Sunday, May 23, 2010

Brightest Day #2

Brightest Day should be a comic that's at the top of my list, since it focuses a number of characters returned to life at the end of Blackest Night - and that includes several of my favorite Silver Age characters.

But even with the inclusion of Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Aquaman, Mera, Martian Manhunter, Deadman and Firestorm, so far I still haven't warmed up to this comic.

That's mostly because of the steady undercurrent of graphic violence in both issues so far. Last time around we saw a brutal series of murders (of innocent civilians) by one of Aquaman's old foes, and this time around we see more grisly civilian deaths (and an equally horrific unveiling), along with a few other disturbing images.

But despite all that, the story by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi has plenty of interesting hooks to keep the readers coming back for more, and these heroes haven't "come back" from the other side of death unchanged. It's going to be interesting to see where the story goes from here.

The art works surprisingly well, especially considering the army of artists at work here. It takes five pencilers and five inkers to keep up with the twice-monthly publication schedule.

I guess I'm surprised that DC's turn to the "Brightest Day" still contains such dark and depressing imagery - but perhaps there's no getting away from it. It hasn't chased me away from the book - at least not yet - but it does give the whole thing a funny taste.

Grade: B

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