Okay sports fans we have reached the halfway point in the prizefight of the century between the Black Lanterns and, well, pretty much every other hero in the DC Universe. Blackest Night number four is obviously the end of the first act of what’s turning out to be one of the most epic comic book event series of all time. The surprise of the Black Lantern attack is over and now the DC heroes are rallying their troops in order to drive back the undead. The Indigo Lantern’s have shown a chink in the Black Lantern’s armor and it’s time the heroes exploit it. 

To say all hell has broken loose at the start of Blackest Night four isn’t a metaphor; it’s the absolute truth. With Hal Jordan and the Indigo Lanterns whisked away to try and destroy the power source of the Black Lanterns Flash, Mera and The Atom are left to fend off the undead heroes infiltrating the JLA Headquarters. From there Blackest Lantern four goes off on whirlwind that is completely breathtaking. 

Writer Geoff Johns crams in everything from pure action, to mental breakdowns to a twist ending you’ll never see coming. By doing that he has set the stage for the next four issues effectively closing the first act and preparing the readers for the second. This one title shifts the excitement of Blackest Night into overdrive.  

What does it is how Johns paces the book and how he combines various storylines into his linear vision. This issue needed to ramp up the action as well as bring in the other heroes to illustrate how wide spread the Black Lanterns attack really is. Johns manages to involve every hero from Wonder Woman to the original Green Lantern as well as the JLA and JSA all throwing everything they have at the Black Lanterns. With all the action going on Johns never misses a chance to throw in the emotional impact of Blackest Night. 

From the Barry Allen Flash rising to the occasion as a leader to the near breakdown of both Atom and Mera when forced to face their deceased loved ones, emotions are running high.  As always Johns keep the Black Lanterns sadistic and evil, which just adds to the tension. Blackest Night keeps coming back to both the need for Hal Jordan, the importance of The Flash and the troubles of the Atom. This issue really focuses on that and peeks my interest as to why those three characters play such a pivotal role.

Ivan Reis’ also brings Blackest Night four to where it needs to be by penciling it almost as though it was a motion picture. These panels don’t just pop off the page they flow to a point that they seem to be moving. So much of this book involves The Flash and Reis does an amazing job of brining his movements to life. As with Johns writing Reis masters the editing of the action as well, splicing in various scenes happening at once without losing sight of the main story. The scenes cut back and forth between locations and characters without missing a beat. By the end of the book I was absolutely breathless and I could feel the shift in tone. Something big is brewing for the next four issues and with such a shift in tone it promises to be huge.