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Blackest Night has ended and Brightest Day has begun. So, the question now is, was Blackest Night all it was cracked up to be? I've read a few things here and there and it seems some people view the overall event that was Blackest Night as to be yet another "event" from a company that did little and for some actually made some worse. As a fan of the Green Lantern concept, I think it's my "duty" to say what I have to say about both the title and the overall event.
The Blackest Night title to me was what so many titles that are the centerpiece of an event have come to be. It was the point where each "big step" was made, but the varying titles that were specific to the Blackest Night even, or the issues of regular titles that tied in, were where those steps played out. To simply read Blackest Night was to set yourself up to be lost on all the little pieces that helped things make sense. The origin of the color spectrum came in the pages of Green Lantern. To me, that isn't right. Of course that issue (#52) was very light (no pun intended) and barely worth $2.99, much less $3.99.
What I tend to look at lately in regards to how an event happens is if the "main title" can be pulled together in a stand-alone collection. Could Blackest Night be put into a trade of just Blackest Night issues and be a truly fun and enjoyable read? To be honest, I don't think so. For there to be any collection of what has been occurring during the Blackest Night even any trades will have to be collected in more sensible "phases" or "corners" of the overall event. That's great for the pockets of DC, not necessarily so great for the readers.
Now the question is, what about the event that was Blackest Night? First, the bad point. The bad point is that as with so many other events that are going on in DC and Marvel lately each one seems to be a set-up for the next event. If you're like me then you wonder, "Was this already in the works, or is this just another attempt to bleed more money?" I guess the answer matters little as the next event always comes and is advertised and pushed as the thing that was in "the making" or that "everything was leading up to this." Still, I wonder if we're short changed on some things. Is there information that could have been revealed in the Blackest Night event that got pushed into the Brightest Day event just to keep people reading? Once again, great for making money not so great for us readers, or at least our pocketbooks.
Yet, the big thing about such an event/story is the content. Was it worth it? Do the events have weight and are they meaningful? For the corner of the DC universe that is closely connected to the Green Lantern mythos I would say the answer is "yes." Beyond that I am not so sure. The varying colors of the emotional spectrum leave a lot of room for interplay between the different corps, or whatever they choose to call them. Plus, you know that there will be journeys undertaken to find the unfound entities that are the embodiments of the different colors.
The impact of the Brightest Day on the DC universe on the larger scale is much more hazy, and frankly I like that. You see, the White Light in my eyes is not "life", it hasn't given anyone life. Hal's decree to Necron that those that returned chose life when given that chance creates the difference between what the both the White Light and Black Light can do versus "life." The power of the Black Light can cause someone/something to rise, but it cannot give it life or even give it the ability to have a life. The White Light can allow someone/something to live, but it cannot create a life for it.
For me, this is a very important concept as it still helps keep the more spiritual concepts DC has set up previously in play. Now, how those concepts and the White and Black Light concepts actually interact is beyond me at this point. Still, it would seem that the "life" a person leads in the DC universe is a thing that goes outside the boundaries of the White and Black Lights. Right now I believe that the actual Brightest Day will look more closely at the role people play in the larger DC universe. Twelve individuals were brought back at the end of the Blackest Night, the question of "why" they were brought back remains to be seen.
Perhaps by the end of the Brightest Day we will see that while the colors of the emotional spectrum affect our life (the DC version) between the beginning and the end of it, and the White and Black Lights impact its beginning and end, there is something greater at play here. Personally I see a possible connection here, and that is that during Night and Day it's the choices that matter. It's those choices that will create and affect the life of each hero and villain that came back, those they interact with, and perhaps even those that did not return.
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