Hello again GEN readers! It’s Jill a.k.a. The Nerdy Bird back with this week’s installment of DoubleDCoverage. I need to start fleshing out my vocabulary when it comes to Green Lantern and Teen Titans need to start fleshing out their story. And fast. Reviews for Green Lantern #46 and Teen Titans #75 are ahead. Also, check out my star ratings for my other pulls from last Wednesday!
GREEN LANTERN #46
Pretty much every Green Lantern and Blackest Night book has been bouncing between awesome and really awesome as far as I’m concerned. The last few issues of everything already beg to be reread as the one, giant arc they are and Green Lantern #46 would be a great addition to the end right now. It was REALLY awesome.
We pick up where Blackest Night #3 left off. Indigo-1 has transported Hal from Earth to the center of the battle currently raging on Zamaron. The Black Lanterns are bad news no matter where they go but on the home planet of the Star Sapphires, where already evil creatures are being rehabilitated in crystal cocoons, they prove to be an even bigger threat. Oh, and there’s a giant entity called the Predator that really needs to be kept locked up too. As the BL’s destroy the crystals to “recruit” new members, Queen Aga’Po makes an important distinction, “they do not wield like from the emotional spectrum, Sisters, they take it.” Sinestro is busy attempting to free his Corps members and avoiding helping Carol Ferris at the same time. Somehow, and I’m a little iffy on this part, Khufu and Chay-Ara (Hawkman and Hawkgirl) are at the “heart” of the Star Sapphire’s power battery and are freed by BL rings which in turn free the Predator. From the looks of things, these are not the same Hawks who were killed in Blackest Night #1 but the original Prince and Princess from Earth.
Indigo-1, sensing things are getting too hazardous, transports Hal, Carol and Sinestro to Korugar. Hal explained earlier that she is on a mission to collect each color of the emotional spectrum with the hope of recreating the white light of creation to destroy the Black Lanterns but no one is happy Sinestro is along for the ride. Her empathy has brought they to Korugar so he can face Mongul, who’s been claiming the Corps as his own. Here’s where the REALLY awesome comes in. The fight between Sinestro and Mongul is epic. Sinestro takes quite a beating yet still refuses help from Hal and Carol. He literally pushes them away with a giant construct of Abin Sur. He turns the table on Mongul by revealing he holds an override of the yellow rings he originally created. And for good measure, he crushes the battered giant with the yellow power battery and locks him away so he can’t become a BL. Sinestro now has a renewed mission, destroy the BL’s, which is quickly tested when BL’s Abin and Arin Sur crash land on Korugar.
Doug Mahnke had a lot of work this issue. There was a ton of busy action yet the details never fell to the wayside. I was happy to see some medieval weaponry come into play with ring constructs in the form of swords and giant flails. Speaking of details, it’s extremely exciting to be learning more about the Indigo Tribe and their role in Blackest Night. So much is happening yet there’s still so much more to come. Rogue Guardian Scar is keeping tabs on all the different colored lights blinking around the universe like some maniacal electrical engineer and that’s bound to get really interesting. If Geoff Johns manages to sustain this kind of storytelling for the duration of Blackest Night he’s got one of the greatest comic stories ever written in his hands.
TEEN TITANS #75
Ahh milestone issues. Gotta love ‘em. Or not. I mean, it’s cool and all, like a birthday I guess but don’t make a hubbub about it unless you’re going to deliver. Including the fact that a new ongoing writer was jumping aboard, #75 should have been great. It wasn’t.
Titans meet Teen Titans in this 75th issue but that doesn’t really make for any more drama considering the Titans are the ones having issues. Raven’s traveled into a giant pit of badness for some unknown reason and gotten herself into big trouble. It’s a good thing Beast Boy is visiting Titans Tower today. Why exactly? I’m not entirely sure since I haven’t been reading the Titans title lately but it looks as if he wants to be their new leader. No offense to Wonder Girl or anything. When Raven is dumped on their doorstep in bad shape, their new fearless leader is anything but and even needs Cassie to tell him they should call Dr. Mid-Nite. The doc finds out she’s got some extra-dimensional entity inside her and exorcises her with the help of Static. Too bad what hurt her in the first place has now also been let inside the Tower.
Ravager’s second feature fairs a bit better this time around. She even gets a cameo from a real or imaginary Miss Martian. Meditation helps her survive her icy plunge into the water and her brain helps her survive hypothermia by drying off at the burning cabin before doing anything else. She tracks down Will’s associates to a submarine and finds out what he’s been so keen to keep covered up. Not only is he transporting weapons and drugs, you can add human trafficking to his list of offenses as well. If Ravager wasn’t pissed before, you know she is now.
Felicia D. Henderson, a producer on the TV show Fringe is the new writer who took over for this landmark issue and I have to say, I’m not impressed. Nothing about this issue seemed terribly noteworthy. There was a crossover of Titans-past and some reminiscing but it all fell flat with none of the heartstring-pulling emotion you’d expect. I’m still wondering how things will shake out with the team, who will remain a Teen Titan and who will downgrade from a Titan back to a Teen. (Talk about a demotion!) Actually, with the way this issue went, I’m not really all that interested.
BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS #2 (OF 3) – Black Lantern baby aside, this has been the weakest of the BN minis.
GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #4 – I’m still feeling a lack of direction in this new series but the classic Joker/Harley antics this issue were entertaining.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA 80-PAGE GIANT – Worth the $5.99 price tag? I thought so. Five stories with some fun team-ups.
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #31 – Seriously? No one suspects King Chimera yet? Seriously?
SUPERMAN #692 – Way too much is happening in Metropolis right now. And apparently I really need to read up on Legion stories.
WONDER WOMAN #36 – And here I thought Diana and Tom’s relationship was moving too slow. Diana already had their imaginary baby. Also, why exactly is the Atom dating a supervillain?
My pull list for this week:
BATMAN AND ROBIN #5
BATMAN ANNUAL #27
JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRY FOR JUSTICE #4
SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #8 (OF 12)
Which two should I review for DoubleDCoverage #29?
October 7th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I would pick SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #8 (of 12) and BATMAN AND ROBIN #5. Personally, I would also add PLANETARY #27.
October 7th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I agree with you about Blackest Night I keep saying how “awesome” it is I need some new words, it’s one of the best organized and well written crossover iv’e ever read even if I don’t care for some of the mini series, great reviews