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Almost one year later, the longest night ever in the DC Universe has finally come to an end with Blackest Night #8. I wouldn\u2019t call what I\u2019m writing a review, so much as my thoughts on what happened, but mostly I want to examine where I feel the DC Universe is going. I\u2019ll be referencing the events of the story and its tie-in books, so reader be warned: Thar be SPOILERS ahead. <\/P>
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I remember, before Final Crisis, that Blackest Night was going to be a mini-series that dealt with the Green Lantern Corps. Then, it seemed that the folks at DC realized they could basically create the equivalent of printing their own money if they developed it into yet another companywide crossover. Now, this isn\u2019t a bad thing. Story wise it makes complete sense. On a personal level, I enjoy large encompassing stories, when they are done well. Was this one done well? No, not in my opinion. Sure, the Lantern books pulled it off well, but none of the other DC books seemed to matter. Dead friends and enemies showed up, a DC character would fight them and fail, then have to find a way to either escape or get rid of the Black Lantern. On most of these accounts, the Blackest Night tie-in was meaningless to the overarching Blackest Night series and to the character\u2019s own book. These tie-ins were more of a speed bump, interrupting an already in progress story. All of them but one, R.E.B.E.L.S., seemed to have difficulty fitting in seamlessly. And few, if any, were fun stories in-it-of-themselves.<\/P>
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Furthermore, the popular thing in comics these days seems to be that encompassing companywide crossovers don\u2019t end, but rather have a bunch of little faux endings and epilogues that are really just prologues to the next story. This happens at both major companies. Marvel has Civil War, and all that it has become. DC has their Lantern Wars. It\u2019s a genius way to make money. Labeling something as special, charging higher prices, and enticing folks to see what \u201cuniverse shattering\u201d event will happen next. <\/P>
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I know this isn\u2019t entirely something new, but it\u2019s also different then the crossovers of old. Back in the day, I used to buy these huge crossovers because I thought the story sounded interesting. I still do. That\u2019s why I bought Blackest Night, because I was intrigued by the premise. I didn\u2019t expect anything from the stories other then entertainment and a meaningful story, and that\u2019s what I used to get. When I say \u201cmeaningful\u201d, I\u2019m not talking about huge battles or the death of a hero. I simply want stories that I can connect to on an emotional level. My all time favorite crossovers are still DC One Million and Final Night. Those stories are the epitome of what I look for in a crossover. They were fun, enjoyable, and an emotional read. Also, most or all of the connecting minor titles worked cohesively with the main books. Sure, I didn\u2019t have to know what the insane Azreal of the 853rd Century was doing, or that the Ray futily tried to keep a small town in Mexico from freezing to death, but reading them enriched the overall experience and feel of what was happening. I didn\u2019t get that feeling from most of the Blackest Night tie-in titles. <\/P>
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Blackest Night did have some great moments. (Here are those Spoilers, folks.) I like the idea of the new Lantern Corps. Atrocitus and Larfleeze have easily become two of my favorite characters from the series. I also enjoyed the deputizing of the other DC characters. Scarecrow, Wonder Woman, Luthor, Atom, Flash were all perfect (thought not always used correctly), and I know I\u2019m not alone when I say I\u2019ve gained new respect for Mera. She\u2019s a character that, until now, has never even come close to her true potential. Also, how can anyone forget the death and resurrection of Kyle? Natu, Guy, Kilowog, and even Mogo embodied the great feelings those scenes were evoking. That was one of the most powerful moments in the entire crossover. Too bad it wasn\u2019t in the main book.<\/P>
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That\u2019s how I felt about the main book most of the time, like something was missing. Sure, it had its own cool moments, but they never seemed to play out to fruition. Like Sinestro taking charge of all the other Lanterns, telling Jordan to take a seat and let a professional handle this Crisis. Yet, in the end, when he had the power of the White Lantern, he couldn\u2019t help but monologue himself to near death, giving Hal the chance to come in and save the day. I know more than a few Sinestro fans who were excited by Blackest Night #7 only to be let down in Blackest Night #8.<\/P><\/p>\n
And no matter how cool the events of Blackest Night turned out, it\u2019s a bad sign when the reader can guess the ending of a story before the first act is over. Show of hands everyone. Who here thought that Hal was going to be the White Lantern and defeat Nekron? Yeah, me too. So what was the point of what I just read? Why couldn\u2019t Sinestro actually be the hero of this story? Wouldn\u2019t that make for a more interesting dynamic after all is said and done? Will he simple resume his place as a common Hal rogue now that all is said and done?<\/P>
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Then, there\u2019s probably the most disappointing moment of the entire series, bad tie-ins included. The death of Nekron. It was the one thing I don\u2019t think any of us expected. Hal becomes the White Lantern. Check. Takes on Nekron. Check. And\u2026 roughly one splash page later it\u2019s all over? Nekron brought the universe to to its knees, but was defeated so quickly that I actually read past it the first time not realizing that that was the resolution. I got a page or so past the giant fold out distraction and had to go back because I thought I missed something. The battle was neither epic nor emotional. More time was given to the outcome, to the epilogue, to the next story, than the resolution of this one. There aren\u2019t very many times I can say this. I realize these books exist so that someone can make money off of them. But that just left me feeling shortchanged. Who needs a meaningful conclusion when the story is never truly over? Brightest Day starts next month, there\u2019s no time to waste getting to it. In the end, I felt like Geoff Johns took a year\u2019s worth of buildup and anticipation and crammed the ending of Blackest Night into a short throwaway sequence in a rush to begin setting up for Brightest Day.<\/P>
