Reilly2040's Blog

Alongside Blackest Night #4, it was a big week last week for Blackest Night with the final part of the Titans mini-series as well as the latest parts of the War of Light as Hal and co contend with the Black Lanterns on Korugar.

The highlight of Green Lantern #47 was undoubtedly the War of Light coming back into focus again.  Unlike last issue, which stayed focused on what was happening with Hal, this issue covers the broader story of the war of light, which was a welcome return, with most of the main lanterns getting a look in.

The issue belongs to Atrocitus though, as the fact the red ring replaces the wearer’s blood turns out to be hugely significant when facing down the Black Lanterns.  Its another example of the great way Geoff Johns throws in things earlier in his run that pay off in a big way down the line.

Talking of which, we also get further teases of Sinestro’s past, with a mention of Abin Sur’s sister dying in his arms.  I can’t help but think that Johns is planting little bits and pieces building up to Secret Origin 2 which will focus on Sinestro’s downfall (in much the same way as Emerald Dawn II did, although I imagine this series will make Sinestro a bit more of a sympathetic figure).

It was also nice to see Odym revisited.  I had been wondering what was happening to Saint Walker, Ganthet and all.  However a better payoff is Larfleeze’s appearance.  Its fleeting, his rescuer from the Black Lanterns is unexpected.  The fact that Atrocitus has gone to Okaraa is pretty unexpected, since we know its the green light that is key to the Black Lanterns’ defeat.  However Atrocitus has the ability of prophecy, so I guess whatever he’s up to, its because he has a plan.

And of course, we have the Black Lantern Inversions.   Given their importance to kicking off this whole event with the original Alan Moore story, I had been quite surprised to see them despatched so early on in events, so their appearance in this book was very welcome.

Blackest night Titans, much like the Batman and Superman minis, sees our heroes manage to escape the Black Lanterns. But only for now.

There’s some particularly grim stuff here, as Donna is forced to face down the Black Lantern versions of her husband and child, and takes them down with her own bare hands.   While its nice to see that the DC characters are now wise enough to largely see through the manipulation of the Black Lanterns, it still made for a grim scene and I thought was well handled by both writer and artist.  It is interesting however that the issue of Donna’s infection by the Black Lanterns is left hanging.  Something the Wonder Woman mini will pick up?

As with the other two issues in this miniseries, its the Dove scenes that seem to contribute most to the main event, and that I’ve found most interesting.  Here we see her as the ultimate solution to the Black Lanterns plaguing the Titans, as she unleashes her power, resulting in all the Black Lanterns being disconnected.  Is this a hint that her power is tied to the white light?  We also see the original Dove appearing to her, and hint about things to come.  With the scene at Don Hall’s grave making it into issue 2 of the main mini-series, I really hope this is stuff that is going to be very significant and play out in the later issues of the mini-series.

I have to admit, for a mini that was originally hovering on my “skip” list, I’m really glad I picked this up.  Its been an excellent read, and I’m definitely going to be interested to pick up any Hawk and Dove stuff that spins out from this.

Overall, I have to say I’ve been very, very happy with these first three tie-in mini-series.  They’ve worked well to compliment the main Blackest Night series and have all featured great art and writing.  I really hope the next three series are as good, and from what we know about JSA and Flash at least, I can’t see any reason why they won’t.

As the cover shows, one of the main focuses of this issue of Blackest Night: Titans is Donna and her ex-husband and child coming back as Black Lanterns.   Of course, we’re still ignoring the fact that her kid was actually a lot older when he died, because I guess a Black Lantern 6/7 year old is less creepy.  New Earth I guess.

There’s a couple of main points of interest in this issue.  The first involves Donna as she gets bitten by her Black Lantern son.   This results in some sort of infection affecting her.   This is the first time we’ve seen something like this, as previously most of the power from Black Lanterns seemed to stem from their rings (reference the notion that the rings are wearing the bodies from Blackest Night #3).  My only thought is that this could be related to the black “goop” we’ve seen from Scar and Black Hand.   Donna’s on the sizable list of characters who’ve cheated death and resurrected, so I wonder if this could be linked to why she’s been affected this way.   More next issue hopefully.

