Brightest Day #5 - The jakob187 Review
With the past few issues in this DC event, I've wained back and forth on whether I would continue reading it. While the story elements featuring many of the characters has been a little intriguing, it continuously felt like a downhill struggle for any of that stuff to make any sense. Another major complaint was the lack of incorporating more of the characters that were brought back amongst The Twelve.
Brightest Day #5 has reaffirmed my faith in this event, bringing the best issue of the series so far and digging deep into what comic fans love best: great artwork, great story, and great characters. While the issue only focuses on the stories surrounding Aquaman, Boston Brand/Hawk/Dove, and Hawkman/Hawkgirl, the three directions do what the past three issues haven't: they move the story along as well as offer intrigue as to where they are headed. The setup at the end of issue #4 meant that Hawkman/Hawkgirl would be a no-brainer, and while they have obviously entered this place called Hawkworld (in case the cover didn't get the point across), the events that unfold there lead towards a cliffhanger that could either be potentially damaging for the characters but incredibly rewarding for the reader.
The highlights here are the story for Boston Brand/Dove/Hawk and Aquaman/Mera. In the last issue, we had Boston and the Birds (talk about a band name!) visiting the grave of Hank's deceased brother, with Hawk forcing Boston to resurrect him. We end up learning more about Boston's abilities with the White Lantern Ring...or maybe the lack thereof. While a slight disappointment set in for the characters, another revelation comes around that could see a more interesting return...if those abilities are true and Boston DOES have some form of control.
Taking the book by storm are Aquaman and Mera, who find themselves trying to provide some clean-up efforts in part of the ocean (mirroring real life much?). However, it is quickly interrupted by the "mysterious" woman from the previous issues. In a flash decision, Mera tells Aquaman that they need to leave, as Aquaman starts noticing some similarities between the woman attacking them and Mera's abilities. The last three pages of the book feature some incredible dialogue of intrigue and worry between the two that could be written, and the final page will leave you DYING for the next issue! It definitely explains some of the looks that Mera has given and the concern she has had in her heart.
The only drawback for me: where is Aqualad? They made something of a big deal about him being in issue #4, and he's nowhere in this issue. If Aqualad isn't going to have some ongoing story portion in this book, then I'd feel as though I was cheated out of some pages from issue #4 that could've been dedicated to making that issue better.
