Comic Review: Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Blackest Night (2019-) #1

Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Blackest Night (2019-) #1

DC Comics

Writer: Tim Seeley

Artist: Kyle Hotz

Blackest Night is one of my favorite comic book events in the history of comics. The main story was great, and it was one of the first events that I read all the tie-ins for. When the announcement that the Tales from the Dark Multiverse series was adapting Blackest Night, I was excited. The excitement for this was well worth it because Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Blackest Night was a great read. 

As with the other books in the Tales from the Dark Multiverse series is with each event, there’s a divergence point. Here, we see a universe where Sinestro refused to share the White Lantern light, bringing the end of the world. Sinestro is now the Limbo Lantern, after unsuccessfully trying to kill himself. 

Seeley brought his A-Game here. The dialogue switches perfectly between beautifully poetic and horrifying, with bits of comedy thrown in. Sinestro’s dialogue illustrates how beaten down he is. Sinestro is still a braggadocious as normal, but there are also tinges of regret and humility. It really adds to his character and makes him more compelling to read. 

Lobo and Dove are the only two survivors we see, not even a month after the Black Lanterns won. Seeing the two of them bounce off each other, alongside this new Sinestro creates a really interesting dynamic. The Black Lanterns have dialogue during some of the scenes, and everything they say is horrifying. 

Speaking of horrifying, Hotz’s art is on another level. All of the Black Lanterns are drawn distinctly, but still, look horrific. Since the Black Lanterns (and Lobo) are technically unkillable, Hotz feels unrestrained in showing the gruesome ways in which the Black Lanterns are dispatched. Sinestro also has the ability to resurrect and kill the Black Lanterns, and pain on the Black Lanterns’ faces are clear. 

Hotz also draws Sinestro, split between White and Black rings, like two halves. Most panels we see Sinestro, we only see one side of his face. Half his face is living and the other half is dead, and whichever side we see, we’re giving a slightly different tone in which he speaks. 

I want to give the letterer Tom Napolitano credit because of the way he framed Sinestro’s text boxes, it really added to his overall dichotomy. Napolitano colors his text balloons grey. The part I find interesting is that his Black Lantern side has a darker grey tone. His text also becomes italicized similar to other Black Lanterns only occasionally, showing how he toes that line at all times. 

If I had to pick one thing I didn’t like, it would be the end. It’s not a bad ending by any means, but it feels like it came out of nowhere. It makes sense though since in these universes, the unexpected always happens. 

Overall, the Tales from the Dark Multiverse series has been really good, and this is just another strong entry. 

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