Flash (vol.3) #2 (2010)

Flash (vol.3) #2 (July, 2010)
"Case One: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues"
Writer - Geoff Johns
Art - Francis Manapul w/Joel Gomez
Color - Brian Buccellato
Letters - Sal Cipriano
Associate Editor - Adam Schlagman
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99

Welcome to Day 3 of #BrightestMay!

Here's a book I've wanted to revisit ever since we discussed its first issue.  By then though, I was kinda already bobbling the idea of "Brightest May" in my head... and figured it would be best if I waited.

And I did!  So, let's get right down to it. --

We pick up right where we left off last issue.  The Flash has been confronted by the Rogues Renegades about his apparent "future murder" of the Mirror Monarch.  Commander Cold then throws an adorable little snowflake in his direction... which explodes into a mass of ice to ensnare and capture him.

From there, a chase is on!  The Renegades attempt to incarcerate our man, however, he proves to be too fast.  Flash finagles it so the pursuant future-tech handcuffs clamp down on the Weather Warlock instead of him... which causes him to accidentally blast their "time platforms" with his wand.  They wind up being sent back to the 25th Century.

In their wake, a temporal shock buzzes down the street... directly into an old apartment building.  As it begins to fall apart, Barry rushes in to save all of its inhabitants.

He manages to get everybody out before the building can topple.

But... ya know, the building does topple.  So now Barry's stood before a whole bunch of newly homeless people.  Or is he?  He zips across town to the library where he fills his short term memory on all-things construction...

... and then rebuilds the fallen apartment building.  Really neat use of his powers right here!

Later on at a crime scene, Barry and Iris chat up the events of the day... including his near-arrest.  She asks how much stock he puts into the allegation... and he's unsure.  He does admit that, if push came to shove and if it would save an innocent life... he likely would kill a bad guy.  Hopefully that was "off the record".  Anyhoo, he plans to head back to the crime lab and check out Mirror Monarch's body.

We pop over to Iron Heights, where the newly revived Captain Boomerang is being beaten by some guards... who wind up frozen solid in mid-swing.  A look into the mirror reveals Mirror Master and Captain Cold have come a'calling.  Digger tries to hop into the mirror for an escape... but they ain't allowing it.  In order for him to rejoin the Rogues, he's going to have to break out himself.

Back at the Precinct, an old woman is trying to tell the officers that her Son has been wrongly incarcerated.  Everybody turns a deaf ear to the ol' bitty, so good-guy Barry decides to listen.  This leads to his re-opening the case... and getting into it with Singh.  This isn't my favorite part of the book.

We then wrap up with the reveal of Mirror Master's killer... and, wouldja lookit that... it's Barry Allen!

--

A quick read... but a great one!

Our story gets nudged forward a bit with the confirmation that Barry Allen is indeed responsible, or at least will be responsible for Mirror Master's death (as far as we know).  We touched on it briefly last time, the idea of "preventative arrests" is a bit wonky... especially when we're dealing with a universe that has any number of methods to engage in time-travel... but, what happens when the corpse is deposited in the "present day"?

I guess in that case, the law is the law... and if the evidence points to you (or Barry), he may as well have just gone through with it... right?  It's definitely a "thinker"... and it's very well implemented here.

The one part I didn't really care for was Barry re-opening the Hicks case.  Not so much that he did reopen it, but for the conflict that it led to.  I mean, Singh may as well have been depicted with horns and a forked tail here.  His overreaction led to one from Barry... and a very "what can one man do?" type speech, which felt a bit forced.

I thought rebuilding the fallen apartment building was an amazing way to utilize Flash's speed.  Just like last issue when he speedily disassembled that out-of-control car... such neat things Flash can do, that we don't often think about.  Definitely also appreciate that it's made clear that all of this knowledge goes into his short-term memory... and once he's done with it, it's forgotten.  It's a way of limiting his power, in a way that makes sense.  Doesn't hurt that these scenes came off flawlessly.

On that note, let's gush talk about the art.  Ho-lee cow.  Mr. DC, if you're listening... do anything you can to keep Manapul in your bullpen.  I hate resorting to tired turns of phrase like "feast for the eyes" (-Ain't it Chris News), but man-o-man, what a treat!  This book is gorgeous... there's really no other way to describe it.

Overall... this gets one of my higher recommendations.  Definitely check this book out!

--

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Brightest Day #1 (2010)

Brightest Day #1 (Early July, 2010)
"Second Chances"
Writers - Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
Pencillers - Ivan Reis, Pat Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark & Joe Prado
Inkers - Vicente Cifuentes, Mark Irwin, Oclair Albert & David Beaty
Color - Aspen MLT's Scott Williams & Steigerwald
Letterer - Rob Clark, Jr.
Assistant Editor - Rex Ogle
Associate Editor - Adam Schlagman
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99

Welcome back to #BrightestMay!

Yesterday we laid a bit of a foundation for this post Blackest Night DC Universe.  We met our cast... and got them ready to be divvied up among the other books bearing the Brightest Day branding.

I feel like this issue will be more what we can expect going forward.  Still chock full of vignettes, but not nearly to the (nearly overwhelming) extent of issue #0.  Today's subjects will include the Lanterns, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, the Firestorms, and the Hawks.

Just noticed that Ardian Syaf is a part of this... so not only do we need to comb this thing for the exact moment DC decided to no longer care... we can also see if he left us any secret messages as well!  Oh what fun.
--

We pick up where we left off last issue... we're in Silver City, New Mexico where the White Lantern Power Battery has appeared in that crater.  The locals edge up close and try to lift the thing... but to no avail.  If you recall, Sinestro showed up last issue... well, he's here too, but he isn't alone.  He is flanked by Hal Jordan and Star Sapphire... actually, Hal's front and center... but that probably goes without saying. (I guess the camera angle "left them out" last time around).

After "making nice" with the New Mexicans, Hal and the Gang set to make an attempt at lifting the White Lantern.  They compare such a feat to the Sword in the Stone, but it's probably more like lifting Mjölnir... suppose I can't blame them for not making that nod.  Anyhoo, it looks as thought Hal is... unworthy.

We shift scenes to rejoin Deadman... this time, he's aboard a hijacked boat, where bad dudes are trafficking children.  Brand goes to act, however the white ring holds him back.  A moment later, Aquaman and Mera emerge from the drink.

They make quick work of the baddies aboard that ship, unfortunately, they seem to have a fleet!  Amid incoming fire, Aquaman summons... a Kraken?!  Not just any kraken either... a decomposing undead one!

The beastie wraps itself around the other ship... and starts killing everybody on board.  Arthur and Mera are pretty mortified.  In that moment of distraction, one of the bad dudes aboard their ship aims a harpoon in their direction.  Before he can fire, however, a zombified shark pops out of the water, says "hey", and eats the poor bastard.  There's definitely something a bit askew about Aquaman's powers... don't you think?

We zip over to a dockside fish market in Westport, Massachusetts where news of Aquaman's return is being played over the news.  One of the patrons takes this news as a sign to... well, slaughter everybody in the building.

We next check in with Firestorm the Nuclear Men, as they visit with Professor Stein and Ray Palmer.  Ronnie and Jason are, of course, interested in finding a way to split out again.  Well boys, the big brains might have some bad news for ya.

Meanwhile on Mars, J'onn has flown a giant chunk of ice over in order to trigger some vegetation growth on the red planet.

As a seedling spouts from the ground, his head becomes flooded with imagery regarding his initial arrival on Earth.  He sees himself with his hands wrapped around the throat of Professor Saul Erdel... the man who accidentally transported him to Earth.  This (choking bit) never happened... which is troubling to J'onn.  Even more troubling is the fact that this vision also showed a woman lying on the floor.  Believing she might be a key to... something... J'onn takes off in search of her.

Next, we follow up with the Hawks.  They were following the Star Sapphire-infused Claw of Horus... somewhere.  Turns out (shocker), it was leading them to that odd expedition where those dudes in coats uncovered Hawkman and Hawkgirl's original skeletons.  There's a scuffle with the diggers... which the Hawks win handily.  They then see their bones.  They don't get too long to soak in the sight, however, as one of the men sets off an explosive charge.

While Hawkman attends to Hawkgirl (who took the brunt of the explosion) the explorers wind up getting away.  The heroes wonder just who could want their bones... and it's revealed (to us) that they're headed to Hath-Set.

We wrap up back in Massachusetts, where that lunatic has burned down that fish market.  He then walks into the water... bubbles around a bit... then resurfaces as, dun-dun-dunnnn Black Manta!  Are you shocked?  I'm shocked.

--

As we enter the series proper, many interesting questions are raised.  Let's look at them case by case

First... the White Lantern cannot be lifted.  We can make allusions to King Arthur or Thor of course... the Lantern will only allow itself to be lifted by the one it sees as "worthy".  Worth noting (and without spoiling anything), right now, Deadman is the only person (that we know of) who is still wearing the White Lantern Ring.  That's what we know so far.

I think many of us reading at the time figured that Hal would get some time as the White Lantern... so, it was pretty neat seeing him unable to lift the thing.  This is a neat enough (sub)plot to run alongside the revived characters trying to find their way.

The Aquaman bits were probably the highlight this time around.  There's definitely something up with his powers... although he is back "among the living", he's still very much connected to "the dead".  I don't remember how this works itself out... if it even does.  I'm glad I waited so long to revisit this, as so much time has passed that it almost feels brand new to me!

The Black Manta reveal was... expected.  I guess maybe there was somebody out there whose jaw dropped for that last page... but I wasn't that somebody.  Black Manta has always been something of a bore to me... never really took him all that seriously.  Even here, he's depicted as highly dangerous... but dangerous only because he's a psychopath, not because of any powers.

The Firestorms get the briefest of bits... all we know is that they're still not getting along, and that their "association" might be longer lived than either of them are prepared for.

Martian Manhunter is another short-vignette.  I really appreciate that they're digging so far back in his history.  I certainly wasn't expecting to hear anything about Professor Erdel.  This story might just have the potential of being the "sleeper hit" of the series.

The Hawkman and Hawkgirl scene was... okay.  I mean, we're not wasting any time... and I always appreciate that.  I was afraid for a minute that they wouldn't find the bones until like six issues in or something.  So, at least it's moving at a brisker than expected pace (for now).  Unfortunately, it's just not all that interesting (to me).  Never really glommed onto the Hawks.  Outside of that Geoff Johns written solo-ongoing, I've never found the character all that intriguing.

Overall, a neat issue... that raises a ton of interesting questions.  A great way to open the series proper.  The art is also really good throughout.  I feel like DC chose some really complimentary artists here, as the transitions between scenes aren't nearly as jarring as they might've been.  Hell, I hardly even noticed!

Definitely worth a look!

--

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Brightest Day #0 (2010)

Brightest Day #0 (June, 2010)
"Carpe Diem"
Writers - Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller - Fernando Pasarin
Inkers - John Dell, Cam Smith, Prentis Rollins, Dexter Vines & Art Thibert
Colors - Aspen MLT's Peter Steigerwald w/Beth Sotelo
Letterer - Nick J. Napolitano
Assistant Editor - Rex Ogle
Associate Editor - Adam Schlagman
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $3.99

Welcome everyone to... Brightest May!  Where we're going to spend the month revisiting the last time I felt positive and excited about DC Comics' direction!

Now, I'm planning for this to go all the way through May... but, ya know... things happen.  I might get burned out on the concept a week or two in.  It's unlikely that'll happen... but worth mentioning.  We'll just play it by ear.
Brightest Day was when I made my "grand return" to DC Comics fandom after a little while away.  I've mentioned it before, but in 2008 I lost my job... and the Christate was anything but "Palatial".  I actually lost the damn thing!  Needless to say, comics weren't anywhere near a priority at the time.

When things began to turn around, DC Comics was just wrapping up something called Blackest Night.  I gave it one look, figured it would cost me an arm and a leg to get caught up... and turned my attention back to Marvel.  Well, it wasn't too terribly long before the siren song of DC Comics brought me back over.

This... I dunno, "initiative" (I guess?) felt fresh, after years of darkening the DC Universe... there was finally some light.  Heroes were hopeful... and it felt as though we were actually headed somewhere.  Ya know, because DC told us as much.

That's another thing we'll be looking at as we work through the month.  Brightest Day led to the grand cosmic toilet flush of 2011.  Of course DC will tell you that was the plan all along... I think as we re-familiarize ourselves with Brightest Day we'll be able to mythbust the hell out of that.

Anyhoo... I hope you'll join me this month for our trek through an odd, wonderful, and frustrating time in semi-recent DC Comics history.

--

Don't you dare be sour... we open on a new day.  The kind of day where a baby bird might make their first overtures toward leaving the nest... a day where it might be too soon for such a thing.  The poor bird plummets from the tree, and bonks its tiny head against a tombstone.  Not just any tombstone, however... the tombstone of Boston Brand, the not-so Deadman.

Brand lets loose with a sledgehammer, destroying his tombstone... and questioning his new lot in "life".  Since the white ring found him, he's feeling all those "human" things that the rest of us mere mortals find ourselves putting up with every day... achy legs, hunger... stuff like that.  He kneels down and picks up the baby bird... and in a flash of light, it comes back to life!

Then... the white ring speaks.  It asks Deadman for help, while bathing him in white.  Brand's original death would occur in his first-appearance, Strange Adventures #205 (October, 1967).

We shift scenes to the Amnesty Bay Lighthouse, where Mera has begun to stir from her slumber.  She heads outside to find the recently revivified Aquaman watching the sunrise.  Aquaman had died sometime during the Infinite Crisis/One Year Later deal.  He wonders why he was chosen... when Garth and Tula remained dead.  I mean, the easy answer is "those characters couldn't support their own feature, much less title"... but, I get what he means.

Mera attempts to entice him into into going for a swim... but Arthur just can't shake an ominous feeling.  As he sits down on the dock, Deadman appears.

Next stop, Iron Heights Penitentiary, where Deadman materializes before the cell of Eobard Thawne, who had also been brought back to life.  Thawne was killed way back in Flash #325 (September, 1983) in the story that would send that title into the never-ending Trial of the Flash.  Brand considers what this could mean.  Why would the ring choose a psychopath?

At that very moment, the Flash arrives at Iron Heights to check in with yet another returning villain... Captain Boomerang (Digger Harkness).  This Captain died during Identity Crisis.  Barry's not completely sure how to approach him.  Digger ensures him that he won't waste this opportunity.

We shift over to St. Roch, Louisiana where Hawkman and Hawkgirl look at some tchotchkes.  The Hawks were killed not too long ago during Blackest Night.  At that moment, a strange expedition is taking place in the Andes.

Deadman arrives just in time to see the Hawks start "goin' at it"... and so, he shields his face.  After a moment, Carter pulls away... suddenly the room is full of the ghosts of their past lives.

Shiera attempts to comfort him, when an odd crystal shard given to them by a Star Sapphire bursts from his utility belt, and bonds to his gauntlet.  It appears to want to lead them somewhere.

As they follow the mitt, we see just what that expedition has uncovered... the bones belonging to Hawkman and Hawkgirl's first bodies!

We next shift over to our old pal Max Lord.  He's hooked up to IVs and stood before an ice-bath.  Yep, we've discussed this bit before.  Anyhoo, Max was killed by Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman (vol.2) #219 (September, 2005).  He is, of course, putting his "powers of suggestion" into overload in order to make the entire planet forget that he ever existed... and, as we've seen in the pages of Justice League: Generation Lost, it almost works!  Deadman arrives just as he takes the plunge.

Next stop, Mars... where Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner are visiting their pal the Martian Manhunter.  J'onn was killed in Final Crisis #1 (July, 2008).  It's a cordial (jovial, even!) and hopeful reunion between the three friends.  J'onn informs the fellas that he will remain on Mars for now... and do whatever he can to "bring it back".

Speaking of Lanterns, we next shove off to Oa... where the recently returned Jade is being run through some training exercises.  Jenny died in Infinite Crisis Special: Rann-Thanagar War #1 (April, 2006).  She thinks she's being put through this intense regimen in order to keep her from reconnecting with Kyle.  Kyle eventually shows up, and they chat a bit before splitting off.  This scene closes with Jade being frightened by the White Lantern logo?  Well, that's not entirely clear...

Back to Earth, and New York City to be specific.  We're at the funeral for Gehenna, former girlfriend/partner-of-sorts to Jason Rusch, that other Firestorm.  Gehenna was killed in Blackest Night #3 (November, 2009) by Black Lantern Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond).  Well, now Ronnie's back... courtesy of the White Lantern.  Ronnie had died years earlier during Identity Crisis.

It's not the greatest of meetings between Ronnie and Jason... as you might imagine.  Ronnie sheepishly apologizes for turning Jason's girlfriend into a pillar of salt, or whatever... and gets a punch in the face for his troubles.  This results in the two boys combining into an all new Firestorm matrix!

Next stop, Kahndaq, where Amon Tomaz... Osiris has also returned.  He is the brother of Isis, and former student of Black Adam.  He died in 52 #43 (February, 2007).  He "Marvels up" by shouting out the name "Black Adam"... and takes the statues of his sister and mentor for a proper burial.

We head back stateside, to Arlington, Virginia where the revived Hawk (Hank Hall) is teaming up with the still-alive Dove (Dawn Granger) to take out some smugglers.  Hawk died, as Extant... I think (it gets pretty gnarly)... back in JSA #15 (October, 2000).  He's still the same ol' "might makes right" Hawk.  Yadda yadda.

Deadman's final stop (for now) is the decimated Star City.  A great big chunk of Star City was destroyed by Prometheus during Justice League: Cry for Justice... leaving the city severely scarred.

The ring begins to speak again... it's worth mentioning that of all of the folks brought back to life, Boston Brand is the only one still wearing the White Lantern Ring.  The ring cries out for Brand to "Help Them"... while giving us a flash of what's to come.

The ground begins to shake, and Brand falls to the ground.  Suddenly trees begin to sprout, filling in the Star City scar with a lush forest.  Deadman panics and attempts to remove the ring from his finger, but it unsuccessful.

We wrap up in Silver City, New Mexico, where the actual White Lantern Power Battery sits in a crater.  The locals don't know quite what to make of it... however, they don't get the luxury of thinking about it all that long, because... Sinestro is on the scene!

--

Well, that was a whole lot of travelling wasn't it?  I gotta tell ya, I'm exhausted.

This was a great "world building" issue... and really made you feel like you got your money's worth.  It's a $3.99 book, but... we really get a lot here.  I mean, this was supposed to be setting the stage for the DC Universe going forward... if not for, well... you know.

It was cool having Deadman as our "tour guide"... this really was my first time "warming up to" the character, as he never really did all that much for me beforehand.  I mean, I thought he had a cool look and gimmick, but never felt the need to go out of my way to read his adventures.

I suppose that could be said for a few of our heroes here.  Back in 2010 I was far less acquainted with the DC Universe than I am now.  Didn't really follow many of these characters.  So, this odd assortment of revived folks proved to be a better than expected "education" for me.

Firestorm was one of those characters, like Deadman... that I thought looked really cool, but could never really get into his book.  I suppose we could lump Hawk and Dove and the Hawk-family into that pile too!

I will say that I did get a bit tired of the "Why me?" reactions.  I mean, I get it... the more heroic among the revived have those pangs of altruism and whatnot... but it did get a bit old.

I mentioned it in the preamble, but this really was the last time I felt optimistic about DC Comics as a whole.  Even with the recent Rebirth initiative, I was only really excited for 3-4 books.  Hell, even two years into Rebirth, I'm still not sure which continuity we're using!  I feel like DC Comics has a pretty big problem "sticking the landing"... or just plain "committing" to an idea.

With Brightest Day, it seemed as though DC had a clear vision for the entire line.  This was all "leading somewhere"... and these "neo-seminal" stories were going to actually matter.  They were going to lay the foundation for the DC Universe moving forward.  When I read this in 2010, I actually felt as though I was on the "ground floor" of something.  I didn't need a cosmic reset... or toilet flush... this felt new enough for it to be a novelty, yet familiar enough to keep me comfortable.

Over this month, I hope to shine a light (ha!) on this weird hiccup of a time in DC Comics history.  I'd like to kinda "comb" through this to see if we can deduce exactly when DC Comics "threw in the towel"... and lost interest in the initiative in favor of tossing the babies out with the bath-water.  I haven't reread any Brightest Day books (outside of the handful we've already discussed) since 2010/2011.

Hopefully at this point we are far enough removed from this for me to shove aside those feelings of... well, almost betrayal.  I felt like such a jerk buying up all of these Brightest Day books (at cover price, even!)... with the promise that it was leading somewhere, only to be told on Memorial Day, 2011 that we'd been pranked.  I'm sure we'll brush up against these feelings throughout our journey.  If anyone reading has any stories they'd like to share, please feel free!

Overall, as an issue... thought it was great!  The writing was solid and engaging, and Pasarin's art was wonderful.  I'd definitely recommend revisiting (or just plain visiting) this era.

--

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