Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2 [Paperback]

Like the first Black Lantern Corps hardcover volume, Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2 collects three mini-series' that flesh out some more details of the ordeals of some of the big players of Blackest Night, as the DC universe gets plunged into hell and the dead rise from their graves. Blackest Night: The Flash proves to be surprisingly essential to the core storyline, as Blackest Night writer Geoff Johns details Barry Allen's struggle against the Black Lanterns, as well as Barry's role in the event as he attempts to save his grandson Bart "Kid Flash" Allen from a terrible fate. What makes this mini in particular all the more interesting is that during Barry and the heroes ordeal, the Flash rogues have their own to deal with as well as Captain Cold and co. take the fight to the resurrected rogues. The ending of this mini is worth the price of admission alone, even if Scott Kolins' artwork is inconsistent. Blackest Night: JSA finds the current Justice Society hunted down by the resurrected original Sandman, Dr. Midnite, Mr. Terrific, Atom, Johnny Quick, and the Earth-2 Superman and Lois Lane to boot. Co-writer James Robinson (teamed here with Tony Bedard) re-teams with penciler Eddy Barrows to pick up on some plot points left found in their Blackest Night: Superman mini (found in the Vol. 1 hardcover), and this time around they fare better. The last mini, Blackest Night: Wonder Woman, is written by Wonder Woman vet Greg Rucka, and at first finds the legendary heroine taking on the resurrected Maxwell Lord, before finally succumbing to the Black Lanterns and eventually overcoming them thanks to the Star Sapphires. This mini isn't special, but the pencilwork by Nicola Scott is gorgeous enough to recommend on its own. All in all, Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2 is slightly better and almost more essential than Vol. 1 thanks to the Flash mini alone, but neither is an absolute must-own tie-in to the overall Blackest Night saga. Still though, it's a worthwhile endeavor regardless.

This volume collects the `parallel' Blackest Night stories from Blackest Night Flash #1-3, Blackest Night JSA #1-3, and Blackest Night Wonder Woman #1-3. Some are continuations of, or lead-ins to, scenes from the main series, others take place off-stage to the main action. They are worth reading if you are following the Blackest Night series, or the characters' own series, but do not stand alone very well.

The arrival of a major comics crossover usually means the company's other titles will serve as extensions of the event. Smart writers can use said tie-in's to further their own story lines (ex. Ed Brubaker and Captain America during "Civil War") but more often than not, it ends up derailing and interrupting the book's stories. With "Blackest Night", DC initially chose to avoid this and instead commissioned 6 mini-series, each focusing on a key DC team or player and their reaction to the zombie apocalypse. "Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps - Vol. 2" collects the second batch of mini-series, which span the second half of the main "Blackest Night" book.

The book opens with "Blackest Night: The Flash". "Blackest Night" architect and long-time Flash writer Geoff Johns returns to the Fastest Man Alive with his old collaborator Scot Kollins. Barry Allen and his fellow speedsters attempt to protect the Twin Cities while the Rogues decide to take the fight to their Black Lantern counterparts. The book is very much a spiritual sequel to "Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge" and could even be considered "Rogue War 2". This collection is mandatory for current Flash readers as it bridges "The Flash: Rebirth" and "The Flash: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues"

"Blackest Night: JSA" sees James Robinson return to the Justice Society for the first time in almost a decade. DC's original super-heroes face their undead compatriots as they're also forced to deal with the fallout from "Blackest Night: Superman". Unfortunately, the story suffers from Robinson's awkward dialogue and pacing, and the rushed artwork of Eddy Barrows.

The final mini-series, "Blackest Night: Wonder Woman" sees another reunion as Greg Rucka returns to the Amazing Amazon as she is forced to battle an undead Maxwell Lord. Considering Rucka's role as the architecht of Diana's trouble with Lord, it's fun to see him come full circle with it. Nicola Scott, fresh off "Secret Six", brings her crisp style to the world of the Amazons.

Ultimately, the entire collection is not mandatory reading for Blackest Night, but something to pick up if you want to see how these particular characters handled the Black Lantern invasion.