Brightest Day picks up the pace and delivers the goods
I’ve been down on Brightest Day lately, mostly in part because of DC’s instance that the book be bi-weekly and the constraints this release schedule places on the writers, artists, and pacing of the series. The pacing has suffered the most, with the first five issues being a boring chore to read, with nothing really happening and characters standing around, looking at each other and asking “Why?”.
DC has finally picked it up though, and with the setup of issue #6, issue #7 finally reveals why the 12 have been revived and the purpose of the White Lantern. After satisfying one of his cravings for cheeseburgers (?), Boston Brand, Hawk, and Dove are transported to the site of the White Lantern in New Mexico. Brand touches the Lantern, which reveals that the entity inside is dying and has brought the 12 back to complete certain tasks, relevant to each one personally.
This book is special because in one instant, Johns has shown what Brightest Day is all bout and set up the blocks, ready to be knocked over in each subsequent issue. The White Lantern foretells their tasks and some even come into conflict with each other. We also only see snippets of what is to come, making this tease all the more salivating. It marks a turning point for the series and this issue should have come earlier.
A few things are off though. Brand’s need to eat a cheeseburger before the Lantern revealed its purpose was just silly and not needed. Hawk is still an over reacting cheeseball that needs to be tone backed a bit. Firestorm is still the weakest part of this series and I’m over his whining. The reveal of the Anti-Monitor a few issues back is still unused and no one seems worried about this.
The next issue of Brightest Day will be vital to see if the series can keep the pace up and hopefully Johns and Tomasi can keep the attention of readers. Pick issue #7 up, Wikipedia the past issues, and you should be fine.