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That leads me to my final pontification. Where is DC going? Like I said, I realize DC Comics is a business and that it\u2019s crucial they get us to buy the next book. But what about the creative side? Isn\u2019t part of selling books about telling stories? Doesn\u2019t that go hand-in-hand? I believe when a writer does tell a poignant and well-written tale, that the masses will want to give him money for it. They will return time and again, not to see what cataclysmic event is \u201cchanging things forever\u201d, but because there are characters and stories they connect to on a personal and emotional level. I get the feeling DC isn\u2019t thinking about quality as much as they are looking for the next big thing to break the sales charts.<\/P>
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In ten years, people will still be reading Sandman, Starman, & Watchmen. Stories like those are marathon runners. They weren’t just popular at the time, they aged and became better known. Their fan bases are still expanding years later. People will be lending and telling their friends about them for years to come. Stories like that will impact future comic book readers that haven’t been born yet. Will Blackest Night have that same effect? Or will it just be the story they read in between Sinestro Corps War and Brightest Day? Time will tell.<\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Almost one year later, the longest night ever in the DC Universe has finally come to an end with Blackest Night #8. I wouldn\u2019t call what I\u2019m writing a review, so much as my thoughts on what happened, but mostly I want to examine where I feel the DC Universe is going. I\u2019ll be referencing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[9,10],"tags":[304,41,2559,378],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/dcucTN.png?fit=50%2C44","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-1eO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3046,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=3046","url_meta":{"origin":4762,"position":0},"title":"DC Direct solicits new Blackest Night product: Mongul, Nekron, more Black Lanterns, & Rings!","date":"December 22, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"DC Direct solicits hit the 'net today and there were a few surprises for Blackest Night fans. First up we had the figures previously announced in ToyFare #150: BLACKEST NIGHT SERIES 5 ACTION FIGURES Behold the Power of the Black Lanterns! This fifth series of action figures based on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4997,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=4997","url_meta":{"origin":4762,"position":1},"title":"DC Direct Blackest Night Series 7 & 8","date":"April 19, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"As part of Monday's DC solicits, DC Direct announced two new waves of Blackest Night figures, wave seven in November and wave eight in December. With wave six already on the schedule for November 3rd, that's going to make for an avalanche of new figures right before the holidays. There's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"newsimages\/dcd\/rlmer.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1866,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=1866","url_meta":{"origin":4762,"position":2},"title":"Mr. Rant may not live to see the end of “Blackest Night”","date":"October 13, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The recent news from DC editorial is that Blackest Night will never end. I don\u2019t know if you've seen this yet, but apparently this January, the main horde of Blackest Night books and their tie-ins will be taking a break. You know, because they\u2019ve been working hard all year now,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mister Rant"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18580,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=18580","url_meta":{"origin":4762,"position":3},"title":"DC Classics.Com Nekron Week! Collect & Connect Nekron Review","date":"May 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"We were running a bit behind on DC Universe Classics Wave 20 reviews throughout last week and, as a result, Nekron sorta fell into the week after. Better late than never, I guess? Nekron is going to be a tough review for me as I don\u2019t particularly care about the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2635,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=2635","url_meta":{"origin":4762,"position":4},"title":"ItsAllTrueReview: DC Classics Color of Fear 2pk","date":"November 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Our Blackest Night Double Feature continues with a review the newest DC Classics 2-pack from Mattel, the Color of Fear. We've talked about lead time before and how for most licensees, they have difficulty getting product to market that is well-timed with the events happening in the comics. The Color\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2741,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=2741","url_meta":{"origin":4762,"position":5},"title":"ToyFare 150: Blackest Night is the DC Direct line that won’t die","date":"December 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"ToyFare #150 went on sale yesterday (12\/9) and among it's pages we saw the world premiere of MOTUC Evil Lyn, some future Wal-Mart exclusives DC 2pks (via ActionFigurePics.Com), and an article on the future of the DC Direct Blackest Night line (be sure to check out the magazine for pictures\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DCClassics.Com"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4762"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4762"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4790,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4762\/revisions\/4790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}