Batman Earth One

I've read a lot of Batman origin stories over the years.  Some much better than others.  This is one of the best.

I like that they're not afraid to make him fail.  It's what really worked for Batman: Year One by Frank Miller and this carries that on.  He's not really equipped to fight crime.  All he wants is vengeance he really needs that first failure to point him in the direction that his life will take.

Alfred as a former marine and family friend rather than the long time butler was the hardest change to swallow.  Though I did like that he admitted he knew nothing about raising a child.  He has done a rather poor job with Bruce.

The art is amazing.  There were pages that I just stopped and stared at to pull in all the details.  Seeing his eyes does make a difference.

The Penguin was actually an effective villain.  Something that a lot of writers struggle to do.  I've seen it in the new 52 now as well.  They've finally figured out what to do with this character.

Brightest Day Volume 3

I came out of this volume with one thought.   The white lantern is a dick.  It brought heroes back to life just so it could kill them, it brought villains back to kill heroes and it used Deadman to make these things happen.  And then it gets to take time to tell Hawk why he failed in the mission to kill himself.  All in all it seemed a convuluted way to bring Swamp Thing back to the DC universe.

Brightest Day Volume 2

It's weird reading this after reading some of the new 52 titles.  Things that I'm used to aren't happening.  Loved the intro of the new Aqualad.  I've been watching Young Justice and I know they drew inspiration for that character from here.  I like seeing Aquaman with a range of emotions.  Deadman not being dead is still odd though.

Brightest Day Volume One

I enjoyed Darkest Night so I thought I'd pick up the obvious sequel.

Poor Deadman.  It's tough to find your way when your whole thing was that you were dead and now you're alive.  It sort of defeats his purpose.

I didn't realise this was just the set up though.  The series is longer than I thought it was going to be.  I'll pick up the next one because I want to see how it all ends up.  I suspect there might be another volume coming called No Evil Shall Escape My Sight though.

Green Lantern: No Fear

This is essentially the sequel to Rebirth. It's Hal Jordan dealing with coming back from the dead. It's about what makes him tick and what it means to be a man without fear. I like Johns' insight into what makes the man a Green Lantern.

Green Lantern: Rebirth

I like Hal Jordan. He's my favourite of the Green Lanterns of Earth and I was always disappointed when they made him evil and then killed him and then brought him back as the Spectre. I'd read Blackest Night and enjoyed it so I thought I'd read more of Geoff Johns. I'm glad I did. Sure, this is essentially retconning but it wouldn't be DC without a little friendly continuity shuffle.

Blackest Night

I'd been hearing a lot about this series. Typical with DC it crossed over into a few of the titles I was reading over the summer. I eventually got curious enough to pick this up (and it came with the whole set of rainbow rings). It was more enjoyable than I thought it was going to be.

I discovered Geoff Johns. I have hope for the Green Lantern movie with his input on the story. And Ivan Reis has some incredible art.