I remember hearing about this book a few months ago and thinking, another Green Lantern book?But after thinking about it, with Green Lantern being the biggest thing since sliced bread in the DCU why would I be surprised?When I opened this issue today I remembered the real reason I thought the book was a out of the blue, it was because the book focuses on Green Lantern Guy Gardner.Although a major player in the Green Lantern universe, it just seems out of place and un-needed that Gardner have his own book, but you cannot always judge a book by its cover, so I opened up and took a look for myself.
One of the first things I noticed when starting this book is that the art is great!Fernando Pasarin (JSA, The Outsiders) has a nice clean look to his art, lots of detail and style, which is definitely needed when it comes to a Green Lantern title.On top of that you have the great story telling of Peter Tomasi (Green Lantern Corps) that does not fail to deliver in this issue.
The story itself has its ups and downs though.Lets get the negatives out of the way first so that we can end on a positive note.Many Green Lantern fans may have noticed by now that they are not able to enjoy any of the Green Lantern books without taking part in the Brightest Day cross over that is occurring right now because of how intertwined the stories are, and with this book there is no exception.The entire story that is occurring in this issue stems off of an event that took place in Brightest Day #0, which I understand that major crossovers effect the other books involved, but not to a degree in which a new reader, or even an older reader in this case cannot enjoy the book.I myself was forced to drop all the Lantern books because I was not a fan of Brightest Day.
Lets switch from this negative attitude to a positive one.This book was not bad at all!Like I said before the art and story were great!The book has the perfect amount of action to information ratio and was a really great first issue.It delve deeper into the pact that was made between Gardner, Ganthet, and Atrocious, as well as shined more light upon why exactly the Blackest Night occurred.It demonstrated the over the top, powerful nature of Guy Gardner and his newly appointed authoritative role in the Green Lantern universe.To top it all of, there is a surprise ending that will leave any Green Lantern fan seriously wanting more!
8 out of 10
Tuesday, April 13
Over the weekend I had the pleasure to be a part of the Raging Bullets podcast, joining hosts Sean Whelan and Jim Segulin in the last part of their Blackest Night coverage. Raging Bullets has become one of the most successful DC Comics podcasts and have played hosts to people like Gail Simone and other comics creators in the past.
Sean and Jim are great ambassadors for the comics medium and if you don't already listen to their show, please consider giving them a shot. Raging Bullets goes very in-depth into their discussions so their episodes are pretty lengthy, but they are a lot of fun to listen to. If you're not careful you'll find yourself getting sucked into buying more books that you already do, because you can't help but get caught up in their enthusiasm for the subject matter. And Jared will thank you! They always let you know what they found great in the books they are covering and spend more time talking about what they like than complaining about what they don't, which is refreshing giving all the negativity prevalent on the Internet.
Their Blackest Night wrapup, their 202nd episode, was released last night and can be downloaded directly by clicking here, or you can visit their website to get it as well as subcribing to the show via your favorite podcast catcher. You can also listen to their epsiodes on Get Your Geek On Radio, our own locally owned and operated Internet radio station.
And you'll at least be guaranteed to hear what a complete idiot I am!
The end is here....and so is a new beginning as Blackest Night comes to a close, ushering in the Brightest Day. Like any great saga there are closures in this final issue but not without creating some new dynamics that will change the DCU going forward. That's the nature of episodic fiction, creating tendrils that connect one story to the next.
We start this issue where we left of the last one, with White Lantern Sinestro about to confront Nekron. Geoff Johns clearly understands Hal Jordan, his strengths, his weaknesses, and what drives him. Having lost his father and seeing how his father's occupation affected the rest of his family it's no wonder why Hal appears shallow at times and a man-whore at others. It's his coping mechanism for wanting to keep everyone at an arm's length so that he doesn't have to deal with the pain when they die. It's been there all along, but now it's in black and white for anyone who didn't figure it out before.
The last Blackest Night bannered issue of Green Lantern was released this week, and there's plenty of Internet buzz about some of Geoff Johns' cosmic revelations. To be sure, Johns has painted the origins of the universe is some pretty broad strokes that have fans either loving it or labelling it blasphemous. So what's the hub-bub about?
Like last week's Green Lantern Corps, this issue is somewhat of a placeholder, not advancing the plot so much as revealing the as-yet unrevealed information about the cosmic order of things and providing some action sequences to keep the issue chugging along. In fact things are pretty much the same at the end of the book as they are on the first page minus a few casualties. But it's the revelations here that highlight the issue and set the stage for stories yet to come and perhaps motivate us to contemplate on the nature of the universe and how all our various mythologies and religions could be viewed through a pseudo science lens.
