Coming from the creative team of Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis, Blackest Night was the massive DC Comics crossover event of 2009-10. It was the culmination of a lot of ideas developed by Johns during his celebrated run on Green Lantern.
Here is the official synopsis: “The Prophecy of the Blackest Night has come to pass—a mysterious force is raising deceased heroes and villains into an army of undead Black Lanterns!
The combined might of the Green Lantern Corps and an armada of living superbeings must now band together in a fight quite literally for their lives. As the war between the different colored Lantern Corps rages on, the prophecy of the Blackest Night descends and it’s up to Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps to lead DC’s greatest champions in a battle to save the Universe from an army of undead Black Lanterns made up of fallen Green Lanterns and DC’s deceased heroes and villains.”
What to read before Blackest Night?
The easiest answer would be all of Geoff Johns’s Green Lantern up to that point, of course. Hal Jordan and the Corps are front and center during this event and the antagonist is connected to the mythology of the lanterns. If you don’t want to read everything, maybe just the last storylines before the start of the crossover. They served as a prelude to Blackest Night and here is the reading order:
- Green Lantern Corps #29-30
- Green Lantern #36-38
- Green Lantern Corps #31-33
- Green Lantern #39-40
- Green Lantern Corps #34-36
- Green Lantern #41
- Green Lantern Corps #37
- Green Lantern #42
- Green Lantern Corps #38
Here are the collected editions:
- Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns
Collects Green Lantern #26-28, #36-38 And Final Crisis: Rage Of The Red Lanterns #1. - Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire
Collects Green Lantern Corps #27-32.
- Green Lantern: Agent Orange
Collects Green Lantern #39-42. - Green Lantern Corps: Emerald Eclipse
Collects Green Lantern Corps #33-39.
To be up to date with what is happening with Batman, you’ll need to read Final Crisis by Grant Morrison. With The Flash, take a look at The Flash: Rebirth by Geoff Johns.
Blackest Night Reading Order:
Blackest Night Collected Editions
- Blackest Night Omnibus
Collects Adventure Comics #4-5,7, Blackest Night #0-8, Blackest Night: Batman #1-3, Blackest Night: The Flash #1-3, Blackest Night: JSA #1-3, Blackest Night: Superman #1-3, Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1-3, Blackest Night: Titans #1-3, Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1-3, Catwoman #83, Green Arrow #30, Green Lantern #43-53, Green Lantern Corps #39-47, Phantom Stranger #42, Starman #81, Suicide Squad #67, The Atom and Hawkman #46, The Power of Shazam! #48, The Question #37, Untold Tales of Blackest Night #1, and Weird Western Tales #71
- Blackest Night Saga (DC Essential Edition) or regular edition
Collects Blackest Night #0-8. - Green Lantern: Blackest Night
Collects Green Lantern #43-52. - Green Lantern Corps: Blackest Night
Collects Green Lantern Corps issues #39-47. - Blackest Night: Rise of the Black Lanterns
Collects Power Of Shazam! #48, Catwoman #83, Suicide Squad #67, Question #37, Phantom Stranger #42, Weird Western Tales #71, Atom and Hawkman #46, Starman #81. - Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps
Collects Blackest Night – Tales of the Corps #1-3 - Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 1
Collects Blackest Night: Batman #1-3, Blackest Night: Superman #1-3, and Blackest Night: Teen Titans #1-3. - Blackest Night: Black Lantern Corps Vol. 2
Collects Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1-3, Blackest Night: JSA #1-3, and Blackest Night: The Flash #1-3.
Blackest Night Reading Order Issue by Issue:
- Green Lantern #43
- Blackest Night #0
- Blackest Night – Tales of the Corps #1-3
- Blackest Night #1
- Green Lantern #44
- Green Lantern Corps #39
- Black Night – Batman #1-#3
- Blackest Night #2
- Green Lantern #45
- Green Lantern Corps #40
- Blackest Night – Superman #1 – #3
- Blackest Night #3
- Green Lantern #46
- Green Lantern Corps #41
- Adventure Comics #4-5
- Justice League of America #39-40
- Suicide Squad #67
- Secret Six #17-18
- Booster Gold #26-27
- Blackest Night #4
- Green Lantern #47
- Green Lantern Corps #42
- Blackest Night – Titans #1-3
- Teen Titans #77 -78
- Starman #81
- The Question #37
- Catwoman #83
- Doom Patrol #4-5
- Superman/Batman #66-67
- Blackest Night #5
- Green Lantern #48
- Green Lantern Corps #43
- Blackest Night – JSA #1-#3
- Blackest Night – Wonder Woman #1
- Green Arrow #30
- Adventure Comics #7
- Weird Western Tales #71
- Solomon Grundy #7
- Power of Shazam #48
- Outsiders #23-25
- Blackest Night #6
- Green Lantern #49
- Green Lantern Corps #44
- The Atom and Hawkman #46
- Black Night – The Flash #1-3
- Blackest Night – Wonder Woman #2-3
- Green Lantern #50-51
- Green Lantern Corps #45
- The Phantom Stranger #42
- Rebels #10-11
- Blackest Night #7
- Green Lantern #52
- Green Lantern Corps #46
- Blackest Night #8
- Green Lantern Corps #47
- Action Comics #890
- Blackest Night: Director’s Cut #1
- Untold Tales of Blackest Night #1
After Blackest Night?
In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight!
Let those who worship evil’s might
Beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!
Once the Blackest Night ended, it was time for the Brightest Day! It’s a crossover storyline consisting of a year-long comic book maxiseries that began in April 2010. It depicts the aftermath of the Blackest Night events in the DC Universe. Check out the Reading order!
