Let the speculation begin! Now that we know the full lineup, who's planning to get this?

We've got:
- Aquaman
- Martian Manhunter
- Hawkman
- Hawkgirl(?)
- Firestorm
- Deadman (Aliveman)
- Jade
- Hawk
- Capt Boomerang
- Reverse Flash
- Osiris
- Max Lord

It's already been announced where some of these characters will end up. Any speculations about the main BD story? The "White Power" battery will be part of it, but how? Reactions to the resurrections?

Martian Manhunter: Personally I could do without J'onn. If he weren't an original JLAer I feel he would've been gone a long time ago. Interesting that they've taken him back to his silver age appearance. (after his last series I guess they decided nobody wants to read about a Hulked up conehead)

Firestorm: I guess DC's experimentation with diversity pretty much has ended.(or at least has rebounded) Blue Beetle's series ended, the new Atom's series - kaput! (look for him to be cannon fodder during the next big crossover) Unfortunately, Montoya's still the Question. (drat!) So "Batman: Brave and the Bold" called it. Flamehead's now Ronnie and Jason. (why does "Ebony and Ivory" keep repeating in my head...?) Is Ronnie going to be in the driver's seat the whole time or will we sometimes get Jason? Or will they go old school Trek on us and have him be half white/half black?

"Alliveman" - so he's apparently the only one with a white ring. What can Deadman do now that he's no longer dead? To get a bit silver age reverse-gimmicky, maybe Boston can now use the ring to become dead heroes where they take over *his* body! (and he takes on their powers and they have the appearance of a "white lantern corps" variation of their old costumes?)

Max Lord - So he's alive and causing trouble. For some reason I'm thinking DC is going to turn him into their version of Marvel's the Hood where he'll be the shadowy figure who recruits or manipulates his way to a power base of super powered agents/allies/pawns.

Jade - I'm glad she's back though I never really followed her. Maybe it's because she has a great look, had a stupid death (after being relegated to being Kyle Rayner's cheating girlfriend) and DC always needs more prominent female heroes. Membership in the JLA certainly helps!

Like the DC-crack-addict I am I'll probably buy every issue of this series and then hate myself immediately afterward! Does anyone know if they have methadone programs for comic-book readers?

I really enjoyed 52 though so I hope Geoff can capture that magic again here.

I like the line-up -

Unlike Drake I'm a big Martian Manhunter fan and think he should be a DCU main-stay. Some characters may not be able to support their own ongoings but they add a whole lot to their comic-book universes just by their very presences - and I think J'onn is one of them.

Hawkman & Hawkgirl - ditto.

Firestorm - I am a Ronnie fan so am obviously very excited about his long-awaited return. I haven't read Jason's solo series but based on all his appearances I've read elsewhere (principally JLA) - I really don't like him. That said, I think the current merging is the best set-up to keep both sets of fans happy so I can live with it.

Aquaman and the Aqua-Family - are definitely my main draw in Brightest Day. I am a BIG fan of the Aquaverse (ever since my brother bought a full-run of the awesome Jim Aparo run of Adventure Comics Aquaman stories way back when - The Shark taking control of Atlantis and exiling Aquaman, the revelation of why Black Manta chose that name, Aqualad's discovery of his birth-right, THE DEATH OF AQUABABY... that is a *fantastic* run of stories and I urge everyone to check 'em out if they get the chance). Anyway, I have high hopes for Arthur, Mera and co. in this book and I will be VERY disappointed if Garth, Vulko, Koryak, Dolphin and all the rest of the great Aquaman supporitng characters who have been so needlessly killed off in recent years don't get a wholesale resurrection by the end of it.

I'm not too involved in the stories of Captain Boomerang, Reverse-Flash or Max Lord though but I'm guessing those will be told in the pages of Flash and Justice League: Generations respectively, so I can probably ignore them for the most part.

All in all - I'm cautiously optimistic about Brightest Day.

All of the resurrectees bring a level of interest for me. What little I've heard of Johns' opening run on FLASH has me excited for Cap Boomerrang's return. Ditto for Max Lord and JL:GL. And those are two books I likely wouldn't have read otherwise.

I'll pick up BD, give it a couple of months, see how I'm enjoying it. Johns' hasn't disappointed me, and with characters like Carter Hall & Mera, he's already shown he can handle them well.

I will certainly purchase Brightest Day, given the creators involved and characters involved and then will review: by either giving praise I feel is deserved or outrageously over the top criticisms.

Since we brought up BD, I have to ask- anyone interested in Justice League: Generation Lost or DCU:Legacies (or whatever the Len Wein book is called?)

I'm getting the first issue of BD...more for the ring than anything else.

The Flash series is a given for me. I'm going to continue the main GL title for now.

I cannot afford to follow a biweekly series, so I'll have to read about the JLI group on line.

Wow, I was just thinking of bringing Osirus back in a story (co-habiting Sobek's body, since Sobek, in my sideways-verse, was explicitly created to devour one of the Marvel family and steal their power...).

Freaky that DC killed the dude, resurrected him, and then killed him again, only to be resurrecting him yet again in the same storyline.

He should be named Kenny!

The first issue of Blackest Night killed any remaining interest I had in the current DCU.

So, no, I am not going to be buying Brightest Day.

I'm trying to avoid buying DCU comics as much as I can because the only way DiDio will get fired is if sales go down.

^^^ I completely agree with you re: Didio DD. And I wouldn't just stop there. I think Eddie Berganza is also a blight on that company and some of the things I hear coming from Ian Sattler's mouth trouble me too.

Basically, I think all the problems at that company can be laid at the feet of its incompetent and heavy-handed editors, and the sooner they are all tossed out on the street the better that place would be.

Case in point - I have been very hard on James Robinson and his woeful return to comics, most obviously evidenced by that execrable Cry For Justice drek. But after reading his WonderCon interview I'm a little more forgiving of him. Apparently his editors on that book -

wanted him to have Prometheus destroy every fictional city in the DCU except for Gotham City and Metropolis!

Just think about that for a sec. Star City, Coast City, Central City, Keystone City, Hub City, Midway City, Opal City, Gateway City... all gone.

What kind of creatively bankrupt douchewads could possibly think that that kind of wholesale destruction would improve the DCU?!?

Fortunately James Robinson talked them down into just destroying Star City (which is still bad enough) but with bottom-feeders like that steering these books we love who knows how long before another equally as bone-headed a decsion gets pushed on the writers?

Sheesh! Next thing they'll start wanting to destroy whole planets in the Legion! Oh wait...

And there are people who think we're overreacting when we say "fire Didio and all the editors"?

Can 'em.

Preview's up!:
CBR preview - click to view

Why do you guys think I've been busting whatever energy I can spare in between school, my four jobs, and the ongoing soap opera that is my family in that movement to bring back Arsenal's daughter? It's not just about her, but so that why that train wreck doesn't have Harper spend the next two years as a villain, followed by a decade of redemption.

Read issue #0. Not bad and there's enough to get me to get issue #1.

I picked up #0. I'm curious enough about Boston Brand and the Hawks to possibly pick up the main series, but I have no intention of picking up the tie ins. What are the chances the story will actually be wrapped up in the series? Any guesses?

I think the main thrust of the White Lantern will be, but I doubt that all the individual stories wull be 100% completed. They have to get you to buy the next thing.

I'M ALL ABOUT JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST.

just hope they don't all end up dead. or evil. or both. and decapitated by a chick in a bathing suit.

In #1 of BD, who do you think is the soul demanding that Boston resurrect them?
I don't know if there's another thread for this question, but I'm wondering if it might be Kara.

