Triple Comic Review: Blackest Night# 7 and Green Lantern #50-51!

Before February goes off into the light, I'll cap things off with the review of the highly awesome and zombified powered series to ever hit the comics medium - Blackest Night! Yes yes, the space ghoul miniseries returned this week with issue #7 hitting stores, but the story has been ongoing even with the main title's presence, specifically within the pages of the other flagship tie-in title - Green Lantern. 2010 began with no Blackest Night due for the month of January, but Green Lantern #50 tided things over with a tale so overly awesome and consuming, it deserves being called "Blackest Night 6.5", as coined by the master scribe of this space battle drama itself, Geoff Johns. That angle wrapped up with this month's issue #51, but Blackest Night #7 just delivered the most unexpected twist yet, and if you saw the post in the blog a few days, you know what I'm talking about. Regardless, this entry will cover my thoughts on BN #7 and GL#50-51, so hop on board and know that if you've only noticed Blackest Night now, you've missed the wildest ride that the minds of DC could ever offer to hungry fans around the globe.

Green Lantern #50 & 51
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Doug Mahnke


Blackest Night #7
Writer: Geoff Johns
Artist: Ivan Reis

After deputizing several unlikely warriors to their cause, Hal Jordan and the rest of the light brigade continue to fend off Nekron's assault on Earth and life. However, an unexpected obstacle appears in the form of a Black Lantern Spectre, who wants nothing but to claim the soul of his former host, Hal Jordan. Faced with a problem that eludes a simple solution, Jordan comes up a scheme that has a good chance of working as much as it may backfire on him completely - freeing Parallax and getting repossessed by the entity. Like the wild rider he is who acts first before thinking of the consequences, Jordan reunites with the being that nearly destroyed his life, and challenges the authority of the Spectre, who has yet to yield from his path of destruction. Meanwhile, the lie of the Guardians is about to be revealed, and the balance of life itself will depend on the actions of those willing to make the ultimate move. With the entire universe in danger and life as we know it threatened by the forces of death, can the corps of the emotional spectrum work together to turn the tide? Only destiny can answer that.


WOW. Geoff Johns just keeps the emotion engine clicking with every issue he works on! Clearly, it's never a smooth a ride where all things Blackest Night is concerned, but Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Carol Ferris, and the gang of colored warriors do what they can to save the day and take on the black zombie chaos surrounding the universe. It's amazing that so many things can happen at an instant within these three issues, and because I had to digest the information and panels in each and everyone of them a tale at a time, it's best that I give an overall review, especially since it's being written by the meister himself!

Like I said earlier, Blackest Night skipped a month, so GL #50 is where the story picks up after BN #6, and there we see Jordan and the rainbow brigade confront the black ring empowered Spectre. With their newly deputized recruits on their side - namely Blue Lantern Flash, Red Lantern Mera, Indigo Lantern Atom, Green Lantern Ganthet, Orange Lantern Lex Luthor (yes, LUTHOR), Yellow Lantern Scarecrow (FEAR), and Star Sapphire Lantern Wonder Woman; Green Lantern and the emotional spectrum lanterns do their best to fend off Nekron's new slave beast, but their rings can only do so much to turn the spirit of vengeance, so Jordan cooks up his idea of becoming Parallax again. GL #51 picks up right after the possession is done, and the Lanterns watch as Parallax confronts Big Black Lantern Spectre. Key here is the dialogue, mischief, and banters each of the colorful personalities involved give, and nothing's ever dull when Geoff Johns is on the case! Cutting to the chase, Jordan/ Parallax manages to free Spectre, with the latter returning the favor for Jordan with Carol Ferris help. However, Specty is useless against Nekron and his posse, and he is banished from the scene, with the heroes again back to square one with the leader of the undead corps himself. Blackest Night #7 is where the kicker comes in. Lex Luthor acts like an ass (as usual), and the LIE of the guardians is finally dug up by Nekron himself. As the revelation shows itself, it takes one Lantern with guts to make the ultimate dive... and if you haven't been reading the clues throughout the story of BN, it's probably the person everyone least expects. Case in point, Johns delivers the ultimate twist, and now all we have to do is wait for the final issue next month, where destiny final unveils itself! AWESOME.

Of course, while the story is great and all, it couldn't have been livelier without the art support from talented artists Doug Mahnke and Ivan Reis. Their works on GL and Blackest Night, respectively, have been the light illuminating the brilliant storytelling Johns has conceived since the get go, and I couldn't have seen better and polished artwork than these two right here as they continue to deliver excellence with each issue. There's so much going on, and so much to describe that it potentially keep readers glued to their seats for hours just admiring the work they see from panel to panel. Hoping to see more powerful stuff just as Blackest Night ends, and from what I've seen from Mahnke and Reis so far, I bet they're sure to deliver.

Right now, Blackest Night is really shaping up to join the classic comic tales of all time. The creators have done so well to keep the pace great, and the story gets exciting and gut wrentching at every turn. True, the event is about to wrap up in the next month, but I see bright things still ahead for Geoff Johns and crew, and that's literally putting things straight, since "Brightest Day" is coming up this April! I'm sure this triple review will be a rare thing for me to do, but every now and then, some stories just scream EPIC, and this is one of them. Destiny Awaits. That's all you need to remember for now.

Rating:

Green Lantern #50 - 8/10
Green Lantern #51 - 8/10
Blackest Night #7 - 9/10

Kicking The Weekend WIth Some Street Fighter!

I recently got Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix from the Playstation Network sale, and for somebody like me who appreciates all things Hadoken and Sonic Boom, I've been enjoying the game for the most part, especially with the updates sprites and graphics courtesy from the guys at UDON entertainment, who also work and publish the official Street Fighter comics. This game has been out for a long time now, but I didn't have the opportunity or motivation to grab it back then, especially since Street Fighter IV came into the picture and swamped everyone with its 2.5D system overhaul. Flashforward to today, and I finally grabbed SSFIITHD Remix. It may be "old school" SSFII gameplay with new school graphics, but I can still play this game like it only came out yesterday, and it only increases my anticipation for Super Street Fighter IV, which is closing in and coming this end of April. This game is great for nostalgic purposes, and if you're ever on the mood for some competition, online battles are still active and feverish as ever via multiplayer. Or you could do things the old fashioned way, and play against the CPU or call a friend and let him pick up a controller to fight you one on one. Either way you choose, this is Street Fighter at its best. Check out these series of trailers here that impressed me a great deal when I saw them before. They still look fresh to this day, and make use of a classic Karate Kid song that fits the mood altogether.

Round 1!

Round 2!

Round 3!

On the side, I noticed this impressive looking fan made "movie trailer" of Street Fighter that definitely should be checked out by the hardcore fan. For all intents and purposes, it's a "teaser" to the original world warrior tournament, and features Ryu training and honing his skills in preparation for the fight, ending the clip with a mighty "Hadoken!" that fans will definitely get a kick seeing. Check it out.

Street Fighter (World Warrior) Fan Made Trailer!

Blackest Night Just Got Brighter...

Before reading this post, you must read Blackest Night #7. Otherwise, if you don't mind spoilers, hit the jump and see the bright light shining through!

Those of you following Green Lantern and Blackest Night can definitely agree that all of us have gone on one heck of a ride courtesy of the puppet master writer and new DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer, Geoff Johns. With issue #7 out and things slowly drawing to a close, DC just HAD to tease the cover to next month's Green Lantern #52 in their daily blog, The Source. Purists who haven't read the penultimate chapter to Blackest Night may want to SHUT THEIR EYES NOW, because something bright and colorful awaits below... and it's not the most likely candidate to get an upgrade.

Behold... WHITE LANTERN, SINESTRO!

The King Of Fighters XIII Is Coming...

All we get is a logo and announcement, but everything is official, and SNK Playmore has announced the next entry to their 2D KOF series, The King Of Fighters XIII. The news was posted in Kotaku, though details about the game at this point is everything but null. The only thing confirmed at this point is the game will be running on the Taito Type X2 arcade hardware... and nothing else is said about who's going to be in it or whether it'll be handdrawn again like the last lukewarm entry, KOF XII. The official preview is expected to be around the end of next month, so until then, let's hope for a better installment this time around with a DEFINITE story and boss worthy of the SNK Bossy Syndrome legacy.

Walk In The Heavy Rain...

Anyone still holding out or finding reasons to buy a PS3? Well, here's another damn good reason to get one if you haven't yet.


Since buying the game yesterday, I've been nothing short of impressed about Heavy Rain - the latest Playstation 3 exclusive to come from the minds of Quantic Dream and Sony Computer Entertainment. Today's graphical standards in gaming are pretty high when expectations come into the picture, but this game takes the cake when delivering a full blown 3D game that almost borders into realism. While there's no question about how great the visuals are, how does the gameplay fare on this one? Well it's pretty much an "interactive 3D movie" experience that's chalk full of quick time events and situations that demand fast fingers and timed button presses, more than your typical action adventure game. It's a pretty linear adventure, but you actually guide characters and their movements. You can play out their thoughts, make their gestures, control their habits, and do just about anything that a normal person would do when the situation calls for it. It's great implementation of the DualShock 3 controller's capabilities, not to mention the SixAxis Motion Control, which has been put to good use in this game, in more dynamic ways than one. In many ways, it reminds me a whole lot of SEGA's Shenmue series for the Dreamcast... minus Ryo Hazuki's kung fu fighting and almost whole world exploration.

Story wise, I've got to hand it to director/ writer David Cage, he's blended in gaming with a pretty good suspense/ thriller plot that could pass for Hollywood film material. Placing you in the shoes of four unrelated characters that are searching for clues and answers to the whereabouts of the Origami Killer, the mysterious antagonist of the game, the game's plot is divided into several chapters that slowly converge each of the main characters' tales, with every outcome and decision dependent on the actions you make. Yes, there are multiple paths to explore, and characters CAN DIE depending on your actions, though the story will progress no matter what happens to one or two of them. It's one game that truly puts the player in the director's seat, and choices made and what the end of the tale will be is entirely up to you. Take a look at the trailer below, and see how things play out if you aren't convinced by my words yet.

Heavy Rain Trailer
As brief as it may sound, that's about the gist of what Heavy Rain is. I'm not going to go into detail and say what happens, because that's part of the fun and drive in playing the game. As far as reservations go, some sound cuts and hanging issues because of disc loading can be a pain, but you'll be mesmerized by the visuals, and caught up in the story so much that you'll want to see everything to the end no matter what. As short as I found it when I wrapped up my playthrough of the game, everything was worth the dive and experience. Based on the critical acclaim and reception the game's had so far, I'm hopeful we'll be seeing another title of this presentation in the future.

See Street Fighter IV On The iPhone!

Announced this month, Street Fighter IV is getting a port for Apple's iPhone, and it's coming out this March already! Screens and captures have been seen so far, but how does the game run on the little portable cellphone device? As previewed in numerous SF Fansites, take a look at this video found youtube to see the game in action.


Wow... For an iPhone game, this looks neat! Even with the limited character roster, the graphics and animation are pretty decent for portable system standards. I'd love to see this on the PSP though, so Capcom, make the port and bring more SF goodness to other systems!

Bare Witness To Super Street Fighter: The Movie!

Forget everything you've heard or seen about Super Street Fighter IV. THIS is where SUPER IS AT!XD If Capcom releases this beast, it will be awesome. Now... who wants to go home... and WHO WANTS TO GO WITH THIS?!XD



Ah yes... it's the 90's and JCVD all over again. Ah satire, can't get enough of it.XD