Green Lantern Talk and More on the Raging Bullets Podcast

Earlier this week I spent a few hours with good friends Sean Whelan and Jim Segulin on the premiere DC Comics podcast, Raging Bullets.  I've been honored to continue to be their special guest when the subject of Green Lantern comes up and we had a great time talking about the most recent issues of the Green Lantern family of books as well as other recent events in the pages of DC Comics.  Topics for this episode include:

• Green Lantern #61
• Green Lantern Corps #56
• Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #6
• Brightest Day #17
• Flashpoint
• The Rip Hunter Wall in Time Masters: Vanishing Point #6
• DC Universe Online

 If you're a regular Raging Bullets listener, here is a link to this specific episode.  As always the discussions goes in depth into the issues and zaniness always ensues!

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More Green Lantern News From New York

Late this afternoon Geoff Johns, Pete Tomasi, Tony Bedard and the whole Green Lantern franchise creative team held the New York Comic Con version of the "Emerald Empire" panel, where more tidbits and hints of what we can look forward to in the coming months were revealed.  New DC exclusive artist Tyler Kirkham was on the panel as the new artist for the Green Lantern Corps title, replacing Ardian Syaf, who of late hasn't had the quality that he had when his run began.  Kirkham is well known for his work at Top Cow and on Marvel's Ultimate Fantastic Four book.

In the Corps title we'll be seeing a lot more of the Weaponer of Qward, who initially thought he was doing something good in creating Sinestro's ring, with the results of arming Sinestro providing the Weaponer with a strong reason to seek revenge.  Bedard also said that Kyle Rayner and Sinestro will have a fight in an upcoming issue that takes place during a Halloween event in Greenwich Village.  Bedard also has some plans for John Stewart, commenting that the character has an untapped potential.

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The Brightest Day Cover Puzzle Final Image Revealed

Today the DCU Blog posted the completed image made up from the Brightest Day variant covers done by Ryan Sook, with a bit of help from DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee and artists Fernando Pasarin and Joel Gomez.  Along with the completed image DC has teased that the completed puzzle is an indication of things to come in the future of the DC Universe.

Of particular note in the image is the inclusion of the mysterious being who has been kidnapping the various entities of the emotional spectrum (who I think is either Sayd or Appa Ali Apsa) holding on to the white lantern and being surrounded by white energy.  It's also interesting that Jade has a white lantern symbol over her head.  

You can see the complete image by clicking the "read more" button.

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More on the Brightest Day Cover Puzzle

Last week I mentioned an ever-growing puzzle made out of the variant White Lantern covers that Ryan Sook is doing for a number of the Brightest Day bannered books.  This week saw three more pieces of the Ryan Sook puzzle released with the variant editions of Green Lantern Corps, Justice Society of America, and Brightest Day.  That gives us seven of the pieces and revealing more of what seems to be an image of a cosmic time line.   

With Hawkman's wings covering up a good portion of Ophidian, I think we're likely to see the interior image turned into a pin-up of its own at some point.  See the revised puzzle image after the jump:

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What Do the Brightest Day Variant Covers Reveal?

So yesterday I was picking up my comics from Heroes Your Mom Threw Out Comics and, as always, chatting with the owner, Jared, about DC and Green Lantern.  I tend to buy the variant covers of the Green Lantern related books and he was asking me about the Ryan Sook variant cover to Birds of Prey #4 and last week's Brightest Day #7.  As we were talking we noticed that parts of Nekron featured in both of them and that the covers interlocked - so of course we both began to wonder if the rest of the Sook variants were all part of a larger image, but Jared didn't have the other books on hand for us to look at.

Doing some surfing, I found that John Babos over on the Comics Nexus site had discovered the same thing and he had all four of the first covers put together to reveal what does indeed amount to a larger image.  When this is DC trying to drum up some buzz or if they are trying to be sneaky is anyone's guess, but it is pretty intriguing none the less.  Here's the image they put in their article, however I've rotated it a bit so that the background image is right side up.  Click on the image for a better view and after the jump I'll share my speculation about the image.

The first four Sook covers

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Green Lantern #54 Review

The second issue of Green Lantern released this May hit the stands as more of our mysterious diminutive figure's plot is revealed, Atrocitus and Dex-Starr find kindred spirits in the subways of New York City and the White Lantern gives Hal Jordan a new mission.

The Story

Hello Kitty!

Under the streets of New York City live goes on unaware that New York has gain two new unusual citizens.  Amidst the violence caused by a band of thugs on a subway car, Dex-Starr and Atrocitus make a notable entrance, vomiting red rage and destruction on the thugs.  The two find New York home due to the rage they sense the city is full of due to the actions of people like these gang members.

