BLACKEST NIGHT SHINES BRIGHT!

So, BLACKEST NIGHT has reached its conclusion and clearly there is much to say. If you've been reading all the internet reviews, you know that this got high marks. Well, the same goes here from me, except I'm going to give a very specific breakdown of particular incidents from the final issue that resonated with me.

First let's deal with the art of Ivan Reis. This man has become an absolutle legend for his work on this series, Every page and panel was richly detailed with flow, beauty and grace, and even horror when appropriate. The man has proved to be a modern day master of the field, eclipsing his peers like Jim Lee, Mark Silvestri, Mike Deodato, who all seem to come from the same school, but Reis blends the flow of a Neal Adams with that hyper-detail to perfection.

Now onto the conclusion and the story by Geoff Johns. First of all, much of what happened was not a surprise to me, but yet seeing it unfold was still satisfying, and yet even with my met expectations, Johns managed to slip in some unexepected happenings. Allow me to go point by point and give my thoughts.

BLACKEST NIGHT #8 began with the holdover from the previous issue with Sinestro assuming the role of the White Lantern. The concept of the White Lantern was no shock to anyone reading the series given that zombified Black Lanterns were the army of protagonists, and that all the other rainbow colored Lantern of the emotional spectrum, would combine to make white. What was assumed of course, was that Hal Jordan would be the one to become the Hero in White to save the day, not Sinestro as we saw.. at least temporarily. So Geoff Johns gave us what we knew was coming but still gave us the twist.

The next obvious expectation of the series, was that this story was going to be the springboard of resurrections of virtually every dead hero in the DC Comcs Universe. Well, we got that too.. sort of. Yes, some beloved characters returned, many we expected, and surprise.. some did not, and still with those expectations, there were quite a few momenets of "Hey, didn't see THAT coming!"

First, the Anti-Monitor is now alive and well somewhere. HOLY SHIT!! You've got to know that the being responsible for the classic CRISIS ON INFINTE EARTHS and the subsequent continuity changes of that series, is going to now resurface yet again and the results are probably going to once again shake the DCU to its core.. eventually. I'm sure that Geoff has a timely planned out story for this, one day.

Now for the other resurrections and lack therof. Maxwell Lord? Didn't see that coming either. That man is going to (or should) make Wonder Woman's life miserable considering she snapped his neck and killed him. I hope someone picks up this thread. Jade? Honestly, I didn't think she was coming back at all until James Robinson spoiled it in an interview, but I just never thought much of her as a character, so why bother? Hawk? Okay, Hank Hall is back, I can live with that, but again I don't think he's anything special. Captain Boomerang, the original has returned! Digger Harkness was always fun. Now onto Firestorm; I had the feeling that Ronald Raymond was coming back and would be fused with his predecessor Jason Rauch, and despite the fact that I got exactly what I expected, it was still a great thing to see. Martian Manhunter? C'mon, EVERYONE knew this was going to happen and I thank Goeff for erasing one of the worst stinks of the Grant Morrsion penned claptrap that was FINAL CRISIS. Hey, you gotta know that I'm always up for Morrsison bashing (more will be coming soon in another column). Of course the hero we all waited for to return was Aquaman, and Johns did not disappoint here. Arthur Curry is back and he looks great! However, Garth, Aquaman's adopted son, a.k.a. Tempest was sadly not back among the living, another story point spolied from a recent TITANS related book. Hawkman and Hawkwoman are back too, but I think we all got quite the little surprise when Hawkwoman removed her helmet and was revealed to be Shiera, and not Kendra. THAT , I absolutley did not expect and was ecstatic when I saw it. Credit to Geoff Johns for making me so happy to see a character that I haven't given much thought to ever seeing again. That's the mark of a good writer; one who can make you care where you ordinarily wouldn't. Another shocker came when Boston Brand, also known as Deadman, is no longer dead! What this means for the character who is SUPPOSED to be dead and his ties to the spiritual world remains to be seen (most likely in the upcoming follow-up series BRIGHTEST DAY). Again, didn't see that coming either. One sad note... Ralph and Sue Dibny did not make it back to the land of the living, which I'm sure was another of the expected resurrections, so Johns has indeed surprised us amidst all the obvious conclusions.

In finality, for those who think the event comic has been over done, Goeff Johns, Ivan Reis and DC Comics proved that if the idea is indeed good, BRING ON THE EVENT!

"WETTING" The Appetite!

