The desecration of the dead goes to a whole new level when the Spectre gets taken over.
What They Say:
The event of the summer continues! The dead rise across the DC Universe, bringing terror and darkness with them. What are the Black Lanterns? What do they want? Will Earth’s greatest heroes survive long enough to find out – or will they join the Black Lantern Corps?
The Review:
The main setup issue of Blackest Night worked pretty well for me and left me looking forward to what it would do. The slow introduction, the repurposing of the day Superman died and getting some real sense of dread about what was going to happen worked well, even as events were playing out in other books prior to it that made it a much more immersive event for those that participated with them. What an event book has to do is really capitalize on that in the second issue while spinning out some good stories in the tie-in books. Thankfully, I think this second issue matches the first one overall, expanding on what happened and moving it forward without going too far too fast. Though if you want things fast and hard here, you may feel disappointed. But like a good zombie or undead flick, you have to have that sense of impending doom rather than just going at it non-stop.
Blackest Night continues to work just a few stories overall though in these early issues. The fate we saw for Hawkman and Hawkgirl in the first issue goes cyclical here as the two of them are now drawing in The Atom to it as he’s still trying to apologize for things and get in touch with them. Now that they’re part of the Black Lantern side, rotting away rather quickly, they’re going to use every trick to get another of the powerful people taken down and on their side. It’s a tragic element that definitely works since you see Atom so earnest and sincere about making things clear between them. The past is also nicely covered in a brief piece between Commissioner Gordon and Barbara as they sit on the roof with the Bat signal on while there’s such a sense of darkness around the city. Hearing him talk about Batgirl is definitely tinged with sadness, especially with her there. The personal side of these people is made very clear through John’s writing.
The plot that continues to draw me the most here is also the most surprising as it involves Aquaman. With his return from the grave now out in public view, he’s going full throttle in the vengeance and bloodthirsty side as he demands fealty from everyone who is living, insisting they give in to him. There’s a ton of history here which can get confusing when it comes to relationships, especially with Aqualad being involved with Dolphin and Tula, which is made worse since their dead forms don’t exactly make it clear who is who in an easy way. Mera’s struggling in seeing Aquaman back in this form is brutal, but I loved that he used the dead of the seas to show his power. The visual of a group of dead sharks drawing blood is powerful and brutal.
The same can be said when Pariah from the original Crisis on Infinite Earths series arrives as he can truly find no rest in any form. His arrival is timed with an encounter with Shadowpact and the Spectre as well, which means the magic side is starting to wonder what’s going on and what they can do to stem it. Because of the nature of the Spectre, things involving the dead get all manner of wonky since it remembers so much and has touched so much through its continual vengeance. Seeing it revert in a strange way to the point where it wants to have Hal Jordan back adds a potentially interesting wrinkle. But those wrinkles are scattered throughout the book with different dead coming back. Hints of Abin Sur returning can make your heart sink, but seeing the Dove of Hawk and Dove truly be at peace and no able to be returned via the Black Rings is fascinating. Though Hawk of course steps up to the plate since there’s so much left unsaid and undone.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Blackest Night contains the three main covers that were released in its initial run. We get the main cover, the variant edition and the reprint edition as well. The practice of including more than just the original cover is definitely that is very fan friendly and gives the digital editions just that little bit more value for appreciating the artwork and in my mind does not devalue the print editions in the slightest since these often show up in trade collections.
In Summary:
The second installment of Blackest Night manages to do two very important things in my mind. The first is that it still maintains a lot of the sense of dread and pacing from the first in order to build events. The second is that there are payoff moments as well, significant ones, where the action happens and we see the Black Lanterns making their moves. Having Aquaman revived and acting rather powerfully and imperiously makes the character threatening. Twisting the Spectre may be a given, but having Shadowpact witness it and seeing what it really wants makes you flinch with where it could go. And dealing with smaller moments, from Deadman and how he’s coping with the rising of the dead as well as others like Hawk and Dove allows others to shine and flesh out the event in a way that reminds you that it’s more than just the big power players we need to follow and wonder about. This issue has certainly built on the excitement level and has me enjoying it more and more, removing some of the sour taste of event books prior to this like Final Crisis.
Grade: B+
