By: Geoff Johns and Peter J. Tomasi (writers), Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Joe Prado (artists), Rebecca Buchman, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Ivan Reis (inkers), Peter Steigerwald (colors)
The Story: Aquaman and Mera talk with Boston Brand and Dove. We’re getting some hints of who’s going to be the next Aqualad. Martian Manhunter blows his hands off (despite appearances, this is not a spoiler, since he’s a shape-changer) as the White Lantern tap dances in his neurons. And Black Manta meets up with the people out to kill Aquaman.
What’s Good: Wall to wall, the art pretty much kicked ass. Aquaman and Mera are attractive, heroic, and vaguely menacing. Boston Brand is his typical fish out of water (or lemming in water, in this case). The Jackson kid, in a scene different in visual tone, touch of texture and colors, is very convincing and the art invites the reader to sit a spell and enjoy the scenery. Martian Manhunter blowing his own hands off is, hands down (hahaha), the single most evocative image I’ve seen in a while. The other shapes he takes in seizure-like moments are brilliantly visualized and detailed the way I like them. There was a style change partway through the Green Arrow-Martian Manhunter fight, that was disconcerting (and the art was just not as good), but the shift was not enough to downgrade the book’s art as a whole.
What’s Not So Good: I finished reading this comic with a vague sense of wondering what I’d just read. It’s not that the book was incoherent or anything, but you know how when you see a movie and somebody asks you how it was, you tell the key events in the story? Although there are a lot of plot threads in Brightest Day, I didn’t feel that any one of them moved forward enough for me to really describe them as an event. Did anything really change because of what happened in this issue? Take a look at how I summarized this story. People talk. Martian Manhunter continues to be a passenger in his own story. Green Arrow had a meaty part, but in a conflict that, from the get-go had no drive, because we know it’s false. It’s not like Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow would seriously slap down, so there was no tension in their brief scuffle. The most engaging moment was actually a throw away (the Black Manta story suffix), which is not a good sign. Basically, no arc either began or ended, nor even had enough screen time to show a curve. That made the issue feel flat.
Conclusion: The slow pacing of the Geoff Johns story is starting to dampen Brightest Day’s momentum. The fact that Blackest Night was compressed into eight issues forced a certain discipline on a writer who loves the epic scale. Now DC has given him a lot more space, and he’s filling it, but I don’t feel the same kick, book for book, dollar for dollar, as I did with Blackest Night.
Grade: B-
-DS Arsenault
Filed under: DC Comics Tagged: | Aqualad, Aquaman, Ardian Syaf, Black Manta, Blackest Night, Boston Brand, Brightest Day, Brightest Day #9, Brightest Day #9 review, Comic Book Reviews, comic books, comic reviews, Comics, DC Comics, Deadman, DS Arsenault, Firestorm, Geoff Johns, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawk and Dove, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Keith Champagne, Martian Manhunter, Patrick Gleason, Peter J. Tomasi, Peter Steigerwald, Rebecca Buchman, Reviews, Scott Clark, Tom Nguyen, Weekly Comic Book Review, White Lantern
You can chalk me up as another reader who finds this book is too slow. I like that there are numerous plot lines and most of them are somewhat intriguing, but two months in and I don’t feel like the book is moving anywhere. How long is this supposed to run anyway?
Hey Geoff,
I haven’t gotten to that point yet, and maybe I shouldn’t do this, but here are a few reasons I’m staying with the book:
1. Geoff Johns’ track record with Green Lantern, Flash, Blackest Night
2. Ivan Reis
3. i’m hoping for a big punch line in this series, and
4. strangely enough, aquaman and boston brand.
check back on my future reviews. if brightest day gets to a B+ or an A-, you may wish to tune back in!
DSA
I’m dropping this book. Too much smoke and mirrors not enough story telling
I agree that the Black Manta scene was the most interesting. I wonder why that is? The other threads I find really compelling are the Hawkman/Hawkgirl one and…to some extent, the Firestorm line. In other issues, Brand has taken up more of the oxygen. Maybe it comes down to character sympathy. Readers want to watch the person in the driver’s seat. The problem is that many of the key characters seem to be reacting to the story as opposed to making the story. Good counter-examples are Red Robin, Thanos and Starlord, who seem to be calling all the dramatic shots.
Yeah…..I didn’t think this was very good.
Deadman popping up in awkward places is already getting old, and the extended Martian Manhunter bit didn’t really grab me at all. As you said, we knew there wasn’t really going to be a fight with Green Arrow, and there was just a little too much mumbo jumbo for my liking.
I really didn’t find myself all that attached to anything this issue other than the Black Manta scene at the end of the book. I’m starting to feel like I’m picking up Brightest Day more out of obligation than anything else, and that’s never a good sign.
-Alex