Pick of the Week

November 25, 2009 – Blackest Night #5

What did the
iFanboy
community think?

1092
Pulls
Avg Rating: 4.6
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 4.2%
 
Users who pulled this comic:


Size: pages
Price: 3.99

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later, and is it really a surprise? Now with back to back Picks of the Week with the 5th issues of his huge events, Geoff Johns is riding out 2009 in his position as the top writer in comics. Sure, that may be hyperbole, but in this case I believe it’s warranted. This was a HUGE week of comics and coming down to picking just one was exceptionally difficult this week, but at the end of my 25 issue stack of books, as I looked down on my hands full of dorky plastic rings, I ultimately realized that this week of thanks was one to give thanks for this epic Green Lantern event that many of us are nearly drowning in.

One the elements of Geoff Johns writing that Conor didn’t mention in his review last week, but one that we’ve discussed at length on past podcasts, is the roller coaster like ride that Johns puts you on during these sort of stories. We’ve spent months watching the pages of Green Lantern as the other color Lanterns were introduced. It’s been nearly 6 months of Black Lanterns and the theme of comments that I’ve heard as been, “It’s good, but let’s get on with it.” With Blackest Night #5, Johns gets on with it and the biggest event in comics today takes another turn that I wasn’t expecting, and yet again makes such sense and was even teased earlier that I have to shake my head at how I just fall for it so easily.

As we slide into the final act of the Blackest Night event, we finally have the moment that I’ve been waiting for right there on page 2 and 3. All seven of the colors of the various Lanterns have united to face the evil of the Black Lantern. The pick of the week was nearly locked in purely from these two pages, simply from a fanboy standpoint, as each Lantern charges their ring and exclaims their personal oaths. Cheesy, maybe? Obvious? Definitely. But come on, if you’re a Green Lantern fan like I am, and have been reading this grand story since Green Lantern: Rebirth, you can’t tell me that these two pages didn’t get you excited. To finally see the representatives from all 7 Lantern Corps unite finally and interact was exciting, funny, maddening and suspenseful all at the same time. I honestly don’t get it, how the simply act of rallying together always seems to grab me, even after 20+ years of reading comics.

We’ve discussed how while Blackest Night has it’s origins in Green Lantern, it’s not a Green Lantern story and rather a DC Universe story, and the line between the two blur even more in this issue as the remaining heroes of the DC Universe come to the aid of The Flash (Barry Allen), and help to stem the tide of the Black Lanterns now that Nekron has risen. When all seems impossible, at the right moment, the Rainbow Brigade of the Lantern Corps joins the fray and we get some damn good action. Just when you see where you think the story is going to go, it makes another turn, and in that direction that I should have seen coming, but did not. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t (or aren’t) read this yet, but let’s just say that death comes calling for those who have been resurrected, via a vessel that I was surprised to see used, but totally was fun to see in action.

Sidebar: If you ever wonder why I enjoy stuff like this in the DC Universe vs. stories going on in the Marvel Universe, it’s because I can read these stories completely free of the expectations and preconceived notions of continuity that I have with Marvel. If I were a DC guy, some of the specific things that happened would have drove me absolutely nuts. But since I feel like a tourist in the DCU, I can enjoy it guilt-free.

The surprise of the last saga of Green Lantern, The Sinestro Corps War, was the art of Ivan Reis. Previously we were bred to believe that Ethan Van Sciver was the second coming. But then this Ivan Reis guy burst onto the page and made us all pay attention. If that was his rookie season, then Blackest Night is turning out to be his MVP year as each page of art is just better than the one before it. Sure it’s dark and there are a ton of skulls, but Reis has been able to take each character and make them practically jump off the page. Combined with the dynamic colors by Alex Sinclair, and this book is just a delight to look at. It was a strong week for art as well, especially with Image United #1, but Blackest Night #5 stood on its own and showed just how visually entertaining this spectrum of colors can be.

As I mentioned, it was a packed week with books that all deserve noting, like the supporting Green Lantern #48, the epic beginning to another event with Image United #1, Powers return to comics, Chew‘s second story arc, some bad ass Cyclops action in Uncanny X-Men #517, a smile inducing Superman: Secret Origin #3, and the amazingness of Detective Comics #859.

Here on Thanksgiving Eve, we really do have a lot to be thankful for in terms of good comics.  At the end of the night though, for me, Blackest Night #5 was the book that gave me the most enjoyment, and sometimes it’s simply as easy as that.

