Blackest Night #1

Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis raise the dead in the most anticipated comics story of the year! Throughout the decades, death has plagued the DC Universe and taken the lives of heroes and villains alike. But to what end? As the War of Light rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends upon us, with Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps at the center of it all.

Source: DC Comics

Having really enjoyed the Blackest Night zero issue that I picked up on Free Comic Book Day I was certainly looking forward to this launch issue - and I wasn't disappointed.

I'm not going talk here about the storyline specifically but I want to give a few thoughts and opinions about how much I enjoyed reading this title.

First impressions count and when I picked up the book I was immediately impressed - the striking cover immediately drew me in and made me want to read the book.

Aside from a few Batman titles I don't read much from DC but I didn't feel this stopped me following - and enjoying - the story. There was plenty of narration to help me, explaining who some of the [presumably] major characters were and exploring some of their history. Sure, there were probably some things that passed me by - I didn't recognise some of the names in the JLAs 'Enemies Morgue' for instance and likewise I didn't recognise some of the characters featured in the double page splash where Hal Jordan was showing Barry Allen who'd died while he'd been away - but I don't feel this stopped me following the story and it certainly didn't stop me enjoying it.

It's a 'weighty' read - 40 story pages for $3.99 representing exceptional value as each page contained either detailed illustration, in depth dialogue and narration or a combination of both.

I really enjoyed Geoff Johns writing and the art was excellent, very much to my own personal tastes: special mention for Alex Sinclair's use of such vibrant colours throughout the book.

I'll certainly be picking up the rest of the Blackest Night titles and I'm looking forward to finding out more from the DC Universe.

Blackest Night #1
Written by Geoff Johns, interior art and cover by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert and Alex Sinclair
Variant cover by Ethan Van Sciver, sketch variant cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert
Published by DC Comics, 48 pages, July 2009

To find out more about Blackest Night and the Green Lanterns I've been enjoying reading the Green Lantern Spotlight blog