I trotted to my local comic shop today to purchase Blackest Night #6. Any other time, this would be a normal Wednesday, but not today.
Today is
"Black Wednesday" ...and even if it's not called that officially, it should be.
"The Blackest Night" has lived up, exceeded and smashed all my expectations. In a comic market begging for some relief from
Zombie Variants and
storylines that never seem to end (*ahem*...
RULK!), Geoff Johns has managed to keep interest and energy high for this long-time reader of DC Comics. The story is suprisingly easy to follow (considering it encompasses pretty much the entire DCU, both living and dead) and DC deserves kudos for creating a story that is as much fun as it
interactive. Are you
Hope?
Fear?
Rage?
The focus of this issue expands even further into the supporting characters surrounding the various Corps.
Barry Allen (Flash), Atom, Lex Luthor and Mera (yeah...that's what I said), all become directly involved in the story whether they want to or not.
Very rarely does a comic story come around that is as character-driven and plot-oriented as
THE BLACKEST NIGHT. If ANYTHING, Marvel should sit back and take some notes. The only other crossover I had been reading was "
CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN", a decent yarn by Ed Brubaker that was pretty much ruined by the publication of the "
Who Will Wield the Shield?" one-shot before the final issue of the series. Awesome job, Marvel.
EPIC FAIL.
My faith for a good climactic story now rests in DC's hands. (After reading
World War Flop...(sorry),I mean Hulk, I suppose this should be no surprise to me.)
There was
NO reason for any other books to come out today. I'll be reading
Blackest Night #6 a few more times before it slides gently into my bookshelf. You will be VERY pleased with this story overall, and if you've been looking at a reason to try DC Comics...here's some rings.
Just choose your color.