With Blackest Night having kicked off last week, I was worried that we’d have to wait a month at a time for advancement of the main plot. Ah, more the fool me. I should have known that the main Green Lantern title would be a big part of the story. What I didn’t expect was that this issue would pick up on a specific story beat from Blackest Night #1 and run with it.
In that first issue, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen were suddenly faced by the reanimated corpse of their friend J’onn J’onzz, the Martian Manhunter. They face off against him, while in space the War of Light continues to rage. Scar begins to explain the master plan of the darkness, and in the ruins of the planet Xanshi, John Stewart faces a hell beyond imagining.
Man, what a fantastic issue. Pretty much all the story beats that are specific to the Green Lantern title are followed up on here, with some great hints laid out for us in the process. We also get a bit more insight as to how the Black Lanterns view the universe, and along with that, a hint about what may really happen when the Black Lanterns are fully charged. It’s also wonderful to see Hal and Barry in action together. More than ever, I’m starting to believe that Barry is really going to be Hal’s main co-star in this series, which is something I really wouldn’t have guessed before Blackest Night #1.
Mahnke‘s art is a wonderful blending of science fiction and horror, a perfect fit for this story. But in a story of this nature, you’ve got to give credit to the colorist as well — Randy Mayor does some brilliant work here, especially on the scene where we see our heroes through the eyes of a Black Lantern.
Rating: 9/10
Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I’m going to get into some speculation along with minor spoilers. If you haven’t read this, step back.
Scar tells us this issue that “the Black Lanterns are collecting hearts full of the splintered light, and soon it will be his turn to rise.” As she says this, we get a running tally of how much power the Lantern has collected (up to 1.20 percent, which doesn’t sound like much until you remember that at the end of Blackest Night #1 they were only up to 0.02). When the charge reaches 100 percent “he” will rise.
So who is “he”?
I think I know.
Earlier this year, DC finally released a trade paperback edition of one of my all-time favorite Green Lantern stories, Tales of the Green Lantern Corps, a three-issue miniseries from the early 80s written by Mike W. Barr and Len Wein with art by Joe Staton. In this classic story, the mad Guardian named Krona broke through the barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead. The main power battery on Oa was destroyed, and Hal and the Corps had 24 hours — the time of a single ring-charge — to fight their way past the armies of the dead.
Sounds familiar, right? And frankly, I don’t think it was a coincidence that this book was reprinted now. I think that the 100 percent charge of a Black Lantern will bring with it the rise of Nekron, Lord of the Unliving, the god of death that has lusted after our universe — a universe of life — ever since he first laid eyes upon it.
Just my speculation. We’ll see how right I am when that Black Lantern makes it up to 100 percent.
How about a few more reviews from me before I sign out? I’ve been a reviewin’ machine over on Comixtreme lately.
First up, I reviewed the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Also, here’s a bunch of comic reviews:
- Batman and Robin #2
- Batman: Streets of Gotham #2
- Fables #86
- Gotham City Sirens #2
- The Incredibles: Family Matters #4
- North 40 #1
- Power Girl #3
- Red Robin #2
- Superman/Batman #62
- Wednesday Comics #1
- Wednesday Comics #2
- Done-In-One Reviews for July 18, 2009 — In which I review Creepy #1, Doctor Who #1, The Last Resort #1, Olympus #3 & The Walking Dead #63
In Brightest Day…
Hey, gang. I’ve got a class in about an hour, leeching up my precious summer in the name of, y’know, getting teaching certification. So I don’t have time for a real post this morning. I’ll try to have something more substantial for you guys this afternoon, but how about some reviews to tide you over? First of all, you can check out my review of the new film 
The movie season is in high gear now, and this week’s big release is Terminator: Salvation. To prepare for the movie, the Showcase gang converged on the home of Mike “I Left My Heart in 2029” Bellamy for a marathon of the first three Terminator movies and the pilot episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The boys talk about the films and show, discuss the property in comics, and pre-hash the new movie. Come back on Tuesday for our review of Terminator: Salvation! In the picks this week, Blake enjoyed the first issue of Olympus and Chase provides the graphic novel pick, Hellblazer: Original Sins. WARNING: This podcast contains frequent terrible Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonations. Parental Discretion is advised. Write us with comments, suggestions, picks of the week, “Ask Chase Anything” questions, or anything else at Showcase@Comixtreme.com!
Evertime Realms 
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