Blackest Night: JSA #1(of 3): Writer: James Robinson. Pencils: Eddy Barrows.
We begin with the Black Lantern versions of Sandman, Dr. Midnite and Mr. Terrific recalling their lives and being raised as BL's. From there we head to the heart of New York City, where the JSA is battling a small army of Black Lanterns, including the aforementioned three deceased heroes, as well as several other dead characters with connections to the JSA. While the battle rages on in the streets, Mr. Terrific(the live one), Power Girl and Wildcat are at STAR Labs, where Mr. Terrific is studying the corpses of BL Superman-2 and BL Psycho Pirate with the hope that he'll be able to deduce a way to end the threat of the BL's once and for all. Terrific figures that he's going to need to create a light to counteract the Black Lanterns so he gets in touch with Flash(Jay Garrick)and tells him to bring Green Lantern(Alan Scott), Stargirl, Thunder and Dr. Fate to the Lab. Flash does as he's told, and Terrific comes to the realization that if he's figured out a course of action, BL Mr. Terrific is sure to try to counter it, and this issue ends with BL Terrific leading an army of BL's straight to STAR Labs and Mr. Terrific.
Oh yeah, I most definitely enjoyed this issue! Besides the main story, you also had the JSA coming face to face with their recently deceased teammate BL Damage, as well as Earth-2's BL Lois Lane going after Ma Hunkel, who is saved by the timely arrival of Power Girl, who is originally from Earth-2 and was like a daughter to BL Lois, plus we also get Liberty Belle running into her dead father, Johnny Quick. Add great action sequences, fabulous storytelling(the retelling of the lives and deaths of Sandman, the original Dr. Midnite and the original Mr. Terrific was fantastic)and good dialogue, and I've got nothing to complain about! Man did I need to read something like this, because I was getting pretty tired of the BN storyline. This one issue has me re-psyched for the rest of the Blackest Night story!
Score: 9 out of 10.
Anytime Jack Knight appears in a comic book(even in a flashback)I automatically add 1/2 to the score!Batman #695: Writer/Pencils: Tony Daniel.
Batman tortures some answers from the Gene-Core scientist who didn't die in the elevator "accident" last issue, and finds out that a girl named Kitrina Falcone had been blackmailing him. Bats heads to the Falcone family home where he discovers two mafia goons fishing a box out of a lake. Kitrina was supposed to have been drowned in the box, but the goons discover she had somehow managed to escape her watery grave, and Bats beats them up and them proceeds to burn down Falcone's house. Catwoman finds Kitrina trying to rob from one of her safehouses, and attacks and ties up the girl, alerting Bats of who she had captured. Huntress, who was tailing the head of the Falcone crime family(Mario), witnesses Reaper attacking Falcone's car, and steps in to prevent Mario's death. While Huntress and Reaper are doing battle, Bats arrives on the scene and attacks Reaper, but Reaper manages to give both Bats and Huntress the slip. From there, Bats heads to Catwoman and the two discover Kitrina had managed to escape. Oracle calls Bats and informs him that Kitrina had called the Penguin 15 minutes earlier from one of the Mad Hatter's bases. Bats heads to Hatter's base(an abandoned amusement park)and enters the fun house, where he is attacked by a murder of poisonous crows... Uh huh... This issue ends with the Penguin and the Mad Hatter placing one of Black Mask's gas masks on Batman's head, with Penguin informing Bats that they'd make great partners.
The Mad Hatter?!? Are you frigging kidding me!?! Hey, all we need now is Toyman and we'll have the three most pathetic villains in all of the DC universe in one place! I almost don't know what to say... So we have a fat guy with an umbrella fetish and a midget with a hat fetish teaming up to take on the fake Black Mask(who I'm beginning to think may be Hush). You've got to love Dick's plan toward the end of this issue, where he simply decides to walk RIGHT into the Mad Hatter's trap! Um, wouldn't the more prudent course of action be to, I don't know, scout around and find another way into the fun house?!? Jeez, if Bruce were dead, he'd be rolling in his grave! So now we have Kitrina Falcone, who is working for the Penguin(I guess...), still free, Mario Falcone, is still around, although I have no clue what he brings to this storyline, the Penguin and the Mad Hatter seem like they're going to use Batman to strike at Black Mask, who coincidentally didn't even appear in this issue! Besides that, the Riddler seems to have lost much of his memory(I have NO idea where THAT fits into this story), Reaper is rotting away, Damian is still trying to figure out the mystery behind Black Mask's gas masks, Dick has a conversation with Dr. Arkham and Dick and Catwoman run around looking like amateurs... What a convoluted mess!
Score: 5 out of 10.
The Penguin AND the Mad hatter in the same comic book?!? You have GOT to be kidding me!
I also think Hush is Black Mask, but didn't they show a first person view from Black Mask in the last issue talking to Hush as Bruce?
ReplyDeleteIt took some doing, but I finally found the issue in question(Batman #693). Black Mask arrives at the party and speaks to the mayor, Commish Gordon and Kate Spencer on page 9, but I don't see Hush/Bruce anywhere on that page. On page 10, Dick is watching as Hush/Bruce is walking around talking to some Gotham City fatcats. On page 8, before he heads to the party, Black Mask tells Dr. Fright that she can't go with him because he'll be meeting with people who, "think they know me."...
ReplyDeletePlus one of the voices coming from Black Mask was talking about sacrificing a Queen or Bishop in a game of chess if he wishes to checkmate his foes. In Streets of Gotham #1, while playing a game of chess with Damian, Hush does just that(sacrifices his Queen), before telling Damian that he was just lulling him into a false sense of security... Hmmm... Anyway, I may be overanalyzing things, but that IS an interesting coincidence.
See, I never even thought of doing that. I agree with you, Hush may just be Black Mask. I mean...why? I have no idea, Hush was a way better gimmick than Black Mask. Although it would explain why Black Mask has his differences with Two-Face. The fact that you went and researched it just increases my respect for ya dude.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let me say that I REALLY hope I'm wrong here, because I hate the idea of Hush being Black Mask. Hush on his own is an awesome villain, and I agree, becoming Black Mask would be a major step down in my eyes as well. All I can think is that with Bruce coming back soon, DC doesn't need two Bruce Wayne's running around, so becoming Black Mask may give Hush something to do upon Bruce's return.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, my comic book room is such a mess it took me like 30 minutes just to find the two comics I was looking for! I REALLY have to get around to straightening that room out...
I agree, I'm hoping he gets disfigured or something. I'd love for Joker to do it because he thinks Bruce is Batman then Bats shows up. That'd be awesome.
ReplyDeleteMan, it's like you live in a library. Gonna learn the Dewey Decimal system?
You know, after I finished off that Batman post from yesterday, I got to thinking, wasn't Hush in prison during the whole Battle for the Cowl thing, which is where Black Mask reappeared? If that's the case, I think we'd better start looking for somebody else to be Black Mask!
ReplyDeleteEverything's fine once I get the comics I read into their respective box/crate. I may not remember what I ate last night, but I could tell you exactly where Maverick #6 is! The problem is that I've got like a few hundred comics piled up waiting to be put away, and I just don't have the time, energy or patience to do it! Until they're put away, it's hard to find the books I've read over the course of the last 7 months or so.
Damn, you're right. When everyone broke out because of him he was stuck in the Batcave. Then again I won't count out that he can escape, he has been shown to be smart as if not smarter than Bruce.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the only thing I was thinking was that either a)he was able to escape at will or b)he hired somebody to do the break-out and act as Black Mask until he escaped. So if it's not Hush, then who is it? It has to be a member of Gotham's elite since Mask struck up conversations with the mayor, the police commish and the DA. Hush as Bruce just makes SO much sense though...
ReplyDeleteIs there anyone else that's a top level person in Gotham outside of Hush as Bruce? I mean we've seen Riddler, and it's clearly not Penguin, so Hush would be the last viable option unless it's someone new right?
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's the thing that has me puzzled... If not Hush, then who? Who could rub shoulders with Gotham's elite without raising any eyebrows? If it's a new character or some lame, little used rich guy, I'm not going to be happy, I'll tell ya that right now! Dr. Arkham also dropped some hints when he said it was probably someone who had never been in Arkham(Hush)and somebody who had come into a large sum of money recently(once again, Hush fits the bill)...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I also caught the thing about it being someone who hadn't been to Arkham. I like the ideea of it being Hush. I hope it's not someone like that guy who said he was Thomas Wayne in Batman R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteUgh, I just want to forget that Batman RIP ever happened, so I agree with you there. Since everything is pointing towards Hush, I'm waiting for the big swerve to happen and it turns out to be somebody completely ridiculous like the Penguin! That's when I throw the comic out the window!
ReplyDeleteLol right? Black Mask is actually gonna be Toyman or something dumb. I wish during BN Catwoman they had Roman Sionis run into the current Black Mask. I don't recall if you read it or not yet, and it's not a spoiler or anything. I'm just somewhat disappointed they couldn't meet and allude to who it may be.
ReplyDeleteNah, I haven't read the recent BN Catwoman issue, but I do know she runs into the former Black mask, which should be good... I hope... Maybe?
ReplyDeleteYou know, if Toyman turned out to be the new Black Mask, I'd fear for anything in my vicinity upon my learning that...
Dude I loved BN Catwoman, I'd probably give it an 8 or a 9 to be honest. You should like it. I'm actually gonna review a bunch of comics tomorrow even though you haven't read them yet but I'll stay vague so you don't get them spoiled.
ReplyDeleteIf Toyman was Black Mask I'd stop reading comics for a while and just read the issues I already own over and over.
Maybe Arkham himself is Black Mask? Just a crazy off to the side idea...
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't do anything that drastic JT. After putting my head through a wall, I'd just go on and read another comic!
ReplyDeleteYou know, Arkham actually works really well as Black Mask, Nagash. The major players in Gotham would recognize him at the party, and he would have been able to blow up the Asylum and implant the explosive devices into the Asylum escapees. You know, I think you may have nailed it!
Lol @ put your head through your wall. You know what, Nagash may be right. I'd love Arkham as Black Mask too and it works. Remember that beam fell on him when Zsasz saved him back in Streets of Gotham? Arkham seems scrawny enough that it makes sense for him to not be able to move it and he's been seen fraternizing with hobsnobs or Gotham. Only thing is didn't he come to that party in a limo? Why would the asylum guy rock a fancy limo to a party? Then again I may be nitpicking?
ReplyDeleteYeah, the part with that beam would also lend itself to Arkham being Mask. If a beam fell on the Hush from the awful Hush Returns storyline, he'd prob be able to benchpress it into orbit!
ReplyDeleteAs for the limo thing... Hmm, it would look kind of wrong if he was riding around in a limo right after his Asylum was blown up, but even still, Arkham makes slightly more sense as Mask then Hush does.
Lol @ Hush being able to benchpress it into orbit. That amuses me. I gotta say now I'm watching Arkham for more suspicious behavior. But wait...Something in Arkham Reborn may or may not conflict with that. I don't wanna say in case you guys haven't read it.
ReplyDeleteNo, I actually haven't read the Arkham Reborn mini yet, although I do have all three parts, so I'll probably give it a read sometime this week. Out of curiousity, was that mini any good?
ReplyDeleteI liked it, I thought it was interesting and I liked that it synced with Batman, whereas it has the same scene from that Batman issue with the party when Arkham was talking to Hush as Bruce. I think you'll appreciate it for what it is when ya do get around to reading it.
ReplyDeleteAlright, cool. I think I'll take it to school with me tomorrow and give it a read. I've got a one hour break between two of my classes, so that'll give me something to read(provided my first class doesn't kill me with homework!).
ReplyDeleteAwesome, if ya do read it I'll be looking forward to your thoughts. I really want Widening Gyre to finish so you can get those 6 issues and give them a read.
ReplyDelete