*slow claps*

Finally! DC has let the real Geoff Johns out of his tomb and iron mask and replaced him with the imposter who has been writing Green Lantern for months. Yes we're still on a bloody prologue to Blackest Night but god damnit.....this might've been the best prologue of the bunch and certainly the scariest thing you'll read this week.

I know very little about William Hand (aka Black Hand) so having an issue decided to his origin is definitely a thumbs up for me. Add in that Geoff Johns is the master of origin stories and we got two very big thumbs up for me. William Hand migth be the scariest mother fucker to grace DC comics if the whole 'I love death' thing did get under your skin after awhile. Johns is able to weave in so many years of backstory to matter for this one single event. It's sorta what I liked the premise of Secret Invasion where the older stories now have somewhat new meaning because everything isn't what it seems to be. Then you get to the last couple of pages and I literally threw my comic in pure terror. (Not in a bad thing mind you)

How the hell did DC get away with showing a full on suicide on one full page is amazing me. It's so terrifying to see an extreme close up of someone shooting themselves and then just land on the ground as dead weight. It certainly is the bloodiest DC book I have encountered since....well ever I suppose. More of this should go to praise for the way Mahnke laid this out but god damn Geoff Johns. You certainly scared a few readers with this decision.

Speaking of Doug Mahnke, thank god he is doing the art for this and not one of the Tan's. I just love his style of pencils ever since I laid eyes on him during Final Crisis. It has this weird, extreme look to it as faces are wided eyed at times and superheroes have superb muscles on their body. Sure it's a bit over the top but it certainly fits the style of what's going down in this issue. The stuff before the murder-suicide is some of the best two page spreads I have seen in awhile. Considering we know who will probably be the major Black Lanterns with these spreads certainly made me giddy. But again with the last couple of pages, just the fact that Mahnke did an extreme close up to show the suicide....god it just creeps me out. Then you got blood everywhere, then a dead Guardian vomitting blood, then finally the last page of the new and improved William Hand. Once again it's gonna give me nightmares folks.

Just a fantastic issue. Nothing else to say but that. That impersonator pretending to be Geoff Johns for 'Agent Orange' might've made me lose interest with Hal Jordan. But the real Geoff Johns now makes me want to see more of the Black Hand and more importantly: Got me really excited for Blackest Night.