Jump to New Mexico where Hal, Carol and Sinestro continue to discuss the White Lantern, the conversation overlapping with the events of Brightest Day #1.  As shown there, none of the three New Guardians are capable of lifting the power battery, with the not-too-surprising allusion to King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone.  However the dialogue continues passed those shown in Brightest Day and when all three New Guardians attempt to lift the battery in unison, the battery reveals images of the Resurrected 12, exclaiming "Help Me Live!"

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Brightest Day 1 Review

Brightest Day #0 really did a great job of whetting our appetites for this new series spinning out of Blackest Night.  The first issue was released this week and the mystery behind the return of the "Resurrected Dozen" deepened with each new element that Geoff Johns and Pete Tomassi revealed throughout this initial issue.

The Story

The battle of wills continues

Back in Silver City, New Mexico where the White Lantern battery appeared, local law enforcement struggle to pick up the battery as Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris and Sinestro arrive on the scene.  Hal intervenes in a brief struggle between the police and Sinestro before Sinestro reveals that the white entity that disappeared at the end of Blackest Night #8 evolved into the white lantern.

It's revealed that no one can lift the battery and Carol makes allusions to the Sword in the Stone and the three are left to wonder who the lantern's King Arthur is. 

Not surprisingly on that note do we jump to Boston Brand, who continues to ponder why he has returned, why he's the only one with a white ring, and why that ring keeps moving him around.  The ring has deposited him on a boat run by a child slavery ring, but the ring continues to only allow Boston to witness events without being seen.  Before the child peddling scum can harm a little girl both Mera and Aquaman arrive to thwart them. 

Aquaman's strange continued link to his days as a Black Lantern come back to haunt everyone as the sea creatures he summons to deal with the slavers are carcasses of dead sea life, and they don't respond to Arthur Curry's commands so much and blatantly kill the bad guys.  Both Mera and Aquaman watch in shock and we are left to ponder along with Boston Brand just what is wrong with the king of the seven seas.

News reports of these events reach Wesport, Massachusetts where we witness a fish monger's seemingly over the top reaction to the news of the return of Aquaman as he kills everyone in his shop upon hearing the news.  Jump to Pittsburgh University where Professor Stein and Ray Palmer try to help Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch come to terms with their new status quo.  The two seem to be unable to separate and their two page appearance comes to a quick close as Ray Palmer is about to tell them some bad news.

Meanwhile on Mars, J'onn J'onzz is discovering new life when he gets flashes of a different version of his initial arrival on Earth, one where he is choking Professor Erdel.  The psychic flash also altered his appearance where Black Lantern elements shine through.  J'onn departs Mars looking for a woman who appeared in the vision.

The Hawks, drawn by the Star Sapphire crystal to their corpse in the Andes mountains, confront the mysterious team trying to lay claim to the bodies of Kafu and Chay-ara.  Carter and Shiera Hall fail to reclaim the skeletons and we learn that none other than Hath-Set is behind the scenes and now in full possession of the remains.  The issue closes with the murderous fish monger leaving behind the burning remains of his store as he walks into the ocean to reveal his true identity...Black Manta.

The Art

As he did during Blackest Night, Ivan Reis continues to show why he's one of the best talents out there right now.  I'm sure he's a bit relieved to be doing a book with fewer characters!  Plainly, this book is gorgeous.

The Writing

If anything I have to say that I felt this issue was a little unbalanced.  Some elements, like the opening scene, Aquaman and Mera's confrontation with the slavers, Black Manta's scenes, and the sequence with the Hawks were very intriguing and drew me in.  The others, though, didn't failed to captivate me.  I think that's just due to the amount of time spent on them and I hope that as the issues progress we'll see the spotlight widen for those characters as their arcs, and those of the characters not shown in this first issue, become more important to the overall story.

What I think

Brightest Day is off to a great start despite being a little uneven in the first issue.  There is, after all, a lot of ground to cover and we can only expect so much time devoted to each subplot as all the elements begin to be established.  This will be a tricky balancing act, but one that I'm positive Johns and Tomassi will have mastered in the weeks to come.

Four out of five lanterns.

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Green Lantern Corps 47 Review

Like Green Lantern 53, this week's Green Lantern Corps 47 is an epilogue to Blackest Night.  However this issue also marks the departure of Peter Tomasi and Pat Gleason from the title as Tomasi heads over to helm Green Lantern Emerald Warriors and Gleason tackles Brightest Day.