The other main thing I found interesting was the continuing situation with Dove.  The original Hawk is still goading her after killing her sister last issue (who promptly comes back as a Black Lantern herself), and we still see that the Black Lanterns are unable to get an emotional reading from Dove.  From what we see of the fight, it does seem like Dove is getting angry over her sister’s death, so rather than Dove being emotionally balanced in some way (as Mera tried to do to shield herself), it seems more like its something external protecting her from the Black Lanterns.  Presumably related to her powers, and that same thing is also still protecting the original Dove from being brought back?

I think this issue maybe does suffer from being the middle part of the story (similarly BN: Superman #2 did the same) but I’m enjoying this tie-in a lot more than I expected to.  The stuff with Donna’s family evoke’s the pure horror feel used elsewhere in the crossover (especially BN: Superman #1) and the stuff with Dove and the Hawks seems to hint towards bigger revelations later in the main Blackest Night series.

This was the tie-in I really thought I was going to skip, however the preview really changed my mind.

I missed a lot of the history the Titans are steeped in, so there are elements of this story that are slightly lost on me. Terra’s betrayal is obviously a key one. Its a big part of the Titans mythos and gets referenced a lot, however as I’ve never read it, the impact is lost on me. That said, the scenes with Garr and Terra were still well done. While lacking the outright horror we saw in James Robinson’s Superman tie-in, there was still a chilling tension to the scene where Garr meets Terra, as you know what’s coming.

Interestingly though, a pair of characters I’ve never been drawn to have been Hawk and Dove. However despite this, I found myself getting really into their subplot, as they find themselves facing off against the Black Lantern original Hawk. Like in other tie-ins, we find ourselves revisiting a specific scene, in this case the failed attempt by the Black Rings to raise the original Dove, and we get a further hint about the Doves when Black Lantern Hawk fails to recognise the white emotion that Dove is registering. Fuel for the “White Lantern” theory?

A theme that gets mentioned a fair bit is how the Hawks are avatars of War, so the obvious flipside to that is that Dove must be an avatar of peace, which could tie into the rings being unable to raise the original Dove (who was said to be at peace).   I wonder if this perhaps points to Dove being a pivotal character in this series.  While a lot of the White Lantern speculation has naturally rested on Hal, perhaps Dove will end up being the focal point for the solution?  Geoff has been at pains to show that while Hal may be one of the greatest Green Lanterns, he struggles badly with other rings.  The blue ring caused him no end of problems, and Sinestro easily batted aside his attempts to use yellow rings during the Sinestro Corps War.

Given that for the first time I found myself really enjoying the Hawk and Dove characters, the cliffhanger actually really hit me.  I finally enjoy the characters and now Hawk appears to be dead.  What this means for Dove, we’ll have to see next issue.

Probably the freakiest part of the issue though regards Donna Troy.  The return of her young child who died in a car accident is hinted at throughout the issue, first her mentioning his death, and then when the pram appears to her.  It’ll be interesting to see what happens next issue, but it does promise to be pretty twisted and horrific as the cover to issue 2 suggests.

Overall, a surprisingly strong start to a miniseries I’d genuinely thought I wouldn’t bother with.  The writing and art I both enjoyed, and I found myself being drawn to characters I previously hadn’t had any interest in.  Looking forward to issue 2.

The previews for this week’s Green Lantern #45 and Blackest Night: Titans #1 have hit the web at IGN as usual.

The Green Lantern preview in particular contains some very interesting stuff.  The reveal of Xanshi (following on from the cliffhanger in GL #44) is huge.   Is the whole world a Black Lantern equivalent to Mogo?  And if so, does this presumably mean Xanshi was a sentient world like Mogo, or is the resurrection more symbolic than that?  Hopefully we’ll find out on Thursday.

