I love Green Lantern, it's one of my favourite areas in DC Comics, whether it's Hal Jordan in a solo series, or a book focused on the entirety of the Corps, if it's a GL book I'm going to read it. But one of my absolute favourite parts of the Green Lantern canon is Blackest Night, an event that changed the DC Universe.
Blackest Night was the first major event series that I was reading as it came out, and I devoured every part of it. I loved the twists and turns, the heart breaks, and the moments of awe; there was so much in this event across dozens of books. It's been eleven years since it's come out, but it's still one of my most read evetns, and I've gone through it every year or so, but this year I thought why not cover it here.
Now, I'm planning to do more than just read through the graphic novels and talking about what's in them, what I'm planning to do instead is to go through each issue of the event, in the order that they were meant to be read, and cover them in more depth. With more than 75 issues to cover this will take a while, but I hope that you'll all stick with me on this journey, and maybe even get to see some parts of the event that are often overlooked in the graphic novels.
Part 1 - Green Lantern #43
Green Lantern #43 came out later than the first issues of Blackest Night, but falls earliest in the timeline, setting up the changes to the classic villain Black Hand, and how he fits into the event to come.
The issue begins with a brief history of the Guardians of the Universe, delivered by the Guardian who had become known as Scar, a female member of the council who was injured by the Anit-Monitor during the Sinestro Corps War and bore the facial scars of the conflict. Scar tells the readers about the prophecy of The Blackest Night, and how an unknown darkness will rise to devour the universe, a darkness that she is in contact with. Scar informs readers that she will take part in the birth of the first Black Lantern.
After this introduction the comic shifts its focus to Earth, and the villain known as Black Hand. Found sleeping in an open grave with a number of corpses, Black Hand begins to narrate his life, the path that led him to this point. This is one of the first real in-depth looks at the character, who has been around since the 1960's, and Geoff Johns manages to reinvent his backstory in a way that doesn't change what's come before, but connects it to the larger DC Universe.
We learn that Black Hand grew up with a father as a mortician, and from an early age William was fascinated by his fathers work, and by dead bodies. We see that whilst his brothers were outgoing kids, he was quiet, reserved, and always wanted to spend his time with his father; learning the family business. He also spent his childhood making taxidermy animals, and in a really chilling moment we discover that he murdered the family dog, just so he could stuff him.
Over the years William is sent to various psychologists, but learnt to hide his true thoughts and feelings, instead telling them what they wanted to hear. He continued with his fascination and love for the dead, but played at being a dutiful son. That all changed when he came face to face with the alien Atrocitus when he came to Earth, long before he was the first Red Lantern. These moments have been seen before in Green Lantern Secret Origin, and connects Black Hand to one of Hal Jordan's earliest moments.
However, this moment is expanded upon here, and we see that not only was this the moment that made Hand obsessed with Green Lantern, but it was also the first time that the voice of the darkness spoke to him. Having stolen the Cosmic Divining Rod that Atrocitus was wielding, Hand decided to use it to try to shut out the light of the Green Lantern.
We see Hand creating his original costume, and learn some twisted things about him in this moment. We discover that the costume was made from the body bags from his family mortuary, and that the Black Hand logo that would go on to become the symbol of the Black Lanterns was actually that used by William's family. This is a tiny detail that some might miss, but adds a little something special to the character, and potentially raises some interesting questions. Does this symbol represent the Black Lanterns because William Hand becomes their champion, or was the darkness behind the Black Rings at work behind the scenes, feeding this symbol to the Hand family in whispers so that William would one day adopt this symbol, little realising the true meaning behind it? As far as I'm aware, this is never fully explained, but it certainly makes for some interesting theories.
This scene also delivers one of the most disgusting and twisted moments in the book, and in many of DC's books, where William talks about the reason for using the body bags to make his costume, stating it 'reminded me of home. Of my family. Of my first kiss.'. Just do much eww at this moment. This was something about William I really didn't need to know. I mean, we all kind of just assumed he had sexual urges towards dead bodies, but we didn't need it confirmed for us. Thanks for that Geoff.
