Brightest Day #24

Listen, anything that returns the Martian Manhunter to his normal status quo is ok by me, but this was on odd series. At no point throughout the book did I think the purpose for this title was to reintroduce Swamp Thing to the DCU. And heck, to make things even stranger, this isn't Alan Moore's Swampy. I've been reading those collections, and the core concept is that Swamp Thing is a tree that thinks its a man, but really, Alec Holland is dead. The Swamp Thing moving forward from Brightest Day actually is Alec Holland turned into a tree man.

The book makes a few other fairly obvious turns too. Deadman ends up... well, dead. That's honestly the only way the character could end up, although I do like that he seems to have maintained a bond with his gal pal Dove.

Hawkman is back to yelling and smashing, but Shiera is going to stay an air elemental? Why I don't see what good that does for either character.

Firestorm has a nice little plot that should require a mini-series to resolve. Somebody get Tony Bedard and Eddy Barrows on the line for a 6 part Firestorm series. (Any of the go-to DC teams will do!)

Martian Manhunter doesn't have anywhere to go, but he's got a smile on his face and I'd say he's ready to join either the JLA or JLI, whichever needs him more.

Aquaman also has a nice platform for a new book. I'm pretty optimistic, Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis have done a great job on the Aquaman chapters of this series.

The book ends with another "shocking" ending, the return of SPOILER ALERT (John Constantine). I always laugh that I'm not imprinted on DC right, because I'm not sure what the big deal is? I thought Constantine was a foul-mouthed Ennis-type from Vertigo? Was he ever in the DCU?

The art in this conclusion is pretty nice. There are a lot of splash pages, making this one quick read. At $4.99 I don't think I can say this is a good value. That shot of the big four popping out of Swampy's chest is pretty fun, though.

Fair

Brightest Day #23

My god, the sheer volume of civilian deaths in your average DC event is astounding. I mean, think about the last few years; you've got Imperiex, Infinite Crisis, Blackest Night, Monument Point, Prometheus' bombs, and now the world going mad and the slaughter in Star City. I mean, that's insane! The average life expectency must be tiny! (Marvel isn't innocent in this either, witness the mass carnage in Civil War and Siege.)

Anyway, I am a little surprised to see the big reveal for both the threat to life and the guardian of the white lantern. I mean, there wasn't really any use of these characters early in the series, so this is an interesting choice. I mean, I'm happy this character is back in the DCU, but a little more foreshadowing would have been nice.

I'm fine with the use of the DCU characters as new elementals of life, although some work better in this role than others. I have absolutely no idea what Captain Boomerang is doing, and why Hawk & Dove are still part of this is equally unclear to me. Should Osiris, Max Lord, and Jade be showing up next issue? I'd guess so.

The art is pretty strong in this issue, especially the segments by Ivan Reis. I love the Martian Manhunter/Earth elemental design. The stone body with a cloak of vegetation is awesome. Firestorm works well, as does Aquaman (check out the water trident!), but I thought the Hawks seem a bit silly as air elementals. They look too much like ghosts.

This whole series will be worth it if it puts all these great characters back in people's awareness, but man, the Hawks have taken a beating.

Brightest Day #22

Here we are, coming around to the home stretch. Firestorm never really grabbed me in this series, just when I'd start to care about him, he'd disappear for five or six issues. Now that the rest of the cast is dead, Firestorm can come back into the front of the title.

Firestorm bravely takes on the Anti-Monitor, Deathstorm, and the Black Lanterns, but it doesn't seem like he really has much of a chance (and that's right, he shouldn't). I love seeing the Anti-Montor's weird head, that guy NEVER takes off his helmet. He looks like a mix of a prune and Thanos.

I don't agree with the big-name Firestorm character who gets pasted here. I mean, of the four real choices, I guess it makes sense, but I'm going to miss what this character brings to the Firestorm matrix. Heck, the guy headlined his own series for a fair bit, and here he is turned into salt. At least he went down like a hero.

The art is decent, but Scott Clark is up against some tough competition, making Firestorm's chapters some of the weaker ones overall.

