This issue sets up the groundwork for the stories to come. I think there's going to be a whole lot of unexpected twists and turns coming in the future of the DC Universe. To recap . . there's been twelve people brought back from the dead by the White Light. We don't know how they were picked or why, but . . somehow, I have a feeling that they're all going to make an impact. We start out with Boston Brand. He's no longer Deadman because . . well, he's no longer dead. But when he shows some compassion for a fallen bird, he hears a voice. A voice that's asking for his help. And then he starts bouncing around, seeing all of the others that have come back. The Variant cover, I think, depicts his role the best. He's like the overseer . . the guardian at the gates. He's the key to everything, but . . we don't know where that key fits. Yet! Arthur has come back, but . . he appears to be afraid of the water. Well . . maybe not exactly, but . . he does seem to hold on to the memories of what he did as a Black Lantern. And I think he's afraid that once given his complete powers by the nurturing waters of the Earth that it'll be hard for him to remain in control. We don't really know what's going on with Eobard Thawne, but Digger seems to be ready to embrace life. And he seems much less intimidated by the Flash or his powers. Carter and Shiera can now remember every moment of every one of their past lives . . both good and bad. And while Shiera is trying to embrace life, Carter seems afraid of having to relive their curse. Also, someone has gone to the trouble of finding Khufu and Chay-Ara's original bones, buried in the ice. Maxwell Lord has begun another of his insidious plans. Although he claims that all he's ever wanted to do was protect the world, not endanger it. But it appears that his plan may have failed. That, or he's just not ready yet. J'onn is in the process of trying to bring Mars back to life. He's found an underground aquifer and he plans on nurturing it. But I have the feeling that the soil is not the only thing he's going to try to bring back. Jen is dealing with the doubts that Satu has over her and Kyle's relationship. She feels that with Jen back that her and Kyle may be over. But Jen assures her that she sees something different in Kyle's eyes now. J
ason and Ronnie are trying to deal with being stuck in the same body. Well not all the time, but if they ever want to be Firestorm again they're going to have to come to some kind of understanding. Ronnie remembers what he did as a Black Lantern, but he doesn't feel that it was actually him. While Jason blames him for the whole thing. Professor Stein is just left on the outside trying to help them sort it all out. Amon Tomaz, Osiris, has returned to Kahndaq to give hope to his people. But it looks like he wants to bring his sister, Isis, and Black Adam back also. Hank Hall has jumped back in to crime fighting with guns blazing. He's got an obsessive fervor that even he hasn't shown before. 'Might makes right. It's the only thing these evil bastards understand.' And finally Boston visits Star City. He's in the middle of the devastation when the voice comes to him again. 'Boston Brand of Earth. Help Me! Help Them!' And the power erupts from his White Ring. By the way, he's the only one of these 12 that's wearing one. Anyways, the devastation in Star City is transformed. The once blighted area that Prometheus destroyed is now turned into a lush forest. A star-shaped forest that now fills the center of the town. 'Boston Brand of Earth. Help me Live!' Finally, as in the last issue of Blackest Night, we see the crater where the White Lantern has landed. But this time, not only are the locals interested, but . . Sinestro has shown up to claim it as his own. I thought this was a fantastic opening installment by Geoff Johns, Peter J Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin. The art looked fantastic, but . . he had a plethora of inkers to help him out. But with 50 pages of art, I'd hope that somebody would give the guy a hand. Not to mention the beautiful covers by David Finch and Ivan Reis. And finally in the back we get some glimpses of some of the things to come in the DC Universe. It really looks like it's going to be an exciting year. I can't wait to see more.
