That Blackest Night Thread (Spoilers!)

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Well, someone has to start it...

I really liked issue 1. For one thing, I wasn't in the dark after missing the Free Comic Book Day issue (I thought they'd have reprinted that by now!). For another, I liked that while it's Green Lantern-centric, for now, at least, it doesn't require me to know the ins and outs of all the different Corps, because I just don't. I quite reading GL when the Sinestro Corps War started, and planned to but the trade paperbacks by now, but haven't yet. (Heck, vol2 just came out, didn't it?)

So as someone who *knows* the DCU, but isn't exactly in tune with some recent events, I had no problem understanding it. Bitey Guardians? I'm down with that.

My favorite scene has got to be the one in which Hal shows Barry all the heroes who've died in the time between him dying and coming back. I *loved* his reaction to Ronnie -- being the junior member of the league when he was on it, Ronnie was probably the closest person to Wally's age he fought with. He's a kid they took under their wing, and now he's gone. And then seeing Ralph and Sue... but of course, that's setting up a later scene down the line.

The one thing that bugged me was the crypt of dead supervillains the JLA has under their HQ. I don't care if it makes them easier to guard, it's just ghoulish and wrong. Why the hell would anyone want the Fiddler's body? Just guard his &%#@ fiddle, for Pete's sake!

[Rich Lane]

The only thing more unnerving than a decaying, putrefied zombie coming after you would be a decaying, putrefied STRETCHY zombie like zombie Ralph.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

With a MACE!

[Rich Lane]

I hope all the intense backstory issues occur within the Tales of the Corps book, as I think they slow things down to a crawl. The worst issue of the Sinestro Corps War was the one that insisted on giving us Ion's background in the middle a big fight with Superboy Prime. These things throw the pacing of the overall arc way off if they're presented as actual chapters of it. At least if they're all over in Tales, they can be freely ignored.

And ignore them I will if they're all of the caliber of the story of Saint Walker. I don't know if we were supposed to be impressed with his delusional faith, but he came off to me as a putz who can't grasp reality.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

I liked the first issue. The art was fantastic. That last scene with Hawkman and Hawkgirl was intense and gruesome.

I read the prologue in GL #43 before I read Blackest Night. That was one of the creepiest super hero comics I've ever read. Black Hand was on one disturbed dude.

I fell asleep last night reading Tales of the Corps. I typically like backstory but the beginning of that Saint Walker story was dull, actually it was the first few pages of his story when I decided I would rather go to bed than slog through it. I'll try again this weekend.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I passed on Tales of the Corps. I may have to rethink skipping GL (and maybe GLC) though.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Man, I was surprised by how brutal Blackest Night was. I loved it, but man, it was disturbing.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

I finished Tales of the Corps yesterday. Kind of dull. I enjoyed Tales of the Sinestro Corps one-shots and most of the back-up stories that were featured during the Sinestro War arc two years ago. These stories just weren't as exciting. The Mongul story was probably the best but I'm not sure how it fit with the others. Walker's and Indigo's took place during the current conflict. Mongul's was about his son and didn't even have a power ring in it. Still the strongest of the three stories.

As of right now I'm skipping the other tie-in mini series unless there's something that catches my eye. I'll finish up the Tales of the Corps series, though. I'll be sticking to Blackest Night, GL, and GLC.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

JeffCarter said:

Man, I was surprised by how brutal Blackest Night was. I loved it, but man, it was disturbing.

Yeah -- those last scenes were pretty raw. I think instead of an action movie crossover-as-usual, we're in store for a horror movie.

[Rich Lane]

Question: When Barry asks Hal about Carol, he replies, "She's safe." However, that sentence is given in a VO narration over a panel of Star Sapphires battling Sinestros out in space. Is that supposed to be Carol at the fore, or was he simply thinking of how he doesn't have to worry about her becoming a Sapphire anymore? If it is Carol, when was she repossessed? I don't recall seeing it if it happened.

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

I just figured it meant that he didn't know about it. I can't remember exactly how that story went. Was it out of Hal's range of vision when she joined the Star Sapphires?

Rich Lane said:

Question: When Barry asks Hal about Carol, he replies, "She's safe." However, that sentence is given in a VO narration over a panel of Star Sapphires battling Sinestros out in space. Is that supposed to be Carol at the fore, or was he simply thinking of how he doesn't have to worry about her becoming a Sapphire anymore? If it is Carol, when was she repossessed? I don't recall seeing it if it happened.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

In issue 38 of Green Lantern. There is a few panels of some other Star Sapphires spying on her. Then the last page she is in a plane and is visited by a pink ring. This was the final chapter of the Rage of the Red Lanterns. Then there's an Origins & Omens back-up story in the same issue where we see her transformation into a Star Sapphire.

Rich Lane said:

Question: When Barry asks Hal about Carol, he replies, "She's safe." However, that sentence is given in a VO narration over a panel of Star Sapphires battling Sinestros out in space. Is that supposed to be Carol at the fore, or was he simply thinking of how he doesn't have to worry about her becoming a Sapphire anymore? If it is Carol, when was she repossessed? I don't recall seeing it if it happened.

[Rich Lane]

Huh. I missed that completely.