BLACKEST NIGHT has given day to the BRIGHTEST DAY. So why are the superheroes having such a hard time?

   Despite the hopeful title of this miniseries, this is a pretty bleak issue. Various people are shot, stabbed or ripped apart as the resurrected heroes try to find the reasons for their return from the grave.

   They soon discover that many of their old problems remain: Aquaman finds he may still have some traces of the undead Black Lantern still inside him. Firestorm learns he has new problems and Green Lantern and Sinestro discover that the mysterious White Lantern is on Earth and may be beyond their power.

   Even worse, various old enemies of the revived heroes are also coming back, to make sure they die for good next time. There just doesn't seem anything "bright" about these days.

   The mystery and suspense are all doled out in the proper proportions in this issue, keeping things interesting on various fronts. Many of the 12 characters who were resurrected in BLACKEST NIGHT are absent from this issue so those waiting to see more of Captain Boomerang are going to be disappointed. But limiting the cast allows the stories to be more focused, moving them forward.

   The use of a whole team of artists for one issue is a bit of a an irritant. You can't help noticing the abrupt change in styles. And you can't help comparing the styles and thinking that some parts are better than others. The Hawkman sequence could have been drawn with more clarity and the Firestorm sequence just isn't up to par with the rest of the book. This kind of thing may be unavoidable considering the close deadlines under which this book is being produced. But it does detract from the general high quality of this title so far.