Ron Richards
Demands more Red Lantern Kitty
ron@ifanboy.com

Comments

  1. What?? No love for…

    …you know, I can’t even do it as a joke. Fine pick, sir, on a week when I would not have wished your task on my most hated foe (my wife’s cat).

  2. WHERE THE HELL IS DEX-STARR?!?!?!?!!?

    I 100% agree with this pick, as Johns completely bamboozled me with the last couple of issues. I admit, when this event first started, I thought it was just going to be mindless zombie action featuring DCU zombies. I’m glad to see that it’s more than that, and that there’s a higher plot in play featuring all the plot points Johns has scattered across his run on the core Green Lantern title.

     

    And all those scenes where the different corps members were working together got me the most excited I have ever gotten in weeks while reading comics. I reread those pages several times with Type O Negative’s "Sets Me On Fire" playing in the background to make it, in my head, a truely epic scene.

  3. I’ve argued enough for it already on the comic sections and on twitter. I’ll just say that this was the worst issue of the event so far and I am really considering on dropping this. Still a fantastic review by you ron and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

  4. Sigh. I need to catch up on GL and read this…

  5. Nice call. I literally laughed out lound on the oath page and Larfleeze.

  6. See, I also feel like a tourist in the DCU, but for me that meant that all the awesome scenes didn’t mean very much to me. They were cool, but watching the various Lanterns say their mottos wasn’t nearly as cool as the various Marvel heroes saying how they were gonna pay back Luke Cage by recuing him. *That* scene made me smile.

    Also, I think I liked Doug on Green Lantern more than I liked Ivan on Blackest Night.

    Ultimately, though, I went with Iron Man as the POW. In a week with a LOT of fight scenes, the quiet character stuff did the most for me.

     

  7. Considering the lack of POTW love for this entire event, Ron still manages to surprise us.  

    Well played, sir. 

    I still have Blackest Night and Chew to read before I make my pick.  Two books that have only not been my POTW one time each… should be interesting. 

  8. I am totally putting the red ring I got today on my cat’s tail!

  9. SPOILER

    This reminded me of Alien 3 in the fact that if someone asks what happens, you can’t jokingly say "everyone dies," chuckle lightly to yourself, and walk away.

  10. Haha, FINALLY Ron come through on this! Well-deserved POTW. This was probably my favorite issue of the series so far. The stuff with "Bruce Wayne" at the end was great. And I’m in disbelief about how good the artwork still is; thankfully Reis hasn’t really slipped behind schedule or taken shortcuts yet.

  11. I think your review was spot-on in one important way Ron.  There were parts that may have been obvious, but they were still awesome.  In fact, I’d reckon there are better-written books this week, but none more exciting.  I exclaimed audibly near the end of the book as I flipped it open to stare at the centerfold.    Pure awesome. 

  12. I’m like you Ron, that book had me at the first two-page spread. That page is what comics are all about

  13. Reis FTW. I’m a fan!

    Your sidebar was awesome! We should all be tourist readers more of the time. We’d have more fun!

  14. He had me at "Eh?" 

    Great 5 star book.

    Still have a few more books to get through. I think the front-runner for me is Superman: Secret Origin. 

  15. Traveling has made it difficult to get through my stack of only 6, so I feel for you, Ron, with your 25 books.

    From what I’ve read so far, I too have to say I’m leaning towards SECRET ORIGIN. 

  16. Very nice pick. Enjoying blasckest night much more than any dark reign stuff.

  17. Secret Origin is my front-runner, as well.

    I enjoyed this issue, but a bit of it felt off (as I mentioned in the BN #5 comment section).

  18. @nextchamp I don’t see how this is the worst of all the books?

    I’ve only read two of my stack of 16 but this boom just made me smile.

  19. As a Geoff Johns’ fan, I’m finally at peace with this PotW. I’m more at peace than Don Hall, it seems. 

  20. Finally! Thank you Ron!

  21. @TNC: why would you drop this? It’s good and there’s three issues left.

  22. Tony Stark’s posthumous ‘message’ in ‘Invincible Iron Man’ was the highlight of the week for me — it’s been so long since we’ve seen Tony being himself, and this was just dead-on; but ‘Detective’ was my overall pick, taking the story to places I should have expected but didn’t.  Combined with the genius of Williams’ art, this series continues to blow me away.

    I am doomed to never understand the appeal of the Rainbow Brite Lanterns, but i’m glad people are enjoying.

