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Saturday, April 09, 2011

Brightest Day #23 - June 2011

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Comics Weekend "Rise and Fall" by Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and more.

Hey, DC bought the rights to The Elementals! Cool!

In this penultimate issue of Brightest Day, the mysterious force that's been using Deadman to take Aquaman, the Hawks, Martian Manhunter, and Firestorm to "the other side" finally brings them back:
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...in this case, it's to battle the ultimate "dark avatar", which is essentially the being known as The Green--the living embodiment of the Earth itself, looking quite a bit like Swamp Thing.

Our revived heroes of course jump right into battle:
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This same force then bring back someone else, who it says is "Earth's Ultimate Savior": Alec Holland! What the what?!?

To be concluded!


That water-filled Aquaman is going to make one cool DC Direct variant...

11 comments:

JD said...

Alec Holland and Swamp Thing became essentially separate entities back in the 80's during Alan Moore's run. I guess DC wants to bring back the 70's era Alec Holland as Swamp Thing, which is great if Swampy gets a book of his own again.

Also, I'm liking the elemental upgrade for Aquaman. Geoff Johns scripted one the late Michael Turner's Fathom mini-series, so I'm thinking these new powers were inspired by that. I hope Arthur keeps some elemental abilities post BD, as a power upgrade only increases Arthur's status as a heavy hitter within the DCU!

JD said...

Ahh, for anyone interested the exact Fathom mini that Johns scripted was "Michael Turner Presents: Aspen" from 2003, later collected in both Aspen The Extended Edition and Fathom The Definitive Edition vol. 1. The new Aqua-powers definitely seem influenced by the Fathom series.

Joe Slab said...

I know fans will be sharply divided (the Purists vs. the Neo-Aquas LOL) but I really love the elemental look of Aquaman in Brightest Day #23, although I am sure it is a temporary condition.

I think it shows what great artists Reis and Prado are and makes me even more excited for their work on the AQUAMAN ongoing...if that's even possible!

Wings1295 said...

I think, as long as Aquaman isn't now permanently made of only water, I am okay with this. Eventually, I would prefer our "classic" Aquaman back. But holding onto say, a water-hand or a trident made of hard water? That could be cool.

David J. Cutler said...

I'd for sure buy a plastic representation of water elemental Aquaman--very cool. But when this is all over, no water hands, please, DC!

David J. Cutler said...

Also, that one pose is a pretty sweet call back to when Arthur and co were first resurrected in Blackest Night #8.

Sarah said...

Ummm, does any one else think that shiny "A" on aquaman looks a little to much like pubic hair???

Shellhead said...

I actually liked the water hand. It gave a nice upgrade to his powerset. Just have him keep his gloves on and you'll never know he has it until he needs it.

Ryan said...

I suppose I fall into the "purist" camp as I don't want any aqua-kinetic powers or hooks in my Aquaman, nor do I think he needs a power upgrade. (I also preferred it when Wonder Woman couldn't fly without a certain hard-to-see jet.)

I'm fine with this as a temporary change of status for story reasons in Brightest Day, but when Johns/Reis/Prado reunite for the ongoing, I trust they're resurrecting a Silver Age take on Arthur.

David J. Cutler said...

how can you see the water hand when it's under water? if you look down into it do you you see Arthur's mangled stump? Does it feel solid? Does it feel wet? If you high five him does it sound like a belly flop? If he puts his hand on your shoulder is your shirt wet? If it's hot out does it evaporate?

The water hand raises too many questions for me :P I don't think Aquaman needs a power upgrade either--he just needs to not die if he's out of the water for more than an hour.

Brent said...

I'm just wondering how that belt buckle stays on...