Comic Book Series Review: BLACKEST NIGHT

“A face of metal and flesh shall speak of the secrets of the 52. Fear will rise. Willpower will gather. And a wave of light will unleash the truth behind the power of the ring.”

The Book of OA

Possibly the worst night in the history of the DC Universe has come to an end with the release of  BLACKEST NIGHT#8 . The dead had risen throughout the cosmos and it was up to not only Earth’s most powerful heroes, but the entirety of the universe to step up to save the day. Hero, villain, loved ones and enemies alike began to rise all over existence with one goal…To feed. The undead were craving the hearts of millions, but it wasn’t just any heart it had to be the hearts of people experiencing great emotion be it rage, avarice, fear, willpower, hope, compassion or love.  At the center of all of this chaos were the Guardians of the Universe and their Green Lantern Corps. The Guardians held the key and possessed the knowledge of this night, however, they had dismissed this so called prophecy of the “Blackest Night” a rumor, a tool to spread fear amongst their ranks. And to give into fear was an act that Guardian and Green Lanterns alike were forbidden to do.

Read more after the jump.

We are going to start off a bit different this time and speak about the art of BLACKEST NIGHT before we talk about the story because after all, we eat with our eyes first. If writer Geoff Johns’ story is the main course of this meal, artist Ivan Reis would be the sides and the garnish of BLACKEST NIGHT. The guy has drawn a who’s who list from both Marvel and DC Comics in the past and his art on BN is exquisite. Whether it were his covers or his action sequences, every piece was done with the utmost care. I think that Reis really shined in his multiple page spreads. There were several highly detailed spreads throughout the series, but my favorites had to have been in issues number 1 and 8. Issue 1 gave us a haunting scene where we see all of the fallen members of the Green Lantern Corps rise from the dead. It was so shocking to see decomposed GL’s with their mouths open craving our heroes hearts. Where as issue 8 has this beautiful four page shot of some of our dearly departed not so dearly departed anymore (I wont ruin any surprises!)  He truly brought light into this sea of darkness and even made the undead shine through.

Geoff Johns hits another one out of the park in his third major event to involve the Green Lantern Corps. It all started with GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH which was the story of Hal Jordan’s resurrection and the beginning of the reformation of the Green Lantern Corps. The SINESTRO CORPS WAR showed us a war of light as we meet a corps guided by fear. The battle between the Green Lanterns and the Sinestro Corps makes many casualties on each side and speaks of the prophecy of the War of Light which tells of other corps of light forming. Johns had laid the foundation for a story that has been over 20 years in the making with a story written by Alan Moore in 1986 that first mentions the “Blackest Night” with these two amazing stories; and he was just getting started.

This series was without a doubt one of the best, if not the best, cross overs ever written for comics. We had pretty much every thing that we could want in a horror story from a main stream company involving main stream characters. The build was almost perfect and it seemed like every time you read an issue before the the main title started we got another layer. Geoff Johns’ imagination and foresight made this series THE series to buy in 2009 through 2010. What is  even more amazing is that I found myself buying every tie in comic that went along with the story. When you have a WEIRD WESTERN TALES #71 tie in with a major story built around a sci-fi comic book you know that you have something special. It’s very rare that a cross over has tie ins that are this good. Even the worst one was still better than most of the comics that came out that week. It’s hard to pick out the best part of this main event because there were so many best parts for me. I guess I’d have to say that what I like most about Geoff Johns in general is that he has great set up in his stories and even better follow through. He always leaves you with a taste of what’s to come in his books.

The universe is full of fallen warriors be they on the side of good or evil and BLACKEST NIGHT took us through the looking glass and showed us what great heroes are capable of. If you haven’t read anything from Geoff Johns than you have been missing out. If this review has peaked your interest in BN than start with GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH and work your way up through the Green Lantern main title, you wont be disappointed. What is next for the Green Lantern Corps and the rest of the DC Universe? Check out our article on BRIGHTEST DAY and stay tuned for more information on the title.

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