The Story -

Light it up!

Oa was hit hard by the assault of the Black Lantern Corps, with the Central Power Battery left ripped from its moorings and hundreds of rings left without bearers.  So the issue starts notably with the remains of the Corps lighting up the main battery. 

Guy and Kyle spend some panels recounting all they've been through during the event, Guy is either hiding from Kyle the mission he's undertaking with Ganthet and Atrocitus as we saw in the closing moments of Green Lantern 53, or it could simply be a case of these events transpiring before that issue. 

There's a great scene where a memorial tree is erected on Mogo to honor the fallen members of the Corps, with each dead lantern represented as a face on one of the leaves.  Since the remains of all the dead lanterns remain in Mogo's core it was decided that the tree would replace the crypts on OA.  

There are signs of the growing distrust of the Guardians by the Corps, with the little blue smurfs not even showing up to the ceremony to honor the dead who perished serving the will of the Guardians.  I think that this is only one rift that's begun to widen between the Corps and their diminutive leaders, one that will take the whole mythos in some exciting directions.

Salaak also directs Mogo to release all the Green Lantern rings that need new masters, so Tony Bedard will have a chance to create some of his own unique characters to add to the Green Lantern universe in the months to come.

Soranik Natu and Kyle Rayner reconnect at the site of Kyle's mural, with Natu motivating Kyle to start it over again as a way to instill morale in the Corps in the face of all they've lost during the recent events.  Knowing that Kilowog will be starring in the Emerald Warriors title it's not surprise to see him turn down his post as the drill instructor.  What's surprising is the selection of Stel as his replacement.

The uneasy alliance crumbles

Vath and Isamot Kol are two of the more interesting characters created for this title and in his goodbye to these characters Peter Tomasi once again plays off of the cultural rift between Rann and Thanagar.  Vath lost his legs during Blackest Night and Kol donated his own legs to Vath since he might regrow them.  Kol did what he thought anyone would do to help their dearest comrade, however Vath is still blinded by the racial hatred that Rann has and only thinks of how he would look to his fellow Rannians.  Despite how much both men have grown to support each other, some hatred and fear still exists.

Kol's anger rises at the ungratefulness for his sacrifice and Vath is about to loose his new legs when they are made to realize the foolishness of their actions.  The two reconcile and another chapter of their journey is left for Tony Bedard to write.

Guys, Arisia and Kyle kick the door down to the Guardians' chamber, demanding that they be allowed to meet despite the efforts of the Guardians to brush them off.  Arisia actually clocks one of them in the face in a great "oh yeah!" moment reminiscent of some of the confrontations that Hal has had with them in the past.  

Guy rightfully calls the Guardians out for blaming a lack of knowledge of some events on Scar's actions, reminding them that more important than that is the realization that the Guardians' actions have done much to undermine the Corps itself, and that those actions, like the Third Law, will prevent good candidates from joining the Corps.  

Guys throws the failure of the Manhunters and the Alpha Lanterns in the Guardian's faces and Kyle reminds them that is wasn't a lack of emotion that took out Nekron, but beings with heart.  Kyle tells the Guardians that they have to earn the trust of Corps again if they are to ever get back on track.

All this prompts Salaak to speak up against the Guardians for the first time, reminding them they he is not a puppet that will mindlessly follow their every command.  He is putting himself in the role of the Guardian's conscience and plans to question some of their policies when he feels they are not in the best interest of the Corps. 

Guy is distraught seeing what's left of Warriors and both he and Kyle talk about how the bar is needed, like the mural, to provide a place for the betterment of the well being of the Corps.  As they are talking a message comes through from the Guardians that they have repealed the Third Law, and the two clink beer bottles toasting the future.  The issue draws to an end, but there is a great two page spread promoting Emerald Warriors that shows some pretty intense scenes.

The Writing -
As much as Geoff Johns is credited for the revitalization of the Green Lantern mythos, I've long thought that Peter Tomasi was really the driving force for Green Lantern: Rebirth when he was an editor.  The Green Lantern Corps can be difficult to write, managing a large cast and stories that have to have cosmic significance.  Throughout this run Tomasi has done both these things very well, and while it's a shame to see him leave this book, he's going to rock Emerald Warriors hard.


The Art -
 Pat Gleason's work is top notch, as usual.  He captures all the right emotions from the anger Arisia feels for the Guardians to the solemn look on the Corps' faces during the dedication of the memorial tree.  His art will be missed in the Green Lantern books.

What Do I Think?

