Aside from Batman, I was formerly unable to read most DC comics due to a lack of interest. I thought the heroes were too clean-cut, boring and flashy. That was until I was introduced to a little storyline called Blackest Night. I most definitely had never read a Green Lantern comic prior, but a friend told me how great Blackest Night was because heroes and villains were coming back from the dead killing everything in their path.

I thought- “Hmmm… zombie heroes and villains basically? I’m in.” Even though they weren’t exactly zombies, that is still the concept that got me interested. I was not disappointed. The story had much more to it than just super powered zombies, and as a first time Lantern reader I had to piece together who the Guardians were, where the other colored lanterns came from, what each light/emotion meant on the spectrum, where Oa was, and what the Blackest Night meant. I had a great time after reading it, going back and reading everything that lead up to it. This included The Sinestro Corps War, Agent Orange, and Rage of the Red Lanterns. I had a better understanding of the Green Lantern universe after reading so much, and graciously appreciated the exciting new world made great by comic writing superstar Geoff Johns.

After Blackest Night I knew that Brightest Day had to be just as good, so that was the next big story for me. I was wrong, and shame on me for believing that Brightest Day was going to be another Green Lantern centered storyline, because it wasn’t. It instead focused on the 12 resurrected heroes and villains, and the reasoning behind their returns during the Blackest Night.

I’m not saying that Brightest Day is in any way a bad series, I’ve actually heard quite the contrary from fellow readers, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. Fortunately for me the upcoming War of the Green Lanterns story arc will help satisfy my GL cravings when it’s first two parts release today. My review for those will be forthcoming.

Aside from Hal Jordan having a big DC moment to shine in Blackest Night, the Flash also stood out to me as a primary character during the arc. It was rare to see a page where the two heroes weren’t working together, and it was truly awesome to see Flash as a temporary member of the Blue Lantern Corps, because as you know…. he had the ability to instill great hope. I’ve always liked the ‘Barry Allen’ Flash, but I’ve never actually had the desire to pick up a title starring only him. I’m hoping the upcoming Flashpoint event will do for me with the Flash, what Blackest Night did for me with Green Lantern, which is actually have a desire to read a DC character’s comic that isn’t named Batman.

Flashpoint will begin this May, being composed of five issues along with many tie-in books and one shots. However, it was announced at C2E2 that the Flashpoint tie-ins will be self-contained, and not necessary to follow the main story. Personally I like it better when you don’t have to pick up seven titles a week, for six months just to be in the loop which seems to be the trend nowadays with comic events.

Below is an official description of the upcoming arc from ComicVine:

Flashpoint is an event focusing on Barry Allen and the rest of the Flash Family’s efforts to fix the fissures in time, made by unknown forces. It was first mentioned in the sixth issue of Geoff Johns’ The Flash, and will later be seen in a five issue mini series written by Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert starting in May 2011. As with Blackest Night, Flashpoint will be accompanied by a fifteen three-issue mini series, as well as a number of one shots, starring characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and more, showing how the event affects their lives.

The series seems very interesting indeed, with these fissures in time having direct effects on many of the main DC heroes. I’m hoping to see a few alternate realities in the spin-off issues, seeing as how time itself is being manipulated, and it appears to be the case according to the promo below:

Bruce Wayne running casinos? Aquaman and Wonderwoman married? Superman detained? Hal Jordan is not the Green Lantern because Abin Sur never died?

Awesome! It has a very Age of Apocalypse vibe running through it, and I assume that Flash and the other speedsters who use the ‘Speed Force’ will be hot on the trail of exactly whatever the Flashpoint is. I cannot wait to get into this story, especially with Geoff Johns writing and Andy Kubert doing the art. Johns has proven himself a genius in breathing new life into characters and making them relevant again, and I have liked Andy Kubert’s art since he was doing X-Men in the 90’s. This seems like a great jumping on point for any passive reader of the Flash looking to expand their comic horizons. (Like me.)

Flashpoint will be speeding to your local comic store in May!