Meanwhile there’s some interesting tidbits on Zamaron, with Carol leading the defense of the world against the Sinestro Corps, who’ve arrived to free their captured bretheren.  We learn that Carol is more resistant to the controling influence of the violet light than the other Star Sapphires due to her experience with them in the past, and there’s also the hint that the Zamarons will need her help with the Predator, which makes me wonder if they’re as in control of the violet light as they’d like others to believe.

There’s also the fact that the two skeletons that originally formed the Star Sapphire are human.   Who are they, and how did they end up on Zamaron?

All very intriguing stuff.  Can’t wait until Thursday to find out.

I must admit, Blackest Night: Titans was the only mini-series tie-in I’d really thought I’d skip from Blackest Night, but reading the preview has started to sway me.   I’ve never really followed Hawk and Dove as characters, but the way this series is picking up on the Don Hall moment from Blackest Night #2 has me intrigued.

I do like how this event is working so far, with some significant moments in the main series that are picked up on in the tie-ins and expanded on.  So far, its working very well, with those moments in the main series feeling very natural, as opposed to forced in order to support a tie-in.  Presumably these are events that will be picked up on later on (such as the Deadman stuff) however also lend themselves to further examination (e.g. Deadman going to Batman for help in the tie-in, while the spirit versus body resurrection element it introduced can be a plot point in the main series).

At long last, the much-delayed Legion of Three Worlds issue 4 is here. As with issue 3, despite the delays its still a good read, and there’s no denying that the detail George Perez is putting into his artwork is worth it. Despite the delays, there’s no hint that they’ve allowed the art to be compromised, and the issue is great to look at.

Picking up from where the last issue left off, everyone’s still in battle against Superboy Prime and the Legion of Supervillains.   However, with phase 1 of Brainiac 5′s plan complete, the newly resurrected Bart Allen is back in the game.

Hats off to Geoff Johns, in this series he’s been handed the fairly unpleasant task of trying to sort out the mess that was made of Bart during his Flash run.   Geoff has made the obvious choice of bringing back Bart as Kid Flash once again.  And in this issue he’s left with the thankless task of trying to provide a reason Bart came back as Kid Flash rather than his older self.  

(For the record, I will give the writers of Bart’s Flash run kudos for attempting to bring back elements of his Impulse run that had been ignored for a while – like Intertia – and you could see Bart’s impulsive nature was still there.  However the whole idea of replacing Wally with a super-aged Bart I think was just a bad plan from the start.  Wally was at his peak, and Bart had only recently become Kid Flash, so it was just pushing him into another role too soon.)

The explanation for Bart’s youthful return it has to be said, is pretty muddy, but as readers, we all know its essentially an excuse for something that creatively had to happen.  Essentially its to do with Bart’s tangle with Superboy Prime in the speedforce causing him to superage.  Brainiac 5 tells us that this superaging was like a cancer in Bart’s body that would’ve run unchecked until he’d have died anyway in a few months.  However, the lightning rod managed to capture Bart’s true essence, freed of the speedforce infection.    As I say, a bit muddy, but who cares, Bart’s back where he belongs.

The attention then flips back to phase 2 of Brainiac 5′s plan.  And here, while well written and drawn, I think the delays have probably hurt the book.   The upshot of the plan is the resurrection of Conner Kent, and this had been pretty much figured out months ago, helpfully aided by a spoilerific DC Nation showing art of Connor back in action (seriously, why does DC Nation keep spoiling big events?  Especially after the backlash over Dan Didio spilling the return of the multiverse).    If this book had been coming out monthly, then with events moving a lot faster, I think Connor’s return might’ve had a bit more impact for this reader.  Instead it felt more like reading a book in retrospect.  I already new Connor was coming back, so it was just the curiousity of how it actually happened.

