Lex Luthor Strives For Unlimited Power In The Black Ring - Volume Two!

The Good: Decent artwork, Engaging plot, Decent resolution
The Bad: Oddly unsatisfying catharsis, Light on character development, Secret Six interlude
The Basics: Lex Luthor rises to his greatest heights as he searches for the power behind the Black Power Rings in The Black Ring - Volume Two!


Last year, for a time quite a bit shorter than I would have liked, I worked for a comic book shop. At that time, it was when Action Comics #900 was released. I thought it was hilarious and ridiculous when the store’s owner only ordered three copies of comic book and had no ability to get more in (and was seriously distressed when he did not have any for the shelves when it was released). At the time, I had no idea that that issue would be part of a story I actually cared about. That storyline was a tangent to the Brightest Day Saga and I enjoyed The Black Ring - Volume One (reviewed here!) quite a bit. It almost surprises me that it has taken me this long to pick up and read The Black Ring - Volume Two. The Black Ring - Volume Two is the volume that includes Action Comics #900.

The Black Ring - Volume Two is a good book that does the heavy lifting of explaining the biggest niggling mysteries left from the Blackest Night Saga (reviewed here!). As well, one of the exceptional aspects of the book is that it does not simply degenerate into a standard “kill the villain” style plot. Writer Paul Cornell does a decent job of making a more cerebral than obvious climax and The Black Ring - Volume Two has a decent steady progression toward the inevitable climax that pits Lex Luthor and Superman against one another for yet another epic turn.

Picking up where the first volume ended, Lex Luthor’s quest to find the lingering Black Power Ring and manipulate the twelve orbs that are associated with it, has met with a serious snag: Vandal Savage. The immortal Vandal Savage has arrived at Lex Luthor’s offices where he menaces everyone because he believes Lex Luthor will fulfill a prophecy that states that Luthor will bring Vandal Savage his first joy in eons. But Luthor has a trick up his sleeve: he has hired the Secret Six to protect him, including Scandal Savage, Vandal’s estranged daughter. Surviving the attack on his offices, Lex Luthor renews his quest to find the remaining black energy pockets and tap the power he is convinced is associated with them.

After reviewing his personal history, which includes his thwarting of Darkseid and his tutelage under Ra’s Ah Ghul, Lex Luthor is attacked by Larfleeze (the Orange Lantern) and interviews the Joker for possession of another orb. Luthor’s quest takes him and his Lois Lane android into space where he confronts Brainiac and the power behind the Black Lanterns, culminating in a conflict with Superman that gives him the opportunity to change the entire universe.

The Black Ring - Volume Two is clever and was well worth the wait, if for no other reason than the artwork is largely incredible. Outside the narrative digressions – the inclusion of the Darkseid/Ra’s Ah Ghul section which does not progress this plot, but does fill in quite a bit of Lex Luthor’s backstory – are generally all right, but the best parts of The Black Ring - Volume Two are the ones that focus on Lex Luthor’s insatiable quest.

Paced exceptionally well for the primary story, The Black Ring - Volume Two is an escalation that pits Lex Luthor against several of the more powerful villains in the DC Universe. In many ways, this is the “Best Of Lex Luthor” as he works his way through the final powerful individuals with whom he has had associations in the past. What is surprising is how Paul Cornell manages to make what could be very canned reversals seem natural and sensible. Cornell plays off the intelligence of Lex Luthor to make such reversals seem plausible.

One of the biggest issues with The Black Ring - Volume Two is that it includes a chapter that focuses on the Secret Six, a chapter written by Gail Simone. I like Gail Simone’s work on Wonder Woman and Birds Of Prey, but I am not a fan of Secret Six. As much as I tend to enjoy the narrative voice Simone possesses in her other works, it is a huge distraction in this more serious, focused work. The chapter she contributes is necessary for having the plot progress and ensuring that the story ends appropriately with issue #900, but it is a serious, distracting, digression in terms of plot and (more importantly) narrative technique and character focus.

In graphic novel form, The Black Ring - Volume Two includes alternate covers and production sketches, which enhances the value of it. While The Black Ring - Volume Two does not have the Brightest Day banner on it, this is the culmination of an important story that is relevant to fans of the Blackest Night and Brightest Day Sagas. And for those who want a powerful resolution to the conflict between Superman and Lex Luthor, The Black Ring - Volume Two actually delivers enough to please readers.

For other Brightest Day works, please check out my reviews of:
Brightest Day - Volume 1
Brightest Day - Volume 2
Brightest Day - Volume 3
Brightest Day: Green Lantern
Brightest Day: Green Lantern Corps - Revolt Of The Alpha-Lanterns
Green Lantern Corps: The Weaponer
Green Arrow: Into The Woods
Justice League: Generation Lost – Volume 1
Justice League: Generation Lost - Volume 2
The Flash: The Dastardly Death Of The Rogues

6.5/10

For other book reviews, check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Tangent To The Brightest Day: The Black Ring - Volume 1 Finds Lex Luthor On A Quest!

