Brightest Day #1

I'm kind of torn on this one. There is good stuff here. I'm interested in re-establishing the rogues gallery for the returned heroes, and I love the idea that the big returnee this issue was able to just walk away from villainy while he thought his arch-foe was dead. I always enjoy watching the Hawks bust heads with their maces. Aquaman seems to have gotten a nice little power boost since his return, he's getting blasted with assault rifles and it's barely breaking the skin. He's close to Luke Cage strong then, huh?

The bad is the unbelievable amount of gore in DC's flagship title. Innocent shoppers get their throats slit. Admittedly guilty slavers get ripped apart by squid and eaten by sharks. There's threatened rape for some kids.

Plus, there seems to be a real chance that the stars of this book are still under the influence of their old rings. Aquaman and Martian Manhunter are both looking mighty dead at times here. The worst part of the issue is Mera's declaration that slavers must "feel her rage" or something. I bet Geoff Johns is writing the Aquaman story, that seems to be his type of characterization.

2 issues in, I think Johns is writing Aquaman and Tomasi is writing Martian Manhunter. I need more time to nail down the rest...

The art is by a ton of DC's better artists, so the book is beautiful. The characters all look great, with the Hawks looking particularly iconic. That returning villain looks mighty awesome too. I'm not a fan of that David Finch cover though, I don't care for the pinched face look.

Fair