Now that it’s over, we can look back over the 8-issue expanse of D.C.’s most recent “event,” Blackest Night, and see how it measures up. First of all, I can easily say, without a doubt, that it’s the best D.C. event ever. Hands down. All of their past Crises (except perhaps Identity Crisis) have been cluttered, unmanageable affairs with a few assets or game-changers. Batman R.I.P. was confusing and required way too much background knowledge for the average reader. Yet Blackest Night, by focusing on the Green Lantern universe but threatening all existence, was at once self-contained and expansive. And, most importantly, it actually had a slam-bang ending. The climax of an event is where even mighty Marvel missteps (Cap surrenders at the end of Civil War?!?), but Geoff Johns’ conclusion—with its reunions and resurrection no-shows–was enough to warm the heart and bring tears to the eyes.

The first three and a half issues had me doubting whether it would be worth reading. It was just a lot of esoteric characters “rising” and other characters dying without any real emotional impact or any sense that they were, in fact, truly dead. The only cross-over miniseries that I read, Superman, Batman, Titans, and Flash, were disposable. As a casual D.C. reader, there wasn’t much for me there. I was in doubt.

But then the series began to gain momentum. I began to notice how brilliant Ivan Reis’ layouts were—I’ve never seen an entire series told in widescreen before. Geoff Johns’ philosophical discussions began to actually have impact—he was done with exposition and was ready to “show not tell.” Green Lantern has always been my least favorite major D.C. hero. The only time I really liked him before Geoff Johns took over the reigns was when Robin handed him his hat in All Star Batman and Robin. And although I liked the return of Hal Jordan, and liked Sinestro War a little more, I still wasn’t loving the character or concepts. Yet I found myself looking forward to each issue of Blackest Night. It became the book I read first each week.

Was it perfect? No. Johns still spends a little too much time on concept and not enough on character, which creates emotional distance between the reader and the action. And Reis can be a little too busy—he’s the student, while George Perez is the master. And I’m not sure I believe that from here on out, dead is dead in the DCU. After all, the next big thing will be the return of Bruce Wayne. (I know, I know, he was never really “dead.”)
And in the final issue, a lot of what we all knew would happen happened. But it still hit me right in the gut. And left me trusting in, and eagerly awaiting, Brightest Day.

Tags: Blackest Night, Comic books, Zombies