Had a large week this week, therefore it was hard to pick my favorite and least favorite comic, but low and behold I was able to do it anyways. So here is the verdict:
Favorite Comic: Power Girl #9 *Warning Spoiler Alert*
Ever since I decided to pick up Power Girl as one of my monthly comics, it has never let me down. First of all, I enjoy Amanda Connor's art immensely (as well as her face) and the writing is pretty witty. The comic starts off referring to someone knowing Power Girls secret identity which has been the underlying plot for a few issues now. It segways into a scene where Power Girl is left naked due to her towel falling and is inconspicuously covered up by some very well placed groceries, which Jared found to be annoying, but I think it adds some good humor. The story continues on with the city being attacked by some pretty sweet looking animal solidiers (elephants and rhinos to be exact) and Power Girl comes and beats them up. Then you finally learn that Satanna is here to enact her revenge for what Power Girl did in issue two with super Humanite. I like that the writer is tying together the issues and going with a continuing story line. I thought that it was going to keep being little two issue arcs over and over again, which can get boring quick. So to see that they are going to focus on a larger picture it is pretty cool. Also, the ending of the book was pretty cool with a surprise savior for Power Girl.
8.5 out of 10
Least Favorite Comic: Blackest Night Flash #3 *Warning Spoiler Alert*
So first off, I would just like to say that I expected this to be a disappointment. The problem with this Blackest Night mini is that they tried to do too much story line in this small three issue series. The whole thing with both the Flash trying to save Bart, and then you have Mr. Cold or whatever his name is trying to deal with a bunch of other Black Lanterns. When reading this mini I just felt lost most of the time and I feel like it really didnt add really anything to the Blackest Night story line at all. Which is a real disappointment because I really enjoy the Flash and was pretty excited for this tie in. I think this has once again proven that I should just stop reading these mini's and just read the main story line. Out of all of the Blackest Night minis the only good ones have been Wonder Woman and Superman. The others have added little to nothing to the story line or have just been junk all around. Anyways, back to the Flash. Heres the ending so you dont have to read it yourself, it ends up that him and the other Flash save Bart and Cold defeats the Black Lanterns just like Batman did with a cold gun. No surprise there. Great Job!
Best New Ongoing Series: The Unwritten – The Unwritten is a title from Vertigo comics; a subsidiary of DC Comics written by Mike Carey and Peter Gross.Vertigo recently decided to change the cover price of many of their new series to 1.00 for the first issue in order to gain a larger reader base on many of their upcoming titles, and with Unwritten it paid off.The story follows Tommy Taylor who is both a real person, as well as a character in his Fathers acclaimed book series.As the story progresses it seems as though the two Tommy Taylors no longer seem to be separate people as events from the his Father’s stories begin to become reality.
Best Ongoing Series: Green Lantern – No surprise with this title winning the award!Green Lantern has been on the rise in the past year due to the return of Hal Jordan after the events of Green Lantern Rebirth as well as the DC’s Blackest Night event that has jump started Green Lantern to comic book super stardom.Don’t get me wrong though, its not just these events that have made Green Lantern the book it is today, that credit goes to Writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke who make this book the best ongoing series of 2009 and at the rate its going, maybe even the best ongoing series of 2010.
Best Mini Series: Batman Cacophony – This mini series from writer and director Kevin Smith follows past events of one of DC Comic’s most popular heroes Batman.This three issue series features Batman’s arch nemesis the Joker as he wages a drug war with Maxie Zeus, but also features one of Smith’s own villains by the name of Onomatopoeia.As Batman struggles to figure out who Onomatopoeia is and what his motives are, while also having to regulate the actions of the sinister Joker.In my opinion, this series is a must read for any Batman fan and it does not fail to keep you on your toes throughout the entire story.Also, make sure to check out Batman: Widening Gyre a new mini series by Kevin Smith going on right now.
Best Maxi Series: Blackest Night – First and foremost, what separates a maxi series from a mini series is the issue amount, a maxi series has more than six and a mini has less than six.The winner of this category was of no surprise, Blackest night was the biggest event in the comic universes on 2009 and re-invigorated many of DC’s titles due to their association with the event.Blackest Night is the largest comic event to ever occur, with the most amount of tie-ins from other series.The story revolves around the fact that all of the people who have died over the years are coming back to life as powerful Black Lanterns and have sworn to get their revenge on the heroes of the DC universe who wronged them during the years they were alive.The many different lantern corps that exist in the universe will have to get over their differences and ban together against this new and powerful threat.As the series begins to wrap up after a year of existence, many fans are eager to see what is going to happen; and some are just happy that it is going to end!