Average

Brightest Day #21

Well, I'm a sucker for Martian Manhunter, so I loved this issue. Look, I realize that Brightest Day is nothing more than a random collection of a bunch of characters all doing their own thing, barely relating to each other. This was Martian Manhunter Rebirth, the Hawks Rebirth, and Aquaman Rebirth with shared numbering (I won't include Firestorm because he hasn't done enough). I don't have any strong feelings about the White Lantern or the entity powering it. I don't believe for one second that the Hawks, Aquaman, or J'onn are dead.

But I love Martian Manhunter. I never loved D'Kay, she seems like another bad influence lady for J'onn (who actually has a surprising number of femme fatales in his catalogue, including Bette Noir, Scorch, and now D'Kay). So while I didn't care for the ease of his defeat over D'Kay, or the wasted "fantasy" issue, I loved seeing J'onn get his "Life Returned." I loved seeing him make a clear choice to defend Earth. I loved seeing him die with honor and grace, no doubt because he knows this is part of the plan. So basically, I don't really care about the Brightest Day uber-plot, but I love Martian Manhunter.

The art is snappy, especially the big moments. J'onn and D'Kay melting in the sun, J'onn reborn in his white togs, and the great shot of him choosing Earth. Any chance Tomasi and Gleason can do an ongoing Martian Manhunter book after this?

Good (pulled up from Fair by featuring J'onn!)

Justice League: Generation Lost #20

So this is the secret origin of Max Lord. Judd Winick does a nice job showing us how Max went from fairly normal kid to high-powered manipulator. Max's Dad was rubbed out by powerful corporate interests. While Max took it hard, it seems it really messed up his mother. She holds Max to a pretty high standard that clearly affects him. A lot of the drive that we've seen from him over the years seems to stem from her.

While I did appreciate seeing this side to Max, I'm not sure it justifies his actions. The problem is that Max has been an almost understandable villain who has done a few horrible things. Shooting Ted Kord and now Jaime Reyes is just SO evil. It's a whole step above trying to control Superman or take over Checkmate. I suppose his OMAC army is another really evil act that almost doesn't scale with his other actions.

I will chime in about Jaime again too. There is no way he's dead. The current Blue Beetle is way too big a character to get killed off like this. He's got to star in the new JLI book that will surely follow Generation Lost!

Joe Bennett does a solid job, as he has from the start on this title. I still wish there was someone who had a bit more of a JLI-feel, but Bennett is pretty good.

Fair

Green Lantern Corps #57

I usually like Tony Bedard's writing, but his GLC work just hasn't connected with me. This current issue closes the Weaponer story arc, and I feel like it went on too long and didn't really answer some important questions. Why and how did the Weaponer utilize the White Lantern power? Why did Sinestro take so long to show up to save Soranik if he was coming anyway? Why was Firestorm in this issue when he basically didn't do anything? (At best, we re-established where Firestorm was sent to at the end of Brightest Day #17.)

I also have to wonder why the Qwardians come off as so silly in this story. In the span of one issue, they go from hating the Weaponer, to loving him, to hating him again. There are no half-measures for these people, they make a decision and go full blast until they change their minds again.

It certainly doesn't help when you have one of the core cast members essentially saying "this story doesn't matter, the REAL story is back in another comic book!" Ganthet has repeatedly justified the alliance with the Sinestro Corps by saying the real threat is back in the regular DCU, most likely in the Green Lantern title. So why bother reading this one? No GLs even stick around to help Firestorm save the universe! So I'm seeing a clear tiering of titles. Krona>Weaponer>Deathstorm. That's a dangerous path to go down.

Tyler Kirkham's pencils are pretty solid. His style is morphing to look a bit more like the DCU house style (maybe it is the inker). This is starting to look more like Ivan Reis than Marc Silvestri.

Average

Brightest Day #20

It's interesting seeing which characters are the last to wrap up their "Rebirth" arcs in this series. With four issues left to go, I think we're looking at only Martian Manhunter and Firestorm still needing to get their "Life returned" officially. That said, with Deadman handing out a quick follow-up prize to the Hawks and Aquaman, we may need an issue to wrap that up too.

