I must have a thing for Brad Guigar since this is the second post in a row where I link to him. However, in this case, we are definitely not in agreement. Read what he had to say last week in regards to DC’s current Blackest Night storyline.
Feh. I still say this plot reads like “DC Zombies” — a cheap rip-off of a popular Marvel concept. But it’s the dominant story in the DC Universe right now, so I’m going to at least pick up the core Blackest Night title. But I’m avoiding Blackest Night Batman, Blackest Night Superman and every other off-shoot right down to Blackest Night Metamorpho when it eventually comes out. So I’m gonna pick it up, but I’m holding my nose.
Incredible. Let’s take a look at the two series’ and draw comparisons, shall we?
Marvel Zombies is a standalone series set in an alternate universe from the regular Marvel universe. Essentially the hook is “Hey, it’s Marvel characters! And they’re all zombies!” Hijinks ensue. It’s meant to be humorous, and the first run absolutely was. However, it’s now on its FOURTH incarnation, each one a slight variation on the original theme, and the series has become mired in a thoughtless plot and some horrendously cliched storytelling concepts. Yes, we get it. Zombies are hungry for brains, and they have super powers. Hilarious. At one time, it made for some good jokes, but now it’s become fairly empty, hollow, and repetitious.
DC’s Blackest Night has been building for over a year. Unlike the Marvel Zombies concept, Blackest Night takes place within the actual DC universe. The story is connected primarily to the Green Lanterns, since it’s based around the idea that each reincarnated super hero is given a black ring, but the story is touching every aspect of the entire DC universe: from Superman, to Batman, the Green Lanterns, and even the Teen Titans. Also unlike the Marvel Zombies series, these reincarnations are not necessarily “zombies” in the traditional sense. They look like zombies, but they aren’t hungry for brains or shambling along mindlessly hunting the living. They’re working for a sinister evil shadowy master trying to kill as many heroes as they can. In a parallel story to Blackest Night, you also have the establishment of the entire spectrum of Lantern colors, each representing an emotion. The black lanterns and their connection to death ties into this story. If you look past the idea of “oh, it’s just zombies” you quickly realize that there is actually a unique and complicated story being woven together.
The plot to Blackest Night does not in any way, shape, or form read anything like a “cheap rip-off” of Marvel Zombies. You have to completely remove yourself from reality in order to claim that. If anything, DC is giving us an example of how you are supposed to do a “zombie story” in a comic book universe. It’s practically a giant middle finger to Marvel saying “your stuff was kinda cute, but let us show you how you really do a zombie series.” And it works.
How well does it work? Well, I see in the most recent Previews that Marvel appears to be currently doing a brand new, more serious (can you use that word in regards to a zombie comic book?) reincarnated super hero zombie series called Necrosha as a part of their series’ X-Force, New Mutants, and X-Men. My goodness! How completely original! So, wait a second, wait a second — I thought Blackest Night was nothing more than a cheap knock-off of Marvel Zombies? Now Marvel is doing their own cheap knock-off of an existing cheap knock-off? Man, I’m really confused now.
Moral of the story: there’s a reason I don’t read Marvel comics anymore. Read Blackest Night. You’ll be glad you did.
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