This Week's Comic Books 7-15-09

It's good that I finish this before Wednesday, or I'd have a lot of catching up to do. Anyway, as I mentioned in my post about last week's purchases, it's time for one of those Big Events. So we start with...

Blackest Night 1 (of 8): I wasn't sure I'd get this after reading the Green Lantern book I picked up last week, but I find myself more intrigued than I expected. We see a bunch of black power rings flying across the universe and reanimating a bunch of corpses into Black Lanterns. (Are they Zombie Lanterns or something more? The ones that speak in this book apparently are in character to an extent; they're not just moaning or growling. Are their own personalities brought back to life but in a corrupted form?) Mixed in with all of this there are a number of well-written small segments revolving around a day set aside to honor heroes who gave their lives in saving the world. Of course, at least some of them are going to get those black rings...I am most curious as to the significance of Black Hand digging up Bruce Wayne's body and taking his skull. Are there some special plans for the (once and future?) Batman?

Action Comics 879: This is the other Superman book that doesn't have Superman in it. It features Kryptonians who have taken up the names of Kryptonian legends, Nightwing and Flamebird. They've undertaken a mission to capture other Kryptonians on Earth acting as "sleeper agents" in a planned plot against Earth. The problem is, as a result of the "New Krypton" events, all Kryptonians (except Superman) are banned from Earth, and a secret government entity is after them. Also, two pages feature Lois Lane, who (with an assist from Mon-El, in a cameo) learns some important information about her father.

Superman/Batman 62: Here's a series where the continuity hasn't yet been updated to reflect current events elsewhere. Superman is still on Earth and Batman is still Bruce Wayne. So do we get the start of another story arc where the "World's Finest" (as their team-up book was called, back in the day) heroes stop some calamity or ruin some villain's monstrous plans? Nope. They're only seen briefly in a flashback. This issue stars Supergirl and Robin (not the current one, the previous one who became Red Robin after Bruce's "death," but since in this timeframe Bruce is still alive...well, you get the idea), who have lunch in their civilian guises and reminisce about a time not long after they met, when they ended a hostage drama at Arkham Asylum. Meh.

Simpsons Comics 156: A story called "The Simpsons Save The World." It's set in the year 2194 and a tour guide at the Simpsons Museum explains how the Simpsons, "the most important people in history," managed to cure all diseases, bring about world peace and the end of nuclear weapons, and save the planet from global warming. With disastrous results, as it turns out. D'oh!