The Power Of Shazam #48 (another of the resurrected tie-in issues to Blackest Night) presents an aspect of the Blackest Night story that I hadn’t expected. Thus far, the Black Lanterns have been presented as sadistic figures of pure hatred and death but in Power Of Shazam, the story of Osiris’s return from the grave is, well for lack of a better term, touching.
For those who didn’t read 52, Osiris was the brother of a woman Black Adam turned into Isis. Osiris was convinced to stop being part of the Shazam family by his trusted friend Sobek, a humanoid lizard creature. When Osiris was at his most vulnerable Sobek killed him, allowing for betrayal to be the last thing Osiris felt before death.
With that being his dying feeling, you’d expect Osiris to awaken as a Black Lantern and be filled with rage. Instead he’s scared, confused and somehow (maybe the magic of Shazam) completely the same person he was when he died. From there, Osiris is forced to deal with the destruction of his land, the death of Black Adam and Isis, the fact that he’s a zombie now and the return of Sobek in Black Lantern form looking for a final battle. What ultimately becomes of Osiris in this book does a great job in showing the Black Lanterns from a new slant, one that almost generates sympathy for them.
Writer Eric Wallace is a really economical writer, which works perfectly for the story. The Power Of Shazam #48 is a story that relies much more on the visuals to tell the tale and Wallace is good enough to understand that. He allows the script to be the bones of the story while the pictures are the meat and skin.
Seeing Osiris’s face when he realizes he’s back from the dead, or the looks of the people as their once great prince stands before them as a zombie is powerful stuff that could have been ruined with an excess of words. I really commend Wallace for letting that happen instead of satisfying his ego.
With the art being so important DC handed the reigns over to Don Kramer and reading this book I felt like something was off. I couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong until about the third read when it hit me. Kramer, while very talented, draws Power Of Shazam in a very Marvel Comics style.
It might be that his style is just more in mesh with how Marvel Comics has been presenting their heroes but this title felt like a Marvel comic written for DC. It didn’t make Power Of Shazam #48 unreadable, it just made the whole thing feel a little off, which affected the overall impact.
Bringing a touching and sad Blackest Night story that is devoid of the standard horror and violence is a tough job, one that was handled admirably by Wallace & Kramer, if not perfectly. I’m excited by the idea of the undead being able to fight the power of the Black Lantern and how that blends into the main story arc.
Will the Lanterns turn traitor to their own kind, will some be able to fight their possession and sever the connection with the black rings? Again the Blackest Night series throws a curve ball at us, forcing readers to constantly guess what will happen next and that, my friends, is what comic books should always be striving for.
