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Blackest Night exploded this week. I decided that I wouldn't just cover one of the issues, but all three stories that hit the stands this week.
First up, Blackest Night #2 (Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Ivan Reis)...
In this second issue, all sorts of hell is breaking loose as more crawl out from their graves to terrorize the living. Most notably, Aquaman and Pariah (from the classic Crisis on Infinite Earths story) rise to take on family and the magically inclined respectively. Even The Spectre isn't immune to the power of the black rings as the "Spirit of Vengeance" becomes a giant Black Lantern.
One mystery begins to surface in this second issue - some of the dead will not rise if they are in a state of peace. I suspect we will get more as to why that is in upcoming issues. The big payoff is the final page where we see a macabre Justice League comprised of the zombified Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Elongated Man and Sue Dibney. They are looking to increase their ranks by killing and resurrecting Hal Jordan and Barry Allen.
Next, in Green Lantern Corps #39, the resurrection of all the honored dead in the Lantern Crypt is fleshed out (sorry for the pun, it wasn't intended) from Blackest Night #1. This issue aslo gives us some samplings of other things taking place around the galaxy. This issue plays directly from other arcs in the GL Corps book. The biggest return in this issue is Jade - former lover of Kyle Rayner and daughter of the Golden Age Green Lanter, Alan Scott. If you remember my earlier review of Blackest Night #1, I mentioned that love seemed to be a big part of the story. If that is the case, then Jade's resurrection and confronting Kyle Rayner definitely plays into that idea.
In Blackest Night: Batman #1, Deadman teams up with the new Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson and Damien Wayne) after he was unable to keep his own corpse from rising from the grave. This issue more directly plays off the aftermath of Alfred finding Bruce Wayne's grave desecrated once Barry and Hal take the fight with Martian Manhunter into downtown Gotham in Blackest Night #1. Dick's parents and, former Robin, Tim Drake's parents are revealed as Black Lanterns.
All in all, the entire Blackest Night event has been everything DC promised and more. During a tough economic time for collectors and the very mixed reception of Final Crisis, comic fans have needed this type of action oriented story. I would dare say this story is truly the third of the Crisis series (following Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis). It's at least more of the type of Crisis we all hoped Final Crisis had as far of a story.
Big blockbusters from the comic industry need to be able to fulfill the promise of a great story with lots of chills, thrills and drama. It's very likely what makes this story so great is the buildup from all of what Geoff Johns has written since he took over the Green Lantern series.
I will rant later about the downfall of the big event stories in another blog entry. I definitely have to say that this mini-series seems to have serious ramifications with well thought out ideas and logical plotting. It may be hard to jump right in if you aren't up to speed with what's been going on with the Green Lantern series, but for those who are aware (even in general), this is a huge event that is paying big dividends for the reader.
Ratings: Blackest Night #1 - 5 Stars; Green Lantern Corps #39 - 4 1/2 Stars; Blackest Night: Batman - 4 1/2 Stars.
Well, another year has come and gone. I have many questions, but I also have some good memories. This was my seventh trip to Rosemont, IL. Each year had something great to remember and this one wasn't an exception. However, this year is leaving a bittersweet taste in my mouth, that I will get to in just a little bit. So, let's start with the great parts of this year's show:
1. With the lack of major publisher presence, Artist Alley was the place to be for signatures and sketches.
There were some great creators hanging out and willing to chat with you about their projects. I've read on some message boards that some felt people were being pushy, but I didn't really experience that. Most of the people who got my attention and asked me to check out their stuff were kind and pretty cool to talk to. Also, the bigger name artists were there always hanging out and singing books, so it was easy for me to get signatures on stuff done by Shane Davis (Rage of the Red Lanterns artist), J.G. Jones (Final Crisis artist and 52 cover artist) and Jim Cheung (Young Avengers artist). Most of the weekend, J. Scott Campbell's (Danger Girl creator) line was a bit too long for me to want to wait in, but I knew I could have and gotten siggies on his stuff too if I wanted.
2. People in costume!
There were many great costumes this year. People really worked hard to look good and it really showed. Each person was very kind when asked to have their pictures taken (besides, why dress up if you don't want your picture taken?)
3. George Perez sketch... finally!
'Nuff said.
Questions/Concerns:
1. The lack of Marvel and DC booths
I mentioned this before at the start of the convention, but there are some really big questions swirling about now. First of all, I read that Marvel originally had a booth and backed out. They asked for a refund and was not a fan at all of how Wizard Entertainment handled that. Not sure if Marvel has yet to receive that money or not. This has people wondering if Marvel is done with the Wizard shows for good. Word on the street is that both Marvel and DC have signed exclusively to begin appearing at the new convention in Chicago, C2E2, and if that is the case, have we effectively seen the end of the WizardWorld shows as they once were? The lack of Marvel and DC's presence really hurt the panels at the convention as well. The panels scheduled weren't the comic creators talking about what they are working on as much as it was a guy from one of the publishers talking about stuff coming up, so details on that stuff could be sketchy (I'm not sure about that because I didn't want to find out first hand).
