Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Blackest Night #0

By Nathan Madison
May 3, 2009 - 15:12

For this year's Free Comic Book Day event (held May 2, 2009), DC Comics' most talked about offering is perhaps also one of the most anticipated books from over the last few years: Blackest Night #0, the beginning of an epic that has its origins more than four years ago in the pages of Geoff John's Green Lantern:Rebirth.

The issue opens with Hal Jordan and (newly-resurrected Flash) Barry Allen standing at the unmarked grave of their recently-deceased comrade, Batman, who was killed several months ago by Darkseid in the pages of Final Crisis. Hal and Barry speak on the nature of death, especially among the super-hero community, with Hal taking the negative view (citing his own death under the guise of Parralax) and Barry, true to his character, seeing the brighter side of the situation, namely the fact that, among heroes such as themselves (Barry and Hal, especially) death is not always the end of the story. The tombs and grave sites of various fallen DC heroes are shown, as Hal and Barry speed away from the cemetery; all the while, the ominous figure of the Black Hand, leader of the undead Black Lanterns, begins his work of rising the dead from their graves.

Blackest Night #0 is not meant to be a full, open-and-closed story, but rather a preview of DC Comics' big summer event for 2009. About half of the issue is a narrative, while the other half is composed of a letter from Geoff Johns, stating his thoughts on the upcoming project and group-by-group spreads and description of the Green Lantern Corps, as well as the seven new

Lantern corps that have recently appeared. A checklist for the mini-series, and all related tie-ins (as of now) is also printed, showing the event will at least go into October of 2009 (the checklist itself is labeled "Blackest Night Checklist: Part One"). As is to be expected, Geoff Johns performs excellently in writing the two characters (Hal Jordan and Barry Allen) for which he has shown outstanding mastery, and the artwork of his Green Lantern partner Ivan Reis is also as is expected: superb. The colors of Alex Sinclair are also a strong part of the issue, giving just the right amount of contrast and darkness that would best fit a story such as this. The narrative is not very long, but it does not need to be: its purpose is to provide a small taste of, and perhaps set off even more controversies and rumors concerning, the Blackest Night.

Blackest Night #0 is an excellent read; the fact that it is free is merely a bonus. The issue is an interesting detour into some of the private thoughts of Hal Jordan, Barry Allen (and even Batman, interestingly enough),as well as a strong indicator of the excellent storytelling that Geoff Johns is no doubt going to produce this summer.

Rating: 9.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12