I do like the manner of his resurrection though.  The use of the same pod that resurrected Superman was a nice touch, combined with the strand of Lex’s hair to aid the pod in regenerating Connor’s human side.   I will say though that I was sure that pod got smashed up in the Return of Superman (Superman burst out of it), however I guess its easy to file under “Super-robots fixed it” or “New Earth – Superman infact exited the pod gracefully”.

Regardless of complaints about delays and lost impact, I am incredibly glad to see these two characters back.  Both their deaths felt pretty needless at the time, especially with Teen Titans at its height, heavily involving both Bart and Connor.   Of course, the question for issue 5 will be, does Connor return with Bart?  We’ve not seen any sign of him in the current DCU yet, while we’ve seen Bart in Flash: Rebirth, and if Connor was back then you’d have expected to see him with the rest of the Teen Titans in that scene.  Now I’m assuming that Connor’s definitely coming back to the modern day, so I’m presuming the explanation will simply be that he stays behind for a while to help the Legion rebuild, and will return to the modern day in due course – presumably in the pages of whatever Superman book it is the Legion are due to appear in.   

The impact his resurrection will have on Cassie will be interesting to see.  And does this mean we could be looking at a Teen Titans relaunch?  I know I’d be keen to start collecting the book again with a line-up along the lines of Superboy, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Blue Beetle and a few others.  Robin’s a bit of a question mark, but if Tim’s around as Red Robin, then chuck him into the mix as well.

Of course, I’ve not really talked much about the Legion stuff in this book yet.  As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not really a Legion fan, so if I’m being honest, big events like the reveal of Time Trapper’s true identity at the end are completely lost on me.  With three versions of two big superteams kicking around as well, I’m finding it hard to keep track of any particular characters.   However I will say that I’m enjoying the interplay between the three Brainiacs.

There’s a very interesting moment as well, where one of the Legionnaires instinctively turns the ground to Kryptonite beneath Superboy Prime and it affects Prime, much to his horror.   We know that Kryptonite only works on Kryptonians from the correct universe, so it looks like that particular version of the Legion is from Earth Prime, which should have interesting implications, especially Superboy Prime’s own reaction when its revealed.

While I’m still not really into the Legion, I will say this is an enjoyable series.  Its not a good jumping on point for the Legion at all, and from that point of view I don’t agree with the comments I’ve read online that this book should’ve been the main Crisis.  However there’s enough non-Legion stuff with Bart and Connor’s resurrections and Sodam Yat’s appearance to keep this non-Legion fan entertained.  In fact, I’d say its a testiment to the writer and artist that despite not being a Legion fan, I’m still picking this up.

Bit of a mixed bag this week comics-wise.

First up, and possibly the biggest release of the week for DC fans is the Final Crisis sketchbook.

As a tease of what’s upcoming I think it works well.  We get a look at the redesigns instore for some of the New Gods as well as a look at some of the new superhero teams Morrison has lined up.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a big fan of the New Gods, but I liked the look of these redesigns, and the concepts behind them (although I’m still unsure about the Darkseid having trouble moving thing).   We get a really interesting tease in terms of the “Multiverse Machine” (perhaps a sign that there’s a larger plan for the multiverse which will definitely see it sticking around?  I hope so), and a look at some of the new Japanese super teams (I love the Super Young Team a crazy Japanese version of the JLA).

Less successful for me, was Titans #2.   I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool Titans fan, although I enjoyed Geoff’s relaunch of the Teen Titans, and I like the characters well enough.   I thought I’d give this series a couple of issues, but to be honest, its not grabbing me.  Some of the characterisations felt a bit off to me, and I’m not big on the art.   The three crossovers going on that I’m picking up, I’m going to have to get brutal on titles that I don’t love, so I can’t see me picking up the next issue.

The first part of Batman RIP though, I enjoyed.  While it very much felt like a first part, with not a huge amount happening, and more introducing things, I’m definitely intrigued enough to be sticking with this crossover for now.  I have to say though, as someone who’s not been buying Morrison’s Batman, I loved the interaction between Bruce, Tim and Alfred.

