Review: Brightest Day #17 By Geoff Johns And Peter Tomasi

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Brightest Day #17

Written by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi

Art by Ivan Resi, Ardian Syaf, Scott Clark, and Joe Prado

I think this is the first time I’ve enjoyed a Hawk centric issue of this book, which scares me to a small degree. Anyway, welcome to the newest issue of Brightest Day, where we are treated to not one, not two, but three different stories for the price of one! Witness Firestorm discover where he was teleported to! See Boston Brand reconnect with his heart and soul! And be there when the Hawk’s team up with the Star Sapphires! There was a lot going on in this issue, so let’s get to the fun part!

Firestorm was only granted a few pages to open the issue, after the end of the last issue featuring him seemingly going nuclear with Ronnie and Jason fearing that they had wiped out reality. Well, thankfully they haven’t killed everyone just yet, and the two men creating one finds himself in position for a big fight coming up. The location, which I reveal in a spoiler warning, is a bonus for long time fans and continuity buffs, but what he’s doing (hunting down Deathstorm the White Lantern, Professor Stein, and Jason’s dad) is very obvious, but at the same time it’s exactly what need to be done. Firestorm is going to have an uphill climb when he shows back up, but it should be awesome. Especially if the quality of art Scott Clark is turning in on these pages keeps up, because it looks uniquely Firestorm in the best way, and his style reminds me a bit of (Thor artist) Pascual Ferry, though I’m not a hundred percent why exactly. I just can’t shake it.

Boston Brand gets some face time in this issue as well, and it’s not a spoiler to say that he and Dove have gotten a little hot and heavy, and that Boston may just be in love. Rediscovering all of the things he had taken for granted when he was alive, and reconnecting with the last of his family. There aren’t a lot of pages devoted to all of this, but what we do have are some really good ones. The reconnection scene in-particular, Johns and Tomasi have really pushed Boston’s character forward over his last few appearances, from wishing he was dead again, to seeing all of the things he took for granted in life, to wanting to live again, and then finally in this issue….Boston truly does live again. There’s a very touching moment, and by the end of the issue things may never be the same in this book again. Ivan Reis turns in some really great work on this devoid of action story, and it’s because he does great work with the people themselves. Boston’s story is about humanity and living, and Reis gets that across in the scenes with Boston and the person he goes to see.

And then….there’s the Hawks. Thankfully no longer in Hawkworld, they’ve been transported to Zamaron by the Queen and the portal made of their past bones. Lucky for them that Zamaron isn’t exactly happy with an invading force, and that the current leader of the Star Sapphire’s is an old acquaintance of Carter and Shiera, as both know Hal’s ex-girlfriend Carol Ferris. This is good news, of course, because now it means that they have backup to fight the manhawk army led by Shiera’s mother, the Queen, backup in the form of Carol Ferris, the Predator, and the Star Sapphire’s. The fact that Carter and Shiera’s original bodies were the heart of the battery before Blackest Night comes up, and the two of them seem almost empowered by being on Zamaron. There’s a sizable twist by the end of the story that is a real ‘oh shit’ moment, and it actually made me really want the next chapter of their story as opposed to just being glad that it’s over. Syaf’s art isn’t bad, at times it does come across as inconsistent, but he does do a lot of good. Like a double page spread with the Hawk’s and Carol looks pretty freakin sweet.

It was a good issue, well paced, well broken up amongst the three stories….actually, that part surprises me. This book has suffered in the past with pacing issues when they try to do more than two stories in an issue, but here that problem doesn’t really come up. Very nice to see the writers get the hang of multitasking stories as it really did help this issue. Unfortunately, though, Firestorm’s presence was very small despite being on the cover, which is a recurring theme with this book…advertising last issue with the cover (see: Aquaman variant). Despite that small gripe, however, this was a fun issue with some good stuff in it. Firestorm’s destination is setting up something big, and the last few pages with Boston are filled with promise for what’s to come next.

Overall

8.5/10

A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.