I have to actually take my hat off to Bedard here.  He successfully brings in a summary of the ongoing storyline,  introducing key characters, and then brings in the Blackest Night and make it all seem like a natural beat in the story.  The issue is pitched very much as an entry point to new readers while still moving the the plot forward.  And Tony takes full advantage of the Blackest Night by bringing the various Corps into the plot as well.

And in doing so, he also gives us a different look at events.  We’re very used to seeing the War of Light through the eyes of the Green Lanterns, be it Hal over in Green Lantern, or Guy and Kyle in the Corps book.  Here Adam Strange is relating to Dox and the rest of the REBELS what’s going on, and we get a feel for the impact the war of light has through the eyes of those not directly involved.  There’s a great line where Adam points out that single Green Lantern ring can lay waste to a planet, and so he’s terrified by the thought of all these other Corps running around without the morality of the GLs.

As I mentioned above, what this issue does hugely successfully is incorporating the Blackest Night backdrop into its own-going story.  All too often with these large company-wide crossovers, a series will find its ongoing plot-lines disrupted by the event, however here, the Blackest Night events happen around the main plot, as just another thing the REBELS must contend with as Starro manages to lower the shield containing his forces.  And the final page just worked incredibly well as a brilliant moment while further tying the book into the larger company-wide events in a way most of the other tie-ins have avoided thus far.

This is definitely a comic to check out.  The way Tony Bedard manges to weave together the shopping list of plot elements and characters is impressive in its own right, and next issue promises to be really interesting, as the power Adam Strange was so afraid of has landed right in the hands of Dox.

The title is new to me, but its been getting a lot of acclaim, and with soaking up these two characters (especially Adam Strange), and a well-publicised upcoming Blackest Night tie-in, it seems obvious to me that DC is leverage the book as  a cornerstone of their cosmic storylines.

The current story arc revolves around a reinvention of the classic DC menace, Starro.  While I’m coming into the story late, I’m still managing to follow roughly what’s going on, as Starro has been revealed as an alien dictator who uses the evil mind-controlling starfish we’re used to, to enslave worlds.  Brainiac 2 has been separated from LEGION somehow and is now being thrown together with a ragtag group to fight off Starro, to which end he’s now recruited Adam and Comet.

Interestingly here Adam is identified by Kanjar Ro as being from New Rann, so I guess the plot line of the secret survival of the Rannian population has been dropped.  That’s understandable here though, given these are two characters coming into another ongoing storyline.  I can always keep my fingers crossed for a mini-series down the line that tackles some of the dangling plotlines left by the Starlin series.

So far I’ve picked up this issue, and the Annual which filled in the backstory of Starro, and the series seems pretty enjoyable.  I’m not that up on the history of LEGION or REBELs, so there’s going to be a bit of a learning curve, although so far I can see there’s going to be a lot of fun with Brainiac 2, who’s a complete git.  I’m looking forward to the next issues in this and see where it goes.  Of course, my main interest is with Comet and Adam Strange, but there’s a good story going on here, and like Peter Tomasi over in Green Lantern Corps, I can’t help but be impressed by how the writer is juggling an incredibly large cast.