From the non-DC side of things, I had Knights of the Old Republic #28.  Although not a series I talk about a lot on the blog, its one I’ve enjoyed immensely, possibly ranking alongside GL in terms of my pull list.

I have to say though, that the much-vaunted Vector crossover has done nothing for me.   I disliked the fact that most of the main cast were missing for the last 4 issues, and I found the art badly off-putting.   I can’t say I’ve been left with any real desire to pick up the rest of the crossover, and I’m really hoping that now its over, the series will get back to telling stories I more enjoy.    I will say though, that I did appreciate the writer trying to fit the crossover around his ongoing story of Zhane being on the run from the Jedi Masters.

From Marvel, I picked up Captain Britain #1.   Now being written by Paul Cornell (of Dr Who fame), and with “Secret Invasion” stamped on the top, I couldn’t resist.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was probably the surprise hit of the week for me, as something I ended up enjoying a lot more than I thought I would.  Its really grabbed me, and its really nice to be reading about a British hero, and set in Britain as well.   In that regard, I think Marvel have probably done a very wise thing in getting a British writer on board.   However, I’m going to stop saying “Britain” now, lest I end up sounding like an episode of League of Gentlemen.

I do love the setup though, with Captain Britain resolving to be more like a proper counterpart to Captain America, and the Skrull disguised as John Lennon who’s working with MI 13 (the agency Cap works for) to help find other Skrull infiltrators.  I’m definitely onboard for the next issue.

Well, this week saw the return of Peter Tomasi to Green Lantern Corps, and Part 2 of Ring Quest.

Its another cracking issue. Once again, Tomasi juggles the large cast admirably, showcasing most of the main characters with a page or two showing them being hauled back to Oa by the Guardians, as they are recruited to hunt down the remaining Sinestro Corps rings.

Mongul, meanwhile, has wasted no time in recruiting other Sinestro Corps members to follow him. Well, by that I mean he’s killed them all and taken their rings, as they refused to join him. We also get a taste for his larger plans, and that they involve the infamous Black Mercy plants.

Prior to this, Mongul I’d always viewed as a fairly generic alien war lord. However with this arc, Peter Tomasi’s infusing him with a real sense of menace. He’s been nicely setup as a formidable threat, as we know he’s already taken down Sodam Yat and Arisia.

Pat Gleason’s art continues to shine as always. Special mention must go to a panel of the assembled GLs, as they go to face the Guardians and get their orders. It was incredibly effective.

The other big release this week was Titans #1. A book reuniting the New Teen Titans from the Wolfman/Perez run. I’m not a huge Titans fan, but I enjoyed this book well enough. It did a good job of introducing the characters (although after reading Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans, this take on Raven felt a bit off to me – I understand its more rooted in the cartoon series). The art was pretty (with some really nice inking), conveying the action scenes well (such as Nightwing being attacked at one of Batman’s safehouses), but also amusingly cheesecake for the Starfire sequences.

It was nice to see Starfire still living at the Baker’s house following Countdown to Adventure as well. Nice little bit of continuity. I’m not liking Donna’s new costume though. I far preferred the starfield effect, rather than these red stars on it.

Booster Gold continued the Blue & Gold storyline with Booster and Ted trapped on a world where Max Lord managed to eliminate most of the meta-humans. To be honest, most of the issue still felt like setup for getting the gang back together next month. JLI reunions always go down well. It was great seeing Dan Jurgens drawing Superman again though.

I also picked up Countdown. I must admit, Mary beating the tar out of Donna with Kyle’s unconscious body got a laugh out of me. JSA was a good read too, although I feel I’ve lost some momentum with this story. Great scene with Alan grabbing Gog though as the pair of them are surrounded by the green flame. I’ll be intrigued to see how Alan reacts next month as well, when faced with his Kingdom Come self.