This issue sets up the groundwork for the stories to come. I think there's going to be a whole lot of unexpected twists and turns coming in the future of the DC Universe. To recap . . there's been twelve people brought back from the dead by the White Light. We don't know how they were picked or why, but . . somehow, I have a feeling that they're all going to make an impact. We start out with Boston Brand. He's no longer Deadman because . . well, he's no longer dead. But when he shows some compassion for a fallen bird, he hears a voice. A voice that's asking for his help. And then he starts bouncing around, seeing all of the others that have come back. The Variant cover, I think, depicts his role the best. He's like the overseer . . the guardian at the gates. He's the key to everything, but . . we don't know where that key fits. Yet! Arthur has come back, but . . he appears to be afraid of the water. Well . . maybe not exactly, but . . he does seem to hold on to the memories of what he did as a Black Lantern. And I think he's afraid that once given his complete powers by the nurturing waters of the Earth that it'll be hard for him to remain in control. We don't really know what's going on with Eobard Thawne, but Digger seems to be ready to embrace life. And he seems much less intimidated by the Flash or his powers. Carter and Shiera can now remember every moment of every one of their past lives . . both good and bad. And while Shiera is trying to embrace life, Carter seems afraid of having to relive their curse. Also, someone has gone to the trouble of finding Khufu and Chay-Ara's original bones, buried in the ice. Maxwell Lord has begun another of his insidious plans. Although he claims that all he's ever wanted to do was protect the world, not endanger it. But it appears that his plan may have failed. That, or he's just not ready yet. J'onn is in the process of trying to bring Mars back to life. He's found an underground aquifer and he plans on nurturing it. But I have the feeling that the soil is not the only thing he's going to try to bring back. Jen is dealing with the doubts that Satu has over her and Kyle's relationship. She feels that with Jen back that her and Kyle may be over. But Jen assures her that she sees something different in Kyle's eyes now. J
ason and Ronnie are trying to deal with being stuck in the same body. Well not all the time, but if they ever want to be Firestorm again they're going to have to come to some kind of understanding. Ronnie remembers what he did as a Black Lantern, but he doesn't feel that it was actually him. While Jason blames him for the whole thing. Professor Stein is just left on the outside trying to help them sort it all out. Amon Tomaz, Osiris, has returned to Kahndaq to give hope to his people. But it looks like he wants to bring his sister, Isis, and Black Adam back also. Hank Hall has jumped back in to crime fighting with guns blazing. He's got an obsessive fervor that even he hasn't shown before. 'Might makes right. It's the only thing these evil bastards understand.' And finally Boston visits Star City. He's in the middle of the devastation when the voice comes to him again. 'Boston Brand of Earth. Help Me! Help Them!' And the power erupts from his White Ring. By the way, he's the only one of these 12 that's wearing one. Anyways, the devastation in Star City is transformed. The once blighted area that Prometheus destroyed is now turned into a lush forest. A star-shaped forest that now fills the center of the town. 'Boston Brand of Earth. Help me Live!' Finally, as in the last issue of Blackest Night, we see the crater where the White Lantern has landed. But this time, not only are the locals interested, but . . Sinestro has shown up to claim it as his own. I thought this was a fantastic opening installment by Geoff Johns, Peter J Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin. The art looked fantastic, but . . he had a plethora of inkers to help him out. But with 50 pages of art, I'd hope that somebody would give the guy a hand. Not to mention the beautiful covers by David Finch and Ivan Reis. And finally in the back we get some glimpses of some of the things to come in the DC Universe. It really looks like it's going to be an exciting year. I can't wait to see more.
I think this issue just had too many things going on. Like all the other weekly series, you get pulled in so many directions as a reader that it's hard to care about the thing as a whole. I'm giving the Green Lantern/ brightest day side of the DCU a rest as much as I can. After spending a lot of time, money, and effort obtaining Blackest Night stuff (it's the first event I've actually taken the time to follow closely in a long while), I'm burnt out on the concepts.
ReplyDeleteI can understand your feelings. I thought it was a great story-line, with a lot of potential ramifications, but . . after a year or so . . no matter how good it is, you just want it to come to an end. And I'm glad that we're finally moving on. But obviously the story isn't over yet. To me though, the best part of this book is Boston Brand's involvement. I've always been a big Deadman fan . . I have everything, right from the very beginning. And I'm glad to see him being showcased more than he has in quite a long time. But I think this one will be a little easier to follow than say 52 or Trinity. From what I understand it's going to be coming out bi-weekly, rather than weekly. I enjoy the weekly ones, but sometimes there's just not enough story progression from issue to issue. It feels like there's a lot of wasted space. At least that's how I feel. Plus, with Geoff and Peter writing it . . I have high hopes.
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