PopSyndicate.com

There’s something about Blackest Night that is drawing in a lot of readers. Sure it got a great story behind it but its also got the return of the dead. It’s not zombies though, it’s dead people without the zombies.

The first issue of “Blackest Night” hit the shelves last week and people have gone crazy for it. I’m not a big Green Lantern reader so I’m not fully informed on what the event is all about. By looking at advertisements and the comic solicitations I have been able to piece a few things together. The story involves the dead coming back to life, but it’s better than zombies. In this series there is something about the dead returning that has made fans jump to it and I think I know what it is.

The dead coming back to life isn’t anything new to comics. It’s been a part of hero stories even before comics were being printed and it happens often. The return of Steve Rogers is the most recent example of a hero coming back from the dead. When all these characters return from the dead its not in zombie form, its back in one’s original form all healed up and ready for action. Zombies are never really a part of the equation when it comes to the return of heroes that have died. But that’s not what’s separating “Blackest Night” from other return-of the-dead stories. In “Blackest Night” it’s about the return of people fans want to see return from the dead if even for a moment.

The entirety of dead people in the DC Universe is vast. Some died a long time ago and some died recently, but the library of characters is deep. They weren’t all heroes, some were villains but they were fan favorites. Overall the dead had some effect on the fans. “Blackest Night’ is teasing all the fans with the possibility that their favorite dead character might return. Some might be welcome, some might be feared but the event has got a lot of fans guessing. Plus there’s a Green Lantern story in there somewhere as well.

So as “Blackest Night” comes and goes fans are going to be sticking to each issue, and the various spin-offs. Thery are going to look for their favorite dead people and be prepared for the repercussions their return has on all the characters. Especially when the deceased characters return as able-bodied individuals and not brain-eating zombies. Which by the way has been done to death.