This issue is all about Aquaman. I'm pretty sure Geoff Johns has been writing the Aqua-portions of this series, and he's done a good job re-introducing the King of the Seas. I enjoyed seeing the Lorena Aquagirl show up, she's a fun character and one of the better creations of the 00's. I'm not sure if I'm sold on the new Aquaman yet, but at least he doesn't seem to be an angry kid, which could be very easy considering who his father is. I'm also pleased with how important Mera is to the plot. Her people are the main threat, but she deals with them herself, and also establishes herself as a pretty darn powerful hero too.

Now the big question is about Aquaman's hand. I'm assuming he and the Hawks will get one more "rebirth" or something, so will he get his hand back? I sort of hope so.

Ivan Reis' artwork continues to be the strongest in the series. I think this would have held up as a decent solo series reintroducing Aquaman.

Good

Justice League: Generation Lost #19

It's pretty funny when creators can play around with the history of their shared universe to get an immediate response. Max Lord's murder of Ted Kord is such a huge moment in DC history that the cover for this issue of JL:GL immediately filled me with worry for the new Blue Beetle. I'm a huge Ted Kord fan, but I really do like Jaime Reyes too; I don't want to see the current BB going out like this!

I liked that most of the issue was filled with Jaime being a tough guy, standing up to Max Lord and refusing to give up. The rest of the team does their best, but this issue is really Jaime's show. That's why I just don't believe that things are as bad as they seem on that last page. DC can't pull this off, the trend for killing characters surely hasn't gone this far. Assuming it turns out the way I think, this was a great issue.
Can I hope that Power Girl is going to come back with some more JLI-era help? Guy Gardner, Metamorpho, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Batman would be really nice about now.

Fernando Dagnino does a better job on the ladies than he does on the dudes. Power Girl, Fire, and Ice all look great. Actually, Blue Beetle and Rocket Red look good too, but Booster, Max, Captain Atom, and the other males all have heavy, round-looking heads.

Good

Brightest Day #19

Wow. I'm totally confused about what the White Ring is talking about. I guess I glazed over Hawkman and Hawkwoman getting atomized last issue too, but they certainly seem dead again. Why would the White Ring kill these folks off after they achieve a certain moment of clarity? I thought they got the whole "Life Returned" thing? I'm sure it will clear up, but for now, I'm totally lost on what is going on with Deadman and that ring.

The bulk of this issue follows Aquaman and the new Aqualad as they try to stop Siren and her army from invading the US. I'm not usually a big fan of generic looking baddies as the main threat, but the unique hard-water weapons of Siren's troops are pretty darn interesting; I'm interested in seeing the new Aqualad use some of that sort of equipment. There is a big dramatic moment in this, familiar yet new, but all I could think was "when did Black Manta get there?" He wasn't in any of the fight scenes before his big appearance, right? I love Black Manta's look and he's Aquaman's best foe, but surely Aquaman would be aware if Manta was on the battlefield, right?

That said, I am fine with the status quo change.

Ivan Reis draws most of the Aquaman material, so it looks good. I like seeing the living sea creatures following Aquaman's lead, the zombie stuff is too spooky.

Fair

Brightest Day #18

Maybe it's just me, but the more of the returned White Lantern folk that get their "Life Returned," the more I'm getting concerned about the Martian Manhunter. I'm really worried that the creators may decide that there are one or two examples needed of returnees who did NOT make the required deadline, and so they die again at the end of this maxi-series. I think Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and maybe Deadman are all still on the chopping block. Osiris too, maybe, I don't read Titans regularly enough to see what he's up to. Do I have my list right?

I'm not including Hawkman and Hawkwoman on this list because they get their lives back for keeps this issue. They wrap up their little fight with Hawkwoman's mother (can we just call her Predator now?). The Hawks definitely do some butt-kicking, but their animated former bodies do a bunch of the heavy lifting to take her out. I'm not sure why Deadman shows up and tells them they can't stay together, but I can't imagine that sticking. I love the idea that the White Lantern is powering up because of Deadman's kindness; it's a fantastic idea and a nice counterpoint to the darkness of the general DCU.