So, what are the commonalities between Phoenix and Aquaman other than their orange/green/yellow color scheme? They've both been killed and resurrected before. DC Comics has just released this beaut of a teaser image; the cover of BRIGHTEST DAY #2, drawn by the newly DC exclusive David Finch! Okay, we saw this coming if we've been reading BLACKEST NIGHT. Writer Geoff Johns, who seems to be able to single-handedly restore the best elements of DC's heroes, set up the perfect way of resurrecting dead heroes (and maybe villains) with BN, establishing a greater story behind the death and revivals of various characters. Hopefully DC will have learned a lesson and REALLY think several times before killing off another character. I've said this before, but there's no more drama to be had in the dying of a hero; it's been done to death (pun intended) and it never sticks anyway. Johns will also be writing the new 26 issue maxi-series, BRIGHTEST DAY, which will be a story about second chances for many characters, Aquaman chief among them as has been hinted. Aquaman has sometimes been the butt of jokes when it comes to heroes, but if you've ever read any of his stories, they have been deadly serious and ahead of their time. He's been married before heroes got married. He became a father before other heroes had children. His son was killed by his arch-rival Black Manta, in an era before villains ever did that kind of thing with any regularity. He cheated on his estranged wife when heroes never did that. He had his hand cut off. He decalred war on the fictional nation of Cerdia and became its de-facto ruler. He helped an entire section of San Diego deal with becoming mutated water breathers as their town sank into the ocean. What the hell is so funny about any of this? This is a great character with a great history, that I'm hoping that Geoff Johns will utilize and make popular in the same fashion that he did with Green lantern and Flash. If anyone can do it, Johns can, and I for one can't wait! Take another look at the drawing. His classic look is back too! LONG LIVE THE KING!

Is there Hope for Jean Grey?

If you've been reading Marvel's "X-books" for the last couple of years, particularly the "Messiah Complex" storyline and the subsequent issues, you'll know that there's a little "red-headed stepchild" floating arpound the X-verse that bears a suspicious resemblance to none other than Phoenix.

Let's backtrack a bit to the horrendous end of Grant Morrison's run on NEW X-MEN where the "superstar" writer (read that as "over-inflated hack"), in a burst of originality (sarcasm), decided to kill Jean Grey/Phoenix for the umpteenth time.

Then jump ahead a couple of years where the Scarlet Witch goes all "Dark Phoenix" on us and manages to alter humanity so that no more mutants will be born. However, being that Phoenix is a creature of resurrection, a mysterious mutant baby girl was indeed born, to parents we have never seen; a baby girl with the same hair and eye color of Jean Grey who also managed to grab Cyclops' locket, which contained a picture of Scott and Jean, signifying an important connection. Hopefully this isn't a "red herring." Scott silently acknowledges that this child must be protected, as it has been revealed that she may either be mankind's savior or destroyer, depending on which alternate timeline you come from, and he sends the baby girl into the future with Cable (who oddly enough may be Jean's son from an alternate timeline).

So, Cable has now been with the red-haired girl for what appears to be 17 years and the child named "Hope" looks exactly like Jean Grey. In fact as a child the Phoenix raptor was seen in her eyes in one panel of CABLE, and now "Hope" has manifested telekenetic abilities.

In the "present" day, Emma Frost had a vision of Jean/Phoenix returning, and the last we actually saw of Jean was in PHOENIX: ENDSONG, where Jean disappeared from existence, supposedly to reconstitute all her parts in what is called the "White Hot Room," which is a label for the existentialist crap that Grant Morrison named as the place where Jean awaits resurrection. Ah but... Jean has now become the White Phoenix, a complete amalgamation of human host and Phoenix force, no longer seperate entities.

Is being reborn as an infant, growing to full maturity and then manifesting the Phoenix raptor, the last stage of the Phoenix, signalling the return of Jean Grey once and for all, or is Hope a character that is misleading all of us?

Phoenix is arguably Marvel Comics' only iconic female character and second in X-Men popularity, only to Wolverine. In fact, CBR just voted "The Dark Phoenix Saga" the second most important storyline in comics, right behind WATCHMEN.

Marvel better not be playing with us with their hints about Jean's return as Phoenix this coming March, 2010. We had better be seeing Hope actually being a stage of the Phoenix, with Jean's memory and history fully restored! After that, take her out of the X-Men, give her a comic of her own, have her join the Avengers, and NEVER KILL HER OFF AGAIN!

LONG LIVE PHOENIX!