Green Lantern #43 Writer: Geoff Johns / Artist: Doug Mahnke

Blackest Night is almost here! Serving as a tease to the mega event, this issue of Green Lantern tells the story of the first Black Lantern and reveals a few of the mysteries behind the power of the Black Light. Ironically though, the great storytelling was bittersweet because it only left me wanting more.

Geoff Johns opens this issue with Scar revealing some of her background. She's always been a cool character because of the mystery behind her defection and that remains true because she doesn't really address that. While I did think her recap was a great read, I still would have preferred more insight into her motivations. For anyone jumping on the band wagon just to read Blackest Night though, this is a great issue. Scar tells the origin of the Guardians, the power of the emotional spectrum, and the prophecy of the Green Lanterns' darkest hour.

The latter half of the issue tells how the Black Hand became the first Black Lantern. This is the proverbial meat and potatoes for Green Lantern feasters. I love the detail Johns went through describing Hand's fascination with death. Scar's narration of that fascination also perfectly explained the power of the Black Lantern seeking him out. Despite never caring for the character, I was hooked on every line right up until the final awesomely haunting page when he finally gets his ring. Also cool was the revelation of some of Death's angst. Apparently it hates superhero resurrections as much I do and it intends on making those guys wish they were never brought back.

Thankfully, Doug Mahnke takes over art duties for the slacking Phillip Tan. Mahnke does a great job creating an atmosphere of darkness to go along with John's plot. Additionally, Black Hand's posture, facial expressions, and actions perfectly capture the tone of story while also looking great in their own right.

All in all, maybe I enjoyed the issue a little too much. After all, the purpose of on a prologue is to set up the main story and get people excited about it. That's exactly what Green Lantern #43 did, but I still came away a tad unsatisfied. I wanted to know more about Scar and maybe even more Black Lanterns. Oh well, I'll gladly wait for Blackest Night #1 for that.