The Good: Engaging story, Interesting character development, Decent artwork.
The Bad: Uses the same reversal several times, Incomplete story.
The Basics: The Black Ring - Volume 1 has Lex Luthor discovering the universal links between the Black Lantern rings in an opening of a story that makes Lex Luthor look like a courageous explorer!


Regular readers of mine know that it takes a lot for me to read a Superman book. I am just not interested in virtually invincible heroes and Superman lacks a lot of complexity that I like in my heroes. Ironically, the two Superman books I had read before today were Superman: Sacrifice (reviewed here!) which had Superman manipulated as a mind-controlled killer and Luthor (reviewed here!) which has Lex Luthor surprisingly reasonably attempting to save the world from the alien influence of Superman. Similarly, the DC Online Universe Legends - Volume 1 anthology (reviewed here!) focuses more on Lex Luthor than Superman. Regardless, when I saw The Black Ring - Volume 1 in the bookstore recently, I was surprised by two things. The first was that it did not have the Brightest Day banner on it and second that I was actually interested in it!

I've been reading all of the various Brightest Day volumes I can find because I've been enjoying where the DC Universe has gone with Blackest Night and Brightest Day. From the other volumes I have read, I knew that Lex Luthor was off trying to find any remaining Black Lantern Rings and that was an intriguing idea to me. So with The Black Ring - Volume 1 I figured I would finally get my chance to understand why Luthor was after them and how that search went. Unfortunately for me and other readers, The Black Ring - Volume 1 only sets up the story and does not have much in the way of results.

One week before he is hung upside down by three of his adversaries, Lex Luthor is at LexCorp trying to find what might have happened to the Black Rings following the Blackest Night. Lex Luthor fires an employee for talking over him and kills the man's family in front of Lois. After going through a meditation in an Isopod, Luthor has a map that has him prepared to search for the Black Lantern energy. As Luthor prepares to go off with his Loisbot, Mister Mind - a telepathic alien caterpillar - attacks and tries to get Luthor to stop his search. But Luthor overcomes him and heads to Antarctica where he and his team find a giant black orb of altered space, where the very act of scanning it causes its nature to change again.

Believing that the key to life and death might well come from altering all of the spheres on Earth, Luthor and his team head for Busindi National Park, home of Gorilla Grodd. Extracting the Loisbot from Grodd results in an unfortunate encounter with Death for Luthor and sets him up for a meeting with Vandal Savage, who has waited thousands of years for Luthor to come and alter the two spheres he has in Czechoslovakia.

The Black Ring - Volume 1 has its moments of cleverness, but it overuses the same technique far too many times. The revelation that the Lois Lane Luthor is keeping company with is a robot comes early enough to make it a nonissue for most new readers (myself included). But her getting attacked is mirrored by an attack on Luthor with similar results that falls flat for the readers. Paul Cornell has a few decent ideas when it comes to gimmicks, but the revelation that characters are robots is presented in a surprisingly lame way in this book. Unfortunately, the coolest idea Cornell has on a plot and character level comes in the book's last few moments and would spoil the thrill for readers. Sufficed to say, Lex Luthor is the smartest villain in the DC Universe and Cornell has a good grasp on that.

Moreover, Cornell has a decent idea on how to keep Luthor's character fresh and surprisingly cool. The Death segment is little more than a character discussion that brings back a very minor DC Universe character with no consequences, but Luthor palling around with the Loisbot so he has alternate opinions rings as very true for how smart people act. The Mister Mind segment is both psychologically revealing and psychologically smart, which makes Cornell seem very clever as a writer. Mister Mind is a lackey and the visions of Lex Luthor as Dr. Frankenstien, Prometheus and a Sheriff are all clever, but that Luthor is able to see them for what they are is refreshing. Luthor is a smart character and his ability to be metaconscious while under psychic attack is a great idea.

The Mister Mind sequence gives artist Pete Woods a lot of room to have fun and it works out nicely. Woods has fashioned a book that looks great and has a playful quality to it. The colors over Woods' inks are rich and there is a generally good sense of movement to the art. That Woods is using Zooey Deschanel as his Lois Lane model is not a surprise to those with a good eye because he is a talented artist.

Unfortunately, The Black Ring - Volume 1 is hampered some by the feeling that this is a cashgrab. DC Comics has been anthologizing stories and some of the Brightest Day books have eight or more issues in them. The entire Black Ring search could have been a single, larger book which would have been a real character journey for Lex Luthor and been an intriguing chapter for fans looking for a real decent follow up to the Blackest Night. Instead, DC went for the release of a hardcover volume that they can follow up with another one which will add up to more dollars instead of a single story. That's disappointing.

But for what it is, The Black Ring - Volume 1 has what readers of graphic novels want; the sense that the characters are on a journey, not just a series of bizarre encounters that are resolved every 24 pages. This book leans a little too close to the latter idea, but it is satisfying enough to recommend.

For other Brightest Day works, please check out my reviews of:
Brightest Day - Volume 1
Brightest Day - Volume 2
Brightest Day - Volume 3
Brightest Day: Green Lantern
Brightest Day: Green Lantern Corps - Revolt Of The Alpha-Lanterns

5.5/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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