They brought back so many, most that they've killed fairly recently.
But what's the point?
Who's the most famous, currently dead, DCU character?
They brought back Barry, why not Kara, the original?

Brainy's in this era, at the moment.

I want Holly the Hawk and Owen Mercer the Boomer 2 back alive, not Hank Hawk and Digger. *sigh* Max Lord is back alive is a surprise to me...and I wonder how will that affect Wonder Woman because she was the one who killed him. Hmmm...I sure wish that the white lantern could have brought back more than just 12 people - including Karate Kid and Una (and Kinetix, Sun Boy, Rond Vidar, and Element Lad.)...oh why limit to 12 people?

otherwise, I am so glad to see Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and Hawks back alive with understanding and hoping that they will find a way to bring Kendra and Gehenna and the Aqua family and supporting characters back alive...Kendra has a child who needs a mother....wondering how will Sheira deal with this. too many questions and needs a lot of answers...but afraid that many of them will remain dangling.

Let's all remember Boston Brand's new powers, used on that little baby bird...

there's no telling who all might come back?

Ummm, I AM WICKED INTERESTED.

Brightest Day has my curiosity piqued. I want to see what happens with Aquaman and Mera.. loved her nude scenes.. yum!

Anyway, I wanna see where the White Lantern thing goes, and if any other resurrections are coming our way.

I really do not care about the original Capt Boomerang or Professor Zoom. I prefer Owen, and if any originals had been brought back, I'd have rather have seen James Jesse, the original Trickster.

I did pick up some Brightest Day books; Flash #1, Green Lantern #53, and Justice League #44. I really liked the Green Lanten stuff.. you can really see Geoff Johns buildiing up to something huge with that book.. I haven't read the JLA one yet, but the Flash book.... wow. Just beautiful.

I'll be picking up Generation Lost and DCU Legacy too... i may as well just sign my paycheck over to DC..

Quick question. Did anyone here buy the Final Crisis: Requiem tie-in?

^ Was that the Greg Rucka one about the Spectre and the Question? If so, I bought the first couple of issues and then got bored of the sucky story and the scratchy artwork.

Re: Brightest Day #0 - It was a nice intro issue to the various characters who will be taking centre stage in the book but it was a bit light on story. So far I'm most interested in the Deadman, Aquaman, Firestorm and the Hawks' subplots.

My one complaint, and I know it's one I've mentioned before, is that these 12 were the only ones who came back. SO disappointed that they didn't use the opportunity to bring back more. Even just another 10 would've been better. Especially females. Not including Hawkgirl (who only died so they could bring her back a few issues later) Jade was the only returning femme. Where's Lilith? Maxima? Celsius? Dolphin? Golden Glider? Kole? ... It's going to be hard to enjoy something that feels like a missed opportunity.

And to those who think more resurrections are coming - I would love it if that were the case but Geoff Johns specifically said at one of the recent Cons that there were "no more" resurrections to come and that these 12 were it. Would be wonderful if he was just using some misdirection but I'm not so sure.

That's what makes it so annoying for me as well and makes it hard to care about this series or any of its stories.

I at least thought Garth, Holly and Damage would be back since they were just sacrificed for that stupid Blackest Night (all three of them were Titans as well...I'd never join that organization if I were in the DCU).

The ones I really had hoped to return were Ralph (and Sue too) and Lilith.

The one I'd have really loved to see come back was Joker's Daughter. Just glad they didn't turn her into a Black Lantern.

Anyway, I asked about Requiem because, what was the point of killing J'onn, giving him a proper send-off and a funeral, where it appeared he was back with his family, only just to bring him back two years later?

This is the guy who swore up and down there wouldn't be a White Lantern... :rolleyes:

^ Did he? I don't remember that. But it gives me some hope if so.

Prepare to vomit. Dan Didio (or someone equally as clueless as to what comic book readers want) thinks that Ralph and Sue had one of those 'good' comic deaths (like Barry Allen or Ted Kord or someone) that left a lasting impact on the stories they appeared in. OK, Sue maybe (if you feel like your stories don't have enough flambeed pregnant women in them) but Ralph's story was easily the most neglected of the various 52 plots and then his so-called heroic death consisted of trapping Neron in Dr Fate's tower after being rather unceremoniously murdered by him... a final act of heroism that lasted about two months before Neron started popping up again in other books. What a total waste!

That said, unlike other fantastic currently-dead characters, I am 100% positive that Ralph and Sue Dibny will be back in our books in one form or another within the next few years. Flash would be my best bet.

So I've just picked up about 5 weeks of comics and decided I'd start with Brightest Day #0. After about two weeks now of waging serious criticisms against DC and Geoff Johns in particular on Lardy's Roundtable thread, I've tried to clear my mind and really try to judge for myself how good this series is and will be. Though I've kind of emerged as a leader of the 'anti' faction of that thread, my opinions really fall in the middle of the spectrum on the topic.

As I've said elsewhere, here's how I feel. The deaths were so pointless for most of these characters and DC has done such a poor job in the past few years that for the most part I found the deaths not all that exciting and likewise, I've found their rebirths equally non-exciting. To sum it up: "big deal. :rolleyes: "

That being said, if at long last, someone can actually write a good story about these characters, rather than pointless 'events'...well, that's something I'd love to see!

So #1 was all set-up, as you'd imagine it'd be, but I did like the way each character featured is given a little primer for the reader. I'm assuming Max Lord will be in the Giffen/Winnick bi-monthly and Hawk will be in BOP, so this will focus on the other 8 plus the Atom, GL, Flash and Mera. That, in and of itself, is an exciting premise I can get behind.

The larger storyline, involving the white lantern, just seems like the perfect example of the DC/Marvel mentality to just have one never-ending story lead into another. It's not anything to write home to Mom about. I'm hoping Johns and Tomasi can give me the character moments and plot twists we'll need over 26 issues to rise above what already (and perhaps I'm a bit premature) looks like a plotline that isn't going to be anything new.

I did like the Mera/Aquaman scene quite a bit, and I also really enjoyed the dynamic between Jason and Ronnie and where that will take Firestorm. I hope Prof. Stein continues to play an intergral part of that relationship.

I sure hope Martian Manhunter will have a real storyline for once and not just all nostalgia and love fest crap that so often gets pushed on the readers when we see J'onn. We get it; "heart and soul of the JLA". Enough. When I want to feel that sense of fake emotion, I'll listen to a Nickelback song.

While I loved the Osirus death scene in 52, I know Geoff always has good Black Adam related stories to tell, so I'm intrigued.

Deadman is one of my favorite characters, ever since my Dad read me the Neal Adams Strange Adventures stories when I was still really young. I feel ultimately by the story's end, he'll be the 'classic' Deadman again. But I am enjoying his chance to be a lead for the first time in forever.

The Finch covers are astoundingly beautiful.

I'm definitely going to keep buying for now. My personal goal is to focus on the actual story being told rather than the huge disappointment I feel towards DC in general and the results of Blackest Night.

I just realized, they ALREADY broke the "dead is dead" thing.

Where Sarky?

Here.

Did anyone fail to notice that they brought a dead bird back to life in the very first issue? Whether it's Blue Beetle or a little bird, if they could bring ANYTHING back to life pretty much renders the "dead is dead" thing moot.

Not yet...let's see what happens. A bird is not major characters. But there does seem to be something happening, so I have hope for the future.

On the other hand, just saw a preview for the latest issue of JSA Allstars, and Damage is in it. Does this happen before BN? Or did they bring him back somewhere that I didn't see?