This book has what you need after an exhausting event like Blackest Night - an epilogue that lets you know where everyone stands and sets the stage for what's about to come.  Five lanterns.

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Green Lantern 53 Review

How do you follow up an epic story like Blackest Night in the main Green Lantern title?  With a big dose of creepy and laying the groundwork for even more great stories, that's how!  And Green Lantern #53 does just that as Geoff Johns shows us that he's got a lot lot of awesomeness planned for the next several years.

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Brightest Day #0 Review

All in all Blackest Night was one of the best, if not the best, events that DC has ever pulled off.  The zero issue of Brightest Day picks up just after Blackest Night ends and like a lot of people I am really looking for to seeing what's going to happen with the "Resurrected Dozen".

The Story

The issue starts out with Deadman, or Aliveman as he's been referred to by many people, at his grave site, where a baby bird has just fallen and died after hitting his grave marker.  "Carpe Diem" is front and center in a nice touch of connecting this issue with Blackest Night #8, but we find that Boston Brand isn't exactly happy that he's back among the living.

Boston Brand's always been an interesting character and I'm not sure how much has been revealed about his life before Deadman, so I'm intrigued with what we'll learn about him in this title.  My hunch is that he'll be dead again by issue 26, but time will tell.  Nevertheless, it's been years since Brand felt pain or hunger, so the sudden return of those pangs and the realization that there is no one among the living for him to return to are really hitting home for him.  He takes his frustration out on his grave marker, shattering hit before seeing the fallen bird on the ground.  It's only then that the only White Power Ring in existence and residing on Brand's left hand comes to life.

Everyone wondered how long "Dead means dead" would last, and it's not long as Brand's ring, perhaps fueled by his regret that the baby bird is dead, resurrects it.  Yeah, I know, that's not exactly the kind of return from the dead that they meant, but I think this is the first of other returns that we'll see as time progresses in this story.

Well, that didn't last long!

While it's a little thing, it does give us some idea of what the power of this ring is and just why it may be the most sought after power ring.  The power to return life, or possibly to even create life, is one that I think we'll see people fighting over throughout Brightest Day, and I suspect that we may find that there is a price to be paid for being resurrected.  That being said, Brand disappears in a white light, called to help someone who may be the white entity that went missing after the dust settled in Blackest Night.

Brand appears at Amnesty Bay, where Mera and Aquaman have been celebrating the return of Arthur Curry.  But Aquaman is rather pensive, wondering why he was chosen to return when others hadn't.  In a moment of foreshadowing we see Curry's reflection in the ocean is that of Black Lantern Aquaman and he tells Mera that he has a bad feeling about this return to the land of the living.

In a white flash Deadman leaves the Atlanteans behind as he is taken by the ring to Eobard Thrawne's cell at Iron Heights Penitentiary just as Barry Allen whizzes in to check in on a much thinner and possibly younger Digger Harkness.  Captain Boomerang has also been doing some thinking about the nature of his return, and he expresses to the Flash that he doesn't plan on staying in prison haunted by the reason why he is back.

Again Brand pops out and reappears at the Stonechat Museum where Carter and Shiera Hall are also getting busy after reminiscing about their past lives, and in fact Carter sees the ghosts of those past lives as he as Shiera are embracing.  A crystal shard from the Star Sapphires that was given to Shiera attaches itself to the Claw of Horus.  Simultaneously we see explorers in the Andes mountains unearthing the remains of Khufu and Chay-ara. The hawks take flight and head South, presumably to the Andes and their first bodies.

Maxwell Lord is preparing to do some extreme mental manipulation and trying to anticipate the major nosebleed it will cause as Boston Brand appears.  Lord will either be successful as wiping the memories of his crimes from minds of the DC heroes, or he'll be Public Enemy number one.  Moments later Deadman appears on Mars where Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan have made a visit to J'onn J'onzz, completely with a large box of Choco cookies and milk.  J'onn reveals that he plans to nurture his home planet back to life and that water has appeared deep underground.

Again Brand disappears and shows up as Jade is on Oa undergoing some tests overseen by Soranik Natu, and the writing is on the wall for the inevitable catfight that these two will have over Kyle Rayner.  Speaking of Kyle, he shows up and allays Jade's concerns over her actions as a Black Lantern.  As Kyle and Natu leave Jade a White Lantern symbol appears.

 In New York City Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond struggle to deal with Black Lantern Firestorm's murder of Jason's girlfriend.  Ronnie has no memory of the events of Blackest Night but knowing the effects it has has on Jason and Jason's control of the Firestorm matrix has left him out of sorts and unsure of how to deal with Jason.  Deadman appears here, too, to witness the two merge into Firestorm before popping out and appearing in Kahndaq, where Osiris is being hailed for his return and pledging to restore not only his nation, but Black Adam and Isis as well.

