Now, I picked up BN#1 having not read a DC comic in years, but knowing the gist of the big events of the last few years. While there were several characters I had no idea who they were -- mostly new recruits to the Black Lantern Corps. -- and a few scenes whose significance was utterly lost on me, it still did a great job of catching me, a newbie, up into where the DC universe is at and what's going on. This is mostly because Hal Jordan is catching up the newly resurrected Flash (I forget which one -- Barry Allen?) on the same stuff. The panel where he shows Flash everyone who's died since he died is genuinely powerful and jarring. I also like the ideas of Superman's death becoming a memorial day for superheroes, which is when the comic begins. But then, I also like the crazy zombie shit.It was reassuring to hear of someone in my basic situation being able to jump right in. Then, me being a horror blogger and all (yes, a real one, now), "crazy zombie shit" was the last nudge I needed. So, a week late to the party, I made the rounds of comic shops and acquired every issue I could find bearing the Blackest Night logo.
In the order that I read them, then, here are my impressions . . .
Green Lantern Corps #38
To a new reader, for a "Prelude," this was easily the most impenetrable issue of the lot, beginning with that cover--a weird alien Green Lantern with a bloody handful of rings from presumably dead Green Lanterns, exclaiming, "This is what it costs!" Uh, "it"? I guess that means, being a Green Lantern? Anyway, symmetrically with the cover, the last page also foregrounds rings, but this time Black Lantern ones:
I suspect you really need to have internalized the whole Green Lantern thing pretty deeply to feel the intended emotional punch of seeing all those rings, both on the cover and on the last page. By analogy with stuff I love and consider awesome, I can imagine how affecting those images must be to true believers. But everything in between was like that, too. It was like watching porn about a fetish I don't share. Clearly, bad stuff is happening to the Green Lanterns, both internally and externally, but I couldn't appreciate it the way I'm sure hardcore fans could. The CBR review of this issue notes, "This issue may be a little dense for a first time reader," and to that I can only add, "Shyeah!"The good news is, although I'm sure those who "get" this issue on a gut-level will be able to see connections I don't with other Blackest Night issues, the fact that I didn't, didn't seem to impair my ability to follow what was going on in them too severely.
Which leads us now from Prelude to Prologue . . .
Green Lantern #43
All I can say is, thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster that the exposition in this exposition-heavy issue comes as news to fans as well as newbies, because it's nice to hear such a helpful and enjoyable (if disturbing) issue receive plaudits rather than excoriations:I wouldn't say much of anything different from the reviews above; it just so happens that the new twists on the Black Hand character detailed in this issue put me on the same footing (or at least in the same Space Sector) as longtime fans. That should go in the Event-Crossover Writer's Handbook: "When bringing new readers up to speed, twist the info in a way that adds something for longtime fans." The upshot is, I get fully introduced to the event's truly creepy major villain, and I don't have to listen to fans complain about me (the "new reader") when I read their reviews to see if I missed anything important. To boot, I liked the art quite a lot. If you're as much a new reader as I am, I'd suggest starting here, rather than with the Green Lantern Corps issue above.At last, we come to the main event . . .
2 comments:
The alien green lanter is Kilowog. I remember him from those days in which I used to read CD Comics.
Thanks Rne!
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