The art in this issue holds up pretty nicely. The Hawks and Deadman chapters have held up nicely through the entire run.

Fair

Brightest Day #17

Will wonders never cease? This issue of Brightest Day actually focused on the worst storylines, and yet it was still entertaining. Deadman's go-nowhere plot was surprisingly heartwarming; I love the idea that the White Lantern battery is somehow powering up when Deadman helps people enjoy life. Very fun.

Firestorm arriving in the Anti-Matter universe is unexpected, but it might be cool to see more of the Qwardians. They've had a really rough run of it, especially if Deathstorm is lording it over them like all the other villains in the DCU have in the past. It's also good to get the reminder that the Firestorm duo's purpose is to protect the White Lantern entity. I had sort of forgotten what they're hanging around for.

And finally, the biggest surprise. There are a ton of pages dealing with the Hawk-plot, and they actually aren't bad! Hawkwoman's mother is upgraded into the new Predator, which seems like a good fit. I certainly couldn't remember her name before, but I think I can keep her straight as the new Predator. I also liked seeing Carol Ferris interact with the Hawks; they haven't had a lot of interaction that I can remember, but sometimes it's neat seeing these "friend of a friend" team-ups. (Maybe that should be a new series idea?)

The art is pretty solid throughout, with the Hawkman and Deadman segments being particularly well done. It's funny; when Hawkman smashes folks like he's meant to, he's still pretty awesome.

Fair

Brightest Day #16

Ah, I guess I got enough Martian Manhunter last issue. This issue keeps up the streak of improvement in the Brightest Day title. Aquaman gives Aqualad some background on his origins and ties to Mera's people, but there still isn't a lot to the new character. I don't know a lot about Mera, so maybe this fits in perfectly and Aqualad II will be a nice addition, but right now, what I like is how much he just wants to go back to his old life. I also notice that Aquaman is still calling dead creatures to help him; those electric eels didn't look so good.

The rest of the issue deals with Firestorm attempting to ratchet back his powers so he won't destroy the world. The JLA and JSA are trying to help, but Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch are a volatile combo, so things aren't looking good for a reconciliation. Meanwhile, Deathstorm is torturing Martin Stein and Jason's Dad, promising that he's going to kill off Firestorm in the most agonizing ways possible. Deathstorm is pretty easy to hate, but he's not quite as funny as he was during Blackest Night. I feel like Geoff Johns had his best dialogue for him in that title.

The art is pretty strong in this issue, with lots of goodness from Ivan Reis in the Aquaman pages. At this point, I do have to wonder if a slew of mini's about the different characters might have been easier to read. This jumping around is getting tedious. I'm also dreading a Hawkman issue in two weeks.

Fair

Brightest Day #15

I'm contractually required to enjoy any story featuring the Martian Manhunter, but this is going to test that rule. I enjoyed the whole setup: J'onn's family is alive, Mars is reborn, and he's a combo GL/Manhunter serving in an aged and contented Justice League. The problem is, it's pretty obvious right away what's happening (D'Kay has put J'onn into some sort of illusionary world.) The problem is, having a mystery about who killed people in a dream doesn't really have much drama behind it. The story ends nicely, setting up a tough, determined J'onn to take on D'Kay in an issue or three.

The book looks nice, I liked the futuristic incarnation of the League. Batman is oddly sad, but the cool looks for Martian Manhunter is the high point.

Fair

Green Lantern #59

Now that's a pretty cool idea. Geoff Johns finally gives us some background on the mysterious Indigo Lanterns, and they are a lot spookier than I first suspected. We saw them grab Black Hand at the end of Blackest Night, and upon his return, he's quite changed. He's overflowing with compassion. Naturally, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are suspicious of this, and they figure this might mean that the rest of those Indigo Lanterns are all "reformed" monsters too. Suddenly all those weird looking Indigos might end up being horrific maniacs forced into doing good by the compassion entity. That's a cool idea.

