This week’s question:
Is Blackest Night living up to the hype?
I will admit that earlier this year I had some reservations about Blackest Night. I felt that the story sounded a bit to gimmicky. After success with the Sinestro Corps War DC needed a way to up the ante. So why not create 5 more Lantern Corps and have a huge war on a much grander scale? During the Agent Orange storyline in Green Lantern Geoff Johns was really starting to lose me but I was still very much enjoying Green Lantern Corps. In May Blackest Night #0 was released on Free Comic Book Day and I was really not impressed (as many of you saw in our video review). I really started to think that Geoff Johns was pulling a Bendis and just overextending himself.
Now that we are more or less half way through the Blackest Night miniseries I can safely say that my worrying was all for naught. I never would have thought I would be enjoying it as much as I am. Sure, most of the credit goes to Johns, Reis, Mahnke, Tomasi, Gleason (to name only a few) for making it so enjoyable but I have to throw the rest of the credit to DC as a whole.
DC is really handling this “event” exceptionally well. The editorial on all the books seem to be really tight and are keeping a nice, cohesive story on the rails. The 3-issue miniseries (Batman, Titans, Superman) and tie-ins(REBELS, Doom Patrol, Booster Gold) have added to the overall scope of Blackest Night without feeling at all like a cash grab. Most of the tie-ins and miniseries have been $2.99 while the books that are $3.99 actually have more pages and warrant the price.
DC running their Ring Promotion along with retailers is kind of the icing on the cake. DC didn’t have to do this but it really does make this event feel exciting and special. Add to that the fact that new customers have been making their way into comic shops just to see what all the hype is about and it’s all good.
Which brings me back to the question “Is Blackest Night living up to the hype?“
I would have to say yes. Yes it is.
J.
