Apparently, Marvel and DC sent a memo to each other declaring this week would be filled with origins and character building stories as evidenced by the three books appearing on today’s edition of The Pull List. Not to say that’s a bad thing by any means, character building is what helps us care most about this who we normally see just in the heat of battle.
Also thankfully for our wallets, this was a “light” week in terms of shipping. After the three weeks of 20 or more pulls, it was nice to have a week to be able to sit down, relax and get to enjoy the work in these issues.
Pull of the Week:
Green Lantern #43 – DC – $2.99
Score: 8.0
Contrary to the image on the cover of the Black Hand clutching the grave of Bruce Wayne, this issue takes the reader back before the events of Blackest Night #0 (reviewed here on The Flickcast from Free Comic Book Day). The opening page is told from the perspective of one of the Guardians, one of the little blue men who plays a role in keeping order to the universe with the Green Lanterns, as he recalls how long he has been around and the many things he has seen and been a part of. Almost joyfully, he tells how he is taking part in the birth of the very first Black Lantern.
Enter William Hand, the awkward middle child living with his loving family who knows there is something off about him by his obsession with death from even the youngest age. After sending him for psychological help, William is much the same person until he accidentally crosses paths with the Green Lantern Hal Jordan and his partner Sinestro as they fight Atrocitus. After it, William was never able to sleep right and turned himself in to the Black Hand, obsessing over the light of Hal Jordan’s ring.
After losing his hand and being experimented on by aliens, William’s connection to death grew, as he was now able to see death, like those of Martian Manhunter and Bruce Wayne. He also began seeing those who had escaped death like Superman, the Green Lantern and the Flash. From there, William returns to a fateful location where the events that turn him in to the first Black Lantern take place.
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