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Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi
Artist(s): Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Joe Prado, & Scott Clark
Cover: Ivan Reis & Nei Ruffino

**Minor Spoilers**

“Nuclear Options”: I’m pretty sure that Geoff Johns is a robot of some kind.  The guy has been pumping out huge, fantastic events consecutively for the past few years that have propelled the Green Lantern series as one of the best sci-fi books to hit the shelves. The rich storytelling may show a few familiar elements here and there but Johns adds his own flavor making it all his.

Brightest Day is no different so far and as the aftermath of Blackest Night, this new chapter seems to go beyond just wrapping up loose ends but also revealing new mysteries for us that are actually worth investing in.  As we find out that some of our heroes who were resurrected in Blackest Night #8 are starting to discover that there are lingering effects to when some of them were Black Lanterns, others have to deal with old foes with scores to settle.

The pairing of Ronnie and Jason as the new Firestorm is quite interesting since Jason still blames Ronnie for his girlfriend’s death. The two are basically stuck together, but it seems like Professor Stein and the Atom have discovered that the Firestorm Matrix poses some yet to be explained danger, and are trying to save both of the boys. We are also treated to a retelling of Martian Manhunter’s origin after he visits Dr. Erdel’s grave. Meanwhile, Hawkman and Hawkgirl discover who is behind their recent troubles.  Deadman is having his own issues as he’s trying to reach Aquaman and Mera when his ring yanks him away telling him to “fight”…and from the looks of the spread on the last page he’ll have his hands full next issue!

In this issue Johns and  Tomasi give Firestorm and Martian Manhunter a bit more time in the spotlight, moving their stories along at a decent pace while Hawkman and Hawkgirl are briefly touched on, and Aquaman gets a couple of panels (not that I’m complaining about that one).  Being that they’re juggling 12 characters, the pacing seems to be a little off at times as we’re forced to shift gears right when we’re getting to the meat of a particular story. It isn’t too big of an issue because the individual sequences hold up very well and each one is a piece to a much bigger puzzle. I’m pretty sure it will all read better once the series is wrapped up and enjoyed as a whole.

Usually I’m annoyed when a title uses a laundry list of artists for one book, but each of these guys does a fantastic job of  making sure the book is as visually captivating as it is fun to read. I could not find a page that was lacking between the various styles and each one complimented the sequence assigned to it. Admittedly, I’m not able to just pick out which artist did which part but I will say that the Firestorm and Hawk’s sequences are my top two, with the Martian Manhunter segment coming in at third in terms of the art.

Brightest Day #2 is a good issue all things considered, and although certain segments are moving at a snails pace, we’ll just have to wait and see how it all works out. From what I’ve noticed though, it’s that barely any of the resurrected characters are having their “brightest day”.

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