2. NOTHING going on at the Wizard booth itself.
Okay, there were some signings going on there, but they used to have a wheel that let people win prizes. You used to be able to go there and renew your mag subscription and get goodies for doing so. If there weren't signings going on, there wasn't much of anything happening there. There was more going on at the GenCon booth and that isn't even the same convention peoples! Which leads me to my next, and most worrisome critique...
3. Is something going on with Wizard that us readers don't know about?
The magazine hasn't really been up to snuff the past few years. It supposedly got bigger, but we didn't really get much more than what we used to get before. Wizard has laid some people off due to either lower sales or bad economy, but it certainly seems like what made the convention so awesome the past few years also got the axe. I can tell you the exact moment the magazine started its steady descent in quality. Back in 2004, there was a big storyline happening in The Avengers known as "Avengers Disassembled". The mystery villain causing all the bad stuff to happen was a mystery that would not be revealed until the final part of the story arc. That final issue came out one week after Wizard hit the streets. Wizard revealed the villain to be Scarlet Witch, one of the longest running team members in Avengers history. The surprise ending was no longer a surprise. Some of this could be Marvel's fault for shipping the issue late, but some of the blame could go to the magazine for having story that detailed the ending and could have still been read before the final issue came out (think about subscribers who might have gotten the magazine in the mail before they could go to the comic shop or the people who do online subscription for the comic and bought Wizard at the grocery store before getting the comic in the mail). Things seem to be getting progressively worse at the magazine since.
Overall, I don't want to be a hater of the convention. I had a great time despite not doing all the things I would have liked to have done at a con. My only question is whether or not I will go to a Wizard convention again. This kinda seems like a fitting close to this chapter. Perhaps C2E2 will give me the type of con I prefer and I will still be attending a show in Chicago after all. Good thing I have some time to think about it.
Thanks for reading. I will be writing a lot of reviews this week. I have a couple books that I picked up at the convention that I'd like to review. Plus, there are some big books coming out this week too, so count on seeing a Blackest Night #2 review along with Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 and Walking Dead #64!
Just wanted to throw up some more pics from the Con. Enjoy!
(Yes, the above picture is Jake Busey. If you don't take his picture, his dad will come for you.)
Here's the type of picture that will get an engaged man un-engaged real quick:
I had to take a picture of Rob Liefeld. For a guy who can't get enough of pouches on the people he draws, he surprisingly has a lack of them on his own clothes.
This is Kristanna Loken that, if I've learned anything from Terminator 3, can increase the size of her boobs to keep from getting traffic tickets.
If it weren't for the Green Lantern group, this would have been my favorite group of customed attendees for today:
Apparently, if you buy one of those muscley costumes, you can still get a hot girlfriend (that just goes to show you how much I know):
Yeah, I think Supergirl has been well covered throughout the con:
What a bunch of Jokers:
Doesn't look like ol' Billy Dee is telling this guy to "fuck off"?
There were two highlights to my day. One highlight was a great idea orchestrated by these guys from Unshaven Comics:
For a minimal charge (and it really was minimal for original art), you can request a fully inked and colored drawing of any character you wish. But, as an added bonus, they had a wheel with each of the eight different lantern colors from Green Lantern. After telling them who you wanted, you spin the wheel and whatever you land on would be how the character is drawn. So, I asked for Brock Sampson. Here's my drawing of Brock, the baddest mofo on Adult Swim, as the embodiment of (of all things) HOPE as a Blue Lantern:
I guess hope comes with a free ass kicking these days.
The other highlight was more than just a highlight of the day, or of the year. It, as a comic book collector and huge Avengers fan, is likely the greatest highlight of any convention experience I've ever had. On Thursday, I had already met George Perez, my all-time favorite artist. He was attending with The Hero Initiative asking for donations for their very worthy cause. The deal was each day, 10 to 12 lucky people would win the opportunity to get a sketch from him for a $100 donation to the foundation. Yesterday, I didn't get my numbers called. Today, I was the first winner - a moment that helped me forget all the frustration from my first WizardWorld experience in 2001 (long story short, everyday I tried to get a sketch and everyday, I was twarted mostly by dealers who had access to lines before the attendees could get in through the door). Here's Mr. Perez at work on my sketch:
And here is the finished product:
