Both issues written by Geoff Johns
Art on Green Lantern by Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy
Art on Blackest Night by Ivan Reis, Oclair Albert, and Joe Prado

I have to admit that I’m starting to suffer from “Event Fatigue.” From Dark Reign’s continued dominance of the Marvel Universe to Blackest Night’s expanding list of tie-ins and crossovers, it’s getting harder to find out which comics need to be read in sequence to get the full idea of what’s going on in those respective events. Luckily, both companies have done a decent job of telling the story so that readers can pick and choose what they want to read without getting too lost. But still, the sheer volume of books out there to do with their respective events is getting pretty exhausting. I have enjoyed the Blackest Night tie-in miniseries that I have read, but it seemed like the main plot was stalled for a while. After reading this month’s issues of Green Lantern and the main Blackest Night book, however, it looks like we’re finally moving through the rising action of the overall story and getting some idea of where this event is going.

Green Lantern #47 follows Hal Jordan as he and his ragtag group of different-colored Lanterns (including a reluctant Sinestro) try to eke out a game plan that will allow them to take out the main power center that fuels the Black Lanterns… once they find it, that is. Meanwhile, we are subjected to more brutal confrontations between live and dead Lanterns, including one particularly gruesome Red Lantern showdown. Johns and Nguyen continue to fire on all cylinders on this book, which is shaping up to be the only tie-in to Blackest Night that is actually essential to the overall plot.

While Hal’s trying to focus on the big picture, his pals on Earth are left holding down the fort in Blackest Night # 4. Barry Allen, Ray Palmer, and Mera are surrounded on all sides by Black Lantern versions of some of their closest friends and hated enemies, including the original Firestorm, Ronnie Raymond, who has fused himself to the consciousness of the current Firestorm, Jason Rusch. They manage to escape, after which Barry tries to talk Ray and Mera out of their despair with a rousing pep talk and then sends out an A.P.B. to all active heroes regarding how to deal with these undead emotion-feeders. It’s yet another exciting chapter in this mini-series, with some great individual moments, like when The Scarecrow confronts the Black Lantern Azrael about how he can no longer feel fear. There is also an awesome showdown between the BLs and members of the JSA, including a confrontation between Damage and the reanimated corpse of his father, Al Pratt, a.k.a the original Atom.  Johns’ writing and Reis’ art continue to make this mini an entertaining and disturbing ride for DCU fans.

While I’m still a bit jaded nowadays when it comes to events, these two issues rekindled by interest in Blackest Night.  Here’s hoping Johns and company will be able to carry it through for the next four-some-odd months, especially since there are a lot more tie-ins coming down the pipeline.  However, as long as I read these two books, and maybe Green Lantern Corps for some Tomasi goodness, I think I’ll be okay.

Green Lantern # 47 gets 4.5 out of 5 Green Visual Metaphors

Blackest Night # 4 gets 4.5 out of 5 Fatal Heart Punches