  23. If josh mad that he didn’t get the pick? This issue was epic.

    TNC: totally do not see where you are coming from. Sorry man.

  24. Mad about what?

  25. This is the one I wouldn’t have picked. I really like this issue though gave it a 5. It’s just Detective Comics is the best comic I’ve read in possibly years. (Excluding rereads of classics)

  26. "If I were a DC guy, some of the specific things that happened would have drove me absolutely nuts."

    i AM a DC guy and nothing that happened drove me nuts… and i can’t think of anything that SHOULD have,  i loved every single panel of this.  from larfleeze’s "oath" to the last few pages that had me exclaim out loud "holy s@#$! oh my god…"

    fantastic issue… can’t wait for more!

  27. I’m a DC guy & I admit this is the first time I’ve ever been "offended" (too strong a word maybe) reading a comic, when I saw Batman being used like this. But, i didn’t wanna say anything hah!

    Anyways, Detective was the best thing I read this week. 🙂 

  28. @Wadewilson I liked the fact that the way they used Batman was offensive. I think it hit the point home.

    I would say I’m a big DC fan and I couldn’t find anything to nitpick as Ron suggests. This was really good and I don’t know if I can decide between this and Secret Origins for my POTW. Both books have pages I wan to own.

    @TNC Lastly I hate to say this but I think you should drop this book. At this point it seems clear that you’re not liking it and at this point I feel like you’re trolling for responses about this book from people.

    Sorry to end that on a downer gang.

  29. Nice review, Ron. I’m not sure why the italics bit needed to be a sidebar, it fits in fine as part of your argument.

    Anyway, I’m a tad NextChampion here, this was my least favourite issue so far, mainly due to the foregrounding of all Rainbow Lanterns, which drove me away from GL and GLC. Mind, the Larfreeze oath bit was a laugh, and I liked it when Hal hit him. Overall though, I found this book far too busy in terms of numbers of characters, things going on in the frame, colours hurting my head.

    I’M OLD, YOU KNOW!

    I did laugh at galumphing dead Batman, and the idea he can somehow help transform corpse heroes, and I enjoyed Nekron’s reclaiming of the resurrected heroes, but I just enjoyed earlier issues more. Maybe it was the lesser role for Mera and her chums, or the fact that there’s so much death and re-death that nothing shocks me.

    The art was very impressive in terms of Ivan and co’s sheer work ethic, but I’m still not down with the sudden sideways spreads. The changed perspective just seems so random.

  30. Shit happened in this one huh?

  31. when I finshed this I said the same thing when I finished the first one: "OH SHIT! SHIT IS GOING DOWN! SHIT IS GOING DOWN!" this was good old crazy event fun. 

  32. This book seems to be leveling out at 85% for PotW consensus.  Is this the highest any book as achieved in a week?  I can’t remember any higher.

     

    the Tiki 

  33. BLACKEST NIGHT #1 – 92.3%

  34. I rule!

  35. It’s funny how Image United made a big deal of all the different art styles in one book when in  this week’s Detective Comics j h williams is doing the same thing but as a story device

  36. Boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!  You guys totally ruined Geoff Johns’s diabolical plan!  The man made sure that issue six was coming out in a week that has, literally, no competition.  It is the only book being released between Christmas and New Year’s.  He didn’t do this because he loves the fans, or because he wanted to make sure his title was coming out on time, he did it to ensure that iFanboy would finally choose a Blackest Night book as PotW, and you assholes had to make that completely irrelevant.  I shake my fists at you!

    Personally, I was more a fan of this week’s Blackest Night Green Lantern, but I’m glad the main series gibed with y’all enough to make PotW.

  37. I’m probably not going to drop this for two reasons:

    A) I’m a wuss when it comes to keeping my promises. (except for my Bendis promise, only 34 more days!)

    B) That would mean I would have to drop the two GL books. Something I’m not willing to do because those have been fantastic to read. Well this issue of GL wasn’t that good for me, but still you get what I mean.

  38. wow, what a surprise

  39. and i hate to be a negative nelly but, christ on a crunch, Image United was bad. I don’t know if it was a tonely thing they were going for, trying to capture the image boom, but it was horrible. Really horrible. Totally juvenile and deminutive of the superhero genre. Comics are and should be better than that.

    On the other hand, New Avengers was fantastic. Loved it

  40. I’m really surprised that this is so completely obliterating every other book out there this week in POTW terms when it was such a huge week for comics. Especially since wit wasn’t that great.

    Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it enough but I still think it’s meandering and is lacking in any real emotional core. Hell, I think that Superman: Secret Origin was a much better Geoff Johns book this week.

    POTW for me though has to go to Detective Comics, which just beat out Superman: Secret Origin and the return of Powers for the pick. The first arc was good but Rucka and JH Williams are really knocking it out of the park here. 

  41. I flipped through this at the store because I still haven’t read #4 yet.  I never understand what’s going on because I really need to catch up on GL but will somebody please explain to me how Bruce Wayne can be lost in time somewhere and be a Black Lantern AT THE SAME TIME!!??!!  Plus didn’t Dick Grayson have Bruce’s body in a vault somewhere in the end of B&R #6??!!  SO CONFUSING!!

    Somebody please help me understand these things!!  The DC Universe can be so confusing for someone who just got back into comics like a year ago…

    AIM: robbydzwonar

    http://www.facebook.com/robbydzwonar

  42. i hate to bring this up but the team up of coloured Lanterns really did look like a group of Power Rangers. which is bad because of my crippling and irrational phobia of Power Rangers.

  43. @edward: Nothing irrational about phobia of power rangers.  They’re coming for us all.  Those plastic rings all contain tracking devices.  

     

  44. This issue was THE TITS!  Been reading GL for a year or so, read everything since Johns started, and adored this issue.  The moment encapsuklated by the lines "You’re a little pale for a guardian…you could use some colour…" made my screech with joy.  Yes, cheesy.  Yes, obvious.  But awesome.  This is the best reason to be reading mainstream comics right now.

  45. Second only to this was the GL proper issue – the moment when Atrocitus returns to Ryut and breaks down.  Power, I tell ye!  Power…

  46. This has nothing to do with this Pick, but rather the podcast from last week. I’ve been slowing making my way through the West Wing and recently left off with one episode in season 6 left. The end of the last episode revealed someone in the President’s inner circle, presumably one of the main characters, leaked some important information. After listening to the last podcast, it appears Toby is about to (in my time) be fired for something. While Josh and Conor weren’t specific, it seems to me that Toby is the culprit. I’m not one to care about spoilers, but this little reveal tickled me. Of all the places to learn Toby’s fate, a comicbook podcast was low on my list. I am currently watching the season 6 finale (the democratic convention) and while Toby hasn’t been exposed, every time the camera shows Richard Schiff, I imagine a "dun dun DUN" sound. This viewing is much more fun in this light than it would have been if I walked in clean.

  47. @Andrew; That’s probably more appropriately posted here, don’t you think?

  48. Yeah, sorry. I was just on this thread when I thought of it. Laziness is not a virtue.

  49. Earlier this evening I had to do something extremely difficult that basically required a lot of courage on my part and which I’d been dreading for quite some time. I desperately wanted to forego doing it even though I knew there was no way around it, and honestly, I was more than a little bit scared not knowing what might happen once I finally bit the bullet and went through with it. On my way out the door to finally face this very difficult decision, however, I noticed my Green GL ring sitting on a bench in my room, picked it up, held it in my hands for a moment, and finally decided to slip it into my pocket as I headed out. As the evening went on I ended up forgetting it was there for the most part, but in a small, significant way, being reminded of Hal Jordan and the rest of the heroic GL Corps’ capacity to overcome great fear by force of sheer will was a powerful little jolt to the system courage-wise as I went off to face a decision I’d sincerely dreaded ever having to make in my life.

    Thank you Geoff Johns for building up a character and his world in such a way that I can look into them and find not only great entertainment, but a valid source of inspiration and exemplary heroic virtue. Things are never just black and white (whether in real life or in the world of the DCU), and it is true that I have far more things in my life to inspire and teach me than just comic books, but experiences like these really drive home what many people I know have said to me personally: that growing up reading comics really shaped a large part of who they are, for better or worse, and actually helped them through some very tough times.

    iFanboy’s the kinda place where I feel like I can share all this and truly not be afraid to "let the flag fly", as it were. To me "Blackest Night" #5 was just one more example of how wonderful Geoff Johns’ run on this title is turning out to be, and the events in my life tonight really drove that home for me. 

    So anyways to make a long post short, thank you Ron for another awesome review; couldn’t agree more 😀 

  50. Wow, judging from youre little italicized post-script there, you must reeeeeeally like Red Lanterns…

Leave a Comment