Blackest Night: Flash ****1/2So as has been made perfectly clear from the get go, Blackest Night is a Green Lantern event. I don't think Barry Allen got that memo. Who are we kidding kids, Barry Allen nearly single-handedly stole the show. And I don't particularly mean specifically this three part tie-in, which was awesome, definitely the best of this bunch, most definitely top 5 tie-in status (which is saying something seeing as there were 25 Blackest Night tie-in stories and 45 tie-in issues. Wow.) But even outside of this tie-in Barry has pretty much changed the direction of Blackest Night. A couple of times. He was the first to die, last to be reborn. He spread word of the Black Lanterns. He single-handedly prevented both himself and Hal Jordan, who is pretty much the leader of the Green Lanterns at the moment, from being reacquired by Nekron. He has what could be the most popular quote of the series, "All will be well." He saved his grandson Bart. I mean, c'mon people. He's pretty much the savior of everyone. Go Bartholomew Henry Allen!
And we're off. This Flash tie-in was fantastic. Seeing as Barry had just made his triumphant return, the first issue was a bit of a history lesson to help those unacquainted catch up. The whole issue takes place before Nekron's grand appearance and Barry is having to deal with the Black Lantern Reverse Flash, not to be mistaken with the currently living Reverse Flash. Barry then makes a pit stop at his old buddy Solovar, the Gorilla's town. Suffice to say Solovar has been dead for many years and is now a Black Lantern. The second and third issues follow Barry as he is becoming accustomed to his temporary role as a Blue Lantern. His being is overcome with a great sense of Hope, which is fitting because he is Hal's best friend. I know, some of you are thinking, who cares. The answer, you, or at least you should. The way the Blue Lantern rings work is that they are based off the emotional spectrum, like the other rings, but without Will, Hope eventually dies out. Thus, the Blue Lantern rings are at their full power when in vicinity of a Green Lantern.
While Barry was quick enough to evade the special Black Rings,
unfortunately his estranged grandson Bart (also named Bartholomew Henry Allen II) was unable to do so. I loved, Loved, the Barry and Bart scene. I'd say that it perfectly summed up their relationship, estranged with a desire for more. And that bit of hope is exactly what saved Bart, well that and their joined connection to the Speed Force. What saved them all from the Black Lantern Reverse Flash you ask? Why that'd be the Rogues. The who? No, not those old farts. The Rogues are pretty much The Villains of the Flash-verse. And as such, they were graced with nearly a 50% stake of this series. There are a bunch of them but only two worth mentioning, because to be hones, I only know two of their names. Captain Cold is pretty much the Mr. Freeze of Keystone City. And while he's been known to have a conscience and feel guilt, he's still a Rogue at heart. He takes on an old love of his and is able to freeze his emotions before freezing her in a block of ice.
How'd he save the Flashes you ask? He froze the living Reverse Flash, who was imprisoned and as a result Black Lantern Thawne (I apologize for changing his name, I couldn't stand to write it the other way once more) froze as well. The other Rogue that I have a sliver of a connection to is Boomerang. Those of you who have read Identity Crisis and have a shred of emotion in your heart will remember him as the son of the man who killed Timothy Drake Wayne's father. Well this fool, the son, came to the conclusion that he could "cure" his father by feeding him humans. The Rogues find out and find out that he also killed women and children, which is a big no no. Nice to know even crooks have a code. Suffice to say Cap Cold threw in Boomerang Jr. into the pit where his Black Lantern father was. If you had to pick up one of these issues, it would be this one. No questions about it.
Geez, I almost completely forgot to talk about the artwork. Scott Kolin, I'm not particularly sure I completely loved the art. It's weird, because I liked it all except for their faces. And it's not really that I didn't like the faces, it's just that I thought that they were a bit too cartoony and didn't mesh well with the bodies and their surroundings. But with a different body, those faces would be just fine.
