.) Besides that, it was nice seeing Supergirl interact with her mother (Who, again, I did not know was alive.) Moving on, I never knew that one person could be feeling as many emotions at once as both Superman and Superboy did. What a display of, hmm, I don't know if I would consider a lack in controlling one's emotions or a complete control of one's emotions. Either way, the resulting artwork is fantastic.
Overall, nice tie-in. It had a little bit of everything you need in a good read. Some nice writing, great artwork (which I feel most people ignore comics, but some of the greatest artwork I've come across in recent years can be found in comics), a strong leading cast, as well as a likeable supporting cast, like Ma Kent and Krypto. Stop reading me, and go read it! Along with Batman!
Sidenote: I find it a tad strange that my spell-check finds nothing wrong with Superman, but throws red flags when I type Superboy or Supergirl.
Blackest Night: Titans ****1/2This tie-in is probably the most revealing of all the Tie-ins I've read. Even if you haven't been following the Titans I'd suggest reading this one if only for the understanding that will come with reading it. While the other tie-ins (Superman and Batman) were great, they didn't particularly tie into the main story nor did they enlighten readers with further knowledge. This, to reiterate, is not the case with Titans. The non-regular readers will need to look up characters, that much at least is to be expected. Also, just like the other tie-ins this one does follow its own story, why wouldn't it. But, and that is a big but my friends, there are two things that happen in Titans that I found to be very important. The first was that Don Hall, the original Dove, did not rise when summoned by the black rings. The Black ring circled his grave, but alas, Don Hall did not rise because he was "at peace." This gives the reader just the slightest insight into the powers of the Black Rings. It should be mentioned that the being who bears the name "Dove" is usually an embodiment of peace. Furthermore, later in Titans, the current Dove (Dawn Granger) encounters some Black Lanterns, one being her now deceased sister. During their tussle, it became appear to us all (us being the readers) that the Black Lanterns could not "read" Dove as they do all other sentient beings. In a scene that seems to have shocked even Dove, Dove's peace (personified by her light) repelled the darkness of the Black Lantern and severed the Ring's connection to its body host. This lead my fellow comic book aficionados and I to conclude that Dove, and all her white Light, was the embodiment of all of the emotions (and colors of the spectrum.) Which goes along with the path that Indigo has taken Hal (combination of Lanterns and spectrums.)
This was a pretty good read. I knew the Titans well enough to know who was who, but even beyond that this tie-in brought with it the most twists and information. It is definitely a must read, even if you just read it once.
Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps ***I wouldn't particularly consider this a tie-in, mainly because it's more of a history lesson. If you want a brief overview of the different Corps, this is where you'd go. I thought the writing is great (as I've come to expect from Geoff Johns.) I will admit that it was a fairly interesting read. I can't say for sure why, but the story of Hope slightly disturbed me (blind faith tends to have that effect on me.) The story behind Fear didn't impress me any. It made it's point but nothing stood out in a good or bad way. I will admit that I allow myself to get a bit sappy when it comes to fictional characters (especially comic book characters) so the story behind Carol and her love ring did pique my interest a bit. I also would like to learn more about these supposed Violet Lanterns. Enough that I'll probably end up going back and reading her journey and interaction with Hal. I don't know if I like that the Orange Lanterns aren't "real." The Red Lanterns do intrigue me. I won't lie, I was fairly pleased when Bleez turned and killed the Yellow Lantern, I only wished she caused him a tad bit more pain first. What I found to be the most confusing were the Indigo Lantern. I didn't particularly perceive their actions to be all too compassionate. To clarify, I mean what they did to the Yellow Lantern wasn't compassionate, what they did to the Green Lantern could be perceived as putting him out of his misery (if he was not healable at least.) The stories behind Kilowog and Arisia, I thought, were touching. I didn't know too much about either and this story did a good job in getting me somewhat emotionally attached to the both of them.
I'm not sure if I should add a short review on Blackest Night #0 with Director's Commentary. I figure Geoff Johns and Adam Schlagman did a great job covering the issue. I always like reading commentary because it just gives you the slightest bit of insight.
Overall I thought the tales were a nice little insert thrown in, but not completely necessary to read. They're good to read if you enjoy absorbing the history and every aspect of the the story (Blackest Night) but not needed to follow Blackest Night.
Stay tuned for Part Two next month. In the following weeks, I will be reviewing individual issues. Read long and hard folks!
