Was Blackest Night a good story?

[Poe1809]

I love Blackest Night. I'll be frank--I'd dropped comics entirely in 2007 and 2008 to concentrate on my career and my social life. It was Blackest Night that brought me back to comic book collecting again. Fans were just crazy for this story and eating it up left & right. I couldn't resist; I jumped back in.

And I was so glad I did. The story was strong in many ways, particularly for the way Geoff Johns directly examined the role, function and history of death in the DC Universe. He also managed to flesh out the relationship between many classic characters in the DC Universe such as Barry Allen and Hal Jordan or between Aquaman and Mera. Above and beyond some smartly-executed dialogue and some effective characterization, the action sequences were superb. The reveal of Nekron was handled brilliantly, too, with the way Johns built up suspense and got fans hooked on what was happening and then keeping us hooked after the reveal as well.

Blackest Night is easily one of my favorite DC crossovers of all time. It did indeed have a thoroughly engaging plot with smart characterization and sharp dialogue. And the phenomenally lush, detailed artwork by Ivan Reis was a career-defining period for Ivan as a storyteller, too.

Oh, and I loved Brightest Day as well.

I agreed up until that last line. Blackest Night was a fun crossover

[Lancerman]

For a crossover event it was perfect. Had lots of hype so it drew people in. Story was easy to follow and accessible to anybody (a problem events like Final Crisis had). It focused on a core group of characters (the Green Lantern group) while showing small flashes of the rest of the universe. This is important because it gave the readers people to latch on to while not oversaturating the event by throwing everything and the kitchen sink at them. Meanwhile the tie ins all followed a pattern (black lantern ressurecting a friend of the main character) that made them easy to follow and while exposing you to a knew character, also showcased an emotional experience based on that characters history so you felt like you came away knowing something about that character which might persuade you to continue reading it (I know that I only pulled R.E.B.E.L.S. and Secret Six because of the tie in, and otherwise wouldn't have given them a shot). The main story itself was just a very colorful if simple comic book event that had clearly defined villains (the black lanterns) while everybody else was a protagonist so it was the entirity of the DCU, including villains, vs these evil zombies. Pretty straightforward and again accessible. Also the fact that the entire thing was based around emotions gave the characters clear struggles that made them relateable.

Perfect for what it was, if not the most complex and high art level of comics ever. But then again no event should really try that.

[BYC]

Art was really good.

Everything else is meh. The build-up was solid, and Blackest Night started strong, but by issue 3 it was kind of lame and followed the normal comic event arc (enemies are strong, heroes are owned, then heroes somehow figure it out, and enemies are getting one-shotted very easily, everybody joins for the final attack, etc etc etc).

[Topher]

I thought it was fun, if not stretched out a little bit too far.

Basicslly, grab "Blackest Night" and "Green Lantern: Blackest Night". After Blackest Night #1, switch to GL and read the first issue. Then go back to BN for an issue. Then GL. And so on. That gives you pretty much the complete thing without need for tie-ins.

Or just "Blackest Night", and if you like it, go back & read the rest. Kind of a pain to read by trade, but it's a fun "summer blockbuster" type of story.

Honestly though, if you're interested in Green Lantern, the 2 volumes of "Sinestro Corps War" is arguably better.

Agreed on the trades being hard to read. That's why I had mine custom bound. They're done by 2 different binderies, hence the different spines.

[R0NIN]

Blackest Night started good and the finished terribly IMO.

[DrSimonHurt]

Blackest Night only managed to summarize and expose the absurdity of comic book deaths and character returns.

It started to feel more like loose commentary, rather a story. Combine that with the offbeat colored ring gimmick, and you have something that just doesn't work as a story anymore. You can't have a dozen guys returned from the dead standing around fighting zombies. They don't realize the irony in this? They don't question it? At some point, these guys need to stop and go 'wow, what did you see when you died?" Someone is going to start a new religion at some point. At least a social group. You all came back from the dead!! Do something with your SECOND life than the same crap you did the first time that got you and others killed.

I'm glad the multiple character deaths have been wiped from continuity. Talk about a silly base to write from.

I don't know why it was so popular, really. I guess Marvel fans are attracted to shiny colorful things? Power Rangers? Anyone will buy zombies these days. As stupid as they are.

[DrSimonHurt]

It was cool...nowhere near Sinestro Corps War, but it was better than Final Crisis. I didn't like the aftermath (Brightest Day) though.

Final Crisis and Brightest Day are better than both stories. Final Crisis is epic. That's the TRUE purpose of a super hero. The rest is just violent grit with no moral message.

[Michael P]

Goodness, no. It wasn't about anything.

[Toosie25]

I think you need to insert some missing verbs and preposition so we understand do you post. Do you like how they treated Dawn? Hate it? Salivated over it?

more like hate it...