Blackest Night

I recently started reading comics again and this was a great point to start back in. The art is amazing and the story is top notch. The Geoff Johns run on Green Lantern is one of the best comic story runs you can read.

Rather new fan to the comic book world, and admittedly the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern is what brought me in. In particular, the multiple lantern corps is what I find most fascinating, so Blackest Night seemed like a good book to get.

The binding is solid, no concerns of it falling apart.

As someone who was relatively new to the Lanterns, I don't feel there was too much backstory I was lacking (partially because of a romp through Wikipedia for information). Aside from the origins of the corps and their relations to eachother, the story is rather well self-contained.

The only negative I have is that in trying to expand my Green Lantern collection, finding a good order to read/buy them seems convoluted.

Blackest night is the best DC comics book to date. The art is awesome and Geoff Johns is the best thing to happen to the Green Lantern corps in a long time. I recomend this book to everyone. Once again the store.com completely impressed me with thier prompt service and customer service. I can't really say anything negative about any of it. Well Done!!

This comic was in good condition when it arrived and was as good as new when i got it. the product shipping had a reasonable speed and it was a very fun read i would reccomend this comic to anybody who was either a fan of zombies or a fan of the greenlantern.

Let me preface by stating that the best zombie comics is still Robert Kirkman's THE WALKING DEAD. But, damn, BLACKEST NIGHT. This latest mega company crossover event deserves all the massive propers it's garnered - the magnitude of this sucker is such that it reduces the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman into mere secondary characters. Relevant storytelling, absolutely dynamic artwork, and a sweeping tumbling of the status quo. It'd be nice to have been all along on board for what's been going on in the Green Lantern universe, but it's not necessary in order to follow BLACKEST NIGHT (Besides, the trade comes with one of them "The Story So Far..." catch-you-ups). The gist? The Black Lanterns are coming; the dead walk the earth. This is the end game of what Geoff Johns has been working towards for the past few years, the final prong in his epic Green Lantern trilogy (after REBIRTH and SINESTRO CORPS WAR). He and artist Ivan Reis deliver the goods, and I can't help but feel that it's downhill from here on out. Brightest Day follows Blackest Night, but that arc isn't nearly as infused with that epic feel.

As we know, death in comics isn't a permanent thing, and sometimes it isn't even an impersonal thing. The Big Bad of this series - and, c'mon now, it ain't Black Hand - is the embodying force of Death, and he's harboring a deep-seated hatred for life. But one of the things that makes BLACKEST NIGHT so intriguing is that it addresses the past few decades' slew of deaths and resurrections of key DC characters, beginning with Barry Allen's fatal sacrifice. It's just a shame that it took Aquaman to be undead to make him relevant. Simply think of recent super-heroes (and -villains) who've passed away and you can pretty much arrive at a roster of these Black Lanterns.

The Sinestro Corps War. The Sins of the Star Sapphires. The Rage of the Red Lanterns. And further sprawling story arcs which center on other power rings color coded to the emotional spectrum. The last and hidden chapter of the Guardians' Book of Oa foretold of the terrifying Blackest Night event, and it's come at last. Graves are desecrated and the dead rise, summoned by black power rings hurtling across vast distances of space. The cadaverous Black Lanterns soon prey on the living, on their former teammates and friends and loved ones, not merely content with defiling their bodies but also playing malevolent mind games. The ambitious end goal seems to be the murder of all life so that the universe would at last be rendered barren and at peace. Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, both recently returned from beyond the grave, are the focal points of the story, even though there are key lesser characters (notably Mera and the Atom). I have to say, though, that the breakout characters are probably Larfleeze and Indigo-1.

From the blistering first issue - in which Johns unveils reveal after shocking reveal - I was blown away. I couldn't believe the number of "What the f---?!" moments showcased in these issues. Geoff Johns sets a crackling pace and juggles an impressive cast, but manages to put in enough character moments so that the story never feels detached or suffocated by Big Event-itis. There's no moment more heartbreaking than what happens to Hawkman and Hawkgirl in that first issue. We note Hal Jordan's brashness and bravado and Barry Allen's quiet confidence and ability to inspire. While Hal goes off into space to seek help, Flash is left on Earth to hold the fort and to alert all the superheroes. One of the absolutely best written sequences in this series features Barry's inspirational pep talk to Mera and the Atom (you'll know the one).

We also glimpse the morgue of super-villains three floors beneath the Justice League's meeting room, and that is what's called dread foreshadowing. After all, huge chunks of BLACKEST NIGHT are horror-driven.

Artist Ivan Reis is a man amongst men here; he seriously puts in the work Those full-paged and double-paged spreads are just amazing and jam packed with so much detail that George Perez just reached for some tissues. Maybe where Ivan Reis succeeds most is in making all the key moments feel truly significant. I also love the way he draws the Flash, always in motion, except for when he poignantly learns that Ralph and Sue Dibny had died. He has to sit down then, and he is still.

The fallout, the ramifications of this story are staggering. And if you want to look for some deep stuff, I guess BLACKEST NIGHT makes this metaphysical statement about the deaths and rebirths of comic book heroes. It also reshifts the mythology of the DC universe. Not to mention, Geoff Johns introduced a startling concept with the weaponization of emotions, and then he throws in that twist in which sheer survival becomes dependent on staying at an even keel emotionally (Good luck, Oliver Queen). It really does feel like anything can happen, that no one is immune from harm. People die horribly, and at the story's coda - not that I really buy this - one person remarks: "I think dead is dead from here on out..."

BLACKEST NIGHT collects issues #0-8. It comes with the following bonus stuff: an introduction by Donald De Line, producer on the GREEN LANTERN live action flick; a variant cover gallery; "BLACKEST NIGHT Director's Commentary" - the creative team and editors reflect on their favorite moments in the series (with the accompanying comic book panels); "Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor" - Geoff Johns' deleted one-paged scripts featuring the Rainbow Raiders and Ragman; and several black & white designs by Ivan Reis.

So many beats to relish, I've already mentioned some, but a few more are: Mera being badasss, and Black Lantern Aquaman, too; what happens when a black ring attempts to resurrect Don Hall, the original Dove. Zombie sharks. What happens to Lex Luthor (which made me laugh). And Larfleeze. To mention further bits of awesome would only be spoilering it. But, oh man, there's so much more...

But, wait, there's no way that could've been Bruce Wayne's skull, right?