What’s a surefire way to get me to turn on a comic I love reading? Two steps.

1) Make the promo copy reflect nothing in the issue except the last sentence: “Hawkman – betrayed!”

2) Make the entire issue about Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

Brightest Day has so far been a very enjoyable, very engaging exploration of the resurrected Blackest Night characters. It’s evoked the best parts of 52 while still feeling like it really “matters” in the greater DCU.

Except when it delves into the Hawkpeople.

I don’t know what’s going on Hawkman and Hawkgirl, I don’t know why they’re on Pandora or a reasonable fascimile, and I don’t know who they’re fighting. (lion-people? Maybe?) I cannot force myself to understand what story this is telling, nor why it is necessary. Hawkman has a convoluted origin. We know this. But rather than start anew, Geoff Johns (or possibly Peter Tomasi, though this feels like a Geoff Johns joint to me) is trying his best to wave his retcon wand over Hawkman’s history and make it coherent.  It is not working.  Johns is a fantastic writer and even though we have a connection now to the Hawk business and the DCU proper, it just feels like he’s spitting into the wind here.

Artwise, I can never really tell, who’s doing what, but Syaf, Reis, and Prado are all doing good work. Nothing’s blowing me away, but they’re all excellent artists.

Next issue, when we dive back Aquaman and Firestorm and Dove and Deadman, I’ll be onboard. But this issue is just interminable to me.