Writer: Geoff Johns
Artists: Doug Mahnke with Christian Alamy
Coined by lord Johns as Blackest Night 6.5, this issue deals with the gathering of both the big powers of the emotional spectrum, and Nekron's forces. The plot advances along nicely, and because the cover gives it away, I'll spoil it here. Parallax is back, and Mahnke is the perfect one to draw this. What I love about Geoff Johns is his mastery of the comic book medium. More than any of the British magicians Geoff writes very solid single issues. They leave you both satisfied and wanting more. It's a point I can really only convey to people who buy comics on a weekly or monthly basis. The best way I could give an example of this would be the difference between Batman and Robin #1, and Blackest Night #1. I remember when both came out they were fantastic, but I liked Blackest Night #1 a bit more because it left me satisfied within the whole issue, while Batman and Robin left too much open. It's not entirely a bad thing, but to have a very incomplete story can get very frustrating. It may be why people who only buy TPB's of Johns' work don't quite get why he is so great.
However this issue I must say is all about the artwork. My first review I knocked Doug for his love of cheekbones, and while that is still certainly there I forgive it entirely. The slavering undead, and the hyper detail of Parallax seems tailor made for Doug's highly detailed style. This is to the point that the Image on page 10 actually made me jump when I hit it. It's perfectly placed behind shots of the good guys winning. Plus the Hal-Spectre fight has some real scary imagery as well. Overall I'd say this time the art actually outshines the story. Mahnke and Alamy haven't been this on point since Superman Beyond.
As if you need me to tell you, this one is a keeper. Beyond being a 50th issue, it's great for Blackest Night completionists. Plus there was no Blackest Night this month, so this is as close as you're going to get. The end sets the stage for what I am going to imagine as an epic as hell fight. I'm still not decided on what music would be good for this issue though. There is a lot of action in this issue. But the plot takes a crucial step forward, and it ends on a very strong cliffhanger. I would probably try out something from Metallica as a place to start. If you can find some good black metal like Diabolical Masquerade, that could work too. To cast the issue in a more eerie light maybe Isis. I don't know. Overall though, great issue; get it!
