by Peter J. Tomasi (writer), Chris Samnee, Mike Mayhew (artists), John Kalisz, Andy Troy (colorist), Pat Brosseau (letterer)
What a jip! 2 stories only?! What the hell?! If DC’s gonna skimp out us on our expected Lantern stories, they could’ve at least given us 2 compelling stories related to the ongoing event; not two character profiles that read like annuals that you can pass on. And what’s with the Directory’s Commentary for Free Comic Book Day’s Blackest Night #0? That’s something I usually expect to find at the end of the trade.
So what are we really getting with Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #3? 2 character histories (Kilowag’s and Arisia’s) that don’t reveal anything new about the characters, just the dead people in their lives– who we can expect to be in the background somewhere when all hell has broken loose and Johns has each respective character battling the ghosts from their pasts. I guess that’s supposed to be the point of these two stories– to expect and know who those Black Lanterns are.
But if you’ve already picked up the first two, you might as well swoop this one. The Kilowog story takes up most of the pages, and I guess I can say it’s all right. In this story, Tomasi gives us the history of how Kilowag came to be the hardass that he is. And although you may know where the story is going by the second page, it’s still somewhat entertaining to witness the half-assed character exploration behind Kilowog and how he got his ball-busting drill sergeant ways from Lantern Ermey (lame Full Metal Jacket reference by the way, Tomasi…). As for the Arisa story, it’s forgettable, unexciting, and reads as if the creative team thought it would be funny to forcefuly run an unfunny gag over and over…
There aren’t a lot of redeeming qualities with Tales of the Corps #3; but since it’s the 3 out of 3, you may as well get it. Read it once, slip it back in the bag and board, and marvel at it for a couple of seconds when you connect all three covers. Then pray that Blackest Night #2 comes out already.
Grade: D
-Ray Hilario
Posted in DC Comics Tagged: Andy Troy, Atrocitus, Blackest Night, Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #3, BLACKEST NIGHT: TALES OF THE CORPS #3 review, Bleez, Blume, Carol Ferris, Chris Samnee, Comic Book Reviews, DC Comics, Doug Mahnke, Gene Ha, Geoff Johns, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, John Kalisz, Mike Mayhew, Pat Brosseau, Peter Tomasi, Red Lanterns, Star Sapphires, Tales of the Corps, Tales of the Corps #3, Tom Mandrake, Weekly Comic Book Review