After this we get more of the history of the character, where he touches upon his first battles with Hal Jordan which happened during the 1960's in the comics, as well as the appearance of several new Lanterns on Earth which happened during the very first run of Green Lantern Corps in the 80's, and the death of Hal Jordan, which happened during Final Night from the 90's. I love whenever Johns touches upon the history of the Green Lantern comics, and brings these moments into the current stories. It makes things feel way more connected than comics sometimes feel, plus it's great to see some of these older moments drawn in much more modern styles.
Hand is then drawn through a graveyard by the voice in the darkness, telling him the names of heroes and villains that have died, that it wants to make into its army. This two page spread features some of the more memorable deaths in DC, and some characters whose loss had a big impact on the universe. There are beloved characters like J'onn J'onss, Ted Kord, and the Dibney's, and some villains like Maxwell Lord, Captain Boomerang, and Doctor light; villains who you really came to hate by the time that they died. Not only is this spread a great reminder of the characters that we've lost over the years, but sneakily reminds you of some key figures that will be coming back as Black Lanterns.
The page following is similar in a lot of ways, as this time William and the voice are talking about those who have escaped death, who have managed to come back after dying. Now, characters coming back after being killed off is something that has become something of a cliche over the years, so it's surprising for this page to only contain nine such characters. Yep, in the entirety of the Dc Universe at this point it had only resurrected nine characters. This double spread not only reminds readers that resurrection is still something of a rarity in the DC Universe, but it also plants these names in the back of readers heads for later on during the event, laying the seeds for things to come.
We then discover that the graveyard that Black Hand has been walking through is leading to his family home, and that he's being drawn back to the place he grew up. Hand enters his old home and immediately uses the Cosmic Divining Rod to kill his brothers, before turning it on his mother and father. With his family reduced to smouldering corpses, he sits down at the dinner table and obeys the voice as it asks for one more death. Turning the rod on himself, Hand blows a hole through his head, killing himself.
The book takes its time letting this sink in, with multiple panels just showing the corpse of Black Hand, showing readers that this isn't some kind of fake out, that the villain is indeed dead. But watching over him is Scar, who upon being told the time is ready, vomits up a mass of black goo, and a lone Black Power Ring. The ring finds the finger of Black Hand and commands him to rise. Not only does Hand become the first Black Lantern, but like Parallax, Ion, and The Predator, he becomes host to the embodiment of the Black Lanterns. With this new, empowered Black Hand ready to lead the Black Lantern Crops the issue ends with the chilling promise that J'onn J'onzz of Mars will rise.
This issue doesn't give a whole lot away about what's to come from Blackest Night, but sets a hell of a tone for the series. It's steeped in death and the afterlife, it talks about the desecration of bodies, and it lets readers know that the history of these characters is important. These are all things that will play big parts in the event. Blackest Night is not only going to draw upon the mythology and lore of the Green Lantern comics, but will address the history of the entire universe, and bring back characters from the past, but not in ways that fans would want.
Part 2 - Blackest Night #0
Blackest Night #0 was the first part of this event for many readers, with this smaller prologue to the main event being given out for free on 2009's Free Comic Book Day. Not only was this a great way to give readers a small tease into the event, and set the stage for what was to come, but it being printed in such huge quantities and given away for free meant that a lot of people who might not have been completely up to date on Green Lantern found themselves interesting in the upcoming event. This issue wasn't the sole reason for the hype around the event, but it certainly added to it.
The book begins with a brief introduction to the concept of the emotional spectrum, as Hal Jordan talks readers through the birth of the universe, and how this unleashed these powers into being. The page transitions to a single unmarked gravestone next to the one that belongs to Thomas and Martha Wayne, and readers instantly know where we are. This issue is setting up Blackest Night, but its also dealing with the fallout of Final Crisis, and the death of Batman.
Hal is soon joined by Barry Allen, the Flash, who recently returned to life during Final Crisis, and is still trying to catch up on everything. We see that straight away in his introduction here, as it takes Hal more than one attempt to get his sentence across to Barry, who's in so much of a hurry he's not really listening to his friend. We see that whilst the loss of Bruce Wayne is one of the major results of the last event, so it the return of Barry, and how he's very much still a man trying to find his place in a world that went on without him.
We see some of that when the two of them discuss the reason for there not having been a funeral for Bruce, when Hal mentions Robin and Barry thinks he means Dick Grayson. The reminder that Dick is no longer Robin, that another has taken up that mantle in the time that he was gone is the first thing that seems to slow Barry down, that grounds him in this moment.
This discussion of funerals allows Hal to bring up the topic of Barry's, something that Barry has confessed he's not had the time to ask about. Using his Power Ring Hal shows Barry the size of his funeral, how people came from across time and universes to pay their respects to the man who gave his life to save reality itself. He then compares it to his own demise, how he died being considered a villain after being possessed by Parallax, and how his own friends desecrated his grave. He tells Barry that the world changed when he died, that it became a more dangerous place. This is an interesting look back at DC's history, and it's actually pretty accurate. Following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Comics did change, and the 90's led to some much darker story lines. We had the murder of Jason Todd, the death of Superman, the breaking of Batman, just to name a few. Comics got darker over that decade, and Hal doesn't shy away from pointing that fact out.
He uses this to remind Barry of friends that have passed whilst the was gone, of Aquaman and Martian Manhunter, both of whom were founding members of the Justice League, but who tied awful deaths. Not only does this hammer home to Barry how bad some things got, but also reminds readers of these two key figures before the events of Blackest Night really begin in earnest.
The two heroes try to share a moment of hope, where Barry says he won't stop hoping that they'll find their way back. Oh boy does this line have multiple meanings, and foreshadows stuff to come. The most obvious thing is that Barry should really be careful what he wishes for, as their friends will indeed be finding their way back to the world of the living, though not in the way that Barry was hoping for. The other thing is that Barry shows that he's full of hope in this moment, something that will come into play later in the event, but is so easy to miss on first reading.
The issue ends with the two heroes taking off, and another figure making their way into the graveyard. The new Black Hand has been listening to the two of them talk, to them telling each other how important Bruce was, and what he meant to them, and decides that he wants 'this one'. Tearing into the ground at Bruce's grave and breaking his way into his coffin the undead monster retrieves the skull of Batman whilst reciting the oath of the Black Lanterns. As the skull is wreathed in dark energies, the guardian Scar watches on and smiles.
At first glance there's not much that really happens in this issue to kick off the event, and most of the first half of the book is given over to Barry and Hal talking about death, and what Bruce meant to them. Whilst these scenes on their own are great, especially seeing the evolution of the friendship between Hal and Bruce, there's so much groundwork that's actually laid in this book.
We get reminded once again of fallen heroes, in particular two who will play big roles in Blackest Night, and be two of the Black Lanterns that will get a lot of focus. The importance of Bruce Wayne is also made clear, something that will have a major impact several issues from now, and will be the catalyst for something that changes the course of the book. And then there's the brief mention of Barry and how much hope he has. These are all things that readers won't pick up on during their first read, but are all things that will become important later, so Johns is using his limited page count here to great effect, subtly putting things into readers minds without them realising.
The rest of the issue is taken up by pages given over to each of the different Lantern Corps, giving readers a brief history of who these groups are, as well as their key members. These pages are good reminders for people who have been reading the Lantern books up to this point, but are also invaluable for people coming on to this event cold, who have no idea what a Larfleeze is, or what emotion Blue is tied to. The final page, the one that covers the Black Lantern Corps is also a great tease for the event, and I remember sitting around with my friends at the comic book shop examining the hands rising from the ground, trying to work out which characters they all were, and who would be coming back.
As far as Free Comic Book Day issues go I still think that this is one of the best ones, and it really does add something worthwhile to the upcoming event. That being said, not reading it before the main series won't leave you missing out on much, but it's an issue that definitely shouldn't be overlooked.
Make sure to check out the next part of this series, where I'll be going through Blackest Night #1, and Green Lantern #44.
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