First reads
Just finished Green Lantern #44 and Tales of the Corps #2. The Blackest Night saga is the one over-arching story arc I’ve allowed myself this summer and so far I’m liking what I read.
Tales offers itself as a primer to each corps origins, powers, and weaknesses nicely. Told in small takes we get an actual feel for how emotions are harnessed by the various cores, or tribes, throughout the universe. For someone trying to catch up on years of Lantern history and lore after being out of touch for a while the primer is great. With a story this epic for the Green Lantern title it is smart too, otherwise a new reader may be totally lost. (And even with the three issue mini, I know there are still nuances to the story missed that does not allow one to fully appreciated.
As far as the actual meat of Blackest Night, well that is played out in Green Lantern #44. What a story and portrayal of J’onn J’onzz by Geoff Johns. The action is pretty much full on within the first few pages of the book, as a dead J’onzz returns to Earth as the harbinger of death for his former allies, Barry and Hal, both of whom died in their own pasts. In the view of the new Black Lantern, both should have stayed dead. And as he notes, it would be sort of justice (since justice too is dead) since The Flash refused full fusion with the Speed Force and if Hal would have permanently laid down his life at one point he’d be in Hell for his past actions.
Over the rest of the book Hal and Barry are in the fight for their lives as Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke deftly and imaginatively use the Martian Manhunter’s power sets to push them both about. A reader feels the confusion as Barry and Hal wonder where J’onn went after his initial appearance at the Gotham cemetery where they are investigating Bruce Wayne’s grave. Sudden with no warning and a swoosh the characters are pummeled. After all, J’onn can cloak himself with invisibility. As a Black Lantern J’onn’s mental powers play to good affect too, as Barry is tricked into seeing Hal as the Martian Manhunter, who it would seem Barry is handing a beat down to. The reveal of the trick is beautifully played out in a two page splash. Mahnke is spectacular in his craft in this book.
The powers of the Black Lantern continue to play out as well. Beyond raising the dead, the Martian Manhunter is able to read his preys emotion through the color spectrum, and obviously builds on a theme that is revealed by Scar half way through the issue. The mission of the Black Lantern’s is to stamp out all of the erratic emotions playing out all willy-nilly over the Universe, a mission it would seem is a core part of the Green Lanterns who are ruled by the Will for order. The Black Lantern’s approach, Scar believes, is better in terms of imparting peace and order – that being death.
And the issue finishes as any good installment of a multi-part storyline should, with a mind blowing cliff hanger with John Stewart that leaves the reading slightly dumbstruck by the shear brilliance and audacity of the next possibly Black Lantern to be resurrected. Johns’ story telling makes one glad to come back to the big superhero comics.