Blackest Night: Wonder Woman **1/2
I've never been a Wonder Woman enthusiast so my review may have a hint of a bias. For one thing, the first issue seemed like it didn't really belong with the second and third issues. I know why it was the way that it was, what with her becoming a Lantern and all, but I felt it still could have been tied together a bit better. Scratch that. Upon rereading the first book, I realize that there was an attempt to set things up for Diana. As she was being attacked by Black Lanterns left and right, she emanated only one emotion, Love. I didn't, however, understand how her Lasso was able to destroy all of the Lanterns, but oh well. The second two issues, in my opinion, were saved by Mera's appearance. I know, I know, you are all thinking, "What an idiot." You are wrong.
Here's what I am feeling. I do not think that Diana has the ability to overcome the powers of the Black Lantern Ring, regardless of when Matt tries to convince me the Violet Ring takes over. I did not appreciate a whole fight scene(Cassie, Donna, Hippolyta and Bruce) that was pure imagination. What a crock. And more importantly, I am displeased with the continued implications of Diana's interest in Bruce. Unless I am missing something, her love of all loves was Clark and frankly, she should keep her Amazonian parts to herself. That being said, I thought Mera's cameo in this was great. I never really knew Mera, but with her resurgence as a result of Blackest Night, consider me interested. And just to wrap things up, I think Nicola Scott is a fairly decent artist, but the man just cannot do faces. I mean, he takes wonky and turns it up a notch.
Blackest Night: JSA ***
So the first two issues of this three part tie-in series were very good. The original Flash and Green Lantern kicking ass is always awesome. The rest of the JSA, who I have only passing knowledge of, were actually pretty interesting. Major plot points. Kal-L made his triumphant return as a Black Lantern as a result of some really crafty thinking on the other Black Lantern's part. Now, the Black Lanterns have not really been zombie like throughout the entirety of Blackest Night, but in this series they were especially witty. I mean, pretending to have a conscience, then fighting other Black Lanterns to assert your trust-worthiness, culminating with a self-explosion, all in order to break the ground to open a pathway to reach Black Lantern Superman. How genius is that? I wasn't exactly a fan of the multiple artist deal, most specifically because Power Girl was god awful ugly. I don't know which artist did what, but one was fantastic and the other was a let down. Moving on, who knew that a Black Lantern ring could move from one body to the next? I certainly didn't. I didn't really think that the conclusion suited the first two issues. I know that the fight scene between Power Girl and Superman was probably meant to be more emotionally taxing, but who are we kidding, it wasn't. And while having that machine take out all of the Black Lanterns in New York was cool, it was just so anti-climactic.
Secret Six 17-18 **1/2
No offense to this series in particular, but I completely forgot this tie-in even existed for the longest while. In fact, I didn't remember about it until I came to write my review. That being said, this wasn't exactly the worst of tie-ins. Other than the fact that I didn't know anyone other than Bane(yes, the man who broke Batman's back) and Amanda Waller (who I utterly despise) and was therefore confused from time to time, the overall plot wasn't too bad. Two teams battling it out. A truck load of deaths. Truces and death threats. Ending with a gunshot and a man changing sides. That's really all you need to take out of this. Unlike the Flash and Wonder Woman tie-ins, and slightly the JSA tie-in, there is little attempt at relating to Blackest Night. This was pretty much two Secret Six issues that happened to have some Black Lanterns in it.
What's this? A Gashapon review? I thought those stopped existing!
unfortunately his estranged grandson Bart (also named Bartholomew Henry Allen II) was unable to do so. I loved, Loved, the Barry and Bart scene. I'd say that it perfectly summed up their relationship, estranged with a desire for more. And that bit of hope is exactly what saved Bart, well that and their joined connection to the Speed Force. What saved them all from the Black Lantern Reverse Flash you ask? Why that'd be the Rogues. The who? No, not those old farts. The Rogues are pretty much The Villains of the Flash-verse. And as such, they were graced with nearly a 50% stake of this series. There are a bunch of them but only two worth mentioning, because to be hones, I only know two of their names. Captain Cold is pretty much the Mr. Freeze of Keystone City. And while he's been known to have a conscience and feel guilt, he's still a Rogue at heart. He takes on an old love of his and is able to freeze his emotions before freezing her in a block of ice.
Another week, another set of comics! Blackest Night is back, although not as strong as last week. And somehow Uncanny is back again.