Sunday, September 13, 2009

Blackest Night: Superman #1(of 3)

I totally forgot I brought this one! This is one book I've really been looking forward to reading. Well, no time like the present I guess. The writer here is James Robinson with Eddy Barrows providing the pencils.

-This issue opens with Kal-L(Superman)of Earth 2 becoming a Black Lantern. Now that's how you start a story! BL Supes heads to Smallville and begins to terrorize and then kill the folks there.

-From that grizzly sight, we head to the Kent family farm, where Supes is visiting with Superboy(with Krypto)and Ma. Supes wanted to spend some time with Ma considering it was a National Day of Mourning(see Blackest Night #1)and with his duties to New Krypton he hasn't exactly been the most attentive son. While the trio sit around awaiting the arrival of Lois Lane, Krypto, Supes and SB hear something disturbing off in the distance. Supes and SB go to check things out and leave Krypto behind to watch Ma.

-The two head to the local cemetery and arrive at the final resting place of Jonathan Kent, where they find BL Supes standing over Pa's halfway dug up grave. Needless to say, the two heroes are frozen in their tracks at this macabre sight, and BL Supes uses that momentary surprise to attack SB, flying high into the Smallville sky with the teenager.

-Back at the farm, Krypto hears a threat and attacks, but is put down hard by Earth-2's Black Lantern Lois Lane(!), who approaches the frightened Ma.

-BL Supes is in the process of tearing SB's heart out when Supes attacks his deceased counter-part. Eventually BL Supes releases SB, who was knocked out during the ruckus. Supes catches SB before he hits the ground, but when he looks back, he realizes that BL Supes has escaped gone.

-Next up we head to New Krypton where we find Alura and her daughter, Supergirl. The two head to the tomb of Zor-El, the husband and father to Alura and SG. While there, a Black Ring affixes itself to Zor-El, and he rises, ready to attack his shocked family.

-Supes and SB head back to the farm and find the front wall caved in, Krypto unconscious and Ma gone. The two listen and manage to hear Ma's heartbeat in Smallville, which is where they head. After some sleuthing, they find Ma, but discover BL's Supes and Lois holding her captive.

You know what? I absolutely LOVED this comic book! I don't care what anyone says, this was a great comic! The mood was great, the pacing was fantastic, the art was beautiful, the story was well done, to me, this was the total package! Sure, there were some hiccups, for example, Supes leaving BL Supes to catch SB really bothered me... Not for nothing, but so what if SB hit the ground? I can't imagine the fall would have killed him, and by catching SB, Supes allowed BL Supes to get away.

I also enjoyed the way James and Eddy used the Black Lantern's ability to sense emotions in this comic. I loved the way the people in Smallville would all look at BL Supes in complete fear, which we would then see through BL Supes eyes. Hmmm, that last line didn't make that much sense... Let me try that again. You know how each ring controls one emotion? Green = Willpower, Yellow = Fear, Red = Rage, etc. Over the course of this comic, we would view the scenes through the eyes of BL Supes, which led to some really unique and cool visuals. Like when SB and Supes first laid eyes on BL Supes and were struck yellow with fear, or later when Supes was fueled by green(willpower), while SB glowed a strong red(rage). That simple little touch turned this comic from a very good read to an excellent read. For a score, this comic gets a 9 1/2 out of 10. I've got to say, so far I'm really enjoying the Blackest Night companion mini-series' nearly as much as the main Blackest Night mini itself!Between Black Lantern Superman taunting Superboy and the cool visual of Superman filled with several conflicting emotions preparing to attack his deranged doppelganger, this scene rocked!

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