There's a solicit for JSA All Stars, either this month or next, where the team has a memorial service.

So I'm not sure where the book take place in comparison to BN. JSA proper showed Jesse in her Liberty Bell (looks so much better than the Jesse Quick look she is sporting for her move to the JLA) look, so it must be pre-BN.

Thanks. Seems kinda convoluted. Timing could have been better.

Preview for issue #1 up...

http://comics.ign.com/articles/108/1087547p1.html

Love the variant cover, and the look on sinestro's face after Hal confronts him as to why he brought him to the White Lantern.

Issue one might have just enough to keep me on board for another one.

Liked the Aquaman story...and his opposite number showing up again.

The Firestorm thing has me curious, as does the hawks.

J'onn's story might be interesting, too early to tell.

Deadman is the narrator for this thing it seems.

Good so far, but splitting the story between this many characters gives little room for good story movement...little beats here and there.

So, who's telling Boston to bring em back?

I'm enjoying this series much more than I thought I would after Blackest Night ... I hope Johns can keep the mystery of "why these twelve?" going without making it too convoluted ... also, loved the final page ...

With only one issue, the pace is already killing me. I want to know more about what's happening, with Auqaman and the Hawks specifically. I'm curious to see which writer is handling which characters.

It's a beautiful looking book too! The White lantern story impressed me the most, but seeing the detail with Hawkman/woman also made me drool.

DC got me with this book. Word is anthologies don't sell. This is an example of one that does. I think even monthly, with a number of recurring stories, DC could definitely keep this title going past 26 issues. (And all this based on 2 issues released so far.)

I'm thinking that's because it's being sold as an event, not an anthology.

The look on Sinestro's face when Hal pwned him was priceless.

Best panel of the year so far. Perfectly captured his emotion.

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">So, Ryan Choi's dead.</span></span>

So, in "Brightest Day", we finally meet Deathstroke's Titans.

Cheshire, Osiris, Tattooed Man, and a new character, Cinder.

I fail to understand how this Deathstroke is any different from the one who started Titans East.

Loss of another character today. More death. Was this what 1985 felt like?

No more Brightest Day for me. All dropped.

So BRIGHTEST DAY's form begins to take shape. I'm glad it isn't literally 'one day', the way Blackest Night was supposed to all take place in one night. I was a little worried about that, as I think the DCU was held hostage to BN.

Don't Hal and Sinestro and Carol get enough play in the GL books?

I want more Deadman... he's the high spot, for me.

Followed closely by the couples Aquatic and Aerial. Mera's *never* gotten this kind of play, and I love seeing it. Aquaman's new spin on his 'talk to the fishes' (ow- is *that* where the idea came from?) power was... disturbing. Like in it disturbed my digestion. I was eating while I read this! Thank God it wasn't sea food... Intriguing, though.

The Hawks' reunion with their original-incarnations' bones... uh, are they going to be communicating with dead birds?... well, I'm not as excited to see this. Yeah, it's worth reading and I hope it leads somewhere (Hath-set's little comeback would seem to point that it will), but it seems like I just read Hawk-adjustments. I don't really have an idea of how Shiera will be different from Kendra, in fact, I don't have an impression of Shiera as a character at all, really. As opposed to *Shayera*, who I still miss and wanted to see return a million times more than her golden-aged counterpart. Oh, well... wonder if Golden Eagle will make his way back to Earth anytime soon?

Martian Manhunter's quest to rebuild on Mars is a worthy one and I hope becomes a longstanding goal he continually works toward- once he solves the mystery of the girl in his psychic 'flash'. I wouldn't mind seeing his detective-aspect played up big time. Somebody's got to fill the void left by Elongated Man, since the Ghost Detectives apparently *isn't* something DC wants to investigate. Unfortunately.

Firestorm is a character I've never really cared about too much, so it doesn't matter who's under the costume to me as much as it does to lots of readers. I can't help think after reading the TITANS BD issue that Ryan Choi would've been a fun addition to the scene featuring Ray Palmer interacting with Firestorm(s). There could be an Atom for each Firestorm! I'm serious, really, why wouldn't two scientific heads be better than one (unless they're arguing and trapped inside a matrix, I guess).

The David Finch covers are truly a wonder to behold. I'm really impressed by them--his style with that much color really pops for me.

Brightest Day #2 worked for me; the pacing reminds me very much of 52 and that is something I hope continues throughout. If Geoff and Tomasi can make it feel like all storylines are moving forward while not bogging us down with unnecessary sequences, Brightest Day has the potential to be the best comic on the market.

I like that not all of the resurrected are important here. With Osiris, Captain Boomerang, Zoom and Hawk elsewhere, we're getting J'onn, the Hawks, Aquaman (with Mera), Firestorm and Deadman. With Flash, GL and the Atom appearing, this is the best JLA comic book on the market.

The least interesting story thus far to me is J'onn's but there is still time. I'm hoping they give him a solid storyline to remind us why he's so awesome.

He was in the book. For one page. And he's on the fricking cover.

Thumbs up from me after 0, 1 and 2.

I'm liking it as well...

It's not bad...but <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">DC is really pushing it with killing children within their stories.</span></span>
Getting kinda tired of it. I wish there were more regular comics that I could just hand my daughter...not just the ones specifically aimed at her age group.

I'll try and do something about it.

In my comics, you could expect something like Batman just staring down a henchman, STARING at him, and the henchman just runs off screaming and jumps out a window.

yeah what was with the <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">white martian scene </span></span>

egad. i'm 32 and that gave me nightmares.

otherwise this issue seemed a bit light, very easy to read through quickly.

I thought #2 and #3 were a bit weaker than #0 and #1. Not falling into 'bad' territory but not enough is happening and the ultra-violence is just ridiculous. Killing children and Hawkman gutting henchmen. I'd be embarrassed to hand this comic book to someone's kids which is too bad because it has so many classic DC superheroes.

The Anti-Monitor is one of the great big bads of all time in comic book history and one of my favorites because of just the sheer scope of him in Crisis. I've always kind of wanted a 2nd awesome Anti-Monitor story but have also always felt it could end up being kind of crappy. I don't want the character used unless its going to be really awesome. So I'm not sure what the AM's role here is going to be but if they do plan to use him, they need to make sure its freaking awesome. Because immediately everyone will compare it Crisis which I feel is a fair thing to do.

The only thing I liked about this issue was Jason's dad telling Ronnie to stay away from him.

dude. me too.

the scene with the anti-monitor was laugh out loud funny.

Ring: "fight"
Dead Man: "Do you want me to die?"

bwahahaha

but if they are gonna make the big bad the anti-monitor i kinda would've like to see the old historical team from the C.O.I.E. (cyborg, psimon, dawnstar, obsidian, firestorm, killer frost, etc. teh ones that helped with the tower business) I mean they brought people back to life anyways. might be a more interesting story. more holistic.

#3 was very much character interaction. The Anti-Monitor fight was the only real conflict, and not much of one. Everyone else was just talking- to each other or themselves. It's bound to be a slower issue.

And with 5 stories going, there's not going to be much time for even the talking to give us a lot.

I've read a lof complaints about this book on other boards but (other than the ultra-violence in #2) I'm really enjoying it.

I love the way the stories are being developed slowly. I'm usually much more engaged by the journey to the big fight/climax than by the big fight/climax itself (see Blackest Night and its exciting first few issues before it hit the dead wall that was that never-ending fight in Coast City) so the little hints about the developing mysteries are right up my alley.

This will probably change month to month but I think my favourite story at the moment is the Martian Manhunter one, with the least favourite being the Hawkman/Hawkgirl one. I'm not a fan of that dumb past lives retcon Geoff Johns gave them (especially that I now have to read every Silent Knight, Nighthawk and Cinammon appearance as a Hawks appearance) so the fact that this story seems to be treading that territory annoys me. We'll see. That portal at the end of #3 was kind of exciting.

The art is uniformly excellent though. Especially on the Firestorm part. This artist is a revelation to me. Who is it? Is it Adrian Syaf? Where can I see more of his stuff?

P.S. I am *still* bummed we didn't get more resurrections in Blackest Night than just these 12. It is my great hope that this book is leading to a mystery of who the Other Twelve are and we see 12 more characters who were also resurrected behind the scenes. That would be great IMO.

I wouldn't mind another 12 by BD's end (and then a firm 'this is it' when the mini ends). It should be 12 people DC has stupidly killed off in the last 10 years.

I also agree wholeheartdly on the Firestorm art which is by Scott Clark! Very good artwork, and he does two things I really like: really cool Atom shrinking/growing sequences and makes Firestorm look as cool as he should look everytime he appears on panel. Firestorm has one of the best comic book costume ever. I also like how the Firestorm scenes have a bunch of different characters who have a distinct look: Ronnie, Jason, Jason's Dad, Prof. Stein, the Atom--very pleasing to the eye. I'm hoping the end result is Ronnie, Jason and Prof. Stein are somehow all Firestorm. The Prof is absolutely needed to make the character work.

Adrian Syaf is doing the Deadman sequences which actually might be favorite stuff art-wise on the comic. The way he draws Deadman feels very different to me than before, and not just because he's alive now with no mask. There is a firmness in his stance. I like it.

The artwork on all five series is very good and there is a uniform feel to it all.

FYI, the other artists:

Ivan Reis doing Aquaman & Mera - I've liked Reis stuff quite a bit and think he draws the hottest Mera I've ever seen (and I've had a crush on Mera since I was a little kid, just like Tinya & Alanna).

Joe Prado doing Hawkman & Hawkgirl

Pat Gleason doing Martian Manhunter

After #2 and the Martian mass murder stuff, I'm not I will continue reading this, despite the fact that I kind of like the episodic approach and I agree the art is quite good.

I grow increasingly troubled by Johns and Tomasi replacing superheroic and sci-fi elements with horror elements. It started to bother me in the Sinestro Corps War, but they managed to keep the horror aspect of the fear corps in line. Afterwards, the emphasis on horror led me to drop GLC, and I dropped the GL book with Blackest Night. At that point, you had a horrific Sinestro Corps, Orange Lanterns that dismember opponents and claim the victim's souls, Red Lanterns that vomit blood and act like zombies, and Black Lanterns that rip out hearts and ARE zombies.

My main complaint about all this, aside from the fact that I don't want to even leave it lying around the house where the 7-year old can read it, is that I believe it to be fundamentally incompatible with super-heroics when it goes beyond a certain point, which I think Johns and Tomasi have crossed. The horror genre is about suspense, surprise, irony, and human failings. People are too stupid and venal to save themselves from a grisly death. That just doesn't work with heroes, especially the science fictional Green Lanterns, who are supposed to be about will, intelligence and comaraderie transcending differences of species and world view.

^I agree with a lot of what you're saying DC. If the ultra-violence keeps up, I may drop this as well. It's not that I can't stomach blood or anything (far from it, I collect a lot of horror stuff). It's that I just feel like it doesn't work with DC superheroes and is a major flaw Geoff & pals need to overcome.

It's the most juvenile thing mainstream comics do these days and above all else, its entirely too distracting.

^ I agree with you both. I am (somewhat of) a Geoff Johns fan but dude is obsessed with putting am unhealthy level of gore in his books. Especially when he works with (the supremely overrated) Ethan van Sciver.

I first noticed it a few years ago in that Shark story in Green Lantern which featured the formerly-only-mind-devouring villain graphically chomping on a young man so that half of his arm and face were hanging out of the villain's mouth in a big splash shot on the final page! It was disgusting! Unfortunately the fan boys ate it up if the comments on ComicBloc at the time were anything to go by.

It's becoming a real turn-off to me though. If there's much more of it in Brightest Day I too will be dropping it.

Thanks for the artist breakdown by the way CK. So it's Scott Clark on the Firestorm portion. Funny - I've never even heard of that guy. Will definitely be seeking out other work he's done now. Totally agree with you on how awesome he makes Firestorm and the Atom look too.

The Deadman and Aquaman scenes are done by different artists? They look exactly the same to me. I thought they were all Reis. And though I of course know how Gleason is I totally thought I was looking at Doug Mahnke's work in Brightest Day. Two other artist's with very similar style IMO.

What a shame Joe Prado had to leave Adventure to do this book but good for him I suppose.

They still have me for now, but just barely. One more gratuitus slasher movie scene and I think I'm done. The rest of the issue was fine, good even, but the Marthian Manhunter scene goes over the top again with the graphic images.

Wow. A new Aqualad. And I... don't care.

http://www.titanstower.com/monitor/?p=1867#comments

I like the horror genre.

Enjoyed # 3.

I am liking the series, but getting only two or three pages per character/s leaves me feeling like I ate a rice cake for dinner.

I like horror as well, but not graphic images in a mainstream hero comic. I know it may seem odd, but I think there is a time aand place for that stuff. I loved Sandman and that had some really disturbing images in it...but it was aimed for adults.

I'm more alarmed by the fact that this new Aqualad is from 'one of the driest places on Earth' than by the fact that there is one, or by the fact that he's black.

I wonder if he'll have water control or something but won't be a swimmer...

... that'd be too much of a stereotype, wouldn't it?

Garth hasn't used the Aqualad name in over a decade, so his potential return really wouldn't have an impact on the new guy. The spectre of the Ryan Choi Atom does linger, however.

I think his introductory cover is great... it does quite a bit to win me over (funny how good art can do that), though the relative positions of Aqualad and Deadman sent my mind somewhere I don't think the artist intended, though you never know.

New guy looks a tad older than I'd think for a guy who'd call himself Aqualad.

I think there's a difference between horror and gore.

I like scary, thrilling, chilling, spilling, occasionally-gory-if-it-suits-the-story horror.

I don't like here's-a-family-being-graphically-beaten-to-death-and-then-flayed-in-as-explicitly-gory-a-way-as-possible-when-an-off-panel-death-would-have-been-just-as-sufficient in the middle of my otherwise fairly run-of-the-mill superhero story.

That said, Martian Manhunter did seem to recognise (or react to) the fact that the baddie was skinning the bodies, so there may be an important reason for that fact coming up which will make the horribleness of that event pertinent to the story at least.

Re: Aqualad. It's hard to get invested in any new characters at DC these days since they've all got 'Future Event Casualty' stamped on their foreheads from the get-go.

It's a bit weird that we're getting a new Aqualad though. Don't we already have a fairly new Aquagirl? (Not that I'm much of a fan of hers mind you so I have no problem with this guy taking her place if he turns out to be more likeable than she is.)

The one thing that annoys me about him is that he's American. God forbid DC introduce a major character who happens to be from one of the more than a hundred other countries in the world. Especially since I imagine 90% of his storylines are going to be set underwater so he really could have come from anywhere.

I also hope this new character doesn't mean Garth/Tempest will take longer to return. He's a great character who still has way too many good stories left in him.