Best Indy Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 8) – Buffy the Vampire slayer is no stranger to modern day pop culture, after its seven season run from writer and creator Joss Whedon.Following the conclusion of Buffy’s TV series Whedon decided that he was going to continue the series by putting out the Buffy comic series entitling it Season 8: Time of Your Life.The series has had great fan reception since it began in 2007.In 2009 it is still is extremely popular and continues to amazes its overwhelming fandom.
Best Writer: Geoff Johns – No surprise here!Geoff Johns is considered to be one of the greatest writers in DC comics and he has done nothing but lived up to that mantle.Johns is currently writing Blackest Night and the Green Lantern, as well as a number of other DC titles and never fails to deliver to his fans.Comic fans know that if John’s name is on the cover than the book will not be a let down.In addition to comics, Johns is also a television writer, recently writing the made for TV movie Smallville: Absolute Justice.For anyone looking to get into comics, starting with a book written by Johns would be no mistake.
Best Interior Artist: Ivan Reis – Ivan Reis has gained major acclaim in the last year due to his work first on Green Lantern with Geoff Johns, but most notably his interior work on Blackest Night.He is an up and comic artist who because of Blackest Night will have a great chance of making a major name for himself in the comic years.
Best Cover Artist: Mike Choi – Mike Choi is one of the artist that when you see one of his covers you say “Whoa, what a great cover, who did it? “ and then when you see it is Choi you understand why it is such a great cover.Choi is best known for his astounding covers on Marvel’s X-Force series, but has also done covers for many other Marvel titles.Choi’s art just has this feeling to it that seems so realistic but still feels like you’re reading a comic book, its very hard to explain.Aside from the great covers Choi produces, he also provides interior art for X-Force and has also done art for Uncanny X-men.Choi is never one to let his fans down, and continues to wow the comic community with his great work.
Best New Talent: Patrick Gleason – Gleason is a comic artist who does not have many titles under his belt, but the titles he has worked on are spectacular.He has provided art for the 2006 mini series Green Lantern: Recharge and is currently the artist for one of DC’s most popular titles: Green Lantern Corps.Like Ivan Reis, Gleason’s art is getting major recognition due to his books involvement with the Blackest Night crossover event.Gleason is a very young artist and many look forward to his futures works.
Best Single Issue: The Unwritten #1 – When Unwritten his the shelves in May of 2009 people just had to look at the cover of the book and they were already hooked and then when they look and see that the book has only a $1 cover price how could they not give it a shot.The first issue of this series does nothing but deliver to the reader, with 40 pages of spectacular art and writing, as well as an introduction to an all-star cast. When you finished this book you were left with this feeling of excitement and fulfillment and began to eagerly awaiting the next issue.Unwritten is one of those series that when someone asks you to explain it to them you’re left saying that it is impossible to do it accurately and that they should just read it for themselves.
Most Underrated in Comics: Jonathan Hickman – Most comic fans hear the name Jonathan Hickman and ask who is that?This is exactly why he is so deserving of the award most underrated in comics.Hickman currently writes one of Marvel’s flagship comics Fantastic Four with artist Dale Eaglesham as well as one of Marvel’s newer series Secret Warriors.And trust me, if you were to pick up either of these titles you would not be disappointed.Hickman’s writing is like something else, it engulfs the reader in the story and Hickman never fails to leave the end of the book with a cliffhanger that will leave you longing for the next issue.Hickman will also begin to write another ongoing series for Marvel entitled Shield which will be released in the upcoming months, so make sure to check out one of his three series and you will not be disappointed.
Most Hated in Comics: Disney Buy-Out of Marvel – The most controversial issue in comics has now become one of the most hated events in comic history.In August of 2009 the unthinkable happened, a 4 billion dollar deal which turned Marvel Comics in to a subsidiary of Disney.People didn’t know what to think, whether Disney would destroy the company by using its power to change Marvel for the worst?Or would they just sit by and reap the profits from Comic’s biggest company.As of now, nothing has really changed or occurred, but the event left many comic fans with a bitter taste in their mouths.2010 will prove to be an interesting year based on what Disney decides to do with their newly acquired addition.
If youre interested in picking some of these winning titles or any comic books in general please stop byHeroes Your Mom Threw Out Comic Shop on W14th Street in Elmira Heights.
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