Green Lantern #44

Yeah, a Blackest Night x-over issue! I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this comic, and once it arrived, it catapulted right to the top of my to read pile. This issue is written by comic book GOD, Geoff Johns.

-This comic begins with us watching the Martian Manhunter receive his Black power ring. Oh, and before I forget, showing the cookie on top of J'onn's tomb was really cool. Very nice touch.

-From there we head to Gotham where Hal and Barry are trying to figure out who could have stolen Bruce's skull from his grave. As we all saw in Blackest Night #1, J'onn attacks the two heroes, and Hal learns from his ring that the creature in front of them is indeed the deceased Martian Manhunter.

-J'onn easily avoids Hal's attempted attacks, and begins to beat the hell out of his two former teammates. J'onn sends Barry away for a moment and begins to tear through Hal's mind, forcing him to relive his Parallax days. Before J'onn can tear Hal's heart out of his chest, Barry rushes over and gets Hal out of harms way.

-The two heroes regroup at a firehouse, and J'onn casually topples the entire building. Hal manages to surround all of the inhabitants of the building with a green force field, and after making sure the firemen were safe, Hal and Barry take off searching for J'onn. Barry spots J'onn, and begins to beat the hell out of him. Unfortunately though, J'onn was messing with Barry's head, and he was actually beating Hal up! Those telepaths are tricky!

-Hal manages to halt Barry's assault, and J'onn walks over and tosses Hal high into the Gotham skyline. The dead martian then knocks Barry into some nasty looking Gotham sewage. Barry disappears under the sewage, ending this issue.

-Other Developments: Scar tells her fellow Guardians(who she has captured)that she has sent the Black Lanterns out to collect the hearts from individuals who are full of strong emotions. For example, Hal's heart would obviously be full of willpower, while Agent Orange's heart is full of greed. Scar tells the Guardians that once she has acquired enough hearts, her mysterious master will be able to rise... John Stewart is sitting amid the ruins of the planet Xanshi, a planet he still blames himself for destroying. While playing back his exchange with Fatality from last issue, a whole slew of Black rings begin to rain down all around him, apparently signaling the resurrection of the dead Xanshi's...

What can I say? I loved this comic. Geoff Johns can write one hell of a great story. This comic had my full attention from begining to end. There wasn't one dull moment. The fight between Hal, Barry and J'onn was wonderfully done, and I haven't a single complaint to voice about it. Scar's scene's were fantastic as always, and believe it or not, that creepy little smurf is rapidly becoming one of my favorite villains! If I have any complaints, it's that we didn't see Black Hand at all, but I guess Geoff is saving Hal's eventual confrontation with Hand for sometime down the road. For a score, I'll give this comic a 10 out of 10. I enjoyed this comic from cover to cover. What else could I really hope for in a comic book?