Nice cover though (if you can look past the unfortunate positioning that Mystery Lad has noticed too...)

I recall DC tried doing that a few years ago with their Planet DC thing and most of the changes didn't stick.

Squire and Knight are a couple of cool foreign characters.

The third part of that. Yes.

Foreign countries have Superman and the JLA

The day I start having faith in DC again that they won't kill off any new character is the day I start getting interested again in DC's new characters.

I understand that Vixen was originally gonna start a JL for Africa after Cry for Justice. Wonder why THAT never took off.

It's not just the new guys. Someone said on CBR that DC has killed between 100 and 150 characters in the last six years. I don't know how many they resurrected in that time, though. Still, they need to rebuild some trust.

Are you serious?!

Look at how many died in Blackest Night alone.

I'm making a list now and subtracting the ones who've come back.

I've counted 94 with 19 in them back, but it could go into the 100,000s if you're country Bialya and New Krypton.

*sigh* so there is another announcement...Aqualad is making a comeback.....but not Garth.....a NEW Aqualad....sigh....because they want to have him appear in comics first before the cartoon show (the Young Justice)...drats!!! and what s more...all white heroes who died or replaced and the replacements get shafted...look at The Atom Ryan Choi (got killed) and Firestorm (Jason and Gehenna - who got salted out) Ronnie now stealing a thunder. groan.

156

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY SIX

Nah, I think they are only referring to main heroes and villians...which of course I know you know.

It's not between 100 and 150. Even with those resurrected it's in the 200s.

Agent Liberty
Alexander Luthor Jr. of Earth-3
Alexander Nero
Alex Montez
Alura
Amon Sur
Anima
Animal Man (Brought Back)
Aquaman (Resurrected)
Ash
Ballistic
Baron Blitzkrieg
Baby Wildebeest
Black Bison
Black Condor II
Black Mask
Blockbuster II
Bob the Monitor
Bolt
Bombshell (Resurrected)
Boy Blue of Seven Soldiers
Brain
Breach
Brother Blood
Brutale
Bug
Bushido
Bzzd
Captain Boomerang I (Resurrected)
Captain Boomerang II
Cassandra Cain (Lazarus Pit)
Cerdian
Charaxes
Chris Kent of Earth-15 (Or 16)
Christina a.k.a. Lady Flash
Clayface VII
Clayface III or V (From Cry for Justice, never really differentiated)
Copperhead
Crispus Allen (Returned as Spectre)
Crispus Allen’s Son (Resurrected)
Damage
Dark Ranger
David Reid (Reborn as Magog)
Deborah Camille Darnell Star Sapphire
Disruptor
Doctor Light
Doctor Polaris
Dolphin
Donna Troy (Resurrected)
Double-Header
Dream Girl of Earth-Prime (Resurrected)
Duela Dent
Dyno-Mite Dan
Effigy
Element Lad of Earth-Prime
Elongated Man
El Sombrero
Endless Winter
Everyman (Resurrected)
Face
Fel Andar
Fever
Fiddler
Freedom Beast
Fury III a.k.a. Amazing Woman
Galius Zed
Gehenna
Geist
General Glory II
Gimmix
Gizmo II
Gloriana Tenebrae
Gloss
Gretti
Griffin
Hank Hall (Resurrected)
Harbinger
Harold
Hawkgirl (Resurrected)
Hawkman (Resurrected)
Hawkwoman
Hector Hall
Hellhound
Herr Superman of Earth-8
Holly Granger
Human Bomb I
Hyena
Inertia
Invisible Hood
Iron Cross
Isis (Resurrected and turned to stone)
Jack
Jack of Fire
Jack T. Chance
Jacob Colby a.k.a. Skyman II
Jade (Resurrected)
Jean Loring
Jean Paul Valley
Jezebel Jet
Jim Corrigan (One who killed Crispus Allen)
Johnny Quick
Joker of New Earth-2
Jokester
Junior
Ke’Haan
Kendra Saunders
KGBeast
Kid Devil
Kid Flash II (Resurrected)
Knockout
Kreon
KT21
Kyle Rayner’s Mother
Lady Shiva (Lazarus Pit)
Lady Spellbinder
Laira
Laurie Lemmon of Earth-Prime
Legionary
Lian Harper
Lightning
Lilith Clay
Lois Lane of Earth-2
Lyta Hall
Madmen
Magpie
Major Disaster
Martian Manhunter (Resurrected)
Marvin Harris
Maxwell Lord (Resurrected)
Mister Miracle I
Mister Miracle II (Escaped Death)
Minute-Man
Mirage
Molecule
Mongal
Mongrel
Monsieur Mallah
Mr. America II
Nabu
Negative Woman
Nemesis II
Neptune Perkins
Nightblade
Nudge
Nuklon II
Orca
Original Guardian
Osiris (Resurrected)
Pa Kent
Pantha
Parademon
Peacemaker
Penny Dreadful
Persuader’s Father
Phantom Lady II
Power Boy
Pristine
Prometheus II
Prometheus III
Psycho Pirate
Punch
Question
Ragdoll
Ratcatcher
Razorsharp
Reactron
Remnant Nod
Riddler of New Earth-3
Rond Vidar
Ronnie Raymond (Reborn)
Ryan Choi
Saarek
Sally Sonic
Sam Lane
Sandblast
Sandstorm
Sargon the Sorcerer
Savitar
Scar
Shazam (Resurrected)
Spook
Stealth
Stargirl’s Dad
Stephanie Brown (Never Really Dead)
Sue Dibny
Superboy II (Resurrected)
Super Chief
Superman of Earth-2
Superwoman Lucy Lane (Revived)
Tarantula II
Tasmanian Devil
Tattooed Man
Technocrat
Tempest
Terra II
Thara Ak-Var
Thunder
Top
Trajectory
Trickster I
Twister
Ultraman of Antimatter Earth
Ventriloquist I
Vigilante I (Resurrected)
Vulko
Wade DeFarge
Walter Pratt, Kate Spencer’s Father
Walt Trigger
Waverider
Wayne Trigger
Weather Wizard’s Son
Whip
Windfall
Wingman
Wintergreen
Xax
Zillo Valla
Zor-El

Am I missing anyone?

Damn. That's just crazy.

And I'm finding MORE.

The classic "I love you but I'm gonna kill you" cover. Gag.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/dc-september-2010-solicitations-100614.html

So... apparently Boomerang can now "make" boomerangs out of thin air.

http://dcu.blog.dccomics.com/2010/0...pul-keep-the-heat-on-the-flash/#comments

Not to sound rude, but I think I'll stick with the morally ambiguous Captain Boomerang.

Since when was Boomerang morally ambiguous? Maybe we readers felt some sympathy for him during his time with the Suicide Squad (threatened by Waller, Deadshot and Bronze Tiger all the time), but there was never anything resembling a redeeming quality about the guy.

I mean the OTHER Boomerang. The dead one.

Read #4...and I'm out. The stories that are being told here are moving at a snails pace. None of them really went anywhere of any real merit.

I'll wait and check the trades out of the local library and keep up online. I cannot bring myself to keep spending 3 bucks every other week for nothing.

I'm still really enjoying Brightest Day and I honestly don't get why people say there's nothing happening in it. To me it seems like there's loads going on.

It's definitely similar to 52 but I loved (most of) that series too so it's all good to me.

I liked 52, and I see the correlation, but I also read those in trade format, so I got more story at a time than I am here by simple page count. Maybe I should just let the issues pile up, because I am enjoying several of the plotlines, and read them in a bunch. $ - 5 issues at a time.

You know, now that I think about it, I don't even know why I started buying Brightest Day in the first place.

Though I enjoyed 52 off the stands, some books definitely read better in Trades - I love The Walking Dead for example but I know that with how quickly it takes me to read that in Trades, if I was reading it in single issues I would be left feeling extremely frustrated and short-changed at how 'content-light' some of those issues are.

Brightest Day might be another one that reads better that way but the art, the characters and the little morsels of exciting story they're getting every second week is enough to keep me satisfied (more than satisfied - entertained) with the single-issue format here.

I think I might stick it out for the first half of this series, but I might as well wait for the trade on the second part. I feel like I barely glance over the story and then I'm done, simply because it's moving at a snails pace.

This is like Uncanny X-Men: Divided We Stand all over again.

Personally, one of the reasons why I dropped this besides my protest in the pirsuit of bringing back Lian Harper is the use of "big names". Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Aquaman, the "original" Firestorm, and the waste of potential in the cases of Kendra Saunders, Jason Rusch, the Aquaman who was introduced after One Year Later. It's reasons like that, by spending their resurrection machine's energy on the A names, that characters like Lian, Linda Danvers (even if she's not dead), and so many other are consigned to Limbo until they need to flush out a new gimmic five years after people have stopped caring. And the cycle will start all over.

While I myself am not a fan of Lian Harper (although I do love Jason Rusch and Kendra Saunders) it was completely ridiculous to kill her off. It didn't add any depth to the storyline, if anything it was the final straw.

I did appreciate Lian's presence because it made Roy into a relatable character, a single parent who had it all under control, it's refreshing for a comic book series. Also, the timing was just terrible what with younger heroes beginning to pop up... Damian Wayne, Iris West, it could've been the making of the new Young Justice.

I hadn't become a fan of Roy OR Lian until after Cry for Justice ended, when someone started the movement on facebook and I realized, with disgust, how blind I've been to the horrible treatment the Titans have had, and that by spending my money I was saying it was okay.

Now Roy's become DC's Punisher and to make things worse he was goaded into killing somebody by a corpse-like hallucination of his daughter telling him to gut the guy like a pig.

Huh. Did you guys know that the Hope Entity, Adara, shares the same name as a deceased Green Lantern?

http://www.comicvine.com/adara/29-50773/

I.E. Brightest Day #6:

What the hell, Johns?! What the hell?! I don't care if he did create M'gann what the hell?!

She's seen better days... poor M'gann. Maybe it looks worse than it actually is?

She can't be easier to kill than J'onn.

And we know she's not REALLY dead.

^Hm? I thought Cassie was gonna be in this one?!?! Is that the new Aqualad on the right foreground? Thought he had dark hair?

That's Aqualad, yes.

I haven't seen Cassie mentioned in any of the recent articles I've read on the cartoon.

It's not that she's "dead".

Another Titan forced to go through a round of ultra violence and torture. Not that this isn't Megan's first time.

Catching up on Blackest Night #4 and #5, my main thoughts are: I’m still very interested in this series and the storylines, but I think I’m going to need quite a bit more ‘meat’ per issue from this point onwards. Based on interviews, it appears the series is going that way, but I need the story to get there—and fast. In particular, the Firestorm story needs a boost, and I realize I haven’t seen Martian Manhunter in two issues, and actually don’t care at all.

That being said, I’m enjoying some of the things we’ve seen so far. In particular, the Mera revelation at the end of #5 was a good one. This looks like more of what Johns has been able to do with GL: take undefined and vague parts of the characters lore (usually Silver Age lore) and add some more layers to it that help further refine the character’s mythos and personalities. I hope he does this quite a bit more with Aquaman (and knowing Geoff, I’m confident he won’t trash anything PAD did with the mythos, which I hold very dear).

I also am liking that we’re seeing more Hawk & Dove in the Deadman story, as I feel we’ve hardly seen them. To be honest, I like the concept of Hawk & Dove, but find little appealing about either character. In other words, they are more welcome additions to furthering the plot, while I could care less if anything happens to them. I hope that changes here and in BOP.

Haven't read #6 yet (I'm not if I even have it yet).

So I did read #6 and I can see where SK's annoyance is coming from. The super-violence in the Martian Manhunter storing is distracting and bordering on farce. It's beyond annoying. It took me totally out of the whole issue.

Thank you.

Have not gotten 6 yet, but from what I've heard...I'm not going to. The ultra violence is too over the top at this point in this book...

Ah well...JLI:GL is still fun reading.

I did not see that happening with Power Girl.

Still reading and enjoying Brightest Day. I think my favourite stoylines at the moment are Aquaman, Martian Manhunter (minus the violence) and Deadman/Hawk & Dove.

Though I am loving the Jason/Ronnie Firestorm dynamic (minus all the references to Ronnie being a hard-partying drinker - HELLO!?! He's a recovering alcoholic. Not that I liked that old storyline very much mind you.) and feel that that portion is just about to kick-start into another gear. And the Hawkman/Hawkgirl subplot took another interesting turn with those weird lion and hawk people turning up. I hope, hope, hope we get a mention/reference to Lionmane somewhere in here.

The art is still uniformly excellent but is it just me or did it look slightly more unpolished in this latest issue compared to others? I wonder if the deadline is catching up on some of them?

Gripes -

* I still hate J'onn's black pants look. So ugly and boring. I heard someone or other say at Comicon that they argued long and hard about whether to keep him in shorts or not. Well, they came out with the wrong decision IMO. His colour scheme is all off now I think. His old look was a classic IMO. There was no need to change it.

* The violence is not necessary. I hope we don't see any more of it.

* ummm... can't think of any more right now.

Looking forward to the next issue because I still have no idea where this series is going, and that excites me about it.

When I mentioned in the Flash thread about this book showing what is srong with comics nowadays, I'm specifically talkeing about the unneeded ultra violent images in this book.

Seeing humans skinned alive, being shown their bodies, then showing it happen again in the course of 5 issues is just over the top and trumps any good story telling they may be doing here.

Maybe part of my personal issue with it is I'm looking at comics more with the thought of what I could hand my 9 year old to read. She loves comics, but there is no way that I;d give BD to read.

The Atom, The Flash are perfect examples of books that I will let her read (thus far) in the near future.

I am not a prude when it comes to violence as nothing much can really honestly bothers me in comics if used in some context that makes sense. I just do not think that mainstream hero comics that are really ainmed for all ages...I at her age could pick up just about any Marvel/DC book without an issue, is the place for it.

Marvel <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Ares getting ripped in half on panel</span></span> (spoiler just in case.) or DC's use of it here in these stories.

DC has other lines (Wildstorm and Vertigo) and Marvel had their Max and Icon lines to showcase those stories.

I completely agree with you on the ultra-violence point Dev Em. I'm no prude either, far from it, and I don't even have any little kids to worry about - it just flat out doesn't belong. If a reader wants to see graphic ultra-violence then they should look to Vertigo or another company. And if DC wants to start producing it then they should start planning for their irrelevancy sooner than later - because bright colourful heroes and all the rapey-torturey-dismembermenty "fun" they've got going on in some of their books are totally incompatible as far as I'm concerned.

My other big gripe is with "bad language". Levitz' use of "bitch" in the latest issue of LSH really threw me - and that's not even that bad of a word. But it just seemed totally jarring and out of place. And most of all - unnecessary. There were a hundred other words Brainy could have used there. Why did Paul choose that one? To shock the reader? Realism? If it was meant to shock it was a pointlessly bad one and I'm sorry, but I do not come to my LSH comics for realism.

I've noticed it in a few other superhero comics lately too and I find it just as annoying there as well.

I agree with you both. When its over the top like this it just makes the comics seem immature and written by college freshmen. It's annoying and takes me out of the story because its in conflict with the nature of the sueprhero genre and often is just played up for shock value.

Thus far, I'm not 100% committed to Brightest Day because of that reason. Even though I like quite a bit of what's going on, if I get annoyed enough one more time, I'll eliminate this series entirely from my pull list and save on two issues a month.

And I totally agree on some of the language. It just seems so childish that it's creating the opposite effect of being 'adult'.

Why can't today's comics be more like Animaniacs or Courage the Cowardly Dog. Enjoyable and understandable for everyone.

I think that's true of entertainment generally these days. Most things seem to be either "kid-friendly", but that usually means dumbed down, or to be so "adult-oriented" as to be competely inappropriate for kids.

Except Phineas and Ferb.

Yea, it's not just comics that have matured, it's all forms of entertainment. To be fair, the audience expects more mature entertainment too. We don't read/watch comics/tv shows that have that more innocent material. It's why books like Tiny Titans don't last long, why Archie comics aren't in the Top 10.

Brightest Day is not a book for someone in primary school. Most of DC's line is written for readers old enough to drive. You want comics for a younger crowd, buy Supergirl's Adventures in the 8th grade, buy Boom's Muppets book. There are comics out there, they just aren't all at DC/Marvel.

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">So, we learn why these twelve were brought back in BD #7.

*Hawkman: Stop Hawkworld's queen from invading Earth.
*Hawkgirl: Stop Hawkman from being killed in Hawkworld by Hath-Set, or he won't be resurrected.
*Martian Manhunter: Burn the Star City forest. Burn it all.
*Ronnie Raymond: He and Jason must learn from each other, and stop Black Lantern Firestorm from getting the White Lantern.
*Aquaman: Get to the new Aqualad before "they" do.
*Osiris: Bring back Isis.
*Maxwell Lord: Kill Magog before he plunges the world into war.
*Jade: Balance the darkness.
*Reverse Flash: He already brought Barry Allen out of the Speed Force, so he's good.
*Captain Boomerang: Throw the boomerang at Dove.
*Hawk: Catch the boomerang.
*Deadman: Find a new protector of Earth before the Entity dies. </span></span>

Thanks Sarky...and I'm out of this one. Peace...

Yeah, it's kinda weird that an entity of life would want somebody killed.

The one that was done before and The one going through JL:GL are the only two that really give me any interest...so I guess dropping is a good thing.

Done before? Which one do you mean?

Zoom.

Ah.

I thought it said to "Stop" said character, not kill.

The image showed Lord forcing Magog to blow his head off with his face, and a good chunk of his face was missing.

True. But it also showed

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Hawk holding a dead Dove, a boommerang in her chest. And it told Hawk to catch the boomerang, presumably saving Dove.</span></span>

I wouldn't assume the images were the Lantern's request, merely possible outcomes.

It did say to stop him.. if these are glimpses of possible futures, perhaps Max just decides to permanently stop him.

Gotta say, I would love Max for that.

Hmm, good point.

So Max seeks to stop Magog. He puts together the old JLI, with Captain Atom on the team. He pits them against Magog, with Magog and Atom duking it out.

Holy Kingdom Come!!!!

Thanks to Arachne for pointing this out...it sums up the problem I have better than I could...By Kirkman himself...

http://robot6.comicbookresources.co...-on-darker-elements-in-superhero-comics/

This is another reason why I want to start writing comics now. My stuff might not be fully kids oriented, but they aren't "for mature audiences only". Teen-rated stuff.

There's a difference between realism and violence. Comic writers are always trying to portray the world "the way it is". Why can't they portray it as they wish it would be?

And once again, Kirkman manages to make some good points while being both self-serving and not a little hypocritical.

He's good at that.

I read Titans #26 today.

I don't know how much more I can take.

I bought BoP #4. Still hate Black Canary, but Dawn kicks ass.

So BN #8 hits. No murders, no over the top violence. No one talks about it.

That implies a lack of value to the series if all people talk about is Ze Attempts To Shock.

You're right.

At least Miss Martian demonstrated she's capable. But when have we ever seen Hawkgirl's mother?

It likely says more about the audience, actually.

Well just because someone doesn't talk about it on here...

"Comic writers are always trying to portray the world "the way it is". Why can't they portray it as they wish it would be?"


Because they're CYNICAL B******s with NO imagination who want everyone else to be as MISERABLE as they are?

...okay...

True enough, but if shock is what gets people talking about comics at cons and on message boards and what have you, then shock is what we will continue to get.

True.

Don't know what's happening to comment as I stopped buying it.

In today's issue of Green Arrow it kind of delves into his childhood...

And apparently he survived the arrow in the head. He wasn't brought back, he SURVIVED the arrow in the head. That doesn't count as a spoiler as he's been on the covers for the other issues past three.

So...
<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Turns out the forest wasn't the Star City one.

More dead bodies from our female martian.

And Aqualad is Black Manta's... SON?! NO.</span></span>

"I want to be a queen!"

Tell me any of you read Green Lantern this week.

I read 7, 8 and 9.

I'm still into it... It's a nice anthology title for 2nd-tier Justice Leaguers.

I'm reading BD ... enjoying it for the most part ... even when I like Johns' continuity revisions, I still find how incessant they are annoying ...

So... Titans #27 has been delayed till next week.

Heh.

I read #7 and #8, in which we 'learn' why the resurrected people were brought back...kinda. My big reaction was: "oh. Just that?"

The series IMO continues to be a mixed bag. This is very different than say, 52, in which I felt almost every issue and every storyline were equally excellent. I like the characters and I like the artwork; the writing, the pacing and the delivery however are driving the book downward a bit.

This far into it and I'm still not 100% grabbed by it. I want to like it, don't get me wrong--any comic with Firestorm, Deadman, Hawkman & Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman & Mera is a comic book that I want to collect in a heart beat. But I can't help feeling underwhelmed still.

It's natural to feel that way when a comics end with a surprise that was already revealed. On purpose.

I might have missed it, but was Deadman in Brightest Day #10 at all?

TITANS #30
Written by ERIC WALLACE
Art and cover by FABRIZIO FIORENTINO
The inmates of Arkham Asylum have taken over, and Deathstroke's team of misfits is fighting for their lives against Gotham City's most dangerous lunatics! Will Deathstroke and Arsenal be able to side with Batman long enough to survive the night? Plus, Ray Palmer guest-stars as he continues his investigation into Ryan Choi's murder.

...Roy's not even on the cover. But for same reason, Jason Todd as the Red Hood is.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/december-2010-dc-solicitations-100920.html

After reading Titans #27

Issue 10 was kinda thrilling... who knew Black Manta was such a badass now?

And the Firestorm reveal-- whoa!!!

Geoff Johns, clearly. But he can do that for just about any character.

The whole Aquaman segment has been very good in Brightest Day so far IMO. You can really tell that Johns/Tomasi are putting their A-game into that storyline. Hawkman and Firestorm are just coasting along in comparison. Still enjoying this book though. Being a huge Aqua-fan helps.

I kinda know what you mean.

There are times in BD when I'd rather they had pulled Arthur out for an Aquaman:Rebirth treatment.

What he did for the Rogues on The Flash was nothing short of amazing,

I've always liked Black Manta, but I'd like to see him do something more menacing than firing trident-darts...

Who was the woman who delivered Aqualad as a baby to his adoptive parents? Was it Mera or her sister or someone else?

I'm guessing it was Mera. Since she DID admit she knew who the kid was.

Brightest Day #11 really kicks the Firestorm storyline up a notch. Deathstorm is kind of a ridiculous villain but I also wouldn't mind seeing him join Ronnie/Jason's Rogues Gallery permanently. Speaking of those two - I am really liking their partnership. This could be my favourite pairing in the matrix yet. I hoep they last.

The Aquaman portion continues to bring the action and excitment too so all good's there. One thing I could have done without though - Black Manta's comment that he "gutted Aquababy like a fish". Not only is that type of imagery unpleasant and extremely unwelcome after all of the ultra-violence that's already been in this series - it's also flat-out WRONG! Black Manta never touched Aquababy with a knife! Poor little Arthur Jnr 'drowned' in the air when he was kept in a bubble out of the water! Johns or Tomasi need to re-read their seminal moments in Adventure Comics history.

Still enjoying this book though. As someone else said, it's like the JLA book we should be getting if whatever pod-person with no writing talent hadn't replaced the old James Robinson and taken his place at DC.

I'd love to see Geoff give Aquaman's villains the same treatment. I'd love a Geoff Aquaman title period, and I hope all these hints we've been getting are leading in that direction.

Catching up on the latest Brightest Day stories, I'm once again back on the fence about how I feel about this title. It's so inconsistent that one week I'm enjoying it and the next I'm wondering if I should drop it and use the money for two other monthlies. It's probably because the only story I'm really loving is Aquaman's story, with Firestorm a distant second. The other three are leaving me real cold.

What you said reminds me of the Venture Brothers.

One episode you love Hank and Dean, the next you wish they'd just die again.

#17: Great art in the Firestorm opening sequence that brings the Antimatter Universe into BRIGHTEST DAY's sprawling range of settings. We're not there long, however, as the story alternates between Deadman's reunion with his grandfather (and union with Dove) and Hawkman/Hawkgirl/Star Sapphire on Zamaron. The former was quietly heart-tugging and effective, while the latter was more typical comic book bombast. I like the Hawks and Carol as Star Sapphire (but queen? That's a bit of a stretch...). However, the presence of The Predator as the Entity of Love (could a more cynical choice have filled this role? I don't think so!) and the one-note evil mama role of Hawkgirl's Egyptian mother lessened my enjoyment of that portion of the issue.

What happened to the world with the lion-headed people? That setting had my interest. Zamaron could, but hasn't yet materialized as a 'place' to me.

Carol riding The Predator did make for some nice visuals, though.

#18 <span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text"> The Hawks' curse is broken and their reward is to be reduced to two mingling piles of white sand/dust?

I suspect and/or hope that there's more to the White Ring's "You must live life separately to live life stronger" pronouncement/offer. "The champion-to-be must be serviced above all others." Whatever. Better be worth it. </span></span>

I feel like poor Deadman looks on the last page.

Review: Brightest Day 16

Well, I must say that Brightest Day has improved a good deal since its rough first few months. The difference, I think, is that the series has evolved in such a way that each issue spotlights primarily a single one of the storylines and doesn't feel as choppy. This issue focused mostly on Aquaman and the new Aqualad with a couple of Firestorm interludes. With each issue now significantly advancing one or two plotlines, we're solving the earlier problem of 4-5 plots appearing with little development.

I liked how we learn more about the new Aqualad and how he figures into the war between Mera's people and Aquaman. Much as I'm loathe to lose Garth, I think this can be a really good character for DC going forward.

The Firestorm scenes were pretty good, too. There was a pretty gripping, sadistic choice presented by the Black Lantern Deathstorm to his two captives, Jason Rusch's dad and Martin Stein and a cliffhanger involving Firestowm himself.

The art as usual has been upper tier on this series. With artists like Ivan Reis and Joe Prado involved in this issue alone, you know its gonna look good. Reis draws probably the best looking Aquaman I've ever seen. I hope Reis is the artist on any possible post-BD Aquaman project, personally.

Brightest Day, IMO, is still behind Gen Lost of the two bi-weekly series, but it's improved a great deal. It's gaining momentum and will hope fully nail its finish in another 8 issues.

Lardy's rating for Brightest Day #16: 3 Donuts (out of five)!

#19: The Aquaman/Mera/Aqualad sequence makes me eager to read a new Aqua-title. Though the issue's concluding images do not. Yeah, Black Manta's eeeevvvilll and savage. Got it. But really? Again?

I'm guessing Aquaman's gonna get turned into white sand, like the Hawks. Along with others. Followed by a zapback scene. Zapback to better than before. 'Cause I really don't want to read Aquaman as he's left at this issue's end again. At all.

#20: Same thing that happened to the Hawks happens to A-man this issue. Well, sort of. He gets reduced to water, not dust.

At least he gets a smooch in with Mera before he goes.

Is this issue the extent of 'Aquawar'? It was a decent issue, at least as far as the reader is willing to invest in the increasingly bizarre activities surrounding the White Entity, especially, and all the other Entities. I'm ready for the wrap-up and whatever's next. I wish DC had tied FREEDOM FIGHTERS or DOOM PATROL into the goings-on surrounding this event, instead of sticking with GL titles, which aren't in any sales danger. Much as I want books to have their own identity and storyline, I'd rather them be around to complain about how the event eats up page-time.

So I got #23 mostly for the character return. I'm still not sold that Johns has the chops to handle him though.

<span class="spoiler_containter"><span class="spoiler_wording">Click Here For A Spoiler</span><span class="spoiler_text">Swamp Thing Returns as the Avatar of the Dark and the White Lantern resurrects Alec Holland to confront him. This could be interesting or very, very bad.</span></span>

and what s the Dove's fate? please spoiler.

No conclusive "fate" for her so far.

I totally don't get what the White Lantern was doing with the Hawks. At the end of their storyline, the WL said that the Hawks needed to live seperately, and only turned them into air when they refused. If the WL needed them as air elementals all along , then what was that all about?

*removed*

What didn't make sense about Blackest Night? I thought it held together pretty well.

*removed*

Lo, the end has come to be. But not really, since there's some aftermath series, or is it two? coming up.

I thought #23 was pretty great, but was disappointed in the lack of closure for #24. And really pissed by the status Hawkman and Hawkgirl are left in-- what's the enjoyment for fans in that?

I expected Deadman's return to status quo (almost- there's a nice change for he and Dove- though frustrating for the characters, I'm sure)... but was still a little disappointed that I wasn't wrong.

Aqua-events look promising. Maybe Firestorm. Everyone else? I get the feeling DC doesn't have concrete plans for them. I could be wrong.

I wish they'd gone all out- giving BRIGHTEST DAY as much light at the end as BLACKEST DAY had darkness. Guess that's the old fogey in me. I would've cheered for a mass revival of Tempest, Damage, Shayera Thal, Kid Eternity, Duela Dent and Lilith a la the end of the DEVIL'S DOZEN saga in ADVENTURE COMICS.

Oh, well. Those days are long gone, I suppose. Sigh.

Just read this issue -

What. a. waste. of. time.

... this whole series was!

It reminded me of the last season if Battlestar Galactica - the writers throw all these balls into the air and only once they've nearly hit the ground do they start thinking about how they're going to catch them. So of course, it's all just a muddled, unsatisfying mess.

I certainly won't be following wherever this uninteresting story goes next.

From what I've read online, I'm pretty proud of myself for cancelling this series just after it started.