Comic Book Fans Excited for "Blackest Night"

NEW YORK (WCBS 880)  -- In a rough economy you could be hard pressed to find affordable gifts for all of those summer birthdays. Thankfully, even after 70 years, comic books are still one of the cheapest options. This Wednesday D.C. Comics released their summer “event” series Blackest Night.

The comic is a culmination of multiple story lines including all of the biggest names in the D.C. universe: Green Lantern, The Flash, Hawkman and Martian Manhunter, just to name a few.

The story centers around the Black Lanterns. Dead superheros brought back to life by supervillian Blackhand through the power of black power rings much like those used by the Green Lantern Corps.

The series is the brainchild of Geoff Johns, who at 36-years-old, is one of the biggest names in the comic book industry. World renowned for bringing Hal Jordan, the original Green Lantern, and Barry Allen, the original Flash, back from comic book obscurity Johns has become a New York Times bestselling author whose career in comics has just begun.

READ MORE: Full interview with Geoff Johns

At Midtown Comics, on 40th street and 7th Ave. in Manhattan, a small crowd of comic fans has already gathered, each eager to get their hands on Blackest Night issue 1.

Michael Geigel, from Brooklyn, has been waiting for this release for a long time. “I've been waiting for this for about three years. They've been building up the storyline and I'm a big fan of Geoff Johns.”

Friends Zev Hurwich and Jason Merrin had a similar sentiment. “I've read his work and he's definitely a great writer.” Said Hurwich, “Sinestro Corps really got me into Green Lantern.”

Johns' popularity is not limited to a street corner in Manhattan. Seeing the titles and talent he has worked with is a testament to his writing gifts.

Johns got his start in comics through a working relationship with Richard Donner, the director of Superman and The Goonies among other films. On the set of Donner's Conspiracy Theory Johns met some representatives from Warner Brothers, the parent company of D.C. Comics. After talking to them at length about comics they recommended that he pitch them a story idea.

 

A little over a year later, Johns pitched them Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. The main character, Courtney Whitmore, was based off of Johns' sister, also named Courtney, who died on board TWA Flight 800 when it crashed on its way to Paris in 1996. In an interview with WCBS 880, Johns talked about the character.

“I tried to channel her into this character. I wanted to do a comic book my sister would have loved, a character that wasn't a Super Girl or a Batgirl or a spinoff of another superhero. I wanted her to have her own legacy. She had the sidekick who was her stepfather and all her exuberance and optimism and heroism really came from my sister. It was something nice to give to my parents and brother and friends and family and the character has since gone on to become a big character in the DC universe which is great. She's definitely front and center in the JSA (Justice Society of America).”

Johns has since gone on to work on numerous projects outside of comics including: episodes of Cartoon Network's Robot Chicken, Spike T.V.'s Blade: The Series, and one of the most acclaimed episodes of The CW's Smallville.

Johns feels Blackest Night will be one of the best stories of the year. “It's meant to be really fun. If Sinestro Corps was Star Wars... this is Aliens. It's a really twisted, dark fun summer adventure and hopefully people will dig it.”