Brightest Day

  There hasn't been the universal praise of Brightest Day like most expected when the series launched nearly a year ago.  With a team like Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi the expectation was that this series would electrify comic fans from issue 1.  However the praise hasn't been what was expected.  In fact it is not uncommon to hear at my local comic shop someone asking to have the title removed from there pull list.  However, I have been a fan of the series from issue 0, and the last five issues have been nothing short of spectacular.

  The premise of the series is simple enough.  12 formerly dead heroes and villians were returned to life at the end of Blackest Night.  Brightest Day along with it's companion series Generation Lost have followed the adventures of these 12 heroes and villians.  While Generation Lost has been the stronger of the two series in my opinion, both series have done an exceptional job in developing characters that have not received enough attention in the DCU in quite some time.

Firestorm has had a chance to shine as well as putting a new twist on the character with the integration of Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond.  Hawk and Dove have made an interesting addition to the birds, and Osiris while not integrating with the Titans in the same fashion as Hawk and Dove with the birds but his quest to revive his sister has been nothing short of fascinating. Hawkman and Hawkgirl's quest to end there cycle of death and rebirth had an end unexpected ending but the quest had some great twists and turns.  The Reverse Flash and Digger Harkness seem to be setting the pieces in place for the upcoming Flashpoint series.  Jade as the daughter of Alan Scott and the former lover of Kyle Rainer has been extremely interesting popping up in JSA as well as the Green Lantern Corps.  Martian Manhunter has been the most conflicted of the group.  Initially happy that there may be another Martian on earth Jonn later discovers that she is a twisted and sadistic killer prepared to manipulate Jonn to get what she wants.  Aquaman, has been a character that  I've always liked but in many instances has been perceived as  being very silly. In this story his history and especially the relationship with his wife Mera have been nothing short of fascinating.  Mera who was perhaps one of the most interesting characters of Blackest Night continues to be fascinating and I would bet that many folks would still be willing to pick up a  Mera series especially with some of the famial relationships that are explored in this series.  Finally Deadman, the only character that retained a white ring from Blackest Night has been an interesting exploration.  Becoming Aliveman now that he is once more alive, he has been an interesting character exploration including meeting his grandfather.  With the latest revelations about the nature of the white lantern, the story possibilities that could develop out of these final 3 issues should be nothing short of fascinating.

  As is the case so many times, the villains in this group have been more interesting than the heroes at times and no one has been more interesting than one Max Lord.  Justice League International which Lord helped to create was the book that converted me as a boy from a Marvel comics fan to a DC fan.  From the start his motives were always questionable, and the revelation of his origin in the latest issue of Justice League Generation Lost (Issue 20) raises more questions than answers. His relationship with his mother due largely in part to the death of his father certainly fills in the gaps in some of his motivations and state of mind but still leaves enough unsaid to leave me wanting more.  I certainly hope that there are more opportunities to explore the relationship between Max and Booster Gold, but taking into account the endings of the last few issues of both Brightest Day and Generation Lost I'm not taking anything for granted.

  With only 5 combined issues of the two series left there probably isn't much chance of a mass critical redemption of this series, but for this has been an unqualified hit and I'm looking forward to much more from all of these heroes and villains.

The Human Torch is Dead

  The Human Torch is dead! Long live the human torch!

 First off I'd like to start off by saying that I'm a long time FF fan.  The torch like the rest of Marvel's first family has been one of my favorite teams in comics since I was a kid.  As a young boy of 11 or 12 and only being able to come up with 15 to 20 dollars a month to spend on comics the fact that I spent 75 cents each month on the FF meant it earned an early place of affection for me.  I started off by reading the John Byrne FF and then was completely drawn into this team during the run of Walt Simnonson.  While like a lot of comic book fans in my age range I took a break from comics during my college years, the FF is one of  the first books that I went back to.  I've always appreciated the family aspect of the book, but as I've grown older and now have my own children this team has new meaning for me.

  Like a lot of other FF fans what really attracted me to the Jonathan Hickman run of the FF right from the start was that family dynamic.  The way he wrote Reed and Sue's children Franklin and Valerie was amazing, and I found myself being drawn to the book in some cases more for them than there more famous parents.  For this reason like many other FF fans I was more than a little outraged when I heard that Hickman had plans to kill off a member of the FF.  My first reaction was down right anger as I could think of no good story telling reason to kill any member of the team.

While I'm still not thrilled that the torch is gone Hickman's story leading up to the death was extremely compelling.  I felt that any one of the four had a chance of getting axed right up to the point when I knew who we would loose.  I'm not going to say that we won't see the Torch again, but after reading FF 588 by Jonathan Hickman I certainly don't get the impression that we're going to see him anytime soon.  After his dramatic "death" last issue (dead with no body) I was a little concerned with where the series might go next.  However after reading issue 588 I'm not only excited about the future of the FF, but looking forward to it.  Each family member has plenty of issues to deal with after the loss of there brother, uncle, or friend and these issues on top of the complex story that Hickman has already been weaving looks to be an exciting next chapter.

  As for Spiderman joining the team, I have a lot of mixed feelings.  Initially when I heard about the death my thought was that the reason for changing the name of the book from Fantastic Four to FF was so transition Franklin and Valerie into more formal roles with the team.  However while I think from a sales perspective the addition of Spiderman will help the Fantastic Four quite a bit as a traditional FF fan I feel a little insulted that one of the most important teams in comics needs Spiderman to drum up sales.  However I understand enough about the economics of comics to not let it bother me too much.

  One thing for sure the combination of Jonathan Hickman and Steven Epting's considerable talents on top of the combination of two of Stan Lee's greatest creations is going to make for some pretty exciting comics.  Will the next creator after Hickman bring back the Human Torch? My guess is in a New York minute, but until then I'm going to enjoy the ride.  FLAME ON!