I still don't really care (or even remember) what the main story is with the Lantern entities. It's all too cosmic and confusing for me. I do like seeing the "prime" lanterns interacting with Earth heroes though, once again Larfleeze is awesome when he steals Barry Allen's wallet.

Parallax (the fear entity) pops up and promptly possesses Barry Allen. I don't like it, by making Barry go through the same possession as Hal Jordan, it lessens Jordan's responsibility for what he did as Parallax. Hal already gets too much of a free pass, so I don't want to see his best friend become even MORE understanding.

Doug Mahnke's art is stunning, as usual. The Indigo Lantern's go from kind to creepy in the span of one panel, which is quite a feat. I'm not loving the Parallax-Flash design, but that could be due to my coolness on the concept.

Good

Brightest Day #14

This is getting ridiculous. Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi shift the focus away from the terrible Hawk-story and over to Deadman (who has been sorely neglected) and once again, the book turns on a dime towards quality. It actually seems like the writers have something to add to Boston Brand/Deadman. He was a selfish jerk when he was alive and it took his death to make him a hero. Now that he's been given a second chance, he's absolutely horrified at the idea of dying again. (I still think that Deadman will be one of the characters who doesn't get the "Life Returned" reward from the White Lantern though. Deadman just doesn't work as a name for a living guy.)

Deadman is certain that the newly returned Bruce Wayne is destined to wear the White Lantern ring, but he ends up being pretty wrong. So wrong that one of Mr. Freeze's goons almost makes Deadman live up to his name once again. I liked seeing the White Lantern entity (whoever it is) get a little saucy with Deadman, warning him to make a better choice on who should wear the ring. So I guess the search goes on, but at least Dove looks to be sticking around with Deadman.

The art in this one is pretty solid, not many other characters show up, but the white Bat-suit is suitably ridiculous/interesting.

Fair

Justice League: Generation Lost #13

Guys, this issue was totally radical to the extreme. Watch out for hardcore spoilers below!


There was like, a whole city that got blown up, and Magog blew his own head off! When he blew it off, there were like chunks of brains and stuff everywhere! (Hey kids, comics!) It's really awesome at the end, because ANOTHER DCU city gets blown up when Captain Atom explodes! I mean, last week in JSA, a whole city got blown up, and this week, another one does! That's hardcore, huh?

In fact, this issue is just ok. Winnick does his best to rush in some characterization to make us care a little bit about Magog. Since he hasn't been a factor in this book until now, though, it is too little too late. I mean, DC must have really reversed its feelings on Magog if he went from having his own book to a one-time appearance in this title where he dies. Max Lord does succeed in doing his White Lantern job, so he's back to stay. I haven't been keeping tabs, how are the other returnees doing?

I do have to say I'm disappointed in the level of gore and destruction in these last couple DCU books. I mean, the heroes really are incompetent, and the only answer for this level of danger for civilians is the death penalty for most super-villains. I mean, two cities in like two weeks? That's ridiculous!

Joe Bennett's art is fine, as always, he does his best work on Blue Beetle (who spends the issue running away). I did like Magog, and Bennett drew him well, so at least he went out looking good.

Fair

Brightest Day #13

Ugh. Way too much time spent on that boring Hawk-stuff this issue. The most telling factor is that once again, there are multiple pages filled with tons of exposition and flashbacks. I STILL don't care about Hawkgirl's Mom and what she did in ancient Egypt. I STILL don't care if the lion-men and the lizard-men overcome the bird-men on some weird other planet. Heck, at this point, I no longer care what happens to Hawkman or Hawgirl! The sooner this story is over, the better. The Hawks are a simple concept and all this odd fantasy-science fiction stuff is too much.

As for the rest of the issue, I'm happy to see the Resurrection Man show up. He was a great Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning concept in the 90s, and he still works now. I don't suppose we'll be lucky enough to have him stick around for the last few issues, will we? We know he isn't getting the white lantern ring, that goes to well-deserved, under-used character pictured above.

The art is fine, and that's actually a bummer. Solid art is wasted on this weird Hawk-stuff.

Poor

Justice League: Generation Lost #12

Judd Winick changes Ice's origin pretty drastically in this issue. Originally, Ice is an "ice goddess" from some crazy group of Scandinavian snow gods. I always thought of her as coming from someplace like Asgard or Olympus. In fact, I was pretty sure that her pretty easy resurrection in Secret Six was as easy as it was because of her deific heritage. But Winick changes that here, retconning her origin to a more mundane and mortal one. Ice is now part of an extensive gypsy family, one with a long heritage and sense of entitlement. While most of the tribe would consider Ice's powers a great tool to bring them to power, Ice's parents just want her to live a normal live. Taking her on the run, Ice had to use her powers in a pretty tight spot, and the trauma from that moment made her forget her real "secret origin."

She zones out for most of the present-day sequences in this while she's blasting away at Fire and Rocket Red. There isn't much going on, the real developments are all hitting in the flashback sequences. Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and Captain Atom are still chilling in the OMAC facility, but maybe things will pick up on their end next issue. After all, Magog is finally here.

Fernando Dagnino's art is fine. I don't like the blocky ice-head for Ice's new look, but at the same time, I understand we need to see how powerful she is when unleashed. I might have liked a little less extreme a look, though.

Fair

Brightest Day #12

When Brightest Day stars Martian Manhunter, I'm pretty much guaranteed to enjoy it. This issue has J'onn finally get facing down that gross, murdering green Martian from early in this series. Her name is D'Kay, and c'mon, when that is your name, you kind of have to end up evil, don't you?

D'Kay was a scientist on Mars who tried to cure any Martian who wasn't tied in to the telepathic collective, the only problem was that if she didn't cure her patients, they died in the attempt. The Martian authorities locked her up, then died, and she sat around for years before being pulled to Earth by Dr. Erdell. Then she lost herself as a human for years. This is all a long explanation and set up to explain why J'onn isn't the last green Martian anymore. There are some great moments as the two interact where D'Kay wants J'onn to accept her and start a new life on Mars with her, but J'onn is furious at her for being so evil and unrepentant. It's sad, J'onn has dreamed of finding another green for so long, and when he does, she's a maniac out to manipulate him.

There are a few nice moments with Firestorm going up against Deathstorm and the remaining Black Lanterns. I'm mostly intrigued with the idea that Firestorm is going to bring in the JLA. While I'm enjoying the featured time with this book's main star, I still think I'd like to see this book be a bit more of a spine in the DCU.

The art is always inconsistent in this title, and it is again here. I loved the Martian Manhunter sequences, but the others aren't quite as sharp.

Good

Justice League: Generation Lost #11

I never guessed that Generation Lost would be one of those "road to Kingdom Come" titles, but with Magog taking a role and now Alloy appearing, I'm wondering if Judd Winick has a plan to use more aspects of that Elseworld title in this surprisingly good series.

Fire, Ice, and Rocket Red get to take on the brainwashed Metal Men. I loved seeing how the MM have created these heroic versions of themselves in their shared fantasy world. The little details about who they think they're fighting and protecting make the brainwashed idea more fun than usual. I always like seeing Professor Ivo, he was a memorable villain back in the mid-90s Mr. Miracle series, so I have a soft spot for him.

Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, and Booster are investigating an OMAC facility, and things are much more sedate for them. I would like to see the OMACs reduced down to one guy. The concept works much better when the One Man Army Corps is actually One Man, don't you think? He'd fit in well on Max Lord's misled hero team too. With Alloy, Magog, and an OMAC, you've got a great core of misguided heroes that could later patch things up with a reformed JLI. Make it happen, DC!

Aaron Lopresti's art is always nice, and he gets plenty of chances to show why he's so good at drawing ladies. Fire and Ice look wonderful as expected, but I really enjoyed his take on the big guys in this. Alloy looked intimidating and strong, and Rocket Red looked powerful too.

Good