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!
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