Next Deadman appears in Arlington, Virginia, where Hawk and Dove are beating down some bad guys, and Hawk is making up for lost time by really taking it to them.  Hawk is really getting aggressive in fighting crime, promising to take a number of "preemptive strikes".  Jump to Star City where Deadman laments the loss of life caused by Prometheus during the "Justice League: Cry for Justice" miniseries.  Once again Brand hears a cry for help with the added request that he help the rest of the "Resurrected Dozen". 

Brand's White Lantern ring suddenly stars up and a giant star shaped forest burst forth from the ruins of Star City.  Boston questions the ring, asking what it wants and why were they brought back, but the only reply he gets is "help me live".  In the issue's epilogue, the White Lantern Power Battery that appears at the end of Blackest Night #8 lies in a crater in New Mexico, denying anyone who tries to touch it.  The issue closes with Sinestro arriving on the scene, ready to reclaim the power he held for so short a time.

The Art

Fernando Pasarin does a great job with this issue, capturing the subtleties of the facial expressions of each of the cast members and really setting the tone for this title.  However my greatest pet peeve crops us in this issue - Hal and Guy Gardner's boots are green, not white.  Kyle and Soranik Natu's boots were correct - can we please get some consistency?  

The Writing

 It's Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi - so you can't go wrong with these two guys who've redefined the Green Lantern mythos for today's comic audience.  Brightest Day #0 moves at a good pace, using Boston Brand to hop between all the resurrected characters in somewhat of a predictable manner and serving as a primer for the epic story that's about to unfold over the next half year.

So What do I Think?

Brightest Day #0 does a good job of priming us for the next 26 issues, giving us glimpses of all the main characters we'll see throughout the series while foreshadowing some of the plot and sprinkling bits of information about the events to unfold.  With Johns and Tomasi working on this story jointly, I have high hopes for Brightest Day and I'm really looking forward to what's to come.

If you're not sure if you want to commit to this bi-weekly series, this issue could be the determining factor for you. 

Four out of five lanterns.

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DC Announces "Brightest Day"

**Updated as of 3:15 PM

With the tremendous success of "Blackest Night", it's no surpise to think that DC would want to put out something to piggy back on the sales they've gotten from this event.  Today Dan Didio is making several announcements about "Brightest Day", a title that should surprise absolutely no one.

"Brightest Day" will be anchored by a 26 issues bi-weekly series starting in April of 2010 and will be written by both Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi with a number of different art teams, although new DCU exclusive artist David Finch will be handling all the covers for the series.  "Brightest Day" #0 will feature art by Fernando Pasarin.  Both "Green Lantern" and "Green Lantern Corps" books will feature a "Brightest Day" banner on them during the 26 week period and will continue to be written by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi. 

Like "Blackest Night", "Brightest Day" will be an event that encompasses the entire DCU.   Geoff Johns, in an exclusive interview at IGN has said that "Brightest Day" is to "Blackest Night" what "52" was to "Infinite Crisis".  The story of "Brightest Day" will be one epic year-long story spinning out of the events of "Blackest Night" and the cast will consist of many of the characters who have risen in the eyes of fans recently, such as Ray Palmer and Mera, who Johns has said is definitely one of the main characters in the story.   

Alex Segura at the DC Source Blog hints that the event has been referred to as "DCU: Rebirth" and a number of other ongoing and new series starting after "Blackest Night" ends will also feature the "Brightest Day" banner to reflect a literal or thematic connection to the main book.  Geoff Johns is working with DC editorial to coordinate the books that are carrying the new banner with the "Brightest Day" main series.  Today DC announced the first three books to carry the "Brightest Day" banner besides the Green Latntern titles.  

The new Flash series by the team of Geoff Johns and Frances Manapul was the first book DC announced that will be connected to "Brightest Day".  Another book to carry the "Brightest Day" banner will be "Titans" by the book's new creative team of Eric Wallace and Fabrizio Fiorentino who did the "Ink" mini-series.  The new Titans will be led by Deathstroke the Terminator and two confirmed members of the team are Cheshire and the Tattooed Man. Justice League of America will also start carrying the "Brightest Day" banner beginning with issue #44 - but Dan DiDio is saying very little about why, other than that the roster is likely to be different in the post-Blackest Night DCU.

More announcements about "Brightest Day" are expected to be made in the coming days.

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