Plot: The Black Lanterns continue to menace the DCU as Barry Allen meets the man behind the monsters.

Comments: I'll be upfront and say that I am not an avid reader of DC titles and I've never been a regular reader of Green Lantern where the seeds of this book were originally planted. But I am a regular reader of DC's big crossovers like Crisis on Infinite Earths and Final Crisis and the like. To me, DC has always been able to deliver when it came to the large, line-wide crossovers in a way that Marvel just doesn't. They have really found a way to make each of these crossover events unique with have meaning and exemplify the “universes will live, universes will die, everything changes” code of crossover events. As the message boards light up with more and more posters complaining of event fatigue I find that sentiment to be incorrect. I think they are really just saying they are tired of bad or meaningless events. However, that is not what we have here.

With this issue Johns and Reis have hit the midpoint of the series but the action and suspense keeps building. Past issues of the series have been very focused on Hal Jordan, as you would expect in a series like this. But on this issue Johns moves the spotlight to another of his favorites--Barry Allen. Since his return Johns has been successfully guiding the character back into the mainstream DCU and into the minds of readers, many of whom were more firmly attached to Wally West than Barry. There is a scene where Barry is telling Mera and Ray Palmer that they can't wait for the big guns of the Justice League and that those two now have to play the parts of Wonder Woman and Superman and step up to the battle at hand. The thing is that in this issue Barry comes off more like Superman--he's rallying the troops, leading the fight, and directing the actions of the heroes. I was very impressed with this portrayal of Barry and the affect he can have on those around him.

Ray and Mera are the B story in the issue, but reader reaction to them seems to be very positive so far. The Atom certainly has changed from the emotional wreck he was left following Identity Crisis. Geoff Johns has done real wonders with those two in this series. He continues to make the story as accessible as possible to all readers and throws in lots of character bits to enjoy. Every character has his own voice and a few other ones are given moments to shine. I particularly enjoyed the one with all the different Atoms and its violent ending.

Reis is really well suited for this series. He combines the draftsmanship and detail of George Perez with an emotional and flashy style. The rest of the art team really set the shadowy mood with the dark inking and coloring. The big reveal at the end of the issue is not too shocking anymore, as it has been all over the internet for months, but it still it has the desired dramatic impact and really sets up the series for its final act. The addition of “The Book of Black” bonus material helps to flesh out some of the details that aren't provided for in the main story.

This series has been met with a great amount of positive reaction from the fans, this issue included. And there is a reason for that. The team of Johns and